I am still trying to use up the squash from my garden. It may be a losing battle, but I am not willing to give up yet. In this situation, I could best be described as stubbornly optimistic because I am not just harvesting squash by the basket full, I am harvesting it by the laundry basket full. Seriously. The good news is that the tomatoes are beginning to ripen in large quantities so we should have a little more variety.
This evening I replaced the broccoli in one of our favorite salads with zucchini and straight-neck squash…and nobody complained. My daughter even said she thinks zucchini should be a regular addition to the salad.
Pasta Salad with Squash
Yield: 8 servings
Total Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
10 oz. package penne or rotini noodles (I use brown rice pasta)
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini, cut in bite size pieces
1 medium yellow squash, cut in bite size pieces
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 – 2 cups cooked diced chicken (optional)
1 cup Italian dressing (I use a gluten-free dressing)
Directions:
Prepare noodles according to the directions on the package.
While the noodles are cooking, chop, slice, and dice the other ingredients.
When the noodles are done cooking, drain the water, and run them under cool water to quickly cool them off.
Add noodles, veggies, and chicken to a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the mixture and toss thoroughly to coat.
You can serve this immediately or you can chill it for an hour or two before serving.
This post is linked to Foodie Friday.
April @ The 21st Century Housewife says
August 11, 2011 at 7:35 amThis sounds really delicious. I love pasta salads all year round but especially in summer. I just wish my zucchini were as abundant as yours are this year – we’ve had such strange weather my crop is less than 10 percent of what it was last year.
Mary @ Passionate Perseverance says
August 11, 2011 at 12:36 pmThis looks quite yummy. I will be giving it a try this weekend. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog on Tasty Tuesday. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Kitchen Belleicious says
August 12, 2011 at 12:05 pmDelish! I love squash but honestly never thought to make it into a salad meal like this but it looks amazing. All those flavors combined- perfection
Miriam says
August 16, 2011 at 8:54 amGreat way to use up zucchini and squash! I have a lot at the moment too :), Miriam@The Pioneer Cookbook
Laura says
August 16, 2011 at 7:35 pmI guess I’m glad to hear we are not the only ones being overrun by squash this year! I added some to a pasta salad when we were camping, roasted a huge pan of it for the campout potluck (and all of it was eaten!), have made zucchini bread, grilled squash, made frittata, etc. and it still keeps coming! I think I’m going to try squash fritters one of these days.
We’re getting cherry tomatoes from the garden now, but while our other bushes are loaded, they’re still not ripe. We are finally getting some actual summer weather though, so the deluge should start in another week or so.