Easy-peasy Summer Dinner
In case you hadn’t heard, it’s hot outside. While I’m not complaining because I’ll gladly take the heat over the cold, it does make things like make dinner a bit of a challenge. I find we’re not as hungry when it’s so hot and I don’t want to heat up the kitchen during the heat of the afternoon. We’ve been grilling quite a bit and trying out different salads. I recently came across a recipe in my recipe box for a pizza pasta salad. It was super yummy and the perfect meal for a hot summer day. Paired with some bread or crackers and voila! Dinner is served.
Pizza Pasta Salad
- 1 (16 oz) package of wagon wheel pasta
- 3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 6 mushrooms, sliced (the majority of us don’t like mushrooms, so I omit. Shh, don’t tell Ty)
- 1-2 cups thinly sliced fresh spinach
- 3 ounces pepperoni, thinly sliced (I used the mini pepperonis)
- 3 slices (3 oz) Canadian bacon
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water; drain and place in large salad bowl. Add tomatoes, green onions, mushrooms, spinach, pepperoni, Canadian bacon and cheeses; toss to combine.
Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over pasta.