Best Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is hands down my absolute favorite. So thankful for Krista from Krista's Kitchen for putting this on her blog. I love how the dressing is just enough and you are still able to actually taste the pasta and other ingredients. I have made this for cookouts, graduation parties, and on occasion, just for me and the kids...it is that good! I receive numerous compliments every time I make this. Next time you have to bring a dish to a cookout, etc. give this one a try, it will not disappoint! 

There's my little helper in the background. She has gotten used to me snapping pictures of food, and this time didn't run when I got the camera out. The dressing uses oil, vinegar, sugar (which is missing in the picture), basil, accent, garlic salt, black pepper and onion salt. I added in a red bell pepper, hard salami, cheddar cheese, carrots and onion. The add in options are endless, whatever you feel like throwing in!  

Get your water boiling and cook rotini pasta according to directions on the box. While your water is boiling, bring the oil, sugar, vinegar, basil, accent, onion salt, garlic salt and black pepper to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool while you cook the pasta. Once the pasta is finished boiling, rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. 

Toss all the veggies, meat and cheese with the pasta noodles and pour the dressing over to coat. The picture doesn't even begin to do this delicious pasta salad justice, so just take my word and try this for your next get together!

Rotini Pasta Salad

from Krista's Kitchen

1 box of Rotini Pasta noodles, cook according to package directions and rinse in cold water when pasta is finished cooking. 

1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped

2 carrots, diced

1 onion, diced, I also like to use a couple green onions in place of a yellow/white onion

1/2 block of cheddar cheese, diced (Pepper jack would work, any cheese for that matter!)

Hard salami, cubed (I have also used pepperoni in the past)

Bring the following ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup white vinegar

2/3 cup white sugar

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. accent

1 tsp. onion salt

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. black pepper

One the dressing comes to a boil, remove from heat. Combine veggies, meat and cheese with cooked pasta noodles and pour dressing on top, stirring to coat.