On his day off, my Zachariah not only planting all of my front yard plants (all part of a new landscape design we came up with last year), he also cooked dinner. He said he wanted to grill some brats and was thinking about what to have for sides, I mentioned pasta salad and he said,done. But what he came up with left me thinking, why didn't I think of that, I've made pasta salad a million different ways, but never like this.

Why Didn't I Think of That Pasta Salad D Dennison
Why Didn't I Think of That Pasta Salad D Dennison
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He picked up fresh tortellini at the grocery store, cheese tortellini! I think that I have used 20 different pastas for my salads, but never thought to use cheese tortellini. Why not? So, the essentials are not essentials at all, that is the beauty of pasta salad, you have left over broccoli or its on the verge of going bad, throw it in the pasta salad. Have some peas, carrots, olives, cheese and/or onions... you got it, throw them in. The salad will taste different every time because of what you add or don't. And every time it will be good. I like to use Italian dressing as a base for mine, but I've also made my own vinaigrette and have added beans with Green Goddess dressing. It's one of the most versatile dishes you'll serve all summer.

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