Best Colorful Pasta Salad

Ingredients
500 grams dry whole-wheat fusilli pasta
3/4 cup of each cooked kidney beans and chickpeas
1 cup of each steamed green peas and green beans
3/4 cup of each steamed carrots, chopped as thin matchsticks and sweet corn or yellow bell pepper
2 1/2 cups tomatoes, cored, cubed small
1 1/2 cups black olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1 cup spring onions, diced, or red onions, sliced
1/2 cup sliced artichoke hearts, chopped avocado, or steamed broccoli florets (optional)
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup of each tomato paste, soy sauce and fresh lemon juice
3/4 - 1 cup pitted green olives
3/4 tbsp honey
2 1/2 tbsp onion powder
3/4 tbsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tbsp oregano
3/4 tbsp thyme
3/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp sage
Description whow! whow! whow!
Instructions 1. Cook beans.
2. Steam veggies.
3. Cook pasta.
4. In blender, blend tomato paste, green olives, soy sauce, lemon juice, and honey until creamy. This will be your rich and tasty sauce for the pasta.
5. Combine all ingredients together, adjust the seasonings to taste.

Note Variation:
For a quicker, simpler pasta salad you do not have to add in all the vegetables.
To make beautiful red fusilli pasta:
1. Blend a couple raw beets in blender with water. Pour in pot and cook 10 minutes.
2. Strain out the beet pulp and throw. Bring the beet water back to boil and cook pasta in it.
The results are a dark orange to dark red (depending on concentration) pasta fusilli!

A Cookie Assembly Line: Efficient Cookie Baking for Busy Cooks

As a busy working mother, I'm short on time, especially during the holidays, but baking Christmas cookies is a family tradition I'm unwilling to give up. Over the years, I've come up with many ways to make the process of baking a large variety of cookies go much smoother and take less time out of my busy life. You may want to start by checking out my 6-day program for hassle-free Christmas cookie baking In addition to the 6-step method, I've found an efficient way to prepare a large variety of cookie dough with minimum fuss by setting up a cookie assembly line. The best part about this process is that you can make 12 different batches of cookies and only have to wash the dishes once!

This process assumes that you have already chosen your recipes and gone grocery shopping. You will want to use your longest available expanse of countertop for this. My assembly line turns two corners as it winds around my small kitchen, but that is fine.

You may need to make some adjustments depending on your individual recipes, but for most recipes, you can set up your assembly line like so:

Flour Line:

-Large mixing bowl
-Measuring cups and spoons
-Fork for stirring
-Flour
-Baking powder and baking soda
-Salt
-Cocoa powder
-Spices
-Any other dry ingredients that are added to the flour in your recipes

Butter Line

-Another large mixing bowl (or the bowl from your stand mixer)
-A second set of measuring cups and spoons
-Electric mixer
-Wooden spoon
-Rubber spatula
-Butter, shortening, margarine and/or cream cheese
-Sugar (white and brown)
-Eggs
-Vanilla and other extracts
-Chunks such as raisins, nuts, chocolate chips
-Rolled oats
-Any other ingredients that are added to the butter and eggs in your recipes
-Plastic wrap
-Felt-tip marker


To avoid transferring flavors from one recipe to another, you will start with basic recipes that have no spices, chocolate, or other strongly flavored ingredients. Starting with your first recipe, go down the line measuring out the amount of flour, baking powder/soda and salt into one bowl. Then, combine the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla in your larger bowl as directed. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture. After that, stir in any chunks.

Next, scrape down the edges of the mixing bowl so that it's fairly clean, shape the dough into a ball, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Identify the recipe by writing its name on the plastic wrap with a felt-tip marker, and refrigerate it. If it is a slice-and-bake refrigerator cookie, form it into a log instead of a ball, according to the directions in your recipe. If you plan to bake much later, you can even freeze the dough. Most cookie doughs freeze very well. Defrost at room temperature while still wrapped in plastic wrap, and unwrap only when dough is thoroughly defrosted. Otherwise condensation could add too much moisture to your dough.

When your first batch of dough is prepared, wrapped, and stored in the refrigerator or freezer, return to the beginning of your assembly line, without washing your dishes, and begin preparing the next batch of dough. When you have prepared all the recipes that contain no spices or cocoa, move on to the recipes that contain cocoa, and finally those that contain spices. This way, you will only have to do dishes once at the end of the process, and you will have several different kinds of dough waiting to be baked.

When all your dough is prepared, then you can finally put away all your ingredients, clean up the kitchen, and do your dishes. Now if you plan to finish your baking today, you'll have lots of space for rolling out your dough or setting out your cooling racks. If you plan to bake another day, you're done!
Mimi Cummins is co-author of the book "Christmas Cookies Are for Giving: Recipes, Stories, and Tips for Making Heartwarming Gifts." This book, "enthusiastically recommended" by Midwest Book Review, is full of baking tips and hints, including nearly 50 recipes each with a full-color photo. For more information visit http://www.dietingbooks.blogspot.com/ or order from your favorite online bookstore.

[Note to webmasters: you may include a link to the book using your affiliate program (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or other) if you wish.]

Gingerbread Cookie

Ingredients to make gingerbread cookies


• 1/2 cup butter shortening
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• Candies and frostings for decorating if desired

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat shortening in a mixing bowl on high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Mix in the molasses, egg, and vinegar until well combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Divide dough in half. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 3 hours.

Grease a cookie sheet with butter shortening. On a lightly floured surface roll the dough to 1/8 inch thick for 2 and 1/2 round cookies and the dough to 1/4 inch for 6 inch gingerbread people cookies. Cut dough with your favorite cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Bake round cookies for 5 to 6 minutes and gingerbread people cookies for 6 to 8 minutes. Edges of cookies should be lightly browned. Cool cookies for 1 minute on cookie sheet then transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

Shortbread Cookie

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter and sugar in large bowl. Stir in flour. If dough is crumbly, mix in an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons of softened butter.

Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness and cut dough with cookie cutters into desired shapes. The dough can even be cut with a knife into wedges or strips for interesting designs. Bake about 20 minutes or until set. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cookie Layer Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup crushed graham crackers
• 1 3.5 oz can flaked coconut
• 1 6oz bag semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 6oz bag butterscotch chips
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 1 stick butter
• 1 small can sweetened condensed milk

Directions

Start oven warming to 350 degrees. Melt stick of butter in the bottom of a 9x12x2 inch baking pan. I do this on the stovetop. Make sure the butter coats the entire bottom of the pan.

Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs evenly over the butter layer. Sprinkle the coconut on top of the graham cracker layer. Place chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, then chopped nuts in layers on top of the coconut. Pour the condensed milk over the nuts making sure to evenly pour the milk.

Bake at 350 degree for 30 minutes. Cut into 2 dozen squares while still warm.