DAY 30 - PASTA SALAD

(3 years ago this Halloween night wore my 5 year-old out!)

It's late and I can't believe that I haven't posted my recipe yet.  It's my basic pasta salad recipe.  We love this salad.  Colton especially loves it and takes it in his lunch whenever we have it. Make sure you make it in advance.  The key is to let the dressing soak into the pasta for the best flavor.  I make it the night before we are having it.  In a pinch, you could make it in the morning to have for dinner that night.
PASTA SALAD
1 lb. box bowtie pasta (this is our favorite, but choose what you like)
10 oz. fresh tortellini (I buy the spinach tortellini at Trader Joe's for $1.99)
1/4 c. Bernstein's Cheese Fantastico Dressing  (this dressing is so good, you won't believe it's also low in calories!)
1/4 c. Ranch Dressing (homemade or from a bottle)
Now for the fun - YOU decide what you want in your salad
(what we choose quite often)
1 c. black olives
1/2 c. (or more) green olives
handful of grape tomatoes
diced carrots
broccoli
Occasionally I'll add some white beans or kidney beans to the salad
I cook the pastas according to the directions, drain them and rinse them off to cool them.  Put the pasta in a large bowl.  Add the diced the veggies, olives and beans on top of the pasta.  Then pour the dressings on and toss the salad.  Make sure it's all coated and moist from the dressing.  Add a little bit more of both dressings if needed.  Then cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator.  I prefer to leave it overnight, but you could make it in the morning for dinner.  I'm not only chilling the salad, I want the pasta to soak up all the dressing.  The next day I add a little drizzle of the Cheese Fantastico dressing and toss the salad again.  You aren't looking to use a lot of dressing, just moisten it a bit.  So, so good!

My 31 days started here

Fellow 31 dayers here