Sunday, May 6, 2012

Homemade Italian Pasta Salad

It was a beautiful and HOT day here in Oklahoma today! Record setting temp of 99 degrees today! Michael, Jayson and I spent the morning hitting the on-post yard sales! We walked around and found some really good deals( 8 brand new blu ray movies for a total of $21)Got a air mattress for my brother since he still hasn't been able to find a bed and a couple of decorative lamps. Then went to Walmart and spent way to much money again there lol... But it was for a good cause...We need to get the carpets cleaned and so we needed the stuff to do them with! Man this stuff has gotten expensive! Anyway finally came home and needed to decide what I wanted to cook for dinner. Even with the AC going it was still hot in here and wanted something easy but filling. I knew I had rotini pasta, black olives and Kraft Tuscan House Italian dressing. So my mind starting forming a thought....Hmmm a version of Antipasto..with my own twists..... So here is my recipe 1 full box of rotini pasta ( I use Barilla) 1 bottle of Kraft Tuscan House Italian Dressing 2 small cans of sliced black olives ( or 1 can of Jumbo black olives sliced) 1 small pack of pepperoni slices ( used about 12-15 slices) 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese ( I used a 6 cheese blend from Sargento) 3/4- 1 cup of crumbled feta cheese 1/2 green bell pepper sliced into small chunks(optional) Cook pasta according directions on box with draining and rinsing in cold water to stop the cooking process and to somewhat chill the pasta. Let the pasta sit for about 2-3 minutes. Making sure there is no water left empty pasta into a large bowl. Add 1/2 bottle of Italian dressing and mix thoroughly. Add in olives and the cheeses. Taking the pepperoni tear them into at least 4 pieces each. ( I know extra work but I like it this way). Mix all ingredients together. Add about another quarter of the bottle of dressing ( I think it would be about 1/2 cup give or take) and again mix well. Cover and put in fridge for at least 20-30 minutes just so the flavors can meld a bit. This was an easy and filling dinner. This would also be a great side to take to a potluck or any type of get together. As always if you try this let me know what you think!

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