Amalfi Salad

This salad reminds me of the food we ate in Amalfi last summer. I saw Giada make this salad a couple of weeks ago and it screams summertime in Italy.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 small cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella or burrata cheese, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

Bake the prosciutto on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 12-14 minutes, until crispy. Grill the asparagus in a grill pan. While those two items are cooking, dice the melon and mozzarella. Make the vinaigrette by combining the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper with a whisk.

Layer the salad with the grilled asparagus on the bottom, the cheese and melon in the middle, and sprinkle with the prosciutto by crumbling with your hands. Dress the salad with the vinaigrette and enjoy!

Love,

Sam

INMAN'S Pasta Salad

Most of my girlfriends are well aware of this colorful and easy side dish. Inman or her mom would make this for us growing up. It was usually in the fridge for a sleepover or any kind of party. I recently made it for Michael's big 31st birthday. This dish could not be easier and I made a couple of changes to the original recipe to make it healthier. I'm sure you can guess, I added fiber :) I swapped the tri-colored pasta for a whole wheat brand, and added the broccoli to replace some of that lost color.

Recipe:

• 1 pound of whole wheat fusilli pasta (original recipe calls for tri colored fusilli)
• 1 small container cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 small container of feta cheese
• 2 heads of broccoli lightly blanched ( I just threw the broccoli in for the last 2 minutes with the pasta)
• 1 can black olives
• 1/2 to 1 full bottle Family Recipe Italian "Newmans Own" salad dressing

Combine all ingredients and toss with the salad dressing. Make this recipe the night before or a couple days before your party. It gets better the longer it marinades! Double or triple the recipe to easily feed a big crowd.Love,

Sam

Tomato Artichoke Chicken Deliousness

This was a last minute "what do I have in the kitchen" meal that actually turned out great! I also was able to use these bizarre huge beans from our garden that Michael has been asking me to cook with. They kind of look like lima beans, apparently they are called "pole beans." He got the seeds from one of his fellow gardening friends and we never established their official name or how to eat them. Anyway, I added them to this already healthy and fresh dish, and they were great. But, if you don't have a pole bean plant growing in your yard, or you cant find anything at the grocery store that looks the same, or the recipe is perfectly fine without them.

Ingredients:

• 3 Chicken Breasts
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 2 shallots
• 1 cup white wine
• 1/2 can of tomato puree or diced tomatoes or tomato sauce (either will do)
• 1 jar artichoke hearts, cut into quarters
• 8-10 fresh cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 jar marinaded sun dried tomatoes
• 10 pole beans (shells removed)
• 1/2 tablespoon chili flakes
• salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

Start by seasoning the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Brown on each side in 1 tablespoon olive oil, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside. Add the rest of the olive oil to the same pan along with the diced garlic and shallots. Saute until soft over medium heat. Turn heat to high and add the white wine, de-glaze the pan (meaning scrape the bits of of the chicken off the bottom) for about two minutes. Add the artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, chili flakes and tomato sauce and cook about 3 minutes. Add the chicken breasts back to the pan and cover. Let the dish cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat. The flavors will come together and the chicken will cook all the way through. I added the crazy pole beans last as they only took a few minute to cook. Serve with big green salad or with pasta.


Love,

Sam