Garden Pasta Salad

The warm pasta will soak up the dressing. You’ll need a fair amount of Italian dressing, but add it gradually to suit your taste, because you may not want all that’s listed in the recipe. Just choose a brand that you really like because it is a dominant flavor. I had a few small fresh mozzarella balls in the fridge, so I halved them and added to the salad. I also added a good grind of black pepper, since we’re pepper lovers. Do give this some time to chill in the fridge allowing the ingredients to meld because the flavor does improve. One ingredient that you don’t want to skip is the Parmesan cheese. I think that’s the “flavor bomb” in this pasta salad! We’re not huge pasta salad fans but do enjoy one occasionally, and this is one that I’d make again.

Easy recipe to follow and quick to make. The grocery store didn't have tri-coloured pasta, so I used Rotini instead. I added mushrooms, broccoli, ham and feta cheese. I cooked the ham and veggies, with the exception of the cucumber and tomatoes, just slightly so they were soft but still crunchy. I also used creamy poppy seed dressing instead of Italian. Kids loved it! Great summer time meal. Will definitely make this again and again.

Called for waaay too much Italian dressing. I cut it down to 1 bottle, and even that seemed like it was excessive. Seems like it lacked something to make it stand out. Added shredded cheese to amp it up a bit.