Pesto Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is a great dish to serve as a side dish in the summer with the usual BBQ fare of hot dogs and hamburgers or even grilled chicken. Since I'm not a big fan of mayo when my cousin Heidi made this while we were in the Pocono's I was completely intrigued. Gemeilli are the perfect pasta for this because the pesto sits in the twists giving each bite a lot of flavor. The tomatoes are bright and fresh which pairs nicely with the salty feta. This dish is quick, easy and doesn't have a lot of ingredients which are key words when a new mom is looking for recipes to try out. 

Ingredients:
1 Box Gemeilli Pasta
1 Pint Cherry Tomatoes - Diced
8oz Crumbled Feta Cheese
1-1 1/2 Cup Pesto - Homemade or Prepackaged

Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the pasta according to the package. While the pasta is cooking you can cut your tomatoes and make your pesto. We had a bunch of arugula that needed to be used from our fresh box so I made an arugula peso for this pasta salad. Although it was fine I preferred it with the regular basil based pesto my cousin used when she introduced this dish to me.

When the pasta is finished cooking, drain the water and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes. When it is ready to be handled mix the pesto into the pasta, then add the tomatoes and lastly gently mix in the cheese. I added a little more than a cup of pesto because I wanted the pastas to be covered pretty well in it. Depending on your preference you can add more or less pesto. Heidi served this cold as a side dish but you can also have it room temperature or even warm as an entree.

Enjoy!!

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