Now that spring is right around the corner that means summer is not far behind. This past weekend I broke out one of my favorite summer side dishes a little early because it was requested by a friend! Pasta salad is a super easy and inexpensive addition to burgers on the grill or as a dish at any party.
Ingredients:
1 lb tri-color rotini pasta
1 pint (1 container) of grape tomatoes cut in half
1 large orange bell pepper chopped
1 large cucumber peeled and cubed
1 can of black olives sliced
1 block of extra sharp cheddar cheese (white) cubed. <Cabot brand>
1 1/2 bottles of Italian dressing <any brand> or homemade good seasons works too!
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt
Instructions:
Place medium pot 3/4 full with water, a teaspoon of olive oil, and a pinch of salt over high heat to boil. Once water boils, add pasta. In the meantime, wash and cut tomatoes in halves, wash and chop bell pepper removing the stem, seeds and rinds, wash, peel and cube cucumber, slice olives, and cube cheese. Place all ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Cook pasta until it is semi al dente, not too hard but not too soft and drain. While pasta is still sitting in colander, run it under cold water to cool down. If you have time, in a large bowl add about a half bottle of dressing to pasta and put it in fridge for 45 minutes to cool. If no time allows, try to cool pasta as much as possible with cold water, then place in a large bowl with half a bottle of dressing. Add all cut veggies and cheese into bowl with pasta, then add another half bottle of dressing, mix well. Refrigerate to keep pasta salad cold and fresh, add more dressing right before serving.
Enjoy!
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