Classic Pasta Salad

I grew up going to family cookouts on a regular basis. We were a really close family, so close that many of us lived within walking distance of each other. We were the kind of family where everyone gathers at grandma and grandpa’s for Sunday breakfast each week. That means I spent almost every weekend with 4-6 of my eight cousins.

Now that almost all of us cousins are grown up, we actually contribute more than noise to the family cookouts. (Ok, truth told we probably contribute more noise now.) We are almost all above the age of 21, we don’t live that close together anymore, and everyone is always so busy. That means these days when we have cookouts; it’s a pretty big deal.

Recently, we were having a pig roast, and I thought pasta salad would be the easiest thing I could make. I’m not a super great chef, so I was convinced pasta salad was safe enough it would be difficult for me to screw up. After all, pasta salad is a cookout classic; if I messed it up, you can be sure someone would notice.

Thankfully, I did not screw up the pasta salad. I did accidentally leave out the tomatoes and didn’t dress it again before serving, but there weren’t any complaints from the family.

Since I was feeling innovative, I also made an alternative to this pasta salad. It was in addition to the standard pasta salad of course; you don’t want the natives to throw a fit when you show up with pasta salad, and it’s not what they were expecting. If you are a little more daring than my family, you can find the recipe for the Southwestern Pasta Salad here.

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Classic Pasta Salad

This summer cookout classic is sure to be a hit at your dinner table.

Author: Ariel

Recipe type: Side Dish

Serves: 10 servings

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  15 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 box of pasta of your choice
• 1 carton cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 block of sharp cheddar, cubed
• ½ cup Italian dressing (start small and add more later)
• 1 can black olives, halved
• 1 large cucumber halved

Instructions

1. Cook pasta to your liking.
2. While pasta is cooking, cut up all of your veggies and the cheese.
3. Mix all ingredients
4. except the dressing
5. in a bowl.
6. Stir until everything is well mixed.
7. Slowly add dressing to your liking. You can always add more; you can’t take it back.
8. Chill pasta salad for at least 30 minutes.
9. Stir, add more dressing if necessary, and serve.

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