Wednesday, October 17, 2012

California Pasta Salad


California Pasta Salad Recipe

I made this for our dinner last night.  I've made it before because I had "yum" written by the recipe.  It comes from my "A Taste of the Country" cookbook.  This time I didn't have tomatoes or zucchini and didn't want to run to the store so I just left it out.  Bryn liked it and took some left-overs in her lunch today.  My nutritional facts are probably different because I used fat-free zesty Italian dressing.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound thin spaghetti, broken into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 large tomatoes, diced
  • 2 medium zucchini, diced
  • 1 large cucumber, diced
  • 1 medium green pepper, diced
  • 1 sweet red pepper, diced
  • 1 large red onion, diced
  • 2 cans (2-1/4 ounces each) sliced ripe olives, drained
  • DRESSING:
  • 1 bottle (16 ounces) Italian salad dressing
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

  • Cook pasta according to package directions; Drain and rinse in cold water. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the vegetables and olives.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients. Drizzle over spaghetti mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve with a slotted spoon. Yield: 10-15 servings.

Nutritional Facts1 serving (3/4 cup) equals 257 calories, 13 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 567 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 6 g protein.