Antipasto Pasta Salad

Delicious recipe as written

I made this exactly follow the recipe several times. Everyone was craved about it! Using good balsamic and EVOO makes huge differences! Worth to make it for a party!

This is primarily this recipe with some alterations of my own and my mother's "dressing" which is just a low oil variation on Good Season's Italian dressing mix recipe.I let this dry marinade overnight after mixing the vegetables, noodles, meat, and cheeses with the single packet of Good Season's Italian dressing mix, just the dry mix. I did add a tablespoon of oregano and a teaspoon of parsley, it's a mild but noticeable punch in the flavor of just the dressing mix packets by themselves, specifically the oregano but not overpowering.The following day, I do the dressing and final mix. I'm sure you can do it all in one day, I just usually do most of the work the night before, so it's just ready to go. My mother's dressing recipe is the low oil alternative on the instructions on the packet. She uses Apple Cider Vinegar instead of Balsamic Vinegar and two packets of sweetener per 1 packet of dry dressing mix. I usually make 16ozs of dressing for 2 boxes of 12oz Tricolor Rotini Pasta. But 16ozs is too much for a standard 16oz box of other types of pasta, so reserve some to "rehydrate" the salad if you're eating it over the course of multiple days, as the noodles will suck up all the water and veer towards drying.I put in regular Havarti and Havarti with dill this time, in addition to Parmesan and two handfuls of mozzarella. I also crush some Italian croutons in a Ziploc bag and put those on and stir as the final step before eating. Oh, and some diced ham.I used to always make an antipasto salad like this for potlucks and picnics as it was requested.

I love lots of flavors so I added: Banana peppers, Artichokes, Green onions, Garbanzo beans, Minced garlic. Then I subbed pesto for the dressing mix and mozzerella and feta for the cheeses. Amazing! I also just used Brianna's brand balsamic dressing.