Mike and I decided during our late breakfast this morning to have the guys over for Sunday football. We wanted to have them over for beer, football and dinner, but we wanted to keep it fairly easy as we were putting this together so last minute. We decided to cook chicken but I needed to pick a side. This pasta salad recipe that I’ve made before came to mind because of how easy it is. Another bonus to making this dish is the ability to make it ahead of time! It really is perfect for bringing it to a get together or prepping earlier in the day to minimize the amount of time in the kitchen.
Pasta Salad Ingredients:
- 1 lb of Rotini pasta
- 1 whole tomato
- 6 leaves of basil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
- Italian dressing, see below for homemade recipe
- Balsamic glaze (optional)
Italian Dressing Ingredients:
- 1 Package of Season Good’s Italian Salad Dressing
- Olive Oil
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Italian Dressing Cruet (glass bottle that has line marks on it to make the dressing)
Directions:
- As the water is bowling I like to prep the other items by cutting the grape tomatoes in half
- After you’ve cut enough tomatoes (I did the entire package), mix the Italian Dressing together with Good Season’s Italian salad dressing mix, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and water
- Once the pasta is done (9 minutes for al dente) strain the past and run cold water over it
- Be sure to turn the pasta and get the cold water over all of the noodles
- Transfer the pasta into a large bowl and mix in the Italian Dressing
- Once you mix in the dressing, add the tomatoes, chopped up basil leaves, garlic and a handful of shredded mozzarella
- I like to drizzle balsamic glaze on top of the pasta salad before serving, as a final touch (totally optional!)
- That’s it, your done and it is ready to serve! If you prefer your pasta salad cold, put in the refrigerator for a couple hours then serve and enjoy!
Nutrition facts based on 2 oz serving size: 340 calories / 130 calories from fat / 15g total fat / 325mg sodium / 47g total carbohydrate: / 5g sugar
Do you have any easy-to-make side dish recipes? Let us know in the comments below!
