Feta and Vegetable Rotini Salad

Feta and Vegetable Rotini Salad (slightly adapted from Kraft Recipes, Servings: 8, Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes)

Ingredients

·         3 cups wheat rotini pasta, cooked, cooled
·         1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
·         1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
·         1 cup chopped cucumbers
·         ½ cup Zesty Italian dressing
·         ¼ cup finely chopped red onions

Directions

1.)    Combine all ingredients.  Refrigerate 1 hour.  Stir just prior to serving.

This one was a big hit at a recent party that I hosted.  I only had one serving left over, which my husband promptly at the next day.  I have used both regular and tri-colored rotini with this recipe.  The tri-colored gives it a little more color, but I prefer the regular wheat pasta.  I omitted the black olives from the original recipe, but feel free to add them back in if you want.

The cucumbers and onions add a nice crunch to the soft, chewy pasta (I cook to al dente).  The Feta imparts a slightly salty flavor, but makes a major impact on taste – with its cheesiness filling each bite.  I like the Italian dressing with this dish, as opposed to a Greek, probably because I started eating salad with Italian dressing when I was younger.  The Zesty Italian adds a little kick of spices that a regular Italian dressing does not.  It works nicely with the Feta and the mild cucumbers.