While Scott and I were dating he stumbled across this salad. He was at the store and they were handing out samples. He tried some and fell in love. That evening I came over to his house and he was making it. It was really good. Light, fresh, tasty. As we were talking about how easy it was to make we started to think of what we could add to the salad. It continues to evolve to this day 4 years later.
First, we thought to add cheese. Everything is better with cheese. On that first homemade batch we cut mozzarella cheese into little cubes and added it. Next, came the red onions. Sometimes we add some shredded Parmesan cheese. I want to add some salami to the salad, but worry it won’t keep very well.
My sister was visiting one week when we made the salad and she LOVED it as well. Emily went home and told my mom about it. They have added olives to their recipe, we aren’t olive loving people at our house so we don’t put them in. She has even added summer squash to her salad. I am planning on trying that the next time I make it!
Summer Salad
1 box Rotini Noodles
2 cucumbers (thinly sliced and quartered)
1 container grape tomatoes (cut in to fourths)
1 small red onion chopped
1 bottle Zesty Italian Dressing
Small block Mozzarella Cheese (cut in to cubes)
Cook noodles. Add to mixing bowl with all other ingredients and mix together. Put in fridge to keep cool and marinate. If we are making this for a gathering we make it the day before so that everything gets a good flavor together.