Pasta Salad {for dummies}

So I follow an amazing blogger: Shay Shull over at Mix and Match Mama. She  has the cutest kids and is excited for fall! A girl after my own heart. So...I may or may not have been stalking her blog like I do on occasion {no big deal}, and I came across her friend Andrea's blog. And, browsing that {like you do any new blog you come across, right?!}, I saw her post about her working mommy lunch. And I was hooked! Here's what's up:

red onion 

cucumber (I used hot house)

pepperoni

mozzarella cheese

light Italian dressing 

tri-color pasta

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. It'll be done in about 10 minutes. Buuuut, while that's goin down, chop up your veggies! I used the entire cucumber and only half of the onion. Also, Andrea uses fresh mozzarella, but being poor, I bought the H-E-B brand brick and cut that up. Worked just fine! 

After your pasta is done to your liking {I personally like it al dente}, drain it and rinse until cool. 

Now just toss it all in a large bowl and mix, mix, mix! Add half the bottle of dressing {or less if you prefer}. I used roughly half. After that, just stir it all together and SERVE! Although, I do prefer it to be chilled for at least half an hour prior to eating - it's so much better cold! :-) 

Disclaimer: this makes a lot!  I plan on taking some to work every day, sometimes as a main dish, but also as a side some days. This will last all week long! Seriously. Amazing stuff! I just can't get enough! Also, it doesn't get much easier than this! The "hardest" part was chopping up the veggies - that onion was fresh and about killed my eyes! But seriously, this is a super easy go-to recipe and I just love the fresh veggies. Also, why have I never thought to put pepperoni in a pasta salad? It's perfect!

This is definitely going to become a staple in our household - I can see it now. Colten loved it too, even after belly aching over the fact that I indeed was going to use the tri-color pasta. Apparently, he's not a fan. But, he sure didn't complain when it was all said and done {except for the fact that I refused to use a 'regular' cucumber...he got over it hehe}! Ha! But seriously. So simple and so delicious. Thanks, Andrea!