Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Confetti Pasta Salad (9/2)

Sunday my aunt and uncle invited us over to their house for a BBQ, so I only had to take a salad. My aunt said, "Uncle Don really likes that pasta salad you make, so maybe bring that one." Uhhhh...I have three pasta salads that are all in pretty high rotation when I'm required to take a salad. I have no idea if I made the right one, but we didn't bring a lot home, so it must have been good. This one is from Cooking Light. I made it any time we had people over for dinner last summer.

Confetti Pasta Salad
3/4 cup low-fat ranch dressing
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dillweed
2 cups uncooked small seashell macaroni
1 1/2 cups shelled green peas
1/2 cup diced yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
3/4 cup (3 ounces) cubed reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
Dillweed sprigs (optional)

Combine the ranch dressing, yogurt, and dillweed in a large bowl; stir well, and set dressing mixture aside.

Cook macaroni in boiling water for 5 minutes. Add peas, and cook an additional 3 minutes; drain well.

Add the macaroni mixture, bell peppers, and cheese cubes to dressing mixture, tossing to coat. Cover and chill. Stir before serving. Garnish with dillweed, if desired.

*****

Totally easy! I have had no problem substituting sour cream for the yogurt, and I find that I really prefer the taste of this with regular ranch, not the light. But I'm not a big fan of light ranch anyway. That was one of my favorite things about being pregnant, by the way...full fat ranch dressing every time I had a salad! Anyway, if you have fresh dill you can use, it really adds a lot more than dried, but either one works fine.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I make this one also when we have to take a salad somewhere.

Claire said...

Oh yeah, I made it when you were here visiting after Will was born! I think that's when I started to make it on a regular basis.