Classic Italian Pasta Salad

Summer is just around the corner which means BBQs and outdoor parties, where you pretty much always find a good pasta salad! I had my first "summer party" yesterday celebrating a friend's baby shower and this salad was the perfect addition to an amazing food spread! I can't wait to share some more fun and creative pasta salads with you throughout the summer, but I figured a nice basic Italian pasta salad would be a good one to start with. Cheers to good weather, good friends, and good food y'all! 

Note that all ingredient in this recipe are subjective, if you love some ingredients, or don't like others, adjust to your liking! Make this salad your own, it will come out best if it's just how you want it! 

Ingredients:

• 1 box farfalle (bow tie) pasta
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 8 oz. cubed monterey jack cheese
• 6 oz. chopped pepperoni
• 8 oz. chopped Italian dry salame
• 1 12 oz. jar black olives
• 1 4 oz. jar pimentos, drained (found with black olives)
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes 
• 1 bottle Italian dressing 

Directions:

• Chop all ingredients and set aside.
• Boil pasta, adding 1 tbsp olive oil & some salt to the water, until al dente. 
• Drain and rinse with cool water to immediately cool pasta down. 
• Add pasta to a bowl and add the other tbsp of olive oil, stir the pasta up. This helps it from sticking together. 
• Add all chopped ingredients as well as the salad dressing & some salt to taste. 
• Toss up, serve, and enjoy!