Challenge 2: Veggie Pasta Salad

Hello Hello!

So last night I made myself some dinner and ended up with a lovely pasta salad that I'm sure I'll be making all the time...super easy and incredibly delicious :)

The Recipe:  Veggie Pasta Salad

• One large Red Pepper
• One Yellow Squash
• One cup of small White Mushrooms 
• 1.5 cups of Tri-Color Penne Pasta
• Olive Oil
• Garlic Salt
• Lemon Pepper
• Classic Pepper
• Salt
• Shredded Mozzarella

The Process:  

• Wash and dry all vegetables
• Set the broiler on Low 
• Cut the ends off the squash. Cut it in half the long way, and cut each half in small slices. 
• Put the squash in a baking pan with olive oil, garlic salt, lemon pepper, and classic pepper
• Shake the pan slightly so all the squash gets marinated
• Put in the oven to be broiled for about 15 minutes, shaking the pan every few minutes
• Cut the top off the pepper and remove the seeds
• Slice the pepper into strips
• Put the pepper in a baking pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper 
• Put in the oven to be broiled for about 15 minutes, shaking the pan every few minutes
• Cut each mushroom in half
• Put the mushrooms in a baking pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper
• Put in the oven until the mushrooms brown 
• Boil some water in a small pot
• Pour desired amount of pasta into the pot
• Cook to taste, which for me means slightly softer than al dente
• Strain the pasta
• Mix the pasta and all the vegetables in a bowl
• Serve with or without mozzarella sprinkled on top

The Calories:

The squash had 14 calories, the mushrooms had 44 calories, the pepper had 14 calories, and the pasta had 300 calories. The total dish, which filled about four large bowls, was 362 calories, 400 with cheese. So one bowl was about 100 calories. 

What Went Right:

All the vegetables were delicious, the pasta came  out great, it was really healthy and pretty quick! Only about 30 minutes to prepare because I put all the veggies in at once. 

What Went Wrong:

I put a bit much garlic salt on the squash, so some of the pieces were more salty than I liked, but once all the ingredients were mixed together it wasn't a big deal. I would still use less next time. 

Other Ideas: 

I would have liked to add zucchini as well, perhaps. I feel like that would be a nice addition, and potentially some tomatoes. I'm sure I'll experiment with other veggies as well. 

If I wanted to make it a main dish, I would add some sausage slices to it. 

This is going to be a favorite of mine in college :) It stores pretty well too, and it's nice and filling.