Here are several of the recipe’s Heather McPherson was talking about this morning for various 4th of July salads:

Cuisiniers Catered Cuisine & Events’ (Winter Park) Pasta Salad Dressing

Yield: 1 quart. 3 cups Hellmann’s mayonnaise 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons black pepper 2 teaspoons oregano 1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil 1 tablespoon freshly chopped garlic 1 rib of celery, cut into small dice 1 cup chopped canned artichoke hearts canned 1/2 cup dried scallions 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 1. In a large bowl, whisk all ingredients to combine. 2. Adjust any of the seasonings to taste and refrigerate until ready to use. Recipe note: This delicious dressing can be blended with your favorite cold pasta — especially tortellini. Apricot Pasta Salad Yield: 4 servings. 4 ounces corkscrew pasta, cooked and cooled 6 fresh apricots, pitted and quartered 1 whole chicken breast, cooked and shredded 2 small zucchini, julienned 1 red bell pepper, julienned 1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil Apricot basil dressing: 2 fresh apricots, pitted 2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar 1 tablespoon sugar 1/4 cup olive oil 1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil 1. For dressing, combine apricots, 2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon sugar in blender and whirl until blended. With blender running, slowly add 1/4 cup olive oil until thick and smooth. Stir in 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil. 2. Combine pasta, apricots, chicken, zucchini, bell pepper and basil. Toss with dressing.

NATURE’S TABLE’S TOMATO-BASIL TORTELLINI

Yield: 4 servings.

1 pound cooked tortellini (tri-color preferred)

2 medium tomatoes, cored and cut into small wedges

1 cup crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Lettuce leaves and additional tomato wedges

1. To make the sauce, fill the work bowl of a blender with crushed tomatoes, sour cream, grated Romano cheese, canola oil and basil leaves. Process until smooth and ingredients are thoroughly combined.

2. Core whole tomatoes and slice into small wedges. Combine with cooked tortellini in a large mixing bowl.

3. Pour sauce into large mixing bowl. Fold ingredients gently until pasta and tomatoes are coated with sauce. To serve, spoon mixture on top of lettuce leaves and additional tomato wedges.

Pesto

Yield: About 1 cup.

2 large cloves garlic, sliced

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup good-quality olive oil

1/2 cup grated Reggiano Parmesan cheese

Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

1. Pound garlic with nuts in mortar to make paste. Add basil by small handfuls, continuing to pound and grind in mortar. Add oil as needed with the leaves as you work the paste.

2. When leaves are ground, stir in remaining oil and cheese and season to taste. The consistency will be pastelike with lots of texture.

Recipe note: you can use chicken or vegetable broth for half the oil if you want.

How to freeze: Spoon a generous 2 tablespoons into ice cube trays. Cover with plastic wrap. Freeze and transfer cubes to sealable plastic bag. Freeze up to six months. Some cooks blend in cheese after thawing, but I have had excellent results both ways.

COUNTRY CLUB OF MOUNT DORA’S PASTA SALAD

Yield: 12 servings.

16-ounce box tri-colored rotini pasta

16-ounce bottle Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing

8-ounce package Sargento Four-Cheese Mexican Cheese Blend

8-ounce package diced ham

1 small sweet onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

4-ounce jar sliced pimentos, drained

3-ounce package real bacon pieces

3.8-ounce can sliced black olives, drained

8-ounce package crumbled feta cheese

1/2-ounce package fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

Chopped parsley for garnish

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cool, running water. Drain again and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

2. Add the cheese blend, diced ham, onion, bell peppers, pimentos, bacon pieces, olives, feta cheese, basil and Old Bay Seasoning. Top with ranch dressing and toss lightly until all of the elements are thoroughly incorporated.

3. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

Here is the info for the 2 casting calls going on in Orlando today and tomorrow.  Are you ready to be a star?  If so, here’s your chance!

FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance” hosted by Orlando’s very own Wayne Brady!

The show will hold a casting call today.

Times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Where: Grand Bohemian Hotel, 325 S. Orange Ave. in downtown Orlando.

You can find more info here, http://www.fox.com/dontforget/casting/index.htm

Nick At Nite’s “My Family’s Got Guts”

They are actually filming this show here in Orlando and they need some fun people to be on the show.  The casting call will take place tomorrow at City Walk at Universal.  You can pre-register and get all of the info about the show and requirements for casting here, http://www.gutstryouts.com/

Here’s the list of Hollywood’s Worst Kissers that we were talking about this morning.  The list was put together by Defamer.com, here are the Top 10:

Harrison Ford

Jason Segal

Orlando Bloom

Steve Carell

Woody Allen

Angelina Jolie

Victoria Beckham

Tom Cruise

Sienna Miller

Leonardo DiCaprio

This morning we were talking about Will Smith and his movies that have each made more than $100 million.  If his new movie “Hancock,” which opens over the July 4th weekend, makes more than $100 million, it will be Smith’s 12th movie to do so.  That isn’t a record, but it will be his 8th in a row to do so, and that is a record.

 Here’s a list of the actors with the most movies to gross over $100 million:

1.  Tom Hanks, 15

2.  Tom Cruise, 14

3.  Eddie Murphy, 13

4.  (tie) Will Smith and Harrison Ford, 12

6.  (tie) Jim Carrey and Robin Williams, 11

8.  Mel Gibson, 10

9.  Matt Damon, 9

10.  (tie) Bruce Willia and Jack Nicholson, 8

Will Smith’s seven consecutive blockbusters so far are “Men In Black 2,” “Bad Boys 2,” “I, Robot,” “Shark Tale,” “Hitch,” “The Pursuit of Happyness,” and “I AM Legend.”

This morning we had Peter Walsh on the show.  You’ve seen Peter on Oprah many times helping with organization and clutter.  Here are some of the tips Peter gave us to help you with your clutter:

Treat junk mail like an intruder.  Wherever possible, do not let junk mail into your home.  Place a recycle bin for the junk mail somewhere handy and be sure to deposit of those annoying envelopes efficiently. 

Organize your monthly receipts.  Use an inexpensive 12-month accordion file to quickly and easily organize your monthly receipts and even paid bills.  At the end of 12 months discard the oldest bills and receipts.  This is a simple solution to that messy paperwork that can really get out of hand.

Go green to manage your finances. Use a debit card to tracking your

transactions online is a great way to cut back on paper.

Understand that it’s not always about ‘the stuff’.  Recognize that the clutter is often a reflection of something deeper that might be troubling you.  Dealing with the clutter can open up not only the physical space in your life, but also your emotional, psychological and spiritual spaces as well!

Tame that closet full of clothes.  Try the clothes hanger trick - at the start of the season reverse the way your clothes are hung in your closet.  When you wear and return an item, replace the hanger the correct way around.  At the end of the season (or after six months) you can clearly see what you haven’t worn and, most likely, what you can live without!

This morning, Erica was talking about a website where women can go and sell their jewelry from their X-boyfriends.  Here is the website, just copy and paste it:

http://www.exboyfriendjewelry.com/

 We also got a call from a listener that said 2 local girls from Rollins started a website like this a while back and you can visit theirs too and support our local girls.  Their website is http://www.excessories.com/

The Rejection Hotline is a number you can give out instead of your home or cell number.  Say a guy asks you for your number or you need to give your number to a marketer, give them this one instead.  The hotline for Orlando is 407-970-8278.  If you want more info on the Rejection Hotline, go to www.rejectionhotline.com

When they call the number, it will tell them they have been rejected and the person that gave you this number didn’t want you to call them, it’s hilarious!

If you heard Nick Lachey on with us this morning, you heard him mention a great opportunity for your kids to get a jump start in the biz!  High School Musical: the Summer Session, is casting right here in Orlando tomorrow at Disney’s Wide World of Sports.  For more information, visit www.abc.com/hsmsummersession

Here’s the list of TiVo’s Top TV Mom’s that we were talking about this morning. The one name I didn’t see that surprised me… Morticia Adams!

TiVo’s Top TV Moms
1. Clair Huxtable: The Cosby Show
2. Marion Cunningham: Happy Days
3. Carol Brady: Brady Bunch
4. June Cleaver: Leave it to Beaver
5. Marge Simpson: The Simpsons
6. Wilma Flintstone: The Flintstones
7. Vivian Banks: Fresh Prince of Bel Air
8. Caroline Ingalls: Little House on the Prairie
9. Maggie Seaver: Growing Pains
10. Marie Barone: Everybody Loves Raymond
11. Peggy Bundy: Married With Children
12. Lois Griffin: Family Guy
13. Mrs. Partridge: The Partridge Family
14. Lorelai Gilmore: The Gilmore girls
15. Roseanne: Roseanne
16. Carmella Soprano: The Sopranos
17. Bree Van de Kamp: Desperate Housewives
18. Norma Arnold: The Wonder Years
19. Estelle Costanza: Seinfeld
20. Lucille Bluth: Arrested Development

This morning we were talking about renewing your tags and there were a few unanswered questions.  We got a call from the tag office and they provided these answers for us:

Why do we get new license plates?  Every 6 years, each person gets a new license plate because of the hologram on the plate.  The hologram helps police officers see the plate.  Also, the plate loses its reflective quality over time, which also allows the officers to see the plates.

 Why didn’t I get a renewal notice?  The renewal notices are generated by a computer at random.  You might get renewal notices for 15 years for all of your cars, then the next year, might only get a notice for one of your vehicles.  It is completely random, just remember they expire on your birthday every year.

How do I renew online?  The website for the state to renew your tags is www.gorenew.com  You can take care of renewing your tags there and now you can renew for 2 years!