Bacon, Acovado & Tomato Pasta Salad

Believe it or not, as much as I love pasta, this is the first pasta salad recipe I have ever created. In general, I prefer hot pasta over cold, but since pasta salad is a great side for a summer meal or an easy lunch that you can make in advance and enjoy throughout the week, I decided it was time for me to give a cold pasta recipe a try.

One thing I would recommend if you're planning to eat this salad throughout the week is to save the avocado and add a little before each meal so that it doesn't brown and make the whole salad look less than appetizing.

Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 cups Cavatappi pasta (uncooked)

1/3 cup vidalia onion dressing

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved (I used Sun Gold, but any grape tomato will do)

1 cup green onion, chopped

1 avocado, chunked

1/2 cup Kraft Italian cheese, shredded

1lb bacon

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring salted water to a boil. Cook pasta to al dente and drain. Return to pan and mix with dressing. Cool in refrigerator. Cook bacon and break into bite-size pieces (I placed mine in the freezer after removing excess grease to cool faster). Mix bacon, tomatoes, onion, avocado and cheese with pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with extra bacon, onion and cheese.