Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Quick & Easy Summer Meals- BLT Pasta Salad

Hi! It's Jilly. Today I have the pleasure of being a guest TIPster. TIPster is a group of women bloggers who seek to teach, inspire, and promote their calling as wives, moms, and homemakers.


They have kindly asked me to join them today as we all post about quick & easy summer meals. Be sure to visit Allyson, Kristin, and Christy to see what great things they have to share. 


I thought I would share a quick and yummy BLT Pasta Salad. This salad can be a complete meal when paired with a fresh vegetable, like corn on the cob, or can be a great addition to a summer BBQ or potluck.


I originally found this recipe on Food.com, but have made a couple of tweaks to it as I've made it a few times now. This recipe makes a ton, I mean seriously a TON of salad, so whenever I make it for our little family of five I divide the recipe in half. 



BLT Pasta Salad


Ingredients:
3 2/3 C. cooked pasta (about 8 oz uncooked)- You can use farfalle, elbow, rotini, fusilli, etc. The pasta in the picture above is rainbow radiatori.
4 C. chopped tomatoes, or you can use cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled or chopped 
3 C. thinly sliced romaine lettuce (do NOT use iceberg! Seriously! It is the nutritional equivalent to cardboard!)
1/2 C. low-fat mayonnaise  (I like the Mayo with Olive Oil)
1/3 C. plain, low-fat yogurt, drained
1 TB Dijon mustard
1 tsp sugar, or your favorite sweetener
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper


Directions:
1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl, toss gently.
2. In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Stir well.
3. Add dressing to salad and toss gently. 


You can serve it immediately, or let it chill in the fridge for a few hours. Or, you can make it the night before without the lettuce, then add the lettuce right before serving it. I actually like the way it tastes after it's had some time to chill in the fridge. 


I hope you enjoy this recipe. It's a great meal to throw together in the morning, then go have some fun with your family without worrying about dinner. 






Thanks again for the opportunity to guest post with you lovely ladies! I enjoyed being a guest TIPster! :)
Like this recipe? Then follow Hi! It's Jilly here on the blog, on Facebook, or on Pinterest so you don't miss anything!
Parties I link to HERE.

24 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for joining in as a guest TIPster today.

    This recipe sounds really good. My husband LOVES all things BLT so I might need to make this for him soon.

    P.S. I hope your move is going well.

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    1. I'm glad! I hope your hubby likes it. Yes, we finally made it to New York & are getting settled into our apt. Thanks for the well wishes! :)

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  2. ok, I won't be able to resist trying this one. Anything bacon is good, eh? and I did have to giggle about your iceberg comment... I am a die hard iceberg eating mama, but I have s-t-r-e-t-c-h-ed my self to try other lettuce, which now has romaine as a very close 2nd. *wink*
    ~Sheri

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    1. Lol! Come over to the dark (green & leafy) side! Bwahahaha!

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  3. That looks great! I will have to try. Newest GFC follower from take it on Tuesday. Love for you to stop by and return the follow when you can ;)

    http://www.thenaptimereview.com

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  4. That looks fantastic! I'm now following you through GFC. :) I'm pinning this recipe asap.

    Megan

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    1. I just started following you, too! Your blog is so cute! Thanks for the follow and the pin. :)

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  5. My husband likes salad, but he is not always satisfied if we eat salad for dinner when he comes home HUNGRY after a hard day at work. I think he might go for this one, though.

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    1. Yeah, it's pretty filling! And, you could always have it as a side with a burger or something.

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  6. Looks so great! I'm a new follower, I would love if you followed me back at http://iheartpears.blogspot.com

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    1. Your blog is so cute! I love the vintage library shower!

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  7. Hi Jillian, Stopping by from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. That pasta salad looks so yummy and kid-friendly. I have a 5 and 9 year old so it's sometimes difficult to find something our whole family likes (and is not totally boring). I'll have to try this one! Thanks! Renee

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  8. yummy...new follower from hop
    My daughter is Jillian and we call her Jill or Jilly...too cute

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    1. Oh! Not very many people are named Jillian, so that's awesome! Welcome!

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  9. This salad looks (and I'm sure, tastes!) amazing!! I found you via Crystal & Comp. Thank you so much for sharing!

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  10. This looks like a great pasta salad! Great for a summer day. Thanks so much for sharing this on Romance on a dime. Pinning this.

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  11. This looks SO so good and bacon never hurts ... gonna have to pin this for our next summer dinner! Thanks for sharing it at the {what's shakin' link party}!!

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  12. This needs to get on my menu plan stat!! Thanks so much for sharing and I am a new follower!!
    Hope you have a great day!
    Michelle
    www.delicateconstruction.com

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  13. Really delicious looking! Thank you for linking it up at our party at http://www.FineCraftGuild.com/party/

    BTW it would be really nice if you would link back to the party from within your article. Thank you so much doing so in advance.

    Looking forward to your contributions again tomorrow, when a new party will open.

    Have a creative day,
    ~ Rose

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  14. Hi there. The current Food on Friday is all about pasta and noodles! So it would be great if you linked this in. This is the link . Have a good week.

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  15. Jilly, this pasta salad sounds absolutely delicious!! Thanks so much for sharing this at Wonderful Food Wednesday!! Pinned :)

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Thanks for commenting! It really makes me smile!