Pasta Salad for Lunch This Week!

This recipe came from Real Simple. It's one that you clearly can modify to use whatever you have handy in the pantry and fridge. Bringing a lunch from home is a great way to save money - even the employee cafeteria is getting pricey! You can use pretty much any short variety of pasta. I would add julienned sundried tomatoes to several of these, or some chopped red bell pepper, for color and flavor. I threw in a little Chinese Roast Pork with the Asian version. Please note: I seem to get only 4 servings from a pound of pasta, so you might want to check that.

• Ready In: 25 mins
• Serves: 5

Ingredients

• Pasta

• 1  lb penne or 1  lb  fusilli or 1  lb farfalle pasta
•  olive oil

• Day 1 - Mediterranean Pasta

• 1⁄2 cup canned chick-peas or 1⁄2 cup  cooked chickpeas
• 1⁄2 cup arugula
• 1⁄4 cup  crumbled feta
• 2  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2  teaspoons fresh lemon juice

• Day 2 - Artichoke Almond and Parmesan Pasta

• 6  jarred artichoke hearts, chopped
• 2  tablespoons  chopped  roasted almonds
• 2  tablespoons  grated parmesan cheese
• 2  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• Day 3 - Tuna Red Onion and Olive Pasta

• 1 (3 ounce) can tuna, drained
• 1⁄4 cup  pitted kalamata olive
• 2  tablespoons  chopped red onions
• 2  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2  teaspoons red wine vinegar

• Day 4 - Asian Pasta Salad

• 1  carrot, thinly sliced
• 1⁄4 English cucumber, diced
• 1  tablespoon canola oil
• 2  tablespoons  chopped roasted peanuts
• 2  teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1  teaspoon rice vinegar

• Day 5 - Chicken and Pesto Pasta

• 1⁄2 cup  shredded chicken
• 1⁄4 cup  prepared pesto sauce

Directions

1. Cook the pasta as per package instructions. Rinse in cold water and toss with a little olive oil. Refrigerate.
2. For each day, whisk together the liquid ingredients, if there is more than one.
3. Mix the remaining ingredients with 1 1/2 cup of the cooked pasta, then toss with the liquid ingredients.
4. For the Chicken and Pesto version, I found that warming the pasta in the microwave just a bit helped it toss more evenly with the pesto. You do need to let it cool a bit before packing it up for your lunch.