Oh no! The potluck’s tonight! Sound familiar? I’ve been there a few times myself. There I am, with about an hour to get to the potluck, and no idea what I’m going to bring. What to do, what to do.
Time is ticking and you feel like you only have three options: 1) Don’t go and miss out on a really good time. 2) Go without a dish and admit that you forgot. 3) Go home and get one of your nice bowls and stop at the deli on your way to the potluck to fill it up.
You don’t really have to resort to any of these options if you keep a few simple ingredients on hand; pasta and salad dressing. The rest of the salad depends on your imagination, and what you have in the kitchen. Let’s start by looking at the two main ingredients.
Your pantry should always include a variety of pastas like linguine, penne, ziti, rotini, and macaroni, just to name a few. Mix and match any of these pastas to form the basis of your salad. Be sure to cook like-sized pastas together and pastas that are vastly different in different pots. In other words, don’t expect a big, thick pasta like penne to cook the same as a thin spaghetti noodle.
You’ll be able to create just about any pasta salad if you have at least one of the basic salad dressings in your kitchen; Italian and Ranch. These two are very versatile. However, if you like to make your own homemade dressing, go right ahead. Use your favorite recipe or just whip up some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, or apple cider vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and whatever herbs you have on hand.
So, what do you do once you have the pasta cooked and drained? First, pick out the dressing you’re going to use. Then, put the pasta in a big bowl and, while the pasta is still warm, pour the dressing over the pasta, mixing to combine. Be sure to do this while the pasta is warm so it will absorb all that good flavor. Don’t pour in too much dressing; you’ll want to taste as you go and add more if needed.
Now comes the creation. Look around your kitchen to see if you have any ingredients like tomatoes, broccoli, peas, parsley, celery, onion, mushrooms, cheese, canned garbanzo beans, black olives, or anything that sounds good to you. Even green olives or marinated artichokes would work. And don’t forget to add a little extra crunch with nuts or croutons.
Add leftover chicken or open a can of tuna if you like. The trick is to taste as you go. Just take a little pasta and dressing mixture out of the big bowl and put it into a little bowl. Add your ingredients, a little at a time, and taste as you go. Once you’re satisfied put it all together in the big serving bowl, slip on a cover, and you are good to go!
The next time you are invited to a potluck and you stand there staring into the pantry and refrigerator, don’t panic. There’s only one thing you have to remember: Pasta Salad to the rescue!
Are you a mom who likes to play rather than cook? If so, you won’t want to miss FreeQuickRecipes.com where youll find quick easy snacks for mothers and others.
