Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tri-Colored Warm Pasta Salad and an Award!

So similar to many of my Foodbuzz friends I received a box last week with a special treat, Buitoni Wild Mushroom Agnolotti, funny thing is the day before I received it I had purchased a box of the exact same pasta to try out! So, tonight I pulled together a few of my favorite veggies, some fresh basil, cheese and the pasta and whipped up a tasty and healthy dish!

Tri-Colored Warm Pasta Salad
1 Package Buitoni Wild Mushroom Agnolotti
2 Medium Zucchini, halved, then chopped
2 Large Yellow Bell Peppers, chopped
1 Pint Grape Tomatoes
2 Smashed Cloves of Garlic
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan
1/4 Cup Shredded Romano
2 Tbsp Fresh Chopped Basil

1. Salt a pot of water for the pasta, set it to boil on the stove.
2. Oil a large skillet, heat on high until skillet is hot.
3. Drop garlic, zucchini and bell peppers into skillet, season liberally with salt and pepper. Saute five minutes.
4. As veggies are sauteing, cook pasta. Once it is tender, drain and set aside.
5. After zucchini and bell peppers are tender, drop tomatoes in, allow to cook two minutes.
6. Remove garlic from skillet, set aside.
7. Drop pasta, cheese and basil into skillet, mix well. Serve hot!




Gloria at Foods and Flavors of San Antonio, my Tex-Mex Sister awarded me the Premio Meme Award, seven questions about me. It's one of those things you fill out and share, so here are my answers (and those I'm passing it on to!):

Here goes nothing...seven traits that best describe me

1. An addict - well not in the substance-abuse kind of way, it's my way of saying I become addicted to things, hobbies, activities and causes. Once I am involved with something I will keep it up and give it my all, passionate, dedicated, all the same to me as being addicted to things that are important to me.

2. An introverted extrovert - I'm outgoing and yet can be a very quiet, wallflower kind of person. A strange combination, but one that makes me a good listener and a good do-er too! I like to take charge and make things happen but as my mother can attest, in unfamiliar situations (more when I was younger than now) I'm bad about watching from the sidelines before jumping in.

3. Soft-hearted - Friends and loved ones will tell you that I pretend that things don't bother me and/or that I don't care but that it's a farce...I will help anyone, listen to anything and do whatever I can to help others who need help (even those who won't necessarily speak up).

4. Punctual - To a fault I can't stand to be late, which is kind of an issues since my best friend, boyfriend and sister (the three people I spend the most time with) all seem to run on their own timezones, not criticising them, just telling the truth....one of those things that makes me nuts! I'm trying to be more flexible but the OCD part of me makes it really tough!

5. Organized Chaos - A great description of my mind and office space (both home and work), I know where all of it is, you just have to give me time to recall/find it! Now where did I put traits 6 and 7....

6. A Modern Southern Girl - I was raised with Southern mannerisms, southern cooking and southern zip codes but I am fiercely independent and want to make my own way in the world. I do not want to depend on anyone to get ahead but myself, I was raised by a strong southern woman and come from a long line of them so I'd better keep up the tradition!

7. Creative - I wouldn't really describe myself this way typically, I like symmetry and order and don't feel like that's terribly creative but I also recognize that my love of cooking, photography, knitting, art (even though I'm an extremely bad artist) and beading makes me some how/some way and some form of creative.



So now, drumroll please...I'm passing this on to the following:

Grace of A Southern Grace
Karen at DomesticMuse
Kimmie at Full Circle
Katherine at Smoky Mountain Cafe
Tangled Noodle at Tangled Noodle
Chef E at The Behind the Wheel Chef
Donna FFW at My Tasty Treasures

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the colors! Delicious pasta salad!

Donna-FFW said...

Oh, what a gorgeous pasta salad.. Loved all your facts about yourself.. thanks for thinking of me.. it was so sweet of you..

Heather S-G said...

Your pasta dish sounds delicious...I'm such a slacker (have yet to use mine)...Thanks for sharing these tidbits about you!

Gloria Chadwick said...

Love your pasta salad! Thanks for sharing 7 things about you; it's always interesting to learn more about blogging friends, especially a "Tex-Mex sister." :)

Elyse said...

Mmm, that pasta salad sounds UH-mazing! I just love your blog!! I can't wait to keep reading more. Everything's so yummy.

Reeni said...

Your pasta salad looks delicious! So colorful and full of goodies! Thanks for sharing about yourself!

Karen Brown Letarte said...

The pasta salad looks really great!! Wow, thanks so much for sharing the award with me. I'm so excited! :) K

Hornsfan said...

5 Star - Thanks, the colors definitely make the dish look good (and taste good)!
Donna - Can't wait to see your answers :)
Girlichef - Thanks, the pasta's great - can't wait to see what you do with it!
Gloria - Thanks for sharing the award with me :)
Elyse - Welcome, thanks for commenting, can't wait to check out your blog!
Reeni - Thanks!
Karen - Thanks! Looking forward to learning about you too!

The Duo Dishes said...

Good idea for the pasta. You kept it light and tasty.

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

That is on beautiful pasta salad!Congrats on your award and thank you so much for passing it on to me. I will try and get it posted this week. You're such a sweetie!

Tangled Noodle said...

Yikes - I seriously need to keep up with my blog reading! Thanks for passing this on - I'll start working on my 7 traits (I promise to be as honest as possible). From your list, I can relate to 1,2, and 7 but anyone will tell you that punctuality is not my strong suit and that when it comes to my 'hobby' room, it's just plain 'chaos'!

I hope you entered this recipe in the Buitoni contest; I'm working on one and hope I'll get it in on time!