Friday, June 19, 2009

Pepperoni Pasta Salad

Wait. I know what you are thinking. Jen, you are trying to shrink. How will pepperoni and pasta help that?? Bear with me. This is my slimmed-down version of a Taste of Home recipe. It makes a great make-ahead supper for a hot day. Boil the pasta first thing in the morning before the sun gets too high. Then you can rest easy knowing that you will have a filling and family friendly meal ready to go when you are ready to wilt.

The original recipe had over 500 cals per serving. By my estimate a big bowl of my version has 286 calories.

Slimmed-Down Pepperoni Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups rotini pasta, uncooked
1 cup cucumber, chopped
1 cup part-skim mozzarella, cubed
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
5 small turkey pepperoni sticks, chopped. (I use Freybe's I think it ends up to be around a cup of pepperoni.)
1/2 cup light zesty Italian dressing.

Directions:
  1. Cook pasta until just a teensy bit underdone. Rinse well with cold water and set aside.
  2. Combine remaining ingredients and cooled pasta in a large bowl. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
  3. Stir and serve.
Makes four big bowlfuls.

2 comments:

  1. Ooo, awesome idea, adding the meat! I've made this salad for years, only I've used broccoli florets instead of meat. I will definitely be trying it with some pepperoni next time.

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  2. Congrats on the win!! Keep up the great work on your weight-loss. 5#!! What a great reward!

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