Summer Pasta Salad
When it's hot outside, the last thing you want to do is, like, cook something. Fill up and cool off with an easy-breezy pasta salad.
- ½ (16-oz) box penne pasta
- 2 tsp bottled minced garlic
- ½ pint grape tomatoes
- 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 (2¼ -oz) can sliced ripe olives, drained well
- 1 cup Italian salad dressing
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 4 oz fresh mozzarella, drained and diced small
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, snipped with scissors
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions. Rinse with cold water, drain, and set aside in a serving bowl.
Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, red peppers, and olives. Add salad dressing, salt, and pepper, stirring well to mix.
Stir in the mozzarella and basil.
- Fresh mozzarella can be found â usually in a container of whey or water â in the international cheese section of your market. A knife slides through it like butter, making it very easy to dice.
- To prepare the basil, wash and dry the leaves, stack them on top of each other, fold or roll the stack, and snip into thin strips with sharp scissors.
Submit!
