Quick And Tasty Pasta Salad (recipe).

As I’ve confessed in the past I’m not a fan of pasta, however you’ll see it being used in many recipes in our home as my daughters love the stuff. Maybe it’s the simplicity, convenience and ability to take on flavors with basic additional ingredients. This is the sort of pasta salad you’d normally find at the cold salad bar at your favorite grocery store of buffet type restaurants.

A great side dish to make when hosting friends this holiday season and just as delightful at your next work potluck or for when you’d like to take something to your friend’s home, when invited for dinner.

Ingredients.

1 package rotini pasta (about 1lb)
salt (for cooking the pasta)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 red onion diced
1 1/2 cups Italian salad dressing
1 cup diced tomato
1 cup sliced celery

Notes: You can use different color peppers (add more if you want) and use your fav Italian dressing – the one I used had a herbal and cheese element to it.

Step 1. Boil your pasta in salted water according to the package instructions – between 6-9 minutes in most cases.

Step 2. Prep the other ingredients in advance (dice/chop) as we want to have them ready while the pasta is still hot.

Step 3. Drain the cooked pasta and place back in the same hot pot (stove off but on the same burner for residual heat) .

Step 4. Add all the other ingredients to the still hot pasta and stir well. The residual heat will be enough to waken up the flavors of the peppers, onion and celery.

Step 5. Place in your serving bowl and chill in the fridge. This salad will remain good in the fridge for at least 5 days. If you find that it’s dried up a bit after a day or two (absorbed all the dressing) you can mix in a bit more salad dressing.

Indy craves this stuff, so making a large bowl and having it in the fridge saves me on paying the ridiculous price at the grocery salad bar – sold by weight, so you’re paying for the container without even realizing it. You can also add some herbs (parsley, basil, oregano etc) as well as cheese (slices of fresh mozzarella or crumbled feta or goats cheese will be ideal).