Easy, Mayo-Free Pasta Salad

I don't know about where you live, but here it's hot... and muggy. And sometimes it's best not to turn on the oven at all. The pasta salad I made for dinner the other night only requires turning on the stove long enough to boil some pasta and steam some broccoli. Crafting the pasta salad is as simple as chopping some veggies and cheese. And all of the ingredients get tossed together in one bowl, so cleanup is easy too.

Admittedly, this pasta salad idea came from seeing a box of Suddenly Salad, which I would normally buy to make a quick meal. This time I decided I wasn't going to cave in to the simplicity and convenience of a boxed pasta salad but rather make my own, which turned out to be very simple too. And I didn't even have to skim dehydrated vegetables off the top of the boiling pasta water, like I do with the Classic Suddenly Salad.

I made sure this pasta salad was chock-full of veggies and flavor, and I loved that it wasn't weighed down with mayo, like so many pasta salads. I'm not a big fan of mayo. I used Italian dressing this time, but I think I may even try making my own dressing next time too.

I highly recommend the grape tomatoes, but I had to add them just to my plate because a certain person I share my meals with does not like tomatoes. Can you imagine? I don't know what I'd do without tomatoes.

Easy, Mayo-Free Pasta Salad
(Makes enough for a crowd, dinner for a few nights, or dinner and a couple of lunches)
(Printable version)

In large bowl, toss together:

1 pound rotini, prepared according to package and then rinsed with cold water
1 5 oz. package Hormel Pepperoni Minis
1 to 2 cups broccoli florets, steamed, plunged in an ice bath, and drained
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 orange pepper, diced
1 English cucumber, peeled (optional) and diced
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cubed
1/2 cup Italian dressing
Handful grape tomatoes, halved (optional)

Serve.

What are your favorite things to throw in pasta salad?