Awesome Pasta Salad

Yesterday I said to Adam that we had to make our weekly menu before we hit the grocery store and frankly, neither of us felt like it. All of our usual menu items felt over played and we weren't really feeling like any of them, but I did however, feel like having a summer supper. So, summer supper we had! We had bbq'd ribs and corn on the cob and I made a kick ass pasta salad. The whole supper was kick ass actually, in case you were wondering. I had found this recipe for pasta salad on someone else's blog and at the time thought it sounded so good I went and grabbed a piece of paper to write it down. I wasn't sure if I was ever going to make it (because I write down a lot of random recipes I find and never end up making them) but I had to have it in case the opportunity arose and looky loo, the opportunity arose last night.

So, here is the recipe:
1 box bow tie pasta (I couldn't find bow tie pasta, so I used tri-colored fusilli and it looked awesome!)
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 1/2-2 cups red grapes, halved

1 cup craisins (I had never bought craisins before and didn't realize all the different kinds...I tried blueberry...tasted yummy!)

1/2 cup mayo
1 cup coleslaw dressing

2 cans mandarin oranges, drained1 cup cashews (Again, I couldn't find cashews so we used sliced almonds instead-which we like better anyway!)

Cook pasta, cool and place in bowl. Throw first 3 ingredients in the bowl with the pasta, then mix with craisins. Mix mayo and dressing together first and then pour over noodles. Mix well. Cover and let sit for a few hours to be good and chilled. Only add mandarin oranges and cashews/almonds when ready to serve (otherwise the nuts get soggy!).

This is what the finished product looks like


Time to get the little one slathered in sunscreen and suited up! We bought a blow up pool this morning to help keep her cool this summer and since it's 26 (and feels like 34!) I think it's the perfect time to break it in. I'll post pics of this adventure later!