FRESHLY ITALIAN PASTA SALAD
Loved it! This pasta salad was a HUGE hit with my guys. I know it is because it had meat in it! I used 1 cup of store brought Italian salad dressing. I did omit the olives, as we donât care for them. I started with 1 â 7oz. pkg. of dry Italian dressing, and it added enough flavor for us, so I did omit the other 2 packages. This is a salad that improves in flavor the longer it has a chance to meld. It lasted great for a few days to pack in lunches. That is big in this house, as we have 3 people who pack almost every day. This will be a âused oftenâ recipe to have for summer cookouts.
Great start up pasta salad recipe however I made some changes. Instead of italian dressing I found an avocado dressing at the store that I used instead. I did not add the dry italian dressing, thought it would make it too salty. It was fabulous!! I also omitted black olives and used Salad Supreme seasoning from McCormickâs that gave it a little extra flavor. I meant to add cucumber but forgot to buy at store but that would make a great addition to this salad. Kids loved it!!
INGREDIENTS :
1 (12 ounce) package tri-color rotini pasta
3/4 pound Italian salami, finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 cup Italian-style salad dressing
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives
8 ounces small fresh mozzarella balls (ciliegine)
3 (.7 ounce) packages dry Italian-style salad dressing mix, or to taste
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS :
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain and rinse with cold water until cool.
Combine pasta, salami, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion, salad dressing, olives, and mozzarella cheese in a large bowl. Mix dry salad dressing into pasta; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese âŠ