Pasta Salad

For our annual choir Rosh Hashannah pot luck, I resolved to make a dish using as many pantry items as possible. It came out tasting pretty good, considering it was my first attempt ever at a pasta salad. I'm actually not much of a pasta person, but there's a lot of it in the pantry to use. The mushrooms turned out to be really nice. One can was shitake, and the other was whole button mushrooms. I'm so glad to be done with the boring, sliced mushrooms.

The great thing about pasta salads is that you can put pretty much anything in them. Vegetables can be canned, fresh, or cooked. You could add shrimp, tuna, or leftover chicken. Dressings can be anything from a simple vinaigrette to a creamy mayo-based dressing. Pesto can be a great sauce for it. This is just what I happened to make.

*1 lb spiral pasta
* 1/2 C Italian or other dressing
* 1 4oz jar diced pimientos
* 12 oz canned mushrooms
* 1 6oz can olives
1 lb grape tomatoes
salt, pepper, and other seasonings to taste

1. Cook pasta according to box's directions. Drain and rinse.

2. Drain canned vegetables. Rinse to reduce salt.

3. Slice grape tomatoes in half so they don't squirt when you bite into them.

4. Toss together pasta and veggies. Add dressing and toss salad. Taste and adjust seasonings. Chill for at least 1 hr before serving.

Serves at least 12, really more like 20

Difficulty rating  π