Ok, somehow the past two weeks got away from me. I’ve been entertaining my son, redesigning my blog and doing web designs for clients, not realizing that I haven’t been posting for some time.

What is more distressing is that I haven’t been checking up on what’s cooking with all my friends in the food blog world! I feel so empty and (gasp) uninspired! Time to get back on track!

Anyway on to the recipe…

I’m an admitted carboholic. I love carbs. Bread, rice, pasta. I could survive solely on carbs and be content.

Well, my taste buds would be happy but thighs would not be. Carbs tend to burrow themselves into my legs and stay there for a long time.

One day recently when my concern over my jean size was overpowered by a craving for something carb-y, I made a box of macaroni noodles. Currently, I’m the only one in my house eating pasta. My husband is on a low carb diet and my son really only likes pasta covered in red sauce, of which I had none.

So a giant pot of macaroni noodles were all mine. And rather than use all the noodles to make a giant pot of one thing, I decided to divide them up for multiple recipes.

Its summer and I’m avoiding my oven (hence the lack of casseroles lately), so a baked pasta dish was out. But a crisp, cool pasta salad…that was the way to go.

Using whatever ingredients I had on hand, I threw together a fabulously refreshing summer dish. I call it Balsamic Pasta Salad.

The key to this whole operation is the balsamic. More specifically, the balsamic dressing. I used Ken’s Steakhouse Creamy Balsamic. It is over the top, amazingly good. I want to use it on everything! Vegetables, pasta, salads, crust breads and I think these would be good on french fries (like a twist on chips and vinegar). The best part…only 7 grams of fat per 2 tablespoons!

Pick a bottle up and give it a try. It will not disappoint!

Oh and I am in no way endorsed by Ken’s or any company for that matter. My opinions are my own and unsolicited! Promise!

Without further ado here is the recipe. The quantities of veggies, noodles and dressing are completely subjective. So I’ll just list the ingredients I used, with a special note to adjust per preference.

Balsamic Pasta Salad
Macaroni Noodles
Avocado, diced
Tomatoes, diced
Crumbled feta cheese
Cucumber, diced
Dried dill weed
Balsamic dressing

Directions
1. Prepare pasta noodles according to package directions for cold pasta. Drain and rinse thoroughly. If time allows, place pasta in the fridge to chill completely (to avoid the dressing drying out).
2. Once chilled, place all ingredients in a bowl and mix gently. Add more dressing, if not moist enough.

I will be submitting this super summery recipe to the following fabulous foodie events….
Presto Pasta Nights #222 hosted this week by Lavender and Lime
My Sweet & Savory’s My Meatless Mondays (hey that’s everyday for me!)
Stone Gable’s On the Menu Monday
The Tablescraper’s Seasonal Sunday #57

This entry was posted on Monday, July 11th, 2011 at 7:44 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.