Potluck Pasta Salad

By JBamford

Ingredients

• 4 ounces wagon wheel macaroni or desired pasta, 1 1/3 cup
• 4 ounces tri-colored corkscrew macaroni or desired pasta
• 1 teaspoon dried red pepper, crushed
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 medium yellow squash, halved, sliced lengthwise (and/or zucchini)
• 10 ounces frozen peas, thawed or 1 1/2 cups fresh peas, cooked and cooled
• 6 ounces black olives, pitted, drained
• 4 ounces smoked cheddar cheese, cubed
• 1 cup unblanched whole almonds, toasted
• 1/2 cup green onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, snipped or oregano or basil or dill
• 8 ounces Italian salad dressing

Preparation

Step 1

1Cook pasta according to package directions except add crushed red pepper to the cooking water.

2Rinse with cool water and drain thoroughly.

3Cool pasta to room temperature. In a large mixing bowl combine pasta, sweet red pepper, yellow squash or zucchini, peas, olives, cheese, almonds, green onions and herb.

4Add dressing to pasta mixture. Toss gently to mix.

5Cover and chill for 2 hours or up to 24 hours.