Best pasta salad ever.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

Alas, I live where I cannot get the Marzetti Sweet Italian Dressing, and they don't ship it because it needs to be refrigerated. Sigh. But if you can get it where you live, please try this. Especially try this if you're going to a potluck, or some kind of summer picnic.

Pasta Salad
1 jar Marzetti Sweet Italian Dressing. This is the most important part, and if you can’t buy this where you are, you’re totally screwed. I have never been able to find any other sweet Italian dressing out there.

1 box tri-colored Rotini. Cook according to box directions.

1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, 1 orange or yellow bell pepper. Chop.

1 cucumber, peeled, internal seeds scooped out, and diced.

1 green zucchini, diced. Don’t peel.

A stalk or two of celery, diced.

About a quarter cup of chopped RED onion. I know, they are really purple but they’re called red onions. If you’re not fond of the onions, leave them out. Do NOT substitute any other kind of onion.

The volume of veggies should be the same as the volume of cooked pasta.

You can do all the veggie chopping while the pasta is cooking. When the pasta is done, rinse very well with cold water, then pat dry. Do several good twists of a pepper grinder. If you don’t have a pepper grinder, go out and buy one. It’s well worth the investment. Sprinkle with Kosher salt. I hope you already have Kosher salt, if not go out and buy that.

Now dump in all the veggies. Now dump the jar of sweet Italian dressing over everything and mix well.

Best, best pasta salad ever.

[rsdsharp]

1. You can buy a three pack on Amazon for $26.99.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. Does it stay refrigerated through shipping?

Since this is a dressing that needs to be kept cold, I'd be concerned about buying it on Amazon.

[elleng]

2. The Marzetti MAY be available near me!!!

Bookmarked this, MAY do it!

[TreasonousBastard]

3. No idea why I cannot C&P right now, but I did a duck, duck, go...

search for Marzetti's sweet Italian dressing and got at least one recipe to make it from scatch.

[FM123]

4. Sounds good!

Can't wait to try at next family gathering.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

8. I hope your family loves it!

I get requests for this. It's so easy to make, and I just love it. I happen to live alone, so it hardly makes sense to make it just for me, since this isn't something that can be frozen. But I've been known to make it for family gatherings, and I'm sure you family will enjoy it immensely.

I also have a butter bean salad I got from Racheal Ray that is a fabulous for pot lucks or family gatherings. This recipe can easily be doubled or more, which I have done when making it for the homeless shelter.

2 cans butter beans, rinsed and drained, 15 ounces each
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/3 palm full
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large lemon, juiced
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

[fierywoman]

6. Here's a copycat dressing recipe

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/244652/copycat-italian-salad-dressing/

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. I suppose I could try that, but as much as I love to cook from scratch,

I have never gotten in to making salad dressings.

Honestly, I mostly cook from home these days, and my typical meal cost is something like two dollars. I know a lot of people are complaining about rising food costs, but I'm spending less than ever. I often fix some kind of soup or casserole and put individual portions into containers. I think that next week I'll do a tuna noodle casserole and freeze portions,. I bet I get at least 8, maybe 10 portions. Oh, and I plan to do meatballs and spaghetti sauce soon. That will freeze up well.

[LisaM]

9. I often cook up a big portion of rice.

Over the course of a week I can use it to make bowls (Mexican), stir fry it with veggies, put chili over it, and on one memorable occasion, rice pudding! I am not really on a budget, but I love stretching my food dollar and I hate wasting food.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. It's beem a very long time since I've made rice pudding.

I have at various times in my life been on a very restricted food budget, so I know.

Here is a favorite chicken soup recipe, that I call Chicken of Muchness. It is adapted from a Middle Eastern chicken recipe. The original is long lost, I'm sorry to say.

[

2 chicken leg quarters
3 or 4 carrots
2 cans of diced or crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 small green pepper
3 or 4 cups of chicken broth
3 bay leaves
3 cinnammon sticks
½ to ¾ tsp each of celery salt, marjoram, thyme, basil, and tarragon
olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour

Bring the chicken to a boil with just enough water to cover. Turn heat down to simmer and skim off scum and fat that comes to the surface. This will take ten to fifteen minutes.

Once skimming is done, put the bay leaves, peeled carrots, and cinnamon sticks in pot with chicken, cover and let simmer for an hour.

Remove carrots and chicken. Let them cool while you sauté the sliced onion and green pepper in a little olive oil. You want them to get a little brown. Put in soup pot. Add the tomatoes.

Make a roux with the butter and flour in that same pan, then add a cup or two of broth. Stir and let it thicken over the heat until it seems thick enough. Pour into pot.

Cut up the carrots, strip the chicken from the bones and return to soup pot. Now add the other seasonings. You will probably need to add more chicken broth to have the right amount of liquid.

Cover and simmer for an hour or so.

Make rice, which takes about 20 minutes, when you’re ready to eat. Put rice in a bowl, then add the chicken of muchness. Ground pepper and some salt and enjoy!

I currently have at least 8 portions of this soup in my freezer.

[fierywoman]

10. I love making dressings, rubs, curry, spice blends, all kinds of stuff from

scratch -- it feels kinda witchy, saves tons of money and tastes WAY better.

Yeah, I freeze individual portions too. Life is good!

[Retrograde]

14. Salad dressings are pretty simple

especially the oil and vinegar based ones. I make them in small quantities in a jar - usually about enough for 4-6 servings. Basically, it's 1 part vinegar to 3-4 parts good olive oil, plus herbs and spices. Cheaper than bottled, and if you make small quantities you can vary them often and not have your fridge fill up with partial bottles.

Mayo and egg based dressings are trickier: I have yet to make a consistent Green Goddess dressing, since it depends on what fresh herbs are available at the time. I gave up on buying Caesar dressing because as soon as I found a brand I liked the store I usually shop at stopped carrying it. It's a longer process than a simple vinaigrette, but it's not that hard.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

15. I suppose I should really take up making salad dressings, although since I don't eat very much

in the way of salads, I'm of a "Why bother?" mindset.

There are lots of other things I do make, and freeze in individual portions. I'm somewhat astonished at how low my food costs have become, especially since I go to a restaurant about once every other week, rather than at least two or three times a week as before the Pandemic.

[Retrograde]

17. Everybody has their little luxuries

that others don't understand - yours may be salad dressings (mine is certain cheeses) - that seem weird to others. If you can afford it and it makes you happy - go for it! And ignore what the rest of us say, cause we have our own foibles.

[lillypaddle]

12. This is an excellent Italian dressing

https://natashaskitchen.com/italian-dressing/

Made a pasta salad not long ago. Added hard salami, mushrooms, tomatoes, red onion, green/red bell pepper. The beauty of pasta salad is that you can really mix it up with a variety of veggies. So good and so healthy.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

16. So true about mixing a pasta salad up with

various ingredients.

However, I really, really love my pasta salad, don't want salami or mushrooms or tomatoes or red onion. And without the sweet Italian dressing it's simply not the same.

What's interesting is that I first made a pasta salad after having one at a potluck, that in my opinion was ok but not better than that. I'd asked the person who made it what went in to it, and simply went from there. I tried various dressings, not really liking any of them, and when I discovered the Marzetti Sweet Italian dressing I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. It made an okay pasta salad into something sublime. It's the sweet aspect that sets it apart. And there is apparently no other sweet Italian dressing our there, alas.

[lillypaddle]

18. It appears to be available on Amazon (isn't everything?)

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=marzetti+sweet+italian+dressing&crid=1YBGC1TDRN9KQ&sprefix=marzetti%2Caps%2C157&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_10_8

Good luck, hope you can find some to buy.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

19. It needs to be refrigerated.

I'm not sure what I buy from Amazon will be kept cold.

[lillypaddle]

20. It's being shipped direct

FWIW, I would assume they would take care of that in shipping - I have ordered perishables before. If it is spoiled or not to your liking, you can always return it. Amazon is pretty good about that. And you can always protest the charge. Anyway, was just an idea.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

21. Shipped direct is hardly the same thing as shipped refrigerated.

I wonder if I can query that.

[applegrove]

13. Sun dried tomato salad dressing is good on cold pasta salad too.