Mom's Basic Pasta Salad
By: Layne Diehl
Published: Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - 9:53am

Ingredients




1 bag pasta (colored noodles make for a nice presentation)
1/2 bottle favorite Italian dressing
3/4 cup olives
2 medium tomatoes
1/2 small to medium red onion
1 cup cubed cheddar cheese
1/2 cup pepperoni
Salt

Preparation

1 Cook pasta as directed and cool. 2 While cooking pasta, slice olives in halves and dice tomatoes and onion. 3 Cut sliced pepperoni in fourths. 4 Combine olives, tomatoes, onion, pepperoni, and cheese. 5 Pour Italian dressing over mixture and chill. 6 Let pasta cool completely, then add to mixture. 7 Add salt to taste. 8 Serve after chilled for 4-6 hours.

About


This is one of my daughter's favorites and it is very easy to make.  It can be changed up to suit your fancy.  Replace cheddar with Gorgonzola cheese and add artichoke hearts for a more robust flavor.  Any kind of olive will do.  Black olives work better with the more traditional recipe, but kalamata olives are great with the stronger cheeses.  Use olive oil (2 parts) and balsamic vinegar (1 part) if you want, as well.  This stores for several days and makes for a great on-the-go lunch or snack.