Creamy Pasta Salad

So my best friend and I pretty much lived on pasta until we figured out in college that we actually liked a lot of other things.  In junior high, we had a tiny salad bar situated at the end of a long lunch line; it had the BEST pasta salad.  I'm pretty sure we had pasta salad for lunch every day.  We've never forgotten how good it was, and we've been on a quest to find that perfect recipe ever since.  Below is our take at 7th grade pasta salad.

What You'll Need:
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup Sour cream
Italian seasoning, to taste
Cooked Rotini
1 cup thawed baby peas
2- 2oz cans sliced black olives
1/4 cup capers
1 cup artichokes, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
Cherry tomatoes, chopped
Genoa salami

Mix all ingredients and let chill.

Enjoy!

Lobster & Crawfish Pasta

Does anyone remember "lob top" from Outback Steakhouse?  Well my boyfriend loved the stuff and still gets disappointed when we visit an Outback and it's no longer on the menu.  So I decided I would try to make my own version.  We served it over steaks and it was great.  Since I cook for just us two, I had left over crawfish and lobster.  So I figured I would make a pasta, of course.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Pasta of your choice, cooked al dente (I used fettuccine)
Butter or EVOO
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 Tbsp chives
White wine *optional
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 can rotel, well drained
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp ketchup
1/2 cup lobster claw meat, chopped (imitation is fine)
1/2 cup crawfish tails, cooked
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Sauté onions, garlic, chives and mushrooms in oil over medium high heat until onions are translucent.  Add wine once around the pan. Let reduce by half, stirring frequently.  Add chicken broth and rotel.  Bring to low boil and whisk in heavy cream.  Add ketchup and meat. Stir in cheese and let reduce until sauce is thickened. Serve over pasta.

enjoy!