Ingredients
- 1 lb. box tri-color rigatoni or penne; cook in boiling water with 1/2 teaspoon salt until al dente' (about 10 minutes); drain and set aside.
- 3 bell peppers - medium size green, yellow, red; each cut into 1/4" pieces
- ¼ C baby carrots - cut in rounds 1/8 " thick
- ¼ to ½ C combined quantity of green onion, white onion, red onion or desired amount. - finely chopped into 1/4" pieces.
- Black olives - 1/2 cup cut into rounds 1/4"thick
- 1 T dry Italian spices
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp fresh coarse black pepper
- 8oz of Ken's Zesty Italian Dressing & 8oz of Newman's Own Light Balsalmic Dressing
- ½ C Feta cheese - fold into salad just before serving to guests.
Preparation
Prepare, wash and rinse vegetables under cool running water, set on paper towel. Prepare vegetables' as per quantity in ingredient list. Stir vegetables into pasta and gently fold together. Place dry ingredients together into a small bowl, stir and shake 1/2 of the amount over pasta and gently fold into pasta, repeat again with remaining dry ingredients.
Add 1 cup of your favorite salad dressing and gently stir into pasta salad.
Serving Suggestions
Place into serving bowl and refrigerate. This can be done the day before the event and the flavors really seem to come together as the pasta absorbs the dressing. If the pasta seems a little dry, add additional dressing until you get your desired consistency.
Remember do not add the feta cheese until you are ready to serve to your guests and gently fold into pasta salad.
Variations: substitute feta cheese with pepper jack or sharp cheddar or your favorite cheese. You can add fresh chopped spinach or fresh chopped broccoli. or you can add chunked dry salami pepperoni or summer sausage pieces (desired amount)