Recipe of the Week: Pasta Salad (gluten free)

Well I didn't get the recipe of the week in yesterday, so techincally I missed a week. I hope this recipe makes up for my tardiness however! Several years ago while living in Las Vegas, I fell and injured my shoulder. I was in an arm sling for a week and had a hard time doing much of anything, much less cooking. It wasn't long before word of the situation got back to my church and soon we had meals coming every other night for a week. One night a sweet lady brought us a simple dinner of pasta and fruit salad with a loaf of crusty french bread. It was one of the BEST meals! Simple, healthy and delicious. I never got the opportunity to get the recipe from her...but her pasta salad was the best we had ever had. After my shoulder healed I attempted to "re create" the pasta salad and was jubilant when my efforts turned out almost exactly like what she had made us. This is one of those, "a pinch of this and a pinch of that" type of salads. There really isn't any exact measurements, you just throw it together!

Here is what you will need:

1 bag or box of rotelle pasta ( or use gfree corn spiral pasta at Trader Joes, or gfree pasta of choice)
1 package of Good Seasons Italian dressing (vinegar, oil and water as called for on the package)
grape tomatoes
cheddar cheese
salami
sliced black olives
*Morton Natures Season's seasoning blend

The first step is to follow the directions on the Italian dressing packet and make the dressing. I highly recommend buying the little glass cruette jar starter set. It gives you the measurements on the side of the cruette and makes dressing making super easy. Refrigerate dressing for several hours or overnight.

Next, follow directions on the rotelle pasta and boil and drain your noodles. I then stir in about 2 T of vegy oil to keep the noodles from sticking and put them in the fridge for several hours or even over night to chill the noodles. Cut desired amount of cheddar cheese and salami into small cubes and add to the chilled noodles. Add desired amount of grape tomatoes and olives. Stir to incorporate all the ingrediants. Sprinkle lightly with the seasoning blend. Be careful not to overseason! The last step is to pour on the dressing. Just wing it here...you want enough dressing to generously coat all the ingrediants but you don't want it drowning in dressing either. I've noticed if I make this salad in the morning for an afternoon BBQ, that I typically have to add a little more dressing right before serving it as the pasta has absorbed some of the dressing. 

This goes great with any type of BBQ'ed meat, sandwiches or even as a meal when served with fruit. ENJOY!

*I've discovered whole wheat pasta. It is much healthier than white pasta and it is loaded with protein. If you are making this salad as a stand alone meal the protein will help fill you up! As far as taste is concerned, you can not tell any difference between whole wheat and white pasta. If my picky eater Kate doesn't notice a difference, then trust me there isn't any!*