Quick Italian Pasta Salad

When you volunteer to bring a dish to your next soiree, consider this easy pasta recipe, which will include your own home-harvested cherry tomatoes and peppers.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 16-oz. box of elbow macaroni
• 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, left whole or sliced in half
• 3-4 snack peppers diced
• 1 cucumber diced
• 1 small can sliced black olives
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• ½ bottle of light Italian salad dressing

PREPARATION

Wash and prepare tomatoes, cucumber and peppers. Open and drain olives. Set vegetables and olives aside. Next, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place pasta in the pot; cook for 8 to 12 minutes until al dente and drain. Let cool. In a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta with the Italian dressing, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and peppers. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over mixture and gently stir into the salad. Cover, and refrigerate until serving.