My little brother graduated high school last week.

As much as I love living in Pittsburgh, I tend to miss the weekday happenings. Like the high school graduation.

We were all together for me and my older brother’s graduation, I feel bad that Dave and I weren’t there to celebrate this with Jonathan.

I also missed the chance to smother my nephew with kisses. Seriously, check out those cheeks! AND THAT HAT!

But good news is that Dave and I are heading home his grad par-tay this weekend.

Bad news: My mom asked me to make pasta salad…for 60 people.

Like the salsa, my pasta is a party hit. I’m not bragging at all, but it’s just basic and tasty. And since my family has been plagued with gastrointestinal distress, I usually pass on the salsa and bring the pasta instead. Our colons thank us.

Another catch? My little brother maintains a gluten free diet. And let’s face it, if you don’t have a reason to eat brown rice pasta, why the heck would you??

So asked my mom what to do. She told me to ditch my morals, be a people-pleaser and choose gluten filled. I did only one of those. I chose whole wheat pasta, thus staying true to my morals and not necessarily being a people-pleaser. But this recipe is yummy enough that they shouldn’t care too much.

If they don’t like it, well, I need to find something to do with 3+ pounds of pasta salad. Anyone?

Basic Pasta Salad

• 1 16 oz box of pasta (I’ve done brown rice before!!)
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1-1 1/2 cup cheese (I use sharp cheddar), chopped
• 1 bottle of Italian dressing (I use Newman’s—no HFCS)
• Oregano
• Basil
• Pepper
• Salt (optional)

Really, this recipe is another easy one (one of my four essential food rules)! Cook the pasta, then throw in the veggies and cheese! Once I do that, I put some of the dressing in, but if I’m serving it the next day, I save some of the dressing to add later because it dries out after awhile. If you use brown rice pasta, you need a LOT of dressing.

Season to taste with oregano, basil, pepper and salt!

Don’t you just love easy, gluten filled recipes?!

Sorry, little bro, I bought you a gift, so that should make up for the whole wheat pasta.

What’s your crowd-pleaser dish?? Do you have a health-i-fied favorite?

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