Summer Tortellini Salad

Do I dare start this up again? It has been so long...Why not? At least I will have a bunch of good recipes in one spot. I got this tasty pasta salad recipe from the Sisters' Cafe blog. I didn't have all of the ingredients and it still turned out great. I used half of a double pack of tortellini from Sam's Club. It seems like it was definitely more than 9 ounces of pasta. I kind of just added the ranch and cheese till it looked nice and coated like I would want it.

Summer Tortellini Salad

Submitted by Amy ~ www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com

Printable Recipe

1 pkg. (9 oz.) uncooked refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini(You can also use dry tortellini. Barilla has a yummy four cheese and Costco has really good tortellini as well)
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped (I use the equivalent of baby carrots instead)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
4 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley (or 4 tsp. dried parsley if you don't have fresh...fresh is always best of course, but dried works fine too)
1/2 cup home-made or you're very, very favorite ranch dressing (I tend to skimp a bit on this measurement but 1/2 a cup isn't too much, just trying to be healthy:)
Parmesan Cheese - to taste

*Option - I have added left over Rotissere chicken to this and really liked it

Cook tortellini according to package directions, drain and rinse under cold running water. Place tortellini in a large colander and set aside. Meanwhile, slice zucchini. chop carrot(s). Cut tomatoes in half and slice green onions. Snip parsley, if using fresh. Add vegetables to tortellini. Poursalad dressing over salad. Grate parmesan cheese oversalad. cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Yield: 6 servings

Chicken Alfredo

I got this recipe out of the last Healthy Cooking magazine. I wanted to try it since it was made from scratch ingredients. I changed it a little by using less garlic, but if you like garlic, I say go for it all! It was delicious! The only problem was that we did 1 1/2 x's the recipe and it made way too much for us and our company. We ate it for another 2 days after that!

Makeover Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

1 pkg (16 oz) fettucine
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 T Italian seasoning
6 garlic cloves, minced, divided
3 T reduced fat butter, divided
1/2 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 C fat free milk
1 C half and half cream
1 1/2 C (6 oz) shredded reduced fat Colby Monterey Jack cheese
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/2 C reduced fat sour cream
1/4 C plus 3 T shredded Parmesan cheesee, divided

1. Cook fettucine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook the chicken, Italian seasoning and 2 garlic cloves in 1 T butter until chicken is no longer pink; remove and keep warm.

2. In the same skillet, saute mushrooms and onion in remaining butter until tender. Add remaining garlic; saute 1-2 minutes longer. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended; gradually add milk and cream.

3. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Add the Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, 1/4 C Parmesan and reserved chicken; cook and stir until heated through.

4. Drain fettucine; serve with sauce. Sprinkle each serving with 1 t of remaining Parmesan cheese.