Food bites back: Pasta salad!

So I'm sure we all want to follow a recipe right to the letter...NOT. I am disappointed frequently with some 'famous' television personalities that claim they can cook and end up having shows and cookbooks. While they make millions on this mediocrity thousands of people are thinking this is 'good' food. Ugh...

Well, I know that just because you're on TV it doesn't mean you have talent. I don't ever think I'd be one for the cameras but I do know what good food should taste like. I understand that some foods need to be slightly bland (especially when you have little ones!) but to put out boring and bland dishes for the masses bugs me. Kids need to taste things and make choices. It's about color and texture for them but they also need to taste. How else can they learn to like things?

Okay, so I tried a pasta salad recipe from a tv show and while it was okay and fine for fussy kids it just bored me. So here's my slightly jazzed up version of the recipe. I hope you like it.

*Please note you do not see any tomatoes in my picture. I absolutely detest raw tomatoes so I still pick them out whenever I get a salad loaded with them! ;-)

Ingredients

• 1 pound pasta (rotini, bow tie, or other bite size pastas)
• Kosher salt
• 1 16 oz bag of frozen peas
• One 12-ounce broccoli crown, cut into bite-size florets
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
• 1/2 cup of shredded Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• small jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (I like the ones in oil)
• half a can of sliced black olives (you can use any type of olive you like!) 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1-2 large clove garlic, minced (I love garlic so I always opt for more!)
• LOTS of freshly ground black pepper
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced (I like the green and white. If you only like the white, double the number of green onions.)

Directions

Add the pasta to a large pot of boiling salted water. Set a timer and cook the pasta for 3 minutes less than it says on the back of the box. When the timer goes off, add the frozen peas and cook for 2 minutes longer. Next add the broccoli, and continue boiling for 1 more minute. Drain the pasta and veggies in a colander in the sink. Rinse well under cold water to stop the cooking. Make sure to drain off all the liquid. Add the pasta mixture to the large bowl along with both shredded cheeses, cherry tomatoes, sliced olives and chopped artichoke hearts.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and vinegar. Then whisk in the mayonnaise, sugar, garlic and some salt and pepper. Add the dressing to the salad and toss well.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours before serving.  Just before serving, gently fold in your chopped green onions and some freshly ground pepper to taste.

Remember that the olives are salty so watch how much salt you add. I only salted the pasta water and added about 1/2 tsp. of it to my dressing and that was perfect for me!