Need Pasta Salad Recipe

[hostanquilts]

At a potluck, someone brought a pasta salad that had bowtie pasta, jalapeno peppers with an oil dressing. I don't remember the rest of the ingredients in the salad. Does anyone have a recipe similar to this?
TIA

[Trish29]

Not exactly, but we make a pasta salad that's really tasty and is okay for diabetic diets.

We prepare the durum noodles without salt (any variety) and use a bottle of fat-free Italian dressing for the sauce. Tastes great with just about any crunchy vegetables added (I usually add onion and broccoli bits).

[hostanquilts]

Thanks Trish29. Perhaps that's why I can't find a recipe, it's just whatever the preparer wants to make it.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

[JaneG]

Jan, I make pasta salad for every potluck event. I do it like Trish29. Just cook the pasta (I use the corkscrew shape), then run it under cold water, add the veggies of your choice and pour italian dressing over it. It's so fast and so easy!

The veggies I most often use are green/red/yellow bell peppers, cucumber slices, carrot slices, broccoli, and cauliflower. This is great in the summer when you have cukes and peppers from the garden.

I also sometimes use the tri-color pasta to add color.

Using italian dressing is a great shortcut, you don't have to worry about adding spices or anything because it's all in the dressing. My favorite italian dressing for this is Schnuck's store brand.

[janey]

Saw this hint a long time ago and have done it ever since...Marinate the vegetables in whatever dressing you are going to use before adding them to salads. This seems to work especially well w/ pasta salad...I think because the pasta absorbs the dressing so fast, that sometimes the vegetables taste a bit bland.

Also, I find that if I add a little mayonaise or sour cream to a pasta salad, no one can tell it's there, but somehow that creamy element mellows everything out and just pulls it all together.

[hostanquilts]

Thanks JaneH & Janey for the additional suggestions. I've usually taken potato salad, but the past couple years, seems that there aren't as many people eating it & I bring quite a bit back home, so thought the past salad would go better, as everyone seems to be eating it. Marinating the veggies sounds real good.

[Cheryl z4 WI]

This salad is not as requested, but one I enjoy making. Hope you enoy it.
Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
3 cups of pasta (1 cup each of whatever you like. macaroni, bowties and maybe spiral)
2 firm tomatoes
1 green onion
1/2 red or green pepper or a combo of both
1/2 English cucumber
Sauce:
1/4 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup veg oil
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp salt, pepper and paprika
Mix the sauce into the noodles and veggies and refrigerate for at least 2 - 3 hours (best over night though) to let all the flavors mix together.

[pretends_to_garden]

JaneH! What a small world....I work at Schnucks....probably not the one that you shop at tho

Was just browsing around and saw this from 2 years ago

Theresa

[JaneG]

Heart of Illinois, huh??

Well, if it's Peoria or Bloomington then I've been there! I work in Bloomington and spend a lot of time in Peoria.

[John]

I just enjoyed a delicious pasta salad:

It was cold, penne pasta, with sundried tomatoes, black olives, capers, pine nuts, slivered Parmesan-- very colorful and made a bit hit. I think the dressing was bottled Italian, no one seemed to have a recipe for this at the party.

[newtohosta-no more]

I love pasta salads and have had any number of ones with various combinations of veggies and dressings. I usually put some or all of these in mine:
corkscrew pasta
green ,yello, and red peppers
black olives
cukes
shredded or diced cheese (Usually cheddar)
cooked frozen peas
garbanzo beans
Good seasons Italian dressing or a balsamic bottled dressing
broccoli
or any number of other things.