TWO IN ONE SALAD AND PASTA

RECIPES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE DOING SOMETHING WONDERFUL, CLEVER AND OVER THE TOP.

So what's so great about a two-in-one salad and pasta recipe? It's great because when you chop up the vegetables and fry the bacon and onion for the salad, you just use half and save the rest for the pasta you're making for dinner. It saves time and makes it all a whole lot easier and isn't that what we're all about here? Absolutely! Spinach salad is one of life's truly marvelous rewards for eating your greens. I love to make one because you can use your imagination and make it different every time or always do it the same and either way it always turns out and tastes wonderful. I got the recipe for this spinach salad from my friend, Lynn, who lives on the island of Molokai in Hawaii. She is a connosieur or all things healthy and delicious. I first tasted her spinach salad four or five years ago when I was a guest in her home. I asked her about it and she said she had searched for years for a spinach salad that was a little different but still easy to make. After visiting several restaurants and checking out various spinach salads, she settled on this one as the best of all. The pasta is just an extension of the spinach salad as it uses some of the same ingredients. As with the salad, you can mix and match, add in or leave out according to your own tastes. Here is how it's done:

1. Cook up and then crumble some bacon, about half a pound.

2. Saute in olive oil some sliced sweet onion, drain and cool on paper towel;

3. Toss together spinach, red bell pepper, dried cranberries in large bowl, then add bacon and onions;
3. Dress and toss salad (in small bottle, shake up equal parts olive oil and basalmic vinegar (1/4 C. each), some seasoned salt (1 tsp.) and and a couple of teaspoons of honey ... this acts as an emulsifier to keep oil and vinegar together.

4. Top with some avocado slices, mozzarella cheese, almonds and/or croutons.

There! Is that easy or what?

5. Meanwhile, cook 8 oz. of pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water. Drain and put into a large bowl.

6. Add the reserved crumbled bacon, sauteed onion and chopped bell pepper.

7. Here's where you can get creative and add anything else you might want to have. In this pasta I added 1/2 C. sun-dried tomatoes, drained on a paper towel to absorb the oil.

8. Add 1 C. mozarella cheese and 1/2 C. Parmesan cheese to the pasta. Sprinkle with dried chives and basil.

9. You can serve it just as it is or make some alfredo sauce to go over it. The easiest way is to

melt 1/4 C. butter in a pan. Add 2 T. flour to make a roux or thick sauce. Then slowly add 2 C. half and half cream, 1 C. Parmesan cheese and 1 teasp. garlic powder. Salt to taste. Stir over medium heat until it has thickened.
10. Pour over the pasta and serve immediately. Serves 4-6. Enjoy!