Cooking Is Therapy II

I have tried a few more pinterest creations in the last couple of weeks and they were a success!!! I am loving not being in such a dinner rut! Winters are so much harder when it is cold and you can't grill, etc... So, thankfully pinterest has put some pep in my step and I am excited to be in the kitchen again! Here are some of the new recipes we tried!

Greek Pasta Salad - *This was Delicious! I don't do olives but the rest of the salad was a huge hit! Great as left overs too!

1 1/2 tablespoons salt
12 ounces bite-size pasta, your choice
2 cups medium diced seedless cucumber, lightly sprinkled with salt
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes, lightly sprinkled with salt
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped coarse
1/2 medium red onion, sliced thin
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Ground black pepper
Bring 3 quarts of water to boil in a large pot. Add salt and pasta to the boiling water. Using back-of-the-box times as a guide, cook pasta until just tender.  Drain pasta (do not rinse), pour into a shallow baking pan, and cool to room temperature.
When ready to serve, place pasta, cucumber, tomatoes, feta, olives, onion, and oregano in a large bowl, Add oil; toss to coat. Add vinegar and pepper to taste; toss to coat. Adjust seasonings and serve.

Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches - *This is SUCH A HIT at our house now! We have made them twice already and both times they were amazing! The meat is even better the next day! Of course I have to add cheese and it is delicious! Ingredients

2-3 lb bottom round beef roast
1 Cup Beef Stock
1 packet Italian Salad Dressing Mix ( I used Good Seasons)
1 jar pepperoncini rings
1 loaf crusty french bread
Giardiniera (Optional)

Chess Squares - *HOLY COW! These have to be made just on a special occasion because I found myself hoping Chandler woke up for a bottle in the middle of the night so I could sneak bites of them! Delicious and Easy!!!!

1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 300 and spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray. Mix cake mix, melted butter and one egg to a soft dough. Press into the bottom of the pan. Mix powdered sugar, softened cream cheese and remaining two eggs until smooth, about 1-2 mins. Pour on top of crust. Bake at 300 for 40-50 minutes until top is golden brown.

Till the next time, I have a list of recipes I am going to try this week and I can't wait!