6.21.2007

Tuna Pasta Salad

Nothing says 'summer' like tuna pasta salad. It's the only thing I want to eat on hot days - best with watermelon and a Blue Moon. My previous concoction was a little bland (tuna, pasta, mayo, salt, pepper) and had no veggies so I did some research and came up with this - a combination of two allrecipes.com recipes, kind of.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 (16 ounce) package rotini (my mom pointed out that the shape works well for holding the goo)
  • 2 yellow squash, chopped
  • 2 zucchini, chopped
  • 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained
This is where I freestyled a bit and it probably could use some tweaking. Let me know if you come up with something better. Alternatively, you can use a bottle of Italian dressing.
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • a lot of mayo (2 big scoops)
  • black pepper
  • garlic salt
  • a lot of dill weed (3 tablespoons?)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (maybe leave this out - I'm not sure what the purpose is)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in pasta and return pot to boil. Cook until al dente. Drain well.
  2. Place squash and zucchini in a medium saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, combine pasta, squash, zucchini, kidney beans and tuna. Stir in dressing. Mix well and chill for at least 30 minutes.