Pasta Salad a La Alexis
"Easy fresh Pasta Salad using whole wheat pasta and fresh vegetables. This can also be eaten as a weight watchers core food. Keeps well in the refrigerator and is good warm/just made or cold. Enjoy and make often!"
- Ready In:
- 12mins
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Serves:
-
4-8
ingredients
- 1 (12 ounce) box whole wheat penne
- 2 -3 tablespoons fat-free Italian salad dressing
- 1 -2 teaspoon white vinegar or 1 -2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 8 -10 medium black olives (sliced or cut up)
- 2 fresh tomatoes
- carrot
- green pepper (optional)
- broccoli (optional)
- 2 ears corn on the cob
- 1 -2 teaspoon flax seed oil (or any kind) or 1 -2 teaspoon olive oil (or any kind)
- 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro (optional)
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
directions
- Put a large pot of water on the stove and heat on high until bubbling. You can also throw some salt in the pot if you so desire. Add any amount of past you would like and also if you are adding corn, I usually break a cob in half and place them in the boiling water with the pasta. Again, you can use one or both of the corn cobs in the ingredients list. If you want to do the corn cobs separately, you can do that too! The corn does not have to be terribly soft, but just cooked a little.
- Watch pasta – it usually takes about 8-10 minutes to cook. I like to cook mine a little more than al-dente for pasta salad. The whole wheat pasta has a different consistency and is usually a little thicker, so I cook mine till soft. Drain the pasta and corn cobs if used.
- Put pasta in a bowl and add some dressing. I probably used a few tablespoons. I did not add a lot b/c I just wanted to get the flavor and I am not crazy about the flavor of fat free Italian. Also, I used the kraft zesty Italian b/c it had vinegar listed higher in the ingredients than corn syrup. Add a few drops of vinegar and also a teaspoon or two of oil. The amounts all depend on the amount of pasta you are making.
- Chop up some tomatoes and add them to the pasta salad.
- Cut the corn off the cob and add to the pasta salad.
- Add some black beans – amount depends on your liking.
- Slice up some carrots, broccoli, olives and green peppers and add to the pasta.
- Taste the pasta salad so far and see if any other seasonings (dressing, oil or vinegar) need to be added. You can always add a little Italian seasonings if you have any or fresh cilantro. Feel free to add a little salt and pepper – it never hurts!
- You can enjoy this warm right away or keep in the fridge to get cold. It is good the next day too!
- ENJOY, and make often!
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Reviews
-
This was awesome. All the flavors went together perfectly, and it's easy to add or subtract things if you don't care for them. It's my new go-to potluck dish, and perfect for those nights you don't want a heavy dinner, or to heat up your kitchen. I think it would be amazing with slices of sausage included too.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I like to collect recipes! I also like to cook, and bake. I just got married in 2006, so I have been experimenting will all kinds of new recipes.
I love reading cookbooks cover to cover. I don't have a favorite cookbook, although I do LOVE all the Death By Chocolate ones.
I enjoy reading and belong to a book club where I get to take all the wonderful recipes I try out from this site! I also play the flute at the Cathedral and give lessons. Knitting keeps me busy and I make cookie trays and cakes on the side. I love to travel and try new foods too....too bad I have to work though, which limits my traveling abilities.
Some good books I recommend are:
Fast Food Nation
The Glass Castle
Memoires of a Geisha
The Red Tent
Middlesex
I love techno music, classical, old Italian records, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and old fashioned romantic French music, U2, Bruce Springsteen, and Jean Pierre Rampal are some more favorits. I enjoy listening to music while I bake and cook especially the cd from the movie Something's Gotta Give and Handel Flute Concertos.
