Marsha's Summer Pasta Salad

I am going to share my favorite pasta salad recipe that I broke out this weekend in honor of Memorial Day, complete with detailed instructions and step-by-step pictures. It's simple, comes together fast, and feeds a crowd! Plus, it's super colorful and pretty to look at.

Marsha's Summertime Pasta Salad

1 pkg pasta (any shape you like)
1 bunch (2 heads) broccoli
1/2 pkg mini pepperoni
1+cups shredded carrots
1 small can sliced black olives
8+oz. diced cheese (your choice)
1 bottle Bernstein's Cheese Fantastico salad dressing

All of these ingredient are just to taste. Don't like pepperoni?Change up the red color with some cherry tomatoes or red bell pepper, or switch the meat to grilled chicken or diced ham. Don't like broccoli? Add cucumber, green peppers, or pea pods. Do you LOVE carrots? Add twice as many! Just do what you and your family will enjoy. I like this variety because it's colorful and has the best ingredients for it to get eaten quickly in our family.

I also LOVE this particular dressing for this kind of salad, but if you have a different favorite, then sub in what you like. But for these proportions, one bottle dressing-vs-one package pasta works great.

Directions:
Prep broccoli by cutting into florets in bite-sized pieces and rinse. Cook pasta according to package directions. I lean towards under-cooking just a touch so the pasta doesn't get overly mushy as leftovers (al dente). During the last two minutes of cooking the pasta, add your broccoli to the boiling water. Cooking for just a minute or two with the pasta will turn the broccoli a vibrant green without actually cooking it and making it soft. I also like to give my carrots a quick dunk with the broccoli at this stage, but I am not looking to cook the veggies, just brighten the colors, which is why this is just a "quick dip in the hot tub" for a minute or two.

When the pasta is done, rinse in very cold water until all the pasta, carrots and broccoli are cold and the cooking process has stopped completely. Toss the ingredients gently under the running water to make sure everything gets cold. Once cold, let drain.

In a large bowl, add your cheese, pepperoni and olives. Pour the cold/drained pasta ingredients on top. Drizzle the entire bottle of dressing over everything and toss to coat evenly. Chill completely in the fridge before serving.

Broccoli and carrots are waiting for their "dip in the hot tub."

I used about 1/2 of this large block, but I LOVE cheese!

To show my proportions.

Tossing and rinsing with cold water until everything is chilled. Look how vibrant that broccoli looks once it's been exposed to the hot water for a minute!!!

Add done and tossed together with dressing.

So colorful! So pretty!

Salad, burger, chips... I'm ready for summer!!!