Thursday, July 1, 2010

Picnic Pasta Salad

My family doesn't agree on many picnic side dishes...one doesn't like mayo, one doesn't like potatoes...on and on.

The one side dish that everyone DOES agree on is my picnic pasta salad. You can personalize this recipe to your family's likes.

  
Picnic Pasta Salad

1 lb. of rotini (corkscrew) pasta, cooked and drained well
1 C. sliced black olives
6 oz of cheese, cut into small chunks - use your family's
favorite. I used Monterey Jack cheese this time. We also like
mozzarella, cheddar and/or Muenster.
3 plum tomatoes, diced small
1/2 of an English (seedless) cucumber, diced small
Salad Supreme topping (find it in the spice isle), to taste
1 lg. bottle of a hearty Italian dressing

To assemble:

Add the rotini to a large bowl. Stir in the olives, cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers.

Sprinkle on the Salad Supreme. I usually use 1/2 of the bottle but if you're not familiar with the taste, I would suggest stirring in one tablespoon at a time until you achieve the taste that you like. 

Stir in 1/2 of the bottle of Italian dressing or more - until the salad appears to be wet but not soaking in dressing. Mix well.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 3 hrs or overnight. In my opinion, the longer it is refrigerated, the better it tastes.

When you are ready to serve, remove from refrigerator and stir well. Stir in more Italian dressing if needed.

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