Veggie Pasta Salad

Two awesome things happened this past weekend - Bryan's parents came to visit us for the first time since we've moved to Cleveland, and Bryan finished being on nights (well, for now)!!

Bryan worked the first night they were here, so the three of us went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and then saw the movie Hope Springs! I love Meryl Streep, so I'm down to see any movie she's in. It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, but it was mostly funny throughout and cute in the end.

The three of us went out for brunch Saturday morning so that Bryan could sleep a little bit after working all night. I wanted to explore a new area called Shaker Square. We went to Fire Food and Drink and it was fantastic! I will definitely be bringing Bryan here for brunch one of these days. The food was so delicious!

Saturday night, the four of us went to Blossom! As you know, Bryan and I love going to Blossom in the summer, so it was only fitting to bring his parents with us while they were here! We actually met up with friends of theirs while we were there too! We had quite the spread for dinner, including this pasta salad I made for the occasion. It was perfectly transportable and held up well not being refrigerated for a little while. It's a nice and light dish that could be a main dish in the summer or a side dish next to grilled items as well!

Veggie Pasta Salad
From All Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package small pasta
• 1/4 cup diced sweet onion
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and minced
• 1/2 fresh hot chile pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 cucumber, seeded and chopped

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 
  

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the pasta at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain. Rinse pasta with cold water until cool; drain.
2. Toss drained pasta, sweet onion, green bell pepper, chile pepper, tomatoes, and cucumber together in a large bowl.
3. Whisk olive oil, tomato sauce, lime juice, red wine vinegar, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper together in a separate bowl; drizzle over the pasta mixture and stir to coat.
4. Chill in refrigerator 2 hours; stir to serve.