Reel: Pasta Salad

I am always looking for good, cold lunch ideas. Having a cold lunch already prepared in the fridge, saves a lot of time during the week. This pasta salad is a great idea to prepare ahead of time that you can use for a few days. Jacob and I ate this for our lunches this week. This salad is also a great side for dinner.  This is also one of my favorite salads to eat when the weather gets warm.

The best part about this salad is that you can change anything you want about it. I love roasting the peppers myself and adding them for a change in texture. You can also use already prepared roasted peppers that come in a jar. You can also feel free to change any of the vegetables. Cucumber and fresh parsley would be great additions. Use green onion instead of red onion or add cheese. The options are endless!

Ingredients:

• 2 red bell peppers

• 1 pound pasta

• 1 green bell pepper, diced

• 1 red onion, finely diced

• 1 cup tomatoes*, diced

• 3 oz (½ can) black olives, chopped

• 1 cup Italian dressing

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut red bell peppers in half, remove seeds, and cut in half again (each bell pepper should be in quarters). Place on a baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and roast in the oven until just beginning to char, about 25 minutes (20-30 minutes).

2. While the red bell peppers are roasting, cook the pasta according to package directions. Once cooked, strain and rinse with cool water.

3. Prepare the veggies.

4. In a large bowl, add the cooled pasta and all of the prepared veggies. Pour in the dressing. Stir together to coat pasta in dressing and distribute the vegetables. Enjoy!

*I used 3 Roma tomatoes and diced them.

The video is too large to upload here so please check it out on instagram!