Pasta Chicken Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Spinach and Bacon

I know. It really is the longest name ever. I said we'd been having a lot of salads lately, and I wasn't kidding! This is another great discovery. Melanie over at My Kitchen Cafe always has great stuff, and this was another hit. It was great for summer because you could cook the pasta and bacon in the morning and then throw it all together before you eat. Yummy! I liked the dressing, but didn't absolutely love it, so next time I might play around with something different, but other than that, I wouldn't change a thing. It was filling, colorful, flavorful, and perfect for warm weather!

Mom's Potato Salad

Everyone has their own version of potato salad that they love, and this is mine. Well, if I'm honest, I really love all potato salad, because I love potatoes in any form, but this is what I grew up eating at BBQs, family gatherings, etc. and I really love it! I made a big ole batch of this when we were up in Park City with Jeremy's family and we got to enjoy it all week. Seeing the picture makes me want to make it again! Hmm...I'll have to see what I can do about that. :) So if you're looking for a great version that is simple and full of flavor, give this a try!

Spinach Tortelini Salad

Now that it's warming up, I've been in the mood for salads! On Monday, I planned out our meals for 2 weeks and realized that 5 of them are salads! This one is a great summer recipe. You can prepare everything ahead of time and then just toss everything together right before you sit down to eat. The dressing was a little too sweet for my taste (it would be great if it was for a side salad or something, but by the end I was a little sweeted out), so next time I plan on cutting back on the sugar. Also, I think you could vary it by using sliced strawberries instead of mandarins (since summer is a great time for strawberries) or even adding some feta cheese, which is what I did when I had it for lunch the next day.

Snickerdoodles

I was out of town for awhile, but I'm finally back and I have a lot of recipes to put up! I'll start with these absolutely delicious snickerdoodles. I've never had a great snickerdoodle recipe, but I saw these posted on another blog the other day, so I decided to give them a try. They are slightly crisp on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside - just how a snickerdoodle should be. Yum! They are so easy to whip up too. I only used one bowl (well two with the cinnamon/sugar mixture), a whisk, and a spatula. Perfect! Good luck trying to not eat the whole batch. I've been struggling since I made these yesterday. Yikes!