Cold Ranch Veggie Pasta Salad

Cold Ranch Veggie Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 pound of Pasta of choice (Rice elbow pasta pictured)

1 english cucumber (finely chopped)

1 red bell pepper (finely chopped)

1 orange bell pepper (finely chopped)

1 yellow bell pepper (finely chopped)

1 purple onion (finely chopped)

1 carton grape tomatoes (cut in half)

1 cup carrots (finely chopped)

4 celery stalks (finely chopped)

4 green onions (finely chopped)

2 Tbs fresh parsley (freeze dried will work)

2 Tbs fresh chives (freeze dried will work)

Creamy Ranch Dressing  

Instructions:

Cook pasta according to package directions and rinse well in cold water, let drain.

Chop up all the veggies and mix in a bowl.  Add the pasta and mix.  Pour the dressing over and stir until well combined.  It might seem like a lot of dressing but it thickens up as it chills.  Refrigerate and serve cold.

Trying new things and giving up the old

Cheese was really hard for me to give up when I decided to be a Nutritarian.  Parmesan was probably the hardest of the cheeses to give up because it adds a distinctive texture to dishes.

Today I made homemade Vegetable Pasta Salad with homemade garlic bread.  I started with this Minestrone Pasta Salad as a base and then altered it.  I used bowtie pasta because that's what I had.  I added baby kale to the pasta water about 1 minute before it was done.  I also added fresh mushrooms and onions.  Instead of using italian dressing with oil in it, I used this recipe from Vegan Coach and let me tell you, it's delicious!  Instead of using regular Parmesan Cheese I made a recipe for Cheesy Sprinkle from Plant Powered Kitchen.

I think I'm in love with the Cheesy Sprinkle recipe!  I took a loaf a bread I got on sale from the bakery and added garlic and sprinkled the Cheesy sprinkle on top and broiled it for a few minutes.  Yummy!  Now I have plenty of Cheesy sprinkle and italian dressing for salads for the rest of the week.