I love a good cold pasta salad but don't remember ever really having it while growing up except at parties. I had some delicious salad at my friend Benita's baby shower recently and had to make it myself, so using her recipe and some experimentation, I made this delicious salad that fed me for a couple of days. This salad is delicious and the most flexible thing ever. You can add whatever you like, and change anything about it. I think it might be my new favorite food.
Ingredients:
1 box of the tri-colored rotini
Italian dressing (I used zesty because I had it on hand)
1/2 shallot
lots of veggies chopped up. I used, baby tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots but you can add ANYTHING!
Cheese, if you are so inclined
Cook the pasta, drain and run some cold water over it to take it back to room temperature. Then put it in a bowl. Squirt some dressing on it. Even a half of a bottle was far too much, so I ended up having to use a slotted spoon to pull out the pasta and leave lots of dressing behind. I suggest using a squirt, stir, taste and repeat until happy. Less dressing = less calories, so I wasn't complaining about only having to use a little bit. Toss in the veggies, toss and enjoy. It really is that easy.
Why haven't I made this before? As a lunch, I mixed in a shredded chicken breast. It was fantastic. Enjoy some pictures :)
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| So beautiful and colorful! |
When that's all done, you can add some cheese. I used feta and a shake of parm.
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| Not as pretty with cheese, but extra yummy! |
I hope you enjoy! I have lots of pictures for an entry this weekend. Tomorrow we plan on blueberry picking and I can't wait!
I LOVE pasta salad! I will have to try this out.
ReplyDeleteAnother excellent thing to add to a pasta salad is some nuts (like pecans or toasted almonds)! You can also add cooked veggies if you have leftovers. Small cubes of cheese, tofu, or other bits of cooked meat (or lunchmeat, etc) are good, too. Don't forget sunflower seeds or raisins. (I'd try not to add TOO many different things to the same salad!) Also experimenting with the dressing can be interesting. Make your own vinaigrette and try it!
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