Caprese Tortellini Salad

Caprese Tortellini Salad

Ingredients:

1 (20 ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 (7 ounce) package refrigerated basil pesto (If you want to make it yourself, see the pesto sauce recipe link below)
2 cups halved grape tomatoes
(8 ounce) fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Fresh basil for garnish, if desired

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium high heat. Add the tortellini and cook according to package directions.

Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.

Transfer the pasta to a large bowl. Add the pesto, tomatoes and cheese. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Interested in making your own pesto sauce? If yes, it's easy and very delicious! Here's the pesto sauce recipe link. Enjoy!
http://crowdedkitchen509.blogspot.com/2012/10/pesto-sauce.html

Brennan's Bananas Foster

Brennan's Bananas Foster
Recipe by Southern Living

This dessert is easy to make and delicious.

Ingredients:

4 medium-size ripe bananas
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup banana liqueur
1/2 cup rum
Vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Cut bananas in half crosswise, then lengthwise.

Melt butter in a large flambe pan or skillet over medium heat. Add brown sugar, and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Add bananas to skillet, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in liqueur and rum, and carefully ignite the fumes just above mixture with a long match. Let flames die down.

Return to heat, and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until soft. Serve over ice cream.

Looking for another great tasting New Orleans dessert? If yes, here's the famous "Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce" recipe. It's delicious too!

http://crowdedkitchen509.blogspot.com/2012/03/bread-pudding-with-whiskey-sauce-by_23.html

Italian Cabbage Rolls

Italian Cabbage Rolls

This recipes tastes best made one day in advance.

Ingredients:

1 large head cabbage
1 cup cooked rice
1 1/2 pounds ground beef or pork, or mixture of both
1 medium onion
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/2 cup Provolone cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Fontina cheese, grated
1 (29 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

Directions:

First, you need to remove the leaves from the cabbage. The best way to do this is to core the cabbage, then immerse the whole head in boiling water until the outer leaves begin to loosen. Remove cabbage from the water and carefully peel away as many outer leaves as will come off easily. You will need 10 - 15 large cabbage leaves.

Meanwhile, combine rice, ground meat, onion, salt, pepper, parsley, sage, Provolone and Fontina in a large bowl. Mix with hands to blend together. Divide mixture (1/3 cup fulls) and shape into meat rolls. Place each meat roll at the base of a cabbage leaf and roll each leaf around the meat and fold ends under. Secure with a toothpick, if needed. Place rolls seam side down in an 11-inch x 7-inch baking dish

Spread crushed tomatoes over cabbage rolls.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.

The cabbage rolls can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator or frozen.