Summer Food: Pasta Salad Variations

Eating cold food in summer = YUM. I'm usually not into pasta salad, but I am loving it this year. I like using pasta shapes that I don't normally use to bring more fun and variety to meals.  

Pasta Salad Dream Ingredients

If you choose any combination of these delicious ingredients, you cannot go wrong: 

• 8 oz. farfalle or orecchiette pasta (half a box-- if using all of these ingredients, use a whole box)
• 1 pack sautéed or roasted asparagus cut into 1" pieces
• 2 portobello mushroom cups cut into strips, roasted, then cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half
• Kalamata olives cut in half-- however many you want 
• For the dairy lovers-- feta or baby mozzarella balls cut in half  
• For the meat lovers-- crumbled bacon, ham cubes or chopped prosciutto 

This salad has 8 oz. orecchiette pasta, 1 pack sautéed asparagus, almost 1 pint grape tomatoes, and many kalamata olives. My husband added baby mozzarella to his plate. Not pictured: the bacon that came out of the oven after the first course : )

For the Dressing 

Mix together: 

• 1/4-1/3 C oil-- can use olive oil or make a blend with part olive oil and part other vegetable oil 
• juice from half a lemon (about 2 Tbsp.) 
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar 
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning 
• 3/4 tsp. garlic salt 
• Can add dill, pepper, oregano, basil, or other spices to taste 

Two for the Price of One 

Night 1: Do a tray bake with some sausages, asparagus, the portobello mushrooms and zucchini rounds. Make extra veggies. Toss veggies in olive oil, 2 cloves minced garlic (if you like it), 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper. Bake at 450 for 12-15 mins. 

We made two trays of roasted veg: portobello, asparagus and zucchini. 

Lunch or Night 2: Pasta salad. Boil the pasta, cut the veggies to preferred size, whip up dressing. Rinse pasta in cold water and mix it all together. Ta dah! 

Extra 

Not a fan of pasta? Use quinoa for your salad base instead. 

Any winning combos you've tried?