This Pasta Salad and Robert Irvine LIVE Giveaway are sponsored by Omaha Performing Arts. I received free tickets to “Robert Irvine LIVE,” but was not compensated in any other way.
No, you’re eyes aren’t playing tricks on you.
These pictures do, in fact, look like they are straight out of a Summertime meal.
Unfortunately, this meal was cooked, photographed, and eaten this past Sunday. During February. In twenty degree weather.
You may be wondering what lead me to choose this dish for my lunches for the week. A large part of me wanted to pretend like it was the middle of July rather than the middle of February. That is only a five month difference. No biggie, right? But the main reason I whipped up this Summery Pasta Salad was in anticipation of how I’ll be spending my night in just a few short weeks.
I’m so excited that I will be attending the Robert Irvine LIVE show with Joanna. In case you aren’t familiar with Robert Irvine (better known as Chef Irvine), he has been on shows like Restaurant Impossible, Next Iron Chef, Worst Cooks in America, and Dinner: Impossible.
Since Chef Irvine has more than his fair share of experience in the kitchen, I was excited to try out one of his recipes for myself. I chose this Pasta Salad because it was simple, veggie-packed, clean, and colorful. Essentially, it sounded like the perfect lunch!
I followed Chef Irvine’s recipe exactly, except I roasted my zucchini and yellow squash prior to adding it to the mix. I’m not much of a raw squash fan, but I love it roasted!
This pasta salad came together in under 30 minutes- perfect for Sunday meal prep for the week!
And while I cannot share the delicious leftovers with all of you, I am excited to be able to offer a fun giveaway to my Omaha peeps…
The Giveaway
Omaha Performing Arts wants to award one lucky winner with two tickets to Robert Irvine LIVE on Friday, March 6th at the Holland Performing Arts Center. The show begins at 8:00, and we want to see you there! Chef Robert Irvine’s website states that the experience is not a cooking show. “Is there cooking? Yes, but don’t expect to sit back and watch Robert cook dishes for two hours. This is a theatrical event. We are taking cooking places it’s never gone before, with physical challenges, culinary challenges and more. Cooking is merely the vehicle for a crazy and entertaining ride.” Chef Irvine will receive new challenges (from producers and the audience) each show, and will walk on stage knowing absolutely nothing about them.
Sounds pretty cool, right? I know I am super excited to see what will go down that evening. The website says that audience participation is a part of the show, so let’s hope they don’t make us do anything too crazy! 😉
How to enter: This giveaway is now closed.
To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment below telling me which three ingredients you would challenge Chef Irvine to make a meal with. For additional entries, follow Omaha Performing Arts and/or me on Twitter and leave a comment stating that you followed one or both. The giveaway is open to anyone who is able to attend the show on March 6th. Entries will be collected until 11:59 p.m. CT on Tuesday, February 24th. Good luck!
Should you not be the lucky winner, you can purchase tickets to the show here.
Comments on this entry are closed.
How fun! I love Robert Irvine and that salad looks amazing! I would challenge him to make a meal with brussels sprouts!
Why do I not find that surprising? I think you love brussel sprouts even more than I do 😉
This pasta salad looks so amazing and summery! Makes me want warm weather even more now. Can’t wait to hear what you think about the show… sounds awesome!
I am super excited about it! I wish that all of my blogging foodie friends could come with!
YUM! Seriously, I would be definitely up for eating summery foods in the middle of winter. That’s something I would do, haha! And this looks so amazing–all the ingredients I’m in love with! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I am really weird about eating foods during the “wrong” seasons. I also eat soup during the middle of August 😉
This would be perfect to make ahead and take to a BBQ as a side dish! Or just stick it in the fridge and save it all for yourself… Either way.
You are so right on BOTH accounts! Though I especially love the idea of keeping it all to yourself 😉
How fun this event would be! Robert Irvine is so entertaining. The three ingredients I would challenge Mr. Irvine to use in a meal would be pecans, truffle salt and bacon.
Oooo, those would be awesome ingredients! I am a fan of anything that involves truffles. Have you ever tried truffle salt on popcorn? I imagine it would be super delicious!
I use truffle salt on many things! I sprinkle some on stuffed mushrooms, then bake. I sprinkle it on roasted vegetables, and yes — it’s delicious on popcorn. 🙂
I’m following you on Twitter now! My handle is @erinomaha.
Love farmers market items, Eggplant, Kohlrabi and fresh eggs.
I also followed you on Twitter – @OmahaLyftTodd
Yum! I love combining veggies with eggs, so that sounds great!
Okay, this pasta salad is just making me crave warmer weather!! haha It’s been soooo cold by us lately and I’ve been dreaming of spring!
I hear you! I am beyond excited for even 60 or 70 degree weather… though 80 would be ideal 😉
These pictures definitely don’t look like they were taken in 20 degree weather! *-* Summer, please come back faster!!! ;_;
I’d challenge him to make a recipe using…sweet potatoes, truffle oil and some other kind of veggie!
Ahh, that would be SO good! Somebody above mentioned truffle salt. Apparently truffles are the ingredient to use. I would definitely not complain about that. Truffle fries are one of my favorite things!
Not gonna lie! I named those ingredients precisely because I was craving truffle fries! <3
Haha! Great minds think a like 🙂
I love watching him on TV so I can only imagine how awesome he would be live!! I follow you on twitter! @jordanstancombe
Yay! I’m SO excited!!
You and me both!! 😀
I would challenge Chef Irvine to make a meal using pomegranates, fish, and mushrooms…quite a hodge-podge of ingredients! Seeing Chef Irvine would just make my day, month, and year 🙂
I follow both Omaha Performing Arts & you on Twitter: @sskipoff
That is quite the combination, Sonya! But I imagine a super tasty creation could come of all three of those. I’m definitely a big fan of the sweet/savory combination, myself! 🙂
I followed both you and Omaha Performing Arts on Twitter. Thanks for the opportunity to enter!
let’s see I’d challenge him to use bacon, chocolate and almonds because all those things are yummy! I’d love to see what he would come up with too!
That’s a great combo! It definitely has the sweet/salty thing going on!
I follow both you and Omaha performing arts on twitter
my three ingredients would be spinach, quinoa, and salmon. Im just starting to cook with them and could use some help lol
Ahh, all three things are great and so healthy! Awesome choices 🙂
Chocolate, fish, pasta!
Whoa! Not that sounds like a challenge to me! 😉
Recipe looks great.
It was SO good! You should definitely give it a try.
This looks so fresh and delicious! I love the colors. 🙂
I definitely eat with my eyes first, so I always love pretty foods too 🙂
That pasta looks divine, I have to try it out this week. I’ve never roasted zucchini or squash before and I’m not sure why. The sun dried tomatoes should add a little sweetness to the dish, perfect for 70 degree California weather. That Robert Irvine event looks freaking amazing! I wonder when he’s coming to Northern California, I have to get to one of those shows.
Yes, you should definitely look up his shows to see when he’ll be in your area! I’m so excited to go 🙂
I would challenge him to make something with peanut butter, tofu (yuck lol), and venison. I’m hoping to go see him in Omaha in March as I’m addicted to ALL of the shows he does! Lol
Now THAT sounds like an interesting combination! 😉 If you don’t win the giveaway, you definitely need to buy tickets yourself. I’m sure it is going to be a great time!
I’d love to see Chef Irvine cook a dish with radishes, kimchi and pretzel rolls!
Love the blog!
Oh, that would be challenging.. but good, I’m sure! You can’t go wrong with pretzel rolls 😉
I constantly act like it’s summer 🙂 Oh so many options – I’d have to challenge him with tofu – I need the protein!
Great pick! I’d love to see how he would cook it, too!