Creamy Pasta Salad

I am busier than I have ever been (which most of you can relate) with hubby working full time and going to school, me home schooling my little ones.  The one "chore" I looked forward to before was making dinner.  Now, it can be a little stressful.  I have been trying to be a little more mindful with my time in the kitchen and I have been trying to come up with ways to make one meal two ways.  Basically, making leftovers for the next day not seem like leftovers.  Some days I am more creative then others.  I will be sharing my creamy pasta salad recipe and how it will be used as the supporting side and the main dish;)  I made grilled bone-in chicken breasts for dinner, pasta salad, and a garden salad. Tomorrow I will dice up the leftover cold chicken add it to the leftover pasta salad and voila! dinner is served!  The smokiness of cooking the chicken over charcoal really adds a lot of flavor to the leftover salad.  Throw some BBQ sauce over the chicken for even more flavor.

     

Creamy Pasta Salad

-1 pound of your favorite pasta shape (I used bow tie)

-10-12 slices of deli cut salami or pepperoni, diced

-1/2 large green bell pepper, diced 

-1/2 C sliced black olives

-2 finely sliced green onions, whites and greens

-1/2-1C of mozzarella cheese (use as much or as little as you like) shredded

1/2 C Mayo (I used light)

1/2 C Italian dressing (also used light)

-Parmesan cheese to taste

-Salt and pepper to taste (I didn't use any salt)

 

-Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse pasta with cold water and set aside to drain well. 

-In a small bowl add the mayo, Italian dressing, some Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and mix well.*

-Dice the bell pepper, salami, chop the green onions, and slice the olives.

-Add the pasta, salami, and veggies to a large bowl.  Add your mozzarella cheese, more Parmesan, and toss well with the dressing. 

 

*If you have time to spare add some of your green pepper and onion to the dressing and cover and let the dressing rest in the refrigerator for several hours to really let the flavors develop.

**If your pasta salad is a little dried out, just add a little more mayo and Italian dressing 1 Tablespoon at a time to reach desired consistently.

 

I hope you enjoy!!

~Be Blessed and be a Blessing~

Rebecca



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