This Week's Recipe--Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

Picnic season is here! One of my favorite "go-to" picnic dishes is Suddenly Salad. Pretty pathetic, huh?? I love 'em! And down south I could stock up on them at 99 cents a box in the beginning of summer and we'd be good to go. Not here. And besides...it's really just pasta and some seasonings. I should be able to do this! So off Googling I went!

The Recipe
I found this over at AllRecipes. Some of the 300 or so reviews (I'm not kidding!) mentioned how much people liked it, even better than Suddenly Salad...sounded good to me!

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) package uncooked tri-color rotini pasta (3 c. macaroni)
  
• 10 slices bacon
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons dry ranch salad dressing mix (2T)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper (omitted)
  
• 1/2 cup milk, or as needed
• 1 large tomato, chopped (1 can diced tomatoes, drained)
  
• 1 (4.25 ounce) can sliced black olives (omitted)
  
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in rotini pasta and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Place bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook until evenly brown. Drain and chop.
3. In a large bowl, mix mayonnaise, ranch dressing mix, garlic powder, and garlic pepper. Stir in milk until smooth. Place bacon, tomato, black olives and cheese in bowl and toss to coat with dressing. Cover and chill at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. Toss with additional milk if the salad seems a little dry.

Andrea's Kitchen

Of course I needed it for a picnic that night, so I needed to make it with pantry ingredients. My changes are above in green.

The Verdict
It was a hit! It really turned out well and got lots of compliments at the picnic. Even Stacy asked for more of it...twice!

So go ahead, try it out! And happy picnicking!