Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Presto Pasta Nights - Orzo and Ham Salad

Ever since I took part in The Deep Freeze Summer Challenge last month I've been working hard on using more ingredients from the pantry and freezer and doing less grocery shopping. So far it's been going very well. We've had some delicious crock pot ribs, veggie pizza, grilled sausage from Millarville, and last weeks Presto Pasta dish, Soba Noodle Salad. I found a jar of orzo pasta the other day, and since the last orzo pasta salad I made turned out so well, I gave it another go. I found some diced ham in the freezer and chives and fresh peas in the fridge. Wayyyy at the back of the refrigerator I found a red pepper starting to shrivel. I saved what I could and diced it up. The chives were chopped, the peas got shelled. After the orzo was cooked, rinsed in cold water and drained, it was time to think about a dressing.

Personally, I think if you are using ham in a pasta salad, you have to go with a mayonnaise based dressing. I don't know why, it just works better in my opinion. We had some light mayo hanging around. I added some red hamburger relish and some spicy deli mustard. It was sweet and spicy, just what I was looking for. Mix it all together, throw it in the fridge and lunch or dinner is ready.


Is there anything better on a hot day than a cold meal that is just waiting to be pulled out of the fridge? I'm not sure.

This post is heading over to join Ruth for Presto Pasta Night. Check out Once Upon a Feast on Friday for the roundup.

7 comments:

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Well, I'm sure my husband would be totally delighted to find this in our fridge. It's so grand when what you have hanging around can go together so well.

Deborah said...

I am trying to do the same - empty the freezer and pantry because they are both so full and over-flowing that I don't even know what's in there anymore!!

I bet I would have all of these ingredients on hand - this sounds like the perfect cool meal.

Ruth Daniels said...

I too love the "back of the fridge" dishes that come together in a snap.

This one looks perfectly delicious. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights. Check back for the roundup on Friday.

Janet said...

That looks REALLY good! What a great idea!

Sara said...

Tanna - any time I can make a full meal without having to go to the store, I am happy.

Deborah - if only I had known Scott was going to inhale it so quickly I would have made a much larger batch.

Ruth - can't wait for the round up and to hear all about your time at BlogHer.

Janet - thanks!

Lis said...

It looks fabulous, Sara! I'm very tempted by this salad. =)

I SO WANT TO EMPTY our freezer(s) and pantry(s).. This might be a good goal to set for this winter, eh?

xoxo

Terri said...

I don't know why I never thought of using orzo pasta in a pasta salad, but it honestly never occurred to me. I made some today using diced ham, yellow and red pepper, green onions, peas, diced celery and I used a zesty red pepper relish with the mayo. So delicious!! Thank you for the inspiration. I will post photos and such on my blog sometime next week.