Summer's Here

Summer is finally here and wow did it come up quickly for me. I am sorry for neglecting my blog. I have done a lot of cooking and have gone out to eat a few times and I want to share all of that with you, but I just have to make time for it.

Let's start with my favorite summer dish for a super hot summery day - SHRIMP PASTA SALAD!

When I was growing up, we didn't have central air and our two dinky A/C window units really only cooled the bedrooms for sleeping. So a lot of our time was spent in the basement in summer on those really hot days.

I remember my mom setting up the card table in the basement with folding chairs and we would all sit down and eat Shrimp Pasta Salad in the cool basement (next to my Barbie dream house and my brother's Lego Village).

My mom never really used a recipe and it always turned out great. That's what I did when I made this on Friday. Luckily we could eat this in the comfort of our Central Air-Conditioned house. Yay for modern technology!!!

My mom always served this with muffins (usually store bought as who wants to turn on the oven when the house is already 85 degrees!). I too bought muffins from the store, mainly as a time saver, but I didn't want to turn on the oven, even with the A/C.

Shrimp Pasta Salad
1 box Medium Shells Pasta
1 bag shrimp (I used small extra shrimp in a bag for $5 at Walmart)
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/2 vidalia onion, finely chopped
1 cup frozen peas - thawed (canned turn to mush)
1/2 tsp-ish Garlic powder
1/2 tsp-ish dill weed
1/2 tsp-ish ground mustard
1/2 cup light Miracle Whip
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Cook noodles according to box directions. Drain and rinse with cold water immediately.
2) Thaw shrimp in cold water until tender. Check over shrimp for cleanliness but don't rinse too much or you lose the flavor.
3) Add noodles, shrimp, onions & celery to large mixing bowl. Then add garlic powder, dill, mustard, salt & pepper to the mixture. Add in the miracle whip and Greek Yogurt and mix gently to coat everything. Add peas last and very lightly mix so as to not mush the peas.
4) Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
5) Scoop some out and have a muffin on the side for a summery delicious and decently nutritious dinner.

NOTE: I have tried Fat Free Miracle Whip and the flavor wasn't the same. Using all Greek Yogurt changed the flavor too much and it was too watery for my liking so I still use that much light Miracle Whip.

PAIRING SUGGESTION: I had a glass of Cupcake Vineyards Pinot Grigio with it and it really hit the spot. Just make sure it's nice and chilled.

Funny thing about my peas - they were a little overly frozen and freezer burned in spots so I attempted to pick out the good peas. Came across this very frozen chunk and someone in quality assurance was a little 'laxed on the job and missed this! Too funny!

Do you have any summer go-to recipes for when the weather gets really warm? Please share with me :)