During the summer, we enjoy growing peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and herbs in our garden. We also like to visit the nearby Farmers' Markets to get more vegetables and fruits. Since we love experimenting with new recipes, we thought of making a garden-to-table pasta salad using our fresh produce.
When it's a hot summer day who wants to heat up the house or even be inside the house? I would rather be outside enjoying my family. This Summer salad is a great solution. It's delicious and simple to toss together.
Summer Salad
There are so many colorful veggies in this summer salad!! Everything in this salad was so fresh and added a nice crunch in each bite. We grilled the corn which added a slight smoky flavor. Also, grilling brings out even more of the sugar in the corn so you get a sweeter flavor.
We also found these great spring onions at the Farmer's Market. They had a great crunch and the flavor was similar to a Vidalia onion. On a side note, we also found fresh eggs at the Farmer's market so we just had to make egg salad and of course deviled eggs. I can't wait for our zucchini to get large enough so we can make sesame peanut zoodles salad.
The only problem with this salad is that we didn't want to stop eating!!!! Like everything we eat, it's important to measure the serving size for two reasons. 1. Not to overeat 2. To have leftover salad for the next day!!! This Summer salad is a guaranteed hit for dinner, lunch, or your next picnic.
Easy to Make!
Summer salads are a great way to showcase vibrant, in-season veggies and fruits. It doesn't take a lot of oils and fats to make a super tasty summer salad. I love that the veggies and fruits are so good during the summer that you can just snack on them while making dinner. Anytime I can snack and not feel guilty is a WIN! 😀 We made this salad as our main dish, but it can be a side dish as well.
The cool thing, this recipe takes less than 15 minutes to toss together. While the pasta water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, start to prepare the other ingredients. 1. Wash and chop all the veggies. 2. Mix together the salad dressing 3. Crumble the cheese.
When the pasta is cooked to the tenderness you enjoy. Make sure to cool it in the refrigerator for a few minutes. We like our pasta al dente, but you can absolutely cook it longer if you prefer. It's really up to you and your pasta preference and what you enjoy. 😀
TIPS:
- While Pasta is cooking, chop all the veggies and make the salad dressing
- Pre-made/ bottled low-fat Italian salad dressing can replace the homemade version. You'll need about ⅓ cup of salad dressing.
- Salad can be made a day before serving.
This pasta salad is delicious and easy to make. We also enjoy other salads like Shrimp pesto pasta salad, Mexican street corn salad, Tortellini, and cucumber salad, Grilled chicken caesar Salad, Mexican street corn pasta salad, Sesame salmon spinach salad, and Classic broccoli salad. We hope you love them as much as we do!!!
Garden to Table Summer Salad
A Few Things We Use
Ingredients
Pasta
- 8 Ounces Pasta We like fusilli, macaroni, farfalle, or other small pasta
- 2 Tablespoon Salt
Veggies and Cheese for Salad
- 2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes
- ½ Red Pepper
- ½ Orange Pepper
- 1 ½ Cups Sweet Corn (about 1 ½ Cups) Use grilled, steamed, or frozen corn
- ½ Onion
- ¼ Cup Fresh Parsley
- 3 Ounces Feta Cheese
Salad Dressing - Or you can use bottled Italian salad dressing
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Italian Dressing mix
- ½ teaspoon Roasted Garlic
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
Pasta and Veggies
- Bring water to a boil to cook pasta. Add 2 Tablespoons salt after the water starts to boil. Cook pasta according to box instructions. When pasta is finished drain and cool before tossing together salad.
- While Pasta is cooking prepare veggies.Cut cherry tomatoes in half, cut peppers into bite-size pieces, and slice the onion. Cut corn off of cob (If using frozen corn: Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain, and let cool). Chop parsley
Build Pasta Salad
- Mix together olive oil, white wine vinegar, Italian dressing mix, roasted garlic powder, and saltCombine the pasta, peppers, cherry tomatoes, onions, corn, and chopped parsley
- Toss the pasta and veggies together
- Pour on the salad dressing and mix together
- Sprinkle the Feta Cheese on top of the salad
- Serve and Enjoy!!!!
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