Vegan Pasta Salad

The Husband requested to have my pasta salad for dinner tonight and even went to the store to buy the ingredients - woohoo! I was so excited when I realized it fell under the vegan criteria. He also found steak on sale so while I grilled up his huge TriTip, I made myself an Amy's California Burger. It was so good and tasty - I really like how you can taste the walnuts and the brown rice.



I topped my burger with sliced roma tomato, cucumber chips, Annie's Natural Ketchup (my favorite!) and dijon mustard. I had more cucumber chips on the side (these are basically like bread n butter pickles but I think better).



Now onto the pasta salad. I had originally developed this recipe from a Weight Watcher Recipe that I had made a few years ago. I added to the mix by using a ton more veggies and making up my own dressing for the salad. Kriwn ~ you will recognize this one as it is the same dressing I've used to marinade meats, etc in. This recipe is so easy to make - you can cut up everything and toss it in a big bowl all while the pasta is cooking. It gets better as it sits and the flavors marinate.



I often take this to every potlucks and barbecues. I think you will find as I have that people will begin to request you bring it and are sad if you make something else instead lol.

Danica's Pasta Salad
Serves 12, 1 cup heaping servings

Feel free to mix up your ingredients - I tend to use whatever veggies are in the fridge but have also added garbanzo beans, artichoke hearts, etc.

Ingredients:

8 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta, corkscrew shape (about 3 cups)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
2-3 Tbsp honey
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1 can large olives sliced in half
1 medium green pepper(s), chopped (about 1 cup)
1 medium sweet red pepper(s), chopped (about 1 cup)
1 container grape tomatoes, or other small tomatoes, halved
1 medium yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and sliced (about
1/2 cup)
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1 carrot grated
1 English Cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 cup snap peas, chopped
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1/4 c chopped fresh basil or parsley or a mix of both

Instructions:

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Rinse pasta with cold water; drain again and set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare salad dressing by mixing together oil,through garlic in a small bowl; set aside until ready to use.

In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta with vegetables; pour in dressing and toss thoroughly to coat. Cover and chill about 2 hours. Yields about 1 heaping cup per serving.

I will update this post with the nutritional information later, but, I guarantee it is very low in calories.

Tonight's dinner is presented using some of the new stuff The Husband bought me. He surprised me yesterday by going out and buying some different placements, bowls and plates so that I am not always taking pictures using the same thing. He is so adorable!

We signed up for NetFlix last night - woohoo! So excited as I have been wanting to do this for awhile. We already watched on free movie last night and have one on the way today ~ Fun!