Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Salad
Why I Love This Recipe
We were attending a BBQ one summer & of course my husband volunteered for "us" to make some sort of side-dish. I made this golden goodie up on the fly & it's been a fave in our house ever since then. It's good cold or warmed up.
Ingredients You'll Need
1 lb of pasta (whatever shape you'd like, doesn't matter), cooked according to instructions on box, drained & shocked in cold water to stop cooking process. To drained pasta add a bit of olive oil (I like to use the olive oil that comes from the sundries tomatoes jar, lots of flavor, but regular is fine) to coat pasta. You can also use orzo in place of the pasta.
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
1 cup diced/cubed fresh mozzarella
1 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup of sun-dried tomatoes chopped
**You can also add in 1/2 cup diced fresh cherry/grape tomatoes for freshness
1/2-1 cup Basil oil/Pesto
Black olives, sliced (optional)
Green olives (optional), chopped in half
Basil rough chopped (optional)
Salt, pepper, & garlic powder (granules) to taste - we like garlic, but minced garlic never seems to add much flavor, so I generally stick with garlic granules & kinda lay it on thick to our garlicky tastes
Directions
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Serve right away or cover & place in refrigerator to meld all flavors together.