Recipe: Your Choice Pasta Salad

I admit it...my repertoire for cooking is a bit limited. Okay, perhaps it's more accurate to say that while I love to eat (raise your hand if you're a foodie), I do not always enjoy the process of making something to eat.

I am thankful for the Food Network. We all have our favorite hosts, don't we? Mine are Giada De Laurentis, Tyler Florence, Emeril Lagasse and Ina Garten. Chris and I often watch together and we really enjoy Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri, Iron Chef America, Tyler's Ultimate and (on Travel Channel), No Reservations with the ever-snarky, always-traveling-to-someplace-exotic, Anthony "Tony" Bourdain.


People's Co-Op

The first time I posted a recipe on the blog it received a number of positive comments, so I thought I would make this a semi-regular feature and share another.



Your Choice Pasta Salad

Ingredients and Prep

1 pound cooked pasta (ratatori, fusilli, penne, or farfalle all work well)

Cubed cheese - your choice of varieties and amount:
Sharp cheddar, Havarti, Swiss, etc...I usually use two.

Cubed meat - your choice of varieties and amount:
Ham, turkey, pepperoni, salami, cooked/crumbled bacon, etc...again, I tend to use two.

Diced or sliced veggies - your choice of varieties and amount:
Carrot, tomato, broccoli, green or yellow beans, olives, red/yellow/orange bell peppers, red onion, etc. Frozen veggies work fine, just throw them in with the pasta during the last few minutes of the boiling.


Peppers

Mayonnaise and Ranch Dressing - your choice of each amount, depending on the size of the salad you are creating and which flavor you like best. I use both as the mayo lends body and the dressing adds another layer of flavor.

Kosher salt, fresh grind black pepper, dried herbs - your choice of amounts for each ingredient.

Cook the pasta (and veggies if you choose to use frozen), drain, rinse with cold water until all are cold. Mix pasta and all other ingredients in a large bowl and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers and the flavors will mix overnight and be even better on the second go-round!

This is a quick and easy meal that works well for cleaning out the fridge. It's even better on a hot summer night when you don't want to heat up the house. Bonus: it's super tasty!


Carts

All photos displayed in this post are by Tina, copyright Pfeiffer Photos 2008, and are available in our Etsy shop as prints or blank note cards or shoot me an email for more information.