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.