A twist on the standard pasta salad, this southwest pasta salad is full of fresh flavors and delicious veggies. A perfect lunch on a hot summer day!
Happy Monday!
We spent our morning in the garden, weeding, mowing, staking our tomato plants and cleaning out the beds. After being out of town for basically the past month, it was a bit of a jungle out there. It's amazing how just a hour or so made such an incredible difference.
Now is the time when our zucchini plant is producing 3 or 4 zucchini's a week, we have ripe cherry tomatoes every day, and are starting to get a few full tomatoes every week. We have to keep finding uses for them asap, or we will end up with too many and they'll go bad.
I think this summer has become the summer of eating pasta salads with veggies. We've been trying to find new ways to incorporate our zucchini and cherry tomatoes into our meals. A lot of the ingredients in this pasta salad seem similar to the other ones I've posted, but there are a few variations that make a huge difference in the flavor of this salad. This salad is pretty quick and easy to make, but is fresh and delicious to taste! It's definitely on the list to make again.
1 lb. pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small zucchini cut into rounds and then cut in half.
3-4 ears of corn, kernels removed
1 red bell pepper, diced
3-4 ounces cream cheese
6-8 ounces cheddar cheese, cubed
10 ounce can of red enchilada sauce
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, diced
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/4 cup cilantro
2 green onions diced
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, add oil to a frying pan and heat on medium high. Add zucchini, corn and pepper. Cook until veggies are softened and cooked.
Drain pasta and add to a large bowl. Add cream cheese and stir until the cream cheese melts. Add cheddar cheese and stir in. (Doing this now helps it to melt just a little and makes the salad a lot more delicious.) Add cooked veggies and enchilada sauce, Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Enjoy!
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