So I decided that I wanted to make a pasta salad but didn’t know what kind. That got me thinking about what I had that I wanted to use up in my fridge. At first I thought about a pesto pasta with peas but I didn’t have any peas so I ruled that idea out. Then I was thinking well what about pasta with pesto and some kind of cheese. That got me to thinking about my favorite sandwich and how good it would be in pasta salad form with an alteration or two of course. That’s how this recipe came about and I think it turned out well. It was good right after I had made it and it was also good chilled. Not only is it super simple but it’s also quick to put together.
For the lunch meat I used honey smoked turkey but you could use whatever you have. I used goat cheese and liked the contrast it gave with the sweet cranberries but you could use any kind of cheese that you like. I put a lot of the dried cranberries because I love them but you could probably cut it down to 1/4 of a cup if you don’t like so many. The pesto mayonnaise mixture that I was was about 2:1. Next time I would probably use a little more pesto but it’s totally up to your taste so I would recommend trying it and adding more if needed.
Amy’s Pesto Pasta Salad
1 cup small pasta shells
3 slices turkey lunch meat cubed
1 inch round goat cheese crumbled
generous 1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 spoonful mayonnaise
2 spoonfuls pesto
Cook pasta according to directions on the box. Drain and run under cold water until cool.
Mix everything together and serve.
Thanks so much for your visit to my site and your comment on my Pay it Forward Post! Your Pesto Pasta salad looks like I would scarf up the whole dish!! YUM
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