Summer Pasta Salad

I am quickly realizing that when searching for a recipe that is gluten free and dairy free starting with a search for a vegan recipe opens my options up to a whole batch of easily adaptable and “safe” recipes.  I did just this when looking for ideas for a pasta salad, and came up with a refreshing salad that was easy to adapt to fit not only our diet needs, but also our tastes.  This was adapted from a recipe found at VegWeb.com.  I added some summer sausage (definitely not a Vegan ingredient) as well as black olives.  The great thing about a vegetable pasta salad is your ability to add whatever type of veggies you enjoy.  If you increase the amount of vegetables drastically you may want to increase the amount of dressing you make in order to ensure a creamy and great tasting salad.



Ingredients

1 bag (12 oz.) of Tinkiyada Rice Pasta
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 bell pepper, any color, chopped
1 large cucumber, quartered and then chopped
1 can (8 oz.) of sliced black olives
1 cup of chopped summer sausage
1 cup Italian Dressing
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon Dill Weed
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Directions

In a separate small bowl whisk together the Italian Dressing, mayo, Dijon mustard, dill weed, and salt and set aside.  Cook the pasta according to package instructions making sure to rinse with cold water when complete and add to a large bowl.  Add the chopped vegetables and coat with 1/2 of the dressing mixture.  Refrigerate both the salad and dressing mixture overnight. Before serving the salad add the other 1/2 of the dressing tossing to coat evenly.