Italian pasta salad

Perfect for a party!

A couple weekends ago, Adam and I hosted a housewarming party and, as you might remember, the cops showed up. It wasn't even a rowdy party, just a bunch of late-twenty-somethings catching up and eating homemade pasta salad. No doubt you'll believe me when I say that my friends and I weren't the problem. 

But enough about the police — more about the pasta! This is a delicious, traditional (as we Americans know it) Italian pasta salad; miles better than what you'd buy at your local grocery store's deli. Forget that stuff — this salad comes together so easily! Just cook the pasta, chop up the choppables, mix it all together — boom.






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ITALIAN PASTA SALAD

WHAT YOU'LL NEED
2 boxes of pasta
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 to 1 red onion, diced (depending on size of onion)
1 to 2 cans sliced black olives, drained
1 to 1 and 1/2 pounds salami, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 
1 to 2 stalks of broccoli, florets cut into small pieces
8 oz. crumbled feta cheese
1 packages Good Seasons zesty Italian seasoning 
1 bottle creamy Italian dressing (try Kraft) 
1/3 bottle non-creamy Italian dressing (try Newman's Own or Wishbone)

WHAT YOU'LL DO
Mix it all together and say yum!

* Note: I gave some ranges on the ingredients — some of that depends on your personal taste. I'm not huge on olives, for instance, so I just added one jar. 1 and 1/2 pounds of salami looked like a helluva lot, so I just added 1 pound. The broccoli heads I bought were pretty big — I added the florets from just one head. Eyeball the dressing, but you will want more creamy than non-creamy. I ended up using most of the creamy bottle, adding a little extra to the salad just before serving (it loses some juice as it sits in the fridge overnight). 

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If you're bringing this to a party, there's no need to double the recipe — this amount makes plenty! Adam and I were happily eating leftovers for days. In fact, if you're making it for a smaller group and serving other heavy apps alongside, you might want to halve the recipe. Whatever amount you make, you can't go wrong with this one!

** Edited to add: The real genius behind this pasta salad is my Aunt Kathy. I learn from the best! So when you make this, thank her in your head. Thanks Aunt Kathy! **