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Pasta, Salads

Creamy Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe

This Creamy Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe is just like a BLT sandwich however it has no bread in it. It’s a great recipe for anytime of the year. 

My Creamy Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is made with fresh romaine lettuce, bacon, green onions, bowtie pasta, baby tomatoes and is tossed in a healthy ranch dressing.

I like to use fresh multi colored baby tomatoes in this salad, it gives it that extra special flavor.  Serve this as a side dish at any potluck or as the main course if you choose.

I highly recommend using multi colored baby tomatoes in this salad, it gives it that extra special flavor and looks so pretty.  Also be sure to look for a good quality bacon the less fat the better.

BEST RANCH SALAD DRESSING

Litehouse Homestyle Ranch, which can be found in the refrigerator section and is the only ranch dressing I will ever use. So good!

 

I like to make and enjoy my pasta salads all summer long and this one is up there on the list of my top 10 favorites. 

Nothing says summer to me more than a fresh salad made with baby tomatoes from either my garden.

Trust me everyone is going to LOVE IT!

BACON LETTUCE TOMATO PASTA SALAD

Looking for a cooling drink? Why not enjoy this salad along with some “Raspberry sweet tea“.

Go ahead and treat yourself you definitely deserve it. My Raspberry sweet tea is not made with any refined sugar, so go check it out it’s not only super healthy for you it’s also super delicious!

Feel free to add a pre-cooked shredded chicken breast to this salad along with the bacon if desired.

I sometimes will do that when serving this for dinner to guests, however if it’s just me and my partner then we like to have it just like this.

WANT TO MAKE THIS SALAD HEALTHIER?

Add a GREEK BASED salad dressing!

What are some of your favorite summer time salads? 

Looking for more Summertime salads? 

I am so thrilled you are reading one of my recipes, I appreciate every single one of you! Thank you very much for reading and until next time see ya in the kitchen. Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for our NEWSLETTER delivered right to your inbox!

Seafood, Soups & Stews

Thick New England Clam Chowder Recipe

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This may be the best Thick New England Clam Chowder recipe you have ever tried.

This is my go to recipe for New England Clam Chowder soup.

It is out of this world delicious!

WHERE DID NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER ORIGINATE 

It is said to have originate in NYC and was introduced by the French, Nova Scotian, or British settlers.

And this here is truly an authentic clam chowder recipe. 

I know because this is my favorite soup in the whole wide World.

I will eat this all day everyday if I could.

An when I say my version it’s quick to make, I mean it. 

WHAT IS NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

It is a milk or cream based clam chowder vs a tomato like another famous chowder called the Manhattan we have all known to love as well.

It is also thicker and made with butter, potatoes, pork in this case bacon, onions and clams.

WHAT DOES NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER TASTE LIKE

Creamy, thick, sweet and salty. 

HOW IS NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER MADE

It is really easy rather, you are simply adding everything to one pot to cook.

Dicing and chopping will take the majority of the time then let the pot do the rest.

Want to save some time with this soup?

Simply use frozen yet clams, there will be no shucking here.

You can have a huge pot of this soup ready to serve in 30 minutes time. 

This soup takes me right back to my childhood, where I used to eat this soup religiously.

I hope you give it a try!

However my family never made it from scratch so I had to settle for the canned stuff.

You know the soup that has way more potatoes than clams? 

Oh the things we remember eh!

My parents used to buy those cans for me by caseload because, they knew I would go through a case in less than 2 weeks.

Well looking back I sure was missing out, now I know how to make real clam chowder.

Long gone are the days of eating thick clumpy chowder from a can and having to add extra cream to it to make it creamy.

Clam chowder soup should be creamy and smooth and filled with clams and there juices. 

Not thick and clumpy and filled with mainly potatoes.

And please don’t add carrots to it, why do some people do that anyway? it’s so so wrong.

Yes there are some people who still prefer a thicker chowder and that is fine, feel free to omit the vegetable stock of that is you.

But please don’t add canned clams, using fresh or frozen is best.

The trick to making the best clam chowder is using fresh or frozen clams and cooking them for just a few minutes at the end to prevent them from becoming rubbery.

HOW TO MAKE NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER SOUP

  • So what are those secret ingredients?
  • Simply Old Bay Seasoning and some Red Wine Vinegar that we will splash in at the end.
  • The Red Wine Vinegar will give it that extra oomph and help tie this soup all together.
  • And clam juice (See below the kind I used for this recipe)

CAN NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER BE FROZEN

Most defiantly! 

I hope you give it a try and if you do I would love to know what you think, just let me know in the comments below.  

Keep in mind if you wanting a lower fat clam chowder, you can always use all milk and omit the cream.

I would not recommend that personally but if your on a diet of some kind then by all means, it’s your chowder.

Don’t mistake this clam chowder with any other and definitely not it’s counterpart named the Manhattan clam chowder.

Which is good but made with a tomato stock rather than cream. I now make this soup in big batches so that I can enjoy it over a few days 🙂

What soup is your go to in the colder months?

I am so thrilled you are reading one of my recipes, I appreciate every single one of you! If you made this recipe i’d love to hear how it turned out!  Thank you very much for reading and until next time see ya in the kitchen. Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for our NEWSLETTER delivered right to your inbox!