Southwest Pasta Salad

Tonight we're going to have a picnic. I like a good pasta salad to accompany sandwiches, but the Wood family has just two pasta salad recipes that we rotate between, and I'm tired of them both. I wanted something with a different flavor profile than the typical ranch or Italian pasta salad dressings, so I decided to try out the Harris Sisters' Southwest Pasta Salad.

As I post my online successes and failures, I want to be respectful of other people's work and ideas, and I am not trying to steal traffic from anyone's blog. As such, I will be sending you directly to the links I use for each "test."

You can find the Southwest Pasta Salad recipe here.

My adaptations:
- I used closer to 1 T each of cumin and chile powder, and it has plenty of flavor!
- I diced some ripe avocado and mixed it in, too.
- I tore up and added some fresh cilantro.
- I added at least 1/3 c. more ranch dressing. Once it sat in the fridge for a while, I felt like it was a little bit drier than I wanted it to be.

Some suggestions:
- I think sliced olives would make a nice addition.
- I would mix in some grilled chicken and maybe even Fritos corn chips and make this a meal!

The outcome:

Matt said, "Not bad." He doesn't care for "mixed-genre" foods--noodles with Mexican is, for some reason, not a combination he thinks should happen.

I think it was quite good. This is a nice change from the typical pasta salads you taste at summer picnics and potlucks, and I like that it uses ingredients I usually have in my fridge and pantry. One of my litmus tests for a good recipe is whether it requires me to buy and use ingredients that are not typically a part of my cooking repertoire. I don't want life to be harder!

FINAL REVIEW: Worth the time and money! The Blisses will be making this one again.