Today I would like to share with you my favorite recipe for pasta salad. Earlier this month I made pasta salad for a Fourth of July picnic at my mom's house.
Pasta Salad:
1 box (12 Oz.) tri-colored rotini pasta
1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 carrot, shredded
1/4-1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cup pepperoni, cut into pieces
1 can (6 oz.) black olives, sliced
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 TBSP. water
1 TBSP. honey
3 TBSP. Parmesan cheese
1/4-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
black pepper to taste
Directions:
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente, rinse under cold water and drain.
Whisk together ingredients to create the dressing.
In large bowl combine pasta, cheese, bell pepper, carrot, onion, pepperoni, olives and salad dressing. Refrigerate overnight.
This salad is a summer favorite in my home! It is very versatile and can be adjusted to suit your family's preferences.
I also made a cake for the picnic. It was a simple boxed cake, but I thought it may be worth sharing despite the fact in was not entirely made from scratch.
Cherries in the Snow Cake:
1 box white cake mix (*ingredients needed to bake cake)
1 box instant pudding
2 cups cold milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 can cherry pie filling
Directions:
Prepare and bake cake according to directions.
When cake is finished baking and still warm poke cake with the end of a wooden spoon handle. In bowl combine pudding mix with milk. Stir until smooth and let sit 2 minutes. Pour pudding into holes of warm cake. Place in fridge a couple of hours to cool. Prior to removing cake from fridge, beat heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla, until stiff peaks form and it has become whipped cream. When cool, top cake with whipped cream and cherries.
*When the boxed cake mix called for oil I used melted butter, and it place of water I used whole milk.
Since it was July 4th, I decided to try and form the cherries and some blueberries into an American flag. My attempt was a little crude, but everyone seemed to like my less than perfect flag cake.
It was a lovely Fourth of July picnic! We were very blessed with a warm, sunny day. We enjoyed good food, patriotic music, fireworks, and best of all, being with family.
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Psalm 33:12a
