Almost the Kitchen Sink- Pizza Pasta!!

The name pretty much sums it up. It's everything you put on a pizza. I tend to make pasta salads a lot for family BBQs. My friend Y, makes the best one. It's pretty close to mine. But she made it. You know how it is eating another person's food. It's heaven. She makes the best beans too. They turn into the most heavenly refried beans. She's given me the recipe but of course mine are not as good.

Pizza Pasta Salad
2 cups of vinaigrette (could be store bought but I am completely out so here is how you make my version)
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/3 cup oil (vegetable, canola, olive all work)
1 TB Dijon mustard
1/4 cup of finely minced onion (or shallots)
1 TB Italian seasoning
1 clove of garlic, smashed and minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix all in the mixing bowl you plan on making the salad in.
Next boil the pasta according to the package. I am using Wacky Mac this time.
Add to the mixing bowl
1 cup of cut up pepperoni (basically the whole package sliced up)
1 cup salami cut up
1 cup of olives (now I go over board on this adding a whole can and then rummaging through the refrigerator because my family loves all the variety of olives. I use Kalamata and Spanish green olives.
1 can of artichoke hearts (in water) drained and cut into bite size pieces
1 cup of cherry tomatoes halved
1 bell pepper chopped (I'm using red)
1 red onion sliced in bite size pieces
1 can of garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
Did I miss anything?
Once the pasta is cooked, drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Add to the mixing bowl.
Mix up well but be gentle. Now I add 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. I like it shredded but I see it cubed in other people's salads. Do what you like.
Mix well. Refrigerate at least two hours. In fact I make the night before. Stir before serving.



Family Friendly Note My kids love this dish! It can be a meal in it's self! It cooks/assembles in twenty minutes and is good for days in the fridge!