Serve a pasta salad at your next outdoor summer event.
For an alternative to lettuce-based salads, serve a chilled pasta salad at your next outdoor summer event. Pasta salads are light yet filling side dishes ideal for picnics and barbecues. Chilled pasta salads require a short cooking time to make the pasta, keeping you out of a hot kitchen. Outdoor entertaining is made easier by having a pasta salad ready to serve in the refrigerator. Making these salads ahead of time allows pasta to absorb the flavors of the salad and to thoroughly chill the salad. For food safety, serve all pasta salads within two hours of removing them from the refrigerator. Discard the leftovers after that time.
Fajita Salad
Combine fajita flavors with pasta for a new treat.
Fajitas consist of skirt steak or chicken breast grilled with peppers and onions. These grilled foods are thinly sliced and served wrapped in tortillas. Since they are grilled, fajitas are considered a summer food by some. Combine this idea with a pasta salad for a South of the Border treat at your next outdoor summer fiesta. Penne pasta and fajita meat combine in a pasta salad version of fajitas. Grill fajita steak or chicken breast, bell peppers and onions. Slice the cooked meat and vegetables into thin strips. Prepare penne pasta according to the package directions. Toss the fajita meat slices, pepper slices, onion slices and cooked pasta together with the juice of a lime and 1/4 cup of salsa. Chill the pasta salad for at least two hours before serving. Optionally, garnish the salad with a strips cut from a corn tortilla.
Macaroni Salad
Creamy macaroni salad is a favorite picnic side dish.
Macaroni salad combines a mild mayonnaise dressing with chilled pasta for a crowd-pleasing salad to accompany any outdoor foods. Prepare macaroni according to package directions. Drain and chill the pasta. Thin mayonnaise down with some vinegar and stir it into the macaroni. Customize the salad by adding thawed, frozen peas, sliced celery, diced carrots, a drained can of tuna fish or thinly sliced green onions. Chill the salad for two hours or more before serving. Commercial mayonnaise dressings contain preservatives in them to keep them from spoiling as quickly as homemade mayonnaise, but for the best taste, keep this salad chilled until ready to serve. For an even easier preparation, use a bottle of ranch dressing instead of thinned mayonnaise.
Italian Corkscrew Salad
Use colored or white corkscrew pasta to make an easy Italian pasta salad.
This colorful salad appeals to children and adults. Look for tri-color pasta on the pasta aisle in grocery stores, but any pasta will do. Cook, drain and chill tri-color rotini, also called corkscrew pasta. Toss the pasta with Italian dressing, sliced black olives and Parmesan cheese. Return the salad to the refrigerator to chill for two hours before serving. Serve this pasta salad with barbecue, sandwiches or any outdoor summer food.
Asian Noodle Salad
Soba noodles, soy sauce and sesame seeds create an Asian-inspired cold noodle salad. Soba noodles are buckwheat noodles, similar to spaghetti. Look for them in international markets or in larger grocery stores with the Asian products. Substitute whole wheat spaghetti noodles if you cannot find soba noodles. Toss chilled soba noodles with a vinaigrette made from rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and canola oil. Add julienne-cut snow peas, carrots and bell peppers. Top the salad with a garnish of toasted sesame seeds.
Tags: pasta salad, outdoor summer, your next outdoor, before serving, next outdoor, next outdoor summer, salad with