Pasta salads are 1. easy to make 2. more flavorful after the 1st day 3. great to prepare and keep in the fridge all week for lunches or dinner
and this is why I’m a fan.
I decided to make what I’m going to call a “clear out the fridge” pasta salad last night. I scavenged around and found half of an eggplant, 2 green squash, 1 package of button mushrooms, and 1/2 bag of baby carrots. I added balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, some basil and parsley from the garden and let sit for 1 hr in the fridge (would overnight if time permited).
This is my make shift cheese plate to hold me over.
– Swiss cheese
– Pepper Jack cheese
– Parmesan cheese
– Array of wheat crackers
– Trader Joes Blackberry Jelly – I used this because I LOVE fig jelly on cheese platters, but was without fig jelly in my fridge.
– Honey mustard (can’t pronounce the brand name)
– Grapes- I only buy grapes on sale because I’m stingy!
After 1 hour, I spread the marinated veges out on a pan and added 4 garlic cloves. I absolutely love roasted garlic!
I cooked everything for about 30-40min.
In the meanwhile, I boiled some salted water for whole wheat rigatoni and cooked to al denti. I believe pasta should have a bite and never be overcooked!
Last Step: Once everything is cooked, I mixed, stired and added more balsamic/olive oil to taste.
– jess
Food To Crave 