Southwestern Pasta Salad

Perfect for those summer barbecues. Cut down on the pasta, skip on the cheese & oil, and replace with vegetables & beans to keep the calories/fat down.


My husband & I were going to a picnic on Sunday night and I needed to come up with a salad recipe. I wanted to do something besides macaroni salad or Amish pasta salad. I wanted to do something healthy & light so I looked up some ideas on All Recipes and pulled this together. Lots of leftovers to eat throughout the week!

Ingredients (serves 12+):

• 1 package of colored rotini pasta 
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 15 oz. cans of whole kernel corn
• 2 15 oz. cans of black beans, drained & rinsed
• 2 green bell peppers, diced
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 1/2 cup cilantro paste (goya)
• 4 roma tomatoes, chopped

Directions:

• Cook pasta according to box directions.
• Meanwhile, chop of peppers & tomatoes.  
• In a large bowl combine lime juice, chili powder, cumin, cilantro paste, salt, & garlic. Stir in pasta.
• Mix in veggies, corn, & beans. 
• Stir well, use hands if necessary.
• Chill in fridge until ready to serve.

 Serve in this awesome Mickey Mouse bowl if you have one :-) 

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