This pasta salad dressing combines Italian and Dorothy Lynch. It’s served over broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, pepperoni, cheese and tri-color rotini pasta.
Mother’s Day 2019
On Mother’s Day, we spent the day at the ranch with all four of Mom & Dad’s daughters and all 11 of the grandchildren!
Mom had a whole bunch of games planned, coined the Mother’s Day Olympics. These games included washers toss, basketball free throws, the slipper kick and a distance competition of launching Easter eggs as far as we could. There were teams that were divided by women and men and kids. During the last event of the “games,” one of the grandkids informed Dad that there were two heifers out of the pasture and in the corn field. While this might not seem like a big deal, it definitely put a damper on the games. Dad and Carla, with the help of two 6-year-olds and a 3-year-old, headed out on the Rangers (side-by-side utility vehicle) to get the heifers back in and fix the fence.
What’s a Heifer?
One 6-year-old to the other: “What’s a heifer?” In case you are wondering too, a heifer is a young female “cow.” When a calf is born, it is either a bull calf (boy) or heifer calf (girl). The name heifer can also mean that either she hasn’t had a baby calf yet or has only had one. I know that’s confusing, but after she has a calf, we will call her a first-calf heifer and decide whether to keep her or sell her. This will partially depend on whether or not she takes good care of her calf. First-calf heifers are “promoted” to cows after they have successfully raised their first calf, and we decide to keep them in the herd.
What’s the difference between a Pasture and a Field?
You might also be wondering why it matters that these heifers got out of the pasture and into the corn field. Well, they’re actually supposed to be in the pasture, grazing away on native grasses. We use the land that can’t be farmed because of the poor soil or abundance of rocks as pasture to graze cattle. The better land can be cultivated to grow crops. Crops are grown in fields, where they are planted purposefully and will grow to full maturity and then be harvested for their seeds.
But, before the games and the excitement, we definite had Mother’s Day lunch. A couple items on the menu included Grandma’s Never Fail Rolls and this pasta salad, with a dressing that combines Italian and Dorothy Lynch, and is served over broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, pepperoni, cheese and tri-color rotini pasta.
Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 12 ounces rainbow rotini pasta
- ½ head fresh broccoli florets cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ head fresh cauliflower florets cut into bite-sized pieces
- 8 ounces mozzarella or pepperjack cheese cut into cubes
- 3 ounces pepperoni approx. 48 pieces, cut into quarters
- 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
- 6 ounces medium black olives halved
- 8 ounces Dorothy Lynch salad dressing
- 8 ounces Italian salad dressing
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Allow it to cool while prepping other ingredients.
- Cut broccoli and cauliflower florets into bite-sized pieces. Cube cheese. Cut pepperoni into quarters. Cut tomatoes and olives in half. Combine all ingredients, including pasta, in a large bowl.
- Mix Dorothy Lynch and Italian dressing together. Use a 2 ½ to 3 cup container with a tight-fitting lid and shake dressings to combine. Pour over pasta salad ingredients and toss to coat.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or more before serving.
Leave a Reply