Summer Pasta Salad

It's Friday night. Your spouse comes home from work and lets you know that there's a company BBQ the next afternoon. If you're like me, you scramble to find a side dish or dessert to bring. The closer to homemade, the better. After attending several dinners and get togethers, I've finally learned that you can't just show up empty handed.

Last weekend we attended a class BBQ for Hubster's course. Although he told me about it Thursday, I still scrambled to avoid having to go to the grocery store, be. It took me a little while before it hit me that I had pasta salad on menu for Saturday, and that would be perfect to take to a BBQ. My parents always made some variation of this with some grilled chicken thrown on top and a hard boiled egg, but the salad is also prefect as a side dish. It doesn't hurt that this is pretty quick and easy to make as well!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Tri-Color Rotini
• 1 large Green Bell Pepper diced
• 1 large Red Bell Pepper diced
• 1 small Red Onion diced
• 1 cup Italian Dressing
• 1 pound Cubed Cheese (I prefer Colby or Colby Jack)
• 1/2 cup chopped olives (which ever color you prefer)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Optional: Pepperoni

Directions:

1. Start by boiling your pasta according to the box directions in salted water. Back when Carlo from Cake Boss had a cooking show, he said the water should be salty like the Jersey Shore.
2. Toss all of your diced vegetables into a large bowl and pour the dressing over it. Mix well to ensure that all of the vegetables are coated. I use the time while the pasta is boiling to dice the vegetables. 
3. After the vegetables have been coated, toss in the cheese and olives and mix well. You can also toss in the pepperoni at this point if you're including it.
4. Add salt & pepper to taste. You shouldn't need a lot.
5. After pasta has cooked and cooled, mix it in with the vegetables. Make sure it's cool so that you don't melt the cheese.
6. Refrigerate until time to serve. This is one of those dishes that is best the next day after the dressing has had time to really soak in.