Reviewed: Jul. 5, 2011

Terrific pasta salad-very much like an antipasti. I added marinated artichokes and skipped pepperoni as my son does not like. Also subbed some finely chopped red onion for green onions-personal preference. I used Ken's (brand) Greek salad dressing. Just right and didn't overpower all the flavors. Thank you Patty!

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Reviewer:

SweetBasil

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Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: San Diego, California, USA

Living In: Liberty Hill, Texas, USA

Reviewed: Jun. 24, 2011

I was looking for a pasta salad and found this one and decided to try it. I had to cut the saturated fat back some so I left out the pepperoni and only did half the cheese. I decided I didn't want to mess with a block of cheese, so I just used some cheese crumbles I had in the fridge. I change the servings to 8 with the calculate button and it still made a giant bowl. Pasta comes in a 1 lb box anyway. The tomatoes were great in it because they came right from my garden. I used the black olives but left out the green because no one eating it cares for them. I bought seasoning mix instead of a bottle of dressing to mix up my own. I realized I grabbed Italian dressing seasoning mix instead of zesty Italian. I made it as directed on the package and didn't like the taste at all. So, I ended up just making a creamy based dressing like the picture, which I thought it was to begin with anyway. I used mayo with olive oil and added some of the seasoning to taste to it. I used 1/2 the dressing suggested, but it still worked great. This will definitely all get eaten up, thanks!

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Reviewer:

Baker Bee

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Living In: Richmond, Virginia, USA

Reviewed: May 19, 2010

GREAT use-what-you've-got pantry salad. I used elbow macaroni, only used one bunch of green onions, eliminated the ham and the green onions, added a chopped cucumber and used a homemade Herbed Buttermilk, Garlic and Parmesan dressing instead of a bottled dressing. (We don't normally keep bottled on hand because homemade is SO much better.) This went really well with leftover Tanya's Louisiana Fried Chicken and BigShotsMom's blue cheese and cracked black pepper bread (only I used parmesan in her bread recipe. I'd make this again and again. NOTE: Husband told me to say this would be excellent with sliced chicken breast.

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Reviewer:

Sarah Jo

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Seattle, Washington, USA

Living In: Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, USA

Reviewed: May 10, 2010

This was very good. I loved the pepperoni. I had to sub salami for the ham, added fresh parsley, Italian seasoning, fresh grated asiago, and fresh cracked parm. I made this the night before reserving some dressing to add right before serving to keep it moist.

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Reviewer:

MI$$DREA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Reviewed: Jul. 31, 2009

This recipe was very good. I made it for a party my daughter had at school and the kids loved and the teacher took the rest of it home.

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Reviewer:

yvette

Reviewed: May 31, 2009

This was very good - I followed the recipe as written, but halved it. I used a zesty Italian dressing which gave it a very good flavor.

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4 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Pam-3BoysMama

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Monroeville, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: New Castle, Pennsylvania, USA

Reviewed: Jul. 29, 2007

I thought it was a bit bland too and I let it sit in the Italian dressing overnight before serving it. One of my guests said it looked good, no one else said anything. I wonder what could be added to "spice" it up a bit. Any suggestions?

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Reviewer:

CHICHISMOM

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Mesa, Arizona, USA

Living In: Avondale, Arizona, USA

Reviewed: Jun. 10, 2007

This recipe got rave reviews and our family KNOWS pasta salads! The only thing I didn't add was the green onions...I'm not a fan of them. My husband thought red onions would be good, and he might be right. I also thought some blanched asparagus tips would be very good too. The recipe is so easy and makes a huge amount for a summer potluck party.

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Reviewer:

Micheles_Avon_in_Kansas

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Olathe, Kansas, USA

Reviewed: Sep. 9, 2006

We just had this at my son's 5th birthday (for the adults). It was okay. I thought it was a little bit bland. If I did it again I would let it sit in the dressing for a while.

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