A Simple Recipe!

Easy & Delicious Pasta Salad

Hello Everyone!!

Today I will be sharing with you a very simple pasta salad recipe that will make your next gathering an occasion to remember!

Pasta Salads became increasingly popular during the 1990's.  You can find many different variations of salads that are already prepared and ready to eat at your local deli.  But these salads are very easy to prepare on your own.  

This particular salad only requires 7 ingredients and can be prepared in advance as well. Which is great because you don't want to be spend the entire duration of your party stuck in the kitchen preparing your side dishes.   

Ingredients:

16 Oz of Rotini Pasta;

1 16oz Bottle of Italian Dressing (Robust);

1  bag of Mini-Pepperoni;

5 Sticks of Mozzarella String Cheese

1- 10oz Package of Grape Tomatoes;

3 cups of Broccoli Florets;

1 Orange Bell Pepper

Instructions:

Cook the Rotini by following the instructions on the box; (cook until is "al dente" or however you prefer to your pasta to be cooked.  Once the Rotini is done, rinse the pasta with cool water and put it aside to cool down.

While your pasta is cooling, thinly sliced the Mozzarella String Cheese, slice the grape tomatoes in half, and diced the bell pepper.

Add all your ingredients into a very large bowl, (cooked & cooled pasta, tomatoes, broccoli, green pepper, mozzarella cheese, bell pepper).

Pour the entire bottle of Italian dressing, and mix together.

Place in refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

Tips:

If you are preparing this salad 24 to 48 hours prior to your event, I suggest you add the mozzarella right before the event. 

Enjoy! 

Valentine's Day Treats

      Hello Again Readers!! It’s been a while since I last posted on our blog, so let me rectify that.

      Today I will be sharing with you two easy recipes that can be used for any event. 

    

     If you follow our Facebook Page (Caramel Curlz & Swirls FB Page), then you may recall me making this sweet and fun filled treat for Ms. Bree’s 6^th Birthday Party.   I will be posting all the details of her Barbie Birthday Bash next. 

     Due to the fact that all her classmates and teachers enjoyed this treat so much, I decided to make it again.  This time the “Valentine’s Day Popcorn” was the main treat which was accompanied by “Sparkling Marshmallow Pops”.

    Both treats are extremely easy to prepare, very inexpensive and it’s guaranteed to make a hit. 

Let’s get started shall we!

THE INGREDIENTS:

1 lb White Almond Bark (Vanilla Flavored);

4 Bags of Homestyle Pop Popcorn (4 bags were enough to make 20 Valentine’s Day Bags);

Red Food Coloring (Magenta/Pink);

Sprinkles (whichever kind your kid loves).

Now, the first time I made this treat I used a large plastic bowl, which was okay but made the “clean up” process a bit difficult.  The melted almond bark becomes hard relatively quickly.  With that bit of information in mind, the second time around I used a disposable roasting pan I got from the Dollar Store. 

This is something your kids can help with. They get to use their little hands to mix the melted almond bark, popcorn and sprinkles! Be prepared, sucking fingers will happen once the mixing part is done!  In another words, this is very messy.  

I tried using a spoon to mix everything but it didn't work as expected, the popcorn would actually get stuck to the spoon, therefore, using your hands was the best advice I was giving so I’m passing this amazing tip to you!

 STEP 1:

Pop the popcorn as instructed on the bags, (Pop 2 bags at a time).

STEP 2:

Melt half a pound of Almond Bark as recommended on the packaging.

STEP 3:

 Add a few drops of the food coloring until you achieve the color you are aiming for.  Mix it well.

STEP 4:

Spread all the popcorn on your disposable pan.

STEP 5:

Lightly drizzle the melted Almond Bark on your popcorn and begin to mix; 
Do this two to three times until you reach the desired results. 

STEP 6:

DROP the sprinkles! Again, you can add as many sprinkles as you (or you little one wants).

AND DONE! 

I used Valentine's Bags that I purchased from Party City.  They come in packs of 20s and they had many designs.  I picked two different designs for the kids. 

               

 

                      Little Man's class                        Ms Bree's class

Pretty easy right!  The teachers loved the popcorn so much the first time I made it, I'm sure there were very happy to get more!! 

This delicious treat can be prepared a day or two in advance.  It approximately took two hours to prepare and filled 40 bags.  

Marshmallow Pops

These pops are even easier to make!  

You will need Wilton Lollipop Wrapping Kit

A bag of Jumbo Size Marshmallows

Left over melted almond bark and left over sprinkles!  

Perfect, do you agree?  You can modify the colors to match your birthday party theme or any special event!

Go ahead, try it and ENJOY!   

~Elena~