Low Fat Pasta Cheese And Vegetable Salad Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups rotini

-- and/or penne or other pasta

2 cups broccoli flowerets

1 1/2 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese

-- cut into small cubes

10 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 green and/or red sweet pepper, chopped

2 green onions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons fresh basil, snipped, or 1/2

-- teaspoon dried

-- basil, crushed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Method

Cook pasta according to package directions; add broccoli flowerets for the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Drain, rinse, and drain again.

Combine pasta and broccoli, cheese, cherry tomatoes, sweet pepper, and green onions in a large bowl.

Combine olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper in a screw-top jar; shake well to mix.

Pour over pasta mixture.

Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or till serving time.

Makes 6 main-dish or 12 side-dish servings.

Nutrition facts per main-dish serving: 241 cal.

, 10 g total fat (4 g sat.

fat), 20 mg cholesterol, 302 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate.

, 2 g dietary fiber, 13 g pro.

Daily Value: 13% vitamin.

A, 74% vitamin.

C, 19% calcium, 10% iron.

Food exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1 bread, 1 meat, 1 1/2 fat.

Cooks Comments and Tips