Quick & Easy Summer Meals- BLT Pasta Salad

Hi! It's Jilly. Today I have the pleasure of being a guest TIPster. TIPster is a group of women bloggers who seek to teach, inspire, and promote their calling as wives, moms, and homemakers.

They have kindly asked me to join them today as we all post about quick & easy summer meals. Be sure to visit Allyson, Kristin, and Christy to see what great things they have to share. 


I thought I would share a quick and yummy BLT Pasta Salad. This salad can be a complete meal when paired with a fresh vegetable, like corn on the cob, or can be a great addition to a summer BBQ or potluck.


I originally found this recipe on Food.com, but have made a couple of tweaks to it as I've made it a few times now. This recipe makes a ton, I mean seriously a TON of salad, so whenever I make it for our little family of five I divide the recipe in half. 

BLT Pasta Salad


Ingredients:
3 2/3 C. cooked pasta (about 8 oz uncooked)- You can use farfalle, elbow, rotini, fusilli, etc. The pasta in the picture above is rainbow radiatori.
4 C. chopped tomatoes, or you can use cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled or chopped 
3 C. thinly sliced romaine lettuce (do NOT use iceberg! Seriously! It is the nutritional equivalent to cardboard!)
1/2 C. low-fat mayonnaise  (I like the Mayo with Olive Oil)
1/3 C. plain, low-fat yogurt, drained
1 TB Dijon mustard
1 tsp sugar, or your favorite sweetener
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper


Directions:
1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl, toss gently.
2. In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Stir well.
3. Add dressing to salad and toss gently. 


You can serve it immediately, or let it chill in the fridge for a few hours. Or, you can make it the night before without the lettuce, then add the lettuce right before serving it. I actually like the way it tastes after it's had some time to chill in the fridge. 


I hope you enjoy this recipe. It's a great meal to throw together in the morning, then go have some fun with your family without worrying about dinner. 

Thanks again for the opportunity to guest post with you lovely ladies! I enjoyed being a guest TIPster! :)
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