Holy. Sore. Feet.
We had Bobstock, our company’s biggest event of the year, this last weekend! If you are not familiar, it is a two-day music festival with three stages so that there is constantly music playing throughout the day. This year we brought in 17 different bands from around the area with Grand Funk Railroad as our headliner for Saturday night. The best part about Bobstock is we keep it completely free of charge! We have great sponsors from the community who help us out, but the work is done entirely by our Media Logic staff.
I am very proud of the event and this year was fantastic! We had beautiful weather, which is always a concern. It was really hot both Friday & Saturday, but Saturday night was gorgeous. You could see the stars as Grand Funk was playing!!! It was awesome.
It is a seriously intense weekend for my dad, my sister & I, who pretty much coordinate everything. In fact, look at my Fitbit results from the weekend.
Yes, 12.5 miles walked on Friday and 11.5 miles on Saturday. The funny thing is that all that walking takes place in a one block radius basically. Hahahaha back and forth and back and forth! Definitely didn’t need to do any lifting this weekend.
They are long days, but completely worth it. We have so much fun and love providing this free event to the public, regardless of how tired we are Sunday and Monday!
Alright, well now let’s talk about food. Particularly pasta salad! Pasta salad is one of my favorite side dishes and it is surprisingly versatile!
This particular recipe is for Italian Pasta Salad. I was craving some peppercinis, which may not be the most clean food to purchase at the store. However, it could be worse! I should actually try making my own….. I love peppercinis. They add a little tang and a little spice. I always add them to my sandwiches at Subway. Delish!
I also love making a batch of pasta salad and then having it around all week in the fridge. It is perfect for an easy side dish or add some protein for a quick lunch.
I made my own Italian dressing, but you could definitely use store bought. I used this Italian dressing recipe that I found on Pinterest from Cook Eat Paleo. I didn’t have any fresh herbs so I used dried Italian Seasoning Blend instead. Turned out great!
If you want to keep the recipe clean then make sure you check the ingredients label of the store-bought version. A lot of companies add a ton of sugar to their dressings which can be avoided if you make it homemade! Homemade dressings are way easier than they seem.
I chose to add black olives, peppercinis, red onion and blanched broccoli to this Italian Pasta Salad recipe. I love the crunch that blanched broccoli adds to the dish. It is a nice texture without being raw. I also chose to use a pasta that was made our of lentil flour, but you could use any pasta you prefer.
With any pasta salad recipe I suggest adding part of the dressing at the beginning and then if you are refrigerating it add a little more right before you serve it. The salad will soak up some of the dressing so you’ll want to add more before eating.
- 12oz red lentil pasta, dry*
- 1/2 cup peppercinis, sliced
- 1/2 cup black olives, pitted and sliced
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 12oz broccoli, raw
- 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup Italian dressing
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- While the pasta cooks, bring another pot of water to a rapid boil. Add broccoli and cook until tender-crisp, about 90 seconds. Remove from the boiling water and immediately place in an ice bath.
- Once the pasta is cooked al dente, combine the pasta, peppercinis, olive, onion, and broccoli in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle salt and Italian seasoning over the mixture and stir to combine.
- Add dressing to the bowl and stir until dressing is evenly distributed. Place in refrigerator to cool for at least one hour. Serve pasta salad cold.
- *Substitute whole wheat pasta or another bean pasta for lentil pasta.
- Add additional Italian dressing before serving if needed.
