Summer Pasta Salad
Summer is one of my favorite seasons - I love the slow schedules, the days filled with water and fun but mostly, I love the summer foods most of all. All the ice cream, the fresh ingredients, the cold dishes that are so refreshing on a hot day, I love it all and this summer pasta salad is one of my favs!
Whether you are headed to a potluck BBQ, hosting friends and family at your house or, just looking for a filling and refreshing recipe to make your family you cannot go wrong with this delicious pasta salad.
I often make it alone to eat off of for the week for lunches but for dinner it is the perfect side dish to steak, chicken, sausage - you name it, it pairs perfectly with your favorite meal grilled! Bonus, a slice of fresh sourdough also goes so perfect with it!
Okay, enough rambling about how great it is, if you are ready to try it for yourself, the easy recipe is below! No doubt whether you are a great cook or not, you can make this and not mess it up even if you tried!
Summer Pasta Salad //
Ingredients & Directions -
Tri-color Rotini Pasta (1 box)
Cucumber, skin or no skin and in fourths
Cherry or Grape Tomatoes, halved (1 pack)
Half Red onion, cut into really thin slices
Mozzarella balls (1 pack)
Pepperoni cut in fourths
Salami cut in fourths
McCormick’s salad seasoning
Olive Garden dressing
Cook pasta according to package directions.
While the pasta is cooking, dice all the ingredients and add to a medium mixing bowl.
Once pasta is cooked, rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and cool them down.
Once the pasta is cooled, add to your bowl of diced ingredients and add a crap ton of McCormick’s salad seasoning, I think the key to flavor here is this season so be a little heavy handed.
After seasoning is mixed in drizzle the Olive Garden dressing in mixing as you go. I eyeball the amount, you want the pasta to be wet but not soaking — no one likes dry pasta but no one likes it dripping either!
Enjoy and reorder the ingredients because you are going to want to make this one again!