Garden Pasta Salad - cooking recipe

Ingredients

8 oz. corkscrew or cartwheel pasta
3 c. fresh or frozen vegetables
16 oz. bottle Italian salad dressing
1 c. cubed, cooked chicken or ham
1 c. cubed Cheddar, Monterey or Mozzarella cheese
1 can sliced ripe olives (2.5 oz.)
fresh parsley or basil

Preparation

Cook pasta according to package directions.
Drain, but do not rinse.
Put pasta back into the kettle. While the pasta is hot, toss with the vegetables.
Cover for 3 to 5 minutes.
Vegetables will lightly steam in pasta.
Place pasta in a large bowl.
Top with 3/4 of the dressing and lightly toss. Chill several hours or overnight.
If pasta is dry, add remaining dressing along with meat, cheese, olives and parsley or basil, if desired.
Chill until ready to serve.
Yields 6 to 8 servings.