Rotini pasta, tossed with a mix of vegetables - broccoli, red onion, sweet bell pepper, carrots and tomatoes here - mixed with a seasoning blend and dressed with a quality homemade or commercial Italian or Ranch dressing.
Supreme Pasta Salad
Whew y'all! It's been super-hot and humid here along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and we're heading into a couple of 100+ degree actual temperatures here the next few days. No telling what the "feels like" temp will be with the humidity factored in. Wow.
Many of you have been in a similar heat wave that we have down here, and it sure feels like it will never end, even though summer actually only "officially" started this week! Yeah, okay...
We all seem to be suffering with this heat.
Well... unless you happen to live up in the upper western areas of this country, because those folks have been nice and cool apparently. One reader from Oregon shared a weather screenshot with me last week on Facebook showing it was 39 degrees F there!
Just inserting a quick reminder here.... that this is a blog, not just a "recipe site," and yes, there is a difference! I want to first thank all of you who have supported my work over the years, but if you aren't interested in the chit chat, info, photos, tips and such in a post, as always, you'll find the complete recipe text with measurements and instructions, as well as a printable document, a little bit further down the page. Just swipe or scroll down to the bottom of the post!You can't say that I didn't give y'all a fair warning about my whining about the coming summer heat when some of you were unhappy with the winter cold and snow. Seeing as I've lived here all of my life you'd think summer heat would be something I'd get used to. As a woman of a certain age I can unequivocally say NOPE! It gets harder every birthday y'all.
The best we can do is pray the electric grid holds up and eat a goodly bit of those cooling foods like tomatoes, cucumbers and watermelon - and I've been eating my share of them as usual.
Along with pasta salads! Why?
- Because they're cool.
- Because they're filling.
- Because they work well with a high fiber, healthier pasta (I like Dreamfields).
- Because they can easily take protein additions, and,
- Because they can be loaded up with vegetables, like this one!
You can use pretty much any veggies you love, and I've included some suggestions in the recipe text below. Here, I'm using raw broccoli, carrots, purple onion, which I love in a pasta salad, sweet bell pepper and fresh tomatoes.
Although I prefer the ratio of more vegetables to pasta here, the original recipe calls for a full pound of pasta for 5 cups of vegetables, so feel free to increase the pasta for your crew. I'm also using rotini because I really love that shape for this, though many other pasta shapes will also work.
You can dress this with your favorite, homemade or a quality commercial Italian dressing, though I recommend the "zesty" version if you go that route. Ranch is also a recommended option.
The name for this recipe comes from the McCormick's brand Perfect Pinch Salad Supreme Seasoning that is used and y'all, it's worth buying. One of our readers on Facebook actually introduced it to me - I so love when y'all share products you love - and I can pass on that recommendation!
It's widely available at the grocery store around here and a fantastic blend of seasonings that is worth having on hand. You'll enjoy sprinkling it on all of your salads and it really gives them a great flavor boost. I've even used it in hot pasta dishes.
Please note, something that you may not think about (I didn't) is that once opened, this seasoning should be refrigerated because it does contain cheese.
I've included a homemade version that you can make in the recipe text based on the ingredients list, so you could use some or all of the elements if you have a well-stocked seasoning pantry. It's certainly convenient to buy it already made up for you though, and you really will find that you'll use it all over.
If you can't find it at your store, it's available at Amazon too. This is not a sponsored post. I bought this product myself, with my own money and I'm just sharing my experience with it, as I often do, so if you try it, let me know what you think!
Here's how I make this Supreme Pasta Salad.
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