Pasta: Easy Pasta Salad

[bayoutider]

Is the Kraft 3 cheese dressing the 3 cheese ranch variety?

[aprovo]

	Quote:	bayoutider
	Is the Kraft 3 cheese dressing the 3 cheese ranch variety?

Yes

[BAMAFAN IN NY]

When I make pasta salad (which is quite often in the summer), I like to leave the dressing out, and offer the choice of dressing to the people eating the pasta salad. I like Buttermilk Ranch on mine, but most other people seem to like Italian. Seems to work out good, and the pasta doesnt soak up all the dressing and get mushy.

I like to add broccoli, and instead of chicken, I like to use diced hard salami. To me the most important part is lots of veggies and lots of color. I like to use the spiral "rotini" pasta.

Green, Yellow, and Red peppers
Celery
broccoli
diced red onions
cubes of hard salami
cubes of muenster cheese

[bayoutider]

I like shrimp and/or crab in pasta salad. This is one thing that imitation crab actually works in.

I sometimes dress the salad with a mayo/sour cream/vinegar/dash of mustard/sweet&dill relish and herbs. Sometimes I make an olive oil/vinegar/brown sugar/mustard/herb type dressing.

I haven't used bottled dressings because we don't buy many of them.

[aprovo]

Sometimes if I feel a little crazy I will mix Ranch and Italian together!!

[bayoutider]

Like our Iron Chef I also like raw veggies in my pasta salad. Besides all the usual suspects such as broccoli, peppers and onion I like cauliflower, yellow squash, zucchini squash, mushrooms, frozen peas and corn. Hard boiled eggs and sunflower seeds get a thumbs up from me too.

If not using shrimp or crab I like shredded chicken, pork, sliced beef, salami, pepperoni, bacon or pancetta, canned tuna, grilled tuna or salmon, ham. You can use just about anything.