Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad

I found this recipe on All Recipes. I sounded really good, so I made it tonight for dinner tomorrow. The reviews on the website said it was better if it sat overnight or for a few hours for the flavors to really get into the pasta. If you include the chicken it can be a main dish, if you leave that out, it's a great side dish.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sesame seeds (or less if you prefer)
1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast meat (optional)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (which ever you prefer)
1/3 cup chopped green onion
Chopped snow peas
Matchstick carrots
Cherry tomatoes halved

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds, and cook stirring frequently until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and set aside. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain pasta, and rinse under cold water until cool. Transfer to a large bowl. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine vegetable oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds, ginger, and pepper. Shake well.
Pour sesame dressing over pasta, and toss to coat evenly. Gently mix in chicken and other veggies.

Banana Cream Fruit Salad

I got this from a coworker a few years ago and never made it until today when I ran across the recipe. It's a fun twist on a regular fruit salad.

Ingredients:
1 tub frozen whipped topping (thawed)
1 cup buttermilk (8 oz.)
1 pkg. Banana Cream Jell-O pudding
1 can mandarin oranges
1 can pineapple tidbits
chopped fresh strawberries (whatever looks like enough) :)
Keebler Fudge Striped cookies

Mix the banan pudding with the buttermilk. Fold in the whipped topping. Add all the fruit and mix. Break the cookies in 1/4ths (about 1/2 of a package - whatever looks like the right amount) and mix those in too.

I would imagine you could change the fruit to whatever you like, but this is what he used in his. Not the healthiest fruit salad ever, but really good!

Lemonade Pie

This is a recipe that is so simple and good for a nice and light summer dessert.

Ingredients:
1 6oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate (thawed)
1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1-2 drops yellow food coloring
1 8 oz. carton frozen whipped topping (thawed)
1 (9") graham cracker crust

Combine lemonade, sweetened condensed milk, and food coloring. Stir well. Fold in whipped topping. Pour into crust and freeze until firm, 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with lemon slices and whipped topping as desired. Serves 8.

Chocolate Salty Bars

Okay, so this is the easiest recipe yet and so yummy. I was watching Food Network one afternoon and Paula Deen was on. She made these and I tried them. They are so easy and so good.

Ingredients:
1 package white chocolate bark
3 cups broken up pretzel sticks
2 cups salted peanuts

Now, melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Add in pretzels and peanuts. Stir and spread on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. It will take a couple hours to set up. Then you just break apart into bars and enjoy! My kids loved these!