Yummy-In-The-Tummy Veggie Pasta Salad

I love pasta salads but I wanted one with a healthier "sauce." I happened to have some V8 juice on hand and figured that a vegetable-based sauce would suit my needs. I like things spicy, but you can leave out the hot sauce and red pepper if you'd like. You can really use any kind of small pasta for this, but radiatore works well because it has lots of crinkles to hold the sauce in. I found Portabello Mushroom Jack cheese once and it was amazing with this.

• Ready In: 6 hrs 15 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 3  cups  uncooked radiatore
• 1 (14 1/2ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained (with roasted red peppers)
• 1 3⁄4 cups  v 8  vegetable juice (any 100% vegetable juice is fine)
• 1  tablespoon  minced onion
• 1  teaspoon dried oregano
• 1  teaspoon dried basil
• 1  teaspoon dried thyme
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 6 -8  dashes  hot sauce
• 1  teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1  cup  shredded monterey jack pepper cheese

Directions

1. Heat a pot of salted water to boiling.
2. In a large saucepan, heat diced tomatoes, minced onion, dried herbs, hot sauce and red pepper on low-medium heat.
3. Toss pasta into the pot of boiling water. Boil pasta only for a few minutes. You want it to be firmer than you would care to eat it so that it will soak up the juices later without becoming too soft. Drain past well but do not rinse.
4. Spoon drained pasta into the saucepan and stir. Pour V8 juice over the pasta. Let the pasta simmer in the juice and tomatoes for about 5-10 minutes on low, stirring every couple of minutes. You may need more V8 juice depending on how long you cooked your pasta and how much juice it is soaking up. Add juice accordingly and continue to simmer until most of the juice is soaked up. Having some still in the pan is alright.
5. Pour pasta into a large container with a lid. Let the pasta sit in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight to chill.
6. Serve with cheese mixed into the salad. You might also try adding in chopped celery, chopped cucumber, shredded carrot, sliced fresh mushrooms, or chopped chicken.