Not Yo Mamma's Pasta Salad

Unless yo mamma is pretty hip, in which case I suppose it's possible. And to all you moms out there - happy Mother's Day! Yeah, this is a few days early... but close enough.

Some friends from our church group recently had a baby, so we took part in the tradition of bringing them a meal, seeing the baby, remarking on how cute he is, and then leaving as soon as he starts crying and/or poops his diaper. Because that's what friends are for. (He really is super cute, though.)

We brought them a lot of good food, but we're going focus on the thing we were most excited about - pasta salad! In fact, we were so looking forward to this recipe that we made enough for us to have plenty left, even after sharing. Normally I wouldn't be so thrilled about pasta salad, but with the near summer weather it's hard not to crave picnic food. Plus this one has bacon in it. Yep, bacon. Awesome. This is our seventh new recipe for the year and the original is found here on Doughmesstic.

The Recipe

Summer Pasta Broccoli Salad

1 Box Spiral Pasta (Rotini, Fusilli, etc)

1 Cup Mayonnaise

1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar

1/4 Cup Sugar

3 Cups Broccoli

1 Cup Cheddar Cheese

1/2 Cup Bacon

1/4 Cup Red Onion

Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until done. While the pasta is cooking, make the dressing by whisking together the mayo, vinegar, and sugar. You can prep everything else now too - cut the broccoli into 1" pieces; dice the onion; chop, cook, and drain the bacon. Once the pasta is done, rinse it with cool water and combine it with the broccoli, cheese, bacon, and onion. Add in the dressing and stir to coat. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour to allow flavors to combine and let the salad stand at room temperature for about 15 mins before serving.

End Results and Final Thoughts

This salad had a lovely summer feel to it and I think we'll have to bring some of this along next time we hit up Symphony on the Prairie. It's light and refreshing, but also has some substance. Leslie did a great job making this recipe and we enjoyed it with a great dinner - spicy chicken tenders and some fresh fruit. One thing I think we might change for next time is to make more dressing. There was just a little too little for the whole dish. We also cooked and added a whole pound of bacon. By the time it's all cooked down it ends up being not much more than the called for 1/2 cup. Plus you can never have too much bacon. So, final decision on this one is that it's a keeper. It's perfect for summer cookouts and is so easy that I don't think we'll have much trouble finding reasons to make it a few times this year.