Home Style Austin Orzo Salad Recipe

A Great-Tasting Orzo Salad

If you love orzo short-cut pasta as much as I do, you’ll want to try this Home Style Austin house favorite – you might find it becoming a regular side or main dish at your dinner table.

Foodie Tips:

• You can make this salad ahead of time and let it chill in the refrigerator – perfect to take on-the-go for a picnic or to the office for lunchtime.
• You can also serve it warm and introduce some protein to make it a main course meal; adding chicken or roasted rotisserie chicken makes this dish delicious!
• If you’re shy with raw onion you can eliminate it or reduce it to ¼ cup.
• I added goat cheese to lessen the intensity of the blue cheese flavor (sorry, blue cheese); if you prefer one cheese over the other you can go all the way and use ½ cup of your favorite cheese.
• Don’t have – or can’t get – Trader Joe’s Artichoke Antipasto? You can substitute 2-4 ounces of marinated artichoke hearts.

Ingredients: 

½ Cup  |  Orzo Pasta (Prepared)
2 -3 Ounces  |  Trader Joe’s Artichoke Antipasto
1 Medium  |  Tomato, Chopped
½ Cup  |  Celery, Chopped
½ Cup |  Red Onion, Chopped
¼ Cup  |  Crumbled Goat Cheese
¼ Cup  |  Crumbled Blue Cheese
½ Cup |  Black Olives, Chopped
2 Tablespoons  |  Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, Chopped (Optional)
1 Tablespoon  |  Fresh Lemon Juice
½ Teaspoon  |  Dry Oregano
½ Teaspoon  |  Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

Directions: 

1. Prepare the orzo according to package directions, drain and chill in the refrigerator while you’re preparing the rest of the ingredients.

2. When the remaining ingredients are all ready stir them into the orzo and chill 1-2 hours.

Yields: 4-6 servings. Enjoy!

Love this recipe? We want to hear from you!

 

 

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

❤ Love Food? In a click and a scroll you can visit more of my favorite recipes!

 

Avocado and Bacon Potato Salad Recipe

When I stumbled across this unique potato salad recipe that packs a lotta punch compliments of avocado and sour cream instead of hard boiled eggs and mayo, I knew I had to give it a whirl. It hails from the cookbook of my marketing director’s Mom and it has a taste as big as Texas.

This potato salad made its debut in my cucina on the 4th of July in 2011 and it has since visited many, many times. Your foodie friends will ask you to make it again and again so it makes any day a special day.

Food Tips: 

  The original recipe called for “regular ol’ parsley” for decoration but I prefer Italian Flat leaf as it’s less tickley on the tongue and can boast more flavor.

  You can cube (vs. slice) the tomatoes and avocados for the final garnish but either makes a dy-no-mite presentation. Remember that even with a lemon juice coating the avocado can brown after it has been sitting awhile … so dress the salad near the time you are going to present and consume it. Go fresh.

Ingredients:

3 Cups  |  Potatoes, Cooked Then Cubed
1 Cup  |  Sour Cream
½ Teaspoon  |  Salt
½ Teaspoon  |  Seasoned Pepper (a.k.a. Lawry’s Seasoned Salt with Black Pepper)
½ Teaspoon  |  Caraway Seed
1 Tablespoon + Some Extra  |  Lemon Juice
¼ Cup  |  Italian Flat Leaf Parsley Sprigs (chopped)
3  | Avocados (ripe, not hard)
¼ Cup  |  Chopped Onions
8 Slices  |  Hickory-Smoked Bacon (crisped and crumbled)
1  |  Large Tomato (diced)

What To Do:

1. Scrub then boil the potatoes in a medium-sized pot. Boil until tender, but not “mushy.” Set aside to cool.

2. Blend the sour cream with the salt, pepper, caraway seed and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Set aside to marry.

3. Chop the parsley to yield ¼ cup; set aside.

4. Cut 2 of the avocados lengthwise into halves, removing the seed and skin.

5. Cube the avocado and gently combine it in a medium-sized salad bowl with the chopped parsley, potatoes, chopped onion, the sour cream mixture and ½ of the bacon.

6. Arrange additional chopped parsley sprigs on the top of the salad, cover and chill.

7. To serve, prepare the remaining avocado by slicing lengthwise into halves. Remove the seed and skin and cut into slices. Slice the tomato.

8. Alternate the avocado and tomato slices on top of the potato salad and sprinkle with lemon juice and the remaining bacon.

Serves: One to Few. It’s that good. 

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

Steak Diane Recipe

The Great Steak Escape

I love the taste of lemon – especially when it’s married with a nice, juicy sirloin.

This recipe holds a special place in my heart … and most importantly my belly. Give Steak Diane a try and you’ll see why!

Ingredients:

4  |  Sirloin Strip Steaks, ½” thick
To Taste  |  Salt
To Taste  |  Black Pepper, Freshly Ground
1 Teaspoon  |  Dry Mustard
4 Tablespoons  |  Falfurrias Brand Butter
3 Tablespoons  |  Lemon Juice
2 Teaspoons  |  Chives, Snipped
1 Teaspoon  |  Worcestershire Sauce

What To Do: 

1. With a meat mallet, pound steaks to 1/3-inch thickness.

2. Sprinkle one side of each steak with salt, pepper and 1/8 teaspoon of the dry mustard; pound into meat. Repeat on the other side of the meat and continue until all steaks are done.

3. Melt the butter in a skillet or chafing dish. Add the meat and cook 2 minutes only on each side. Transfer the steaks to a hot serving plate.

4. To skillet, add the lemon juice, chives, and worcestershire sauce; bring to a boil. Pour sauce over meat.

Serves 4

Foodie Tips:

• Don’t overcook the meat. Go with the flow and follow the directions. A pink center is a tasty center.
• Steak Diane tastes great partnered with twice-baked potatoes.

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.