Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is perfect for summertime and for the upcoming holiday festivities of the 4th of July.  We made this salad yesterday for a BBQ we had at the pool, in *100 + degree weather and it held up perfectly! We served this with salmon and burgers but I think it would go perfect with anything really.

Recipe:

1 pound Rotini Noodles

1 small head broccoli (stemmed and washed)

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 green bell pepper (diced)

1 (8oz) fresh mozzarella (cubed)

1 (4oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts (diced)

1-1/2 cup Zesty Italian Dressing

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the noodles for 9 minutes.  Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water.  Dice the bell pepper, mozzarella, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts and place in a large bowl along with the cooked noodles.  Blanch the broccoli and add it to the pasta mixture. (blanching for those of you who aren't familiar with the term means to steam the broccoli for just a few minutes then quickly place it into ice cold water) Pour the dressing over the top and toss till well incorporated.  Enjoy!