Pesto Pasta Salad

If you've wondered where I've been, I've spent the last two days at Disneyland with the family, enjoying the last couple days of summer. School resumes tomorrow! I can't believe how fast this summer flew…..

I have another Bunco recipe to share with you before I get to all the Disneyland fun. This one is for the Pesto Pasta Salad. It was fabulous and tasted great as leftovers! Sorry the picture is blurry….it's the only one I have. :(

Pesto Pasta Salad (Serves 8)

Recipe slightly adapted from All You Magazine, September 2008

Ingredients:

Pesto:

3 cups packed fresh basil

1 cup packed fresh parsley

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 Tbsp. lemon juice 

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/2 cup olive oil 

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Salad:

1 pound gemelli or other short pasta

1 cup plain 2 percent Greek yogurt

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Make pesto:  In a food processor, puree basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper and pine nuts until smooth. With motor running, add olive oil and process until a thick paste forms. Add Parmesan and pulse twice. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired.

2. Make salad: Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and run under cold water to stop cooking.

3. In a large bowl, combine pesto, Greek yogurt and lemon juice and stir until well blended. Add cold pasta and toss to coat with dressing. Add salt and pepper, if needed. Top with tomatoes. Serve salad at room temperature or cover and refrigerate to serve chilled. 

Printable Recipe

Saturday night we barbecued hamburgers. They were awesome…will share recipe soon! To go with the burgers, I had extra dressing leftover from the Romaine Salad with Tiny Tomatoes and Creamy Basil Dressing so I made a quick green salad with it. 

Sunday morning's breakfast was scrambled egg beaters with salsa, onions, cherry tomatoes and cheddar cheese. 

We got packed up and hit the road for Disneyland! We checked into our hotel and stopped for lunch at Naples Ristorante in Downtown Disney. I ordered the Contadina Salad (chopped romaine, radicchio, endive, salami, provolone cheese, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, cucumber, pepperoncini, red onion and Italian vinaigrette):

It was very good. After lunch, we went to both Disneyland and California Adventure. The park wasn't very full so we were able to go on a ton of rides! 

We stopped for dinner at Tortilla Jo's. I had the steak fajitas. 

It was probably the chewiest steak I've ever had. Blech. My husband had the chicken fajitas and said they were good so I probably just ordered the wrong thing. After dinner, we went back to the park and stayed until it closed. We were dead tired when we finally got back to the room.

Yesterday morning we were up early and out the door when the park opened. I had a Cascadian Farms Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Chewy Bar for breakfast.

The park was a lot busier yesterday. It was Monday…go figure. We still were able to get a lot of rides in before stopping for lunch at ESPN Zone. My husband and I split some Buffalo Hot Wings. 

They were pretty darn good wings!

I ordered the fish tacos:

They were really good. I would order them again for sure! 

Dinner last night was at Rainforest Cafe. I had the steak which came with cole slaw and mashed potatoes. I have had a big craving for steak lately!

It was just ok. Probably wouldn't order that again.

After dinner, we called it a night. We were all exhausted. I wear a FitBit to monitor my steps and hit a personal record of just over 23,000 steps yesterday. 

Breakfast this morning was another Cascadian Farms bar and a latte from Starbucks. 

We packed up and headed home. We stopped at Ruby's on the Oceanside Pier for lunch. I had a cheeseburger and fries. 

I figure my diet can start again tomorrow.

Do you wear any sort of pedometer? What's your "stepping record"?

Technorati Tags: Cascadian Farm, Disneyland, Egg Beaters, Everyday, Pesto Pasta Salad, Rainforest Cafe, Romaine Salad with Tiny Tomatoes and Creamy Basil Dressing, Starbucks, Ruby's, ESPN Zone, Tortilla Jo's, Naples Ristorante