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Tortellini Pasta Salad, 6 points+

June 12, 2012 by DanicasDaily 10 Comments

Happy Tuesday all!  I think summer has officially arrived this week.  It has been hot in a way that you know it will be even hotter the next day because it’s hot outside when you go to bed.  On days/weeks like this, all I want is food that is light, refreshing and requires little to no cooking.

I am pretty sure if it was possible to sustain on watermelon all summer long, I probably would LOL.

Breakfast involved a big fruit bowl prepared by The Husband with a FAGE 0% Blueberry Acai Yogurt.  As much as I LOVE these yogurts, I cannot help but be sad when I cannot scrape all that blueberry goodness out…..(3 points+)

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I had the chance to get caught up a little working from home today and I pretty much ditched all plans of whipping something up when The Husband mentioned The Joy of Eating.

I was so proud of me for asking to have a salad with ranch on the side instead of fries….(3 points+)

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Now for all my Weight Watchers meeting friends ~ THIS is the sandwich our leader was talking about on Sunday….it is quite possibly the BEST BLTA you will ever eat.

It’s the Sunrise Rise Sandwich without Mayo and without cheese.

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I estimated on the high end by breaking down the ingredients….

  • 2 slices of their homemade sweet bread (it’s like those Hawaiian King rolls) 9 points+
  • 3 slices thick apple wood smoked bacon ~ 6 points+
  • 1/4 AVOCADO ~ 2 points+
  • lettuce, tomato

Pickles…..

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Worth every single points+ and NO cooking is required on my part Winking smile

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My latest afternoon snack addiction ~ White Cheddar Cheeze It’s (4 points+)

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I actually had every intention of cooking something off our weekly menu for dinner.  We have everything on hand for every meal on that list…..but, when it came down to it, all I wanted was something light, something that required little to no cooking.

I pondered having Harvest Grain Salad or my Vegan Pasta salad, but, I didn’t have everything on hand and that seemed like too much cooking in this heat. Open-mouthed smile

I ended up driving out to Trader Joe’s to pick up everything just so I could satisfy my Vegetable Tortellini Pasta Salad craving. 

There is something so amazing about having puffy packed, doughy noodles filled with creamy cheese and garlicky basil pesto.  Add in your whatever vegetables and mix-in’s you have on hand then top with a quick homemade balsamic dressing for a quick, light summer meal.

TORTELLINI PASTA SALAD (print it!)

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INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup carrots, shredded
  • 1/2 cup red cabbage, shredded
  • 1 zucchini, quartered and diced
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 6 oz large black olives, drained
  • 16 oz marinated mushrooms, drained
  • 5 oz marinated mozzarella
  • 18 oz cheese or pesto tortellini
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp honey
  • Sea salt and black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Cook tortellini according to packaged instructions, making it slightly al dente (cooking for the lowest time.  Drain and rinse in cool water.

2.  Meanwhile add carrots through mozzarella to a large bowl.  Add cooked tortellini to the bowl.

3.  Whish together balsamic vinegar, olive oil and honey.  Pour over tortellini and vegetable mixture.  Toss and serve.

Makes 10 heaping 1 cup servings, 6 points+ each

Nutritional information per 1 cup serving calculated at caloriecount.com

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STEP – BY – STEP

While your tortellini cooks, prep your veggies ~ I just used what we had on hand.

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Add in the fun stuff ~ any mix-in’s you want.  I picked olives and Trader Joe’s 0 points+ Garlic Marinated Mushrooms.  Pepperoncini’s would be fantastic too.

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Then, I decided it “needed” more.  I wanted mini fresh mozzarella balls, but, I did not have any…so I went with 1/2 of this Trader Joe’s Marinated Mozzarella Bread.

It has a little bit of heat, followed up with a rich sun dried tomato/basil olive oil flavor.

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Add your cooked tortellini and drizzle with the quick homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

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Toss, season with sea salt and pepper.

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Dig in!

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I cannot wait to have this for lunch tomorrow, but, I am definitely packing some extra balsamic just in case the tortellini and veggies drink it all up.

Q’s

What is the one thing you always add to your pasta salads?

Aside from pasta and veggies to bulk it up so I get more bang for my points+, I always add balsamic vinegar over anything else.  My favorite “surprise” ingredient that I get excited to see is  mozzarella balls.

Night all!

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Filed Under: Recipes, Restaurant Reviews Tagged With: Vegetarian

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Comments

  1. 1

    Robyn @ Blueberries and Oats says

    June 12, 2012 at 8:56 pm

    This recipe looks delicious! P.s. I made your Harvest Grain salad today!!

    Reply
  2. 2

    Catherine Beaudet says

    June 13, 2012 at 4:56 am

    My go to herb for any pasta salad: Chives. I am an onion and garlic junkie and Chives just bring that little zip, that je ne sais quoi to an otherwise normal pasta salad.

    Reply
  3. 3

    Dana Krall says

    June 13, 2012 at 6:07 am

    That tortellini salad looks AMAZING! Thanks for another winner, winner summer dinner!

    Reply
  4. 4

    Cassia says

    June 13, 2012 at 10:59 am

    Hi Danica,
    Thank you again for sharing your everyday goodies.
    I had the same problem with Fage. Now what I do to get all the Blueberry out is ti use a plastic spoon and a plastic knife. The spoon is small and gets the goodness out easier. The knife gets the last little bits that the spoon could not get. 🙂
    I miss you posting your stats from the Body Media. I got one and I absolutely love it! It is really helping me. The hard thing is to get the number of steps :-). It has me rolling! Thank you for letting me know about it.
    Have a great second part of the week. And again thank you!

    Reply
  5. 5

    Roz@weightingfor50 says

    June 13, 2012 at 2:26 pm

    Great looking salad Danica. I almost always add olives and sun dried tomatos to my pasta salad. So good and fresh for summer meals. have a great Wednesday.

    Reply
  6. 6

    Kailey says

    June 13, 2012 at 5:53 pm

    oh man i LOVE tortellini pasta salads! Adding mozzarella = genius idea.
    P.S – totally addicted to those Cheese-Itz

    Reply
  7. 7

    Jani says

    June 14, 2012 at 5:20 am

    I always, always add in black olives. Looking at the Cheez Its got my cravings going – those are a fav.

    Reply
  8. 8

    Karen Groszewski says

    June 25, 2012 at 8:52 pm

    Danica,
    I made this for my Husband – changed a few items, left out the olives cuz we don’t like them. Used mozzarella string cheese cut up cuz my TJ’s didn’t have what yours did. And OMG!!! The husband liked it so much he even took a container to his work TWICE!! We had a family graduation party to go to, and I got asked to bring something. Usually they ask me to bring the paper plates and cups (you can’t mess those up!). So I offered to bring my new tortellini recipie and the response was…..Are you sure you want to bring something that you made?….I made a double recipie, my MIL told me that only 2 cups were left, and she really liked it as well. Love you, love your recipes. 🙂

    Reply
    • 9

      DanicasDaily says

      June 27, 2012 at 8:44 pm

      Karen ~ that is awesome! Thanks so much for sharing that 🙂

      Glad you all enjoyed the salad,

      Danica

      Reply

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About Danica

Whether she’s enjoying a dish at a local restaurant or whipping up a crowd-pleasing, nutritious meal at home, Danica has a passion for all things food. She believes in and follows the Weight Watchers principle of “all things in moderation” and chronicles her culinary adventures here. Besides sharing her daily eats and tasty, nutritious recipes, Danica connects others seeking a healthier lifestyle on her site and shares her travel adventures around the world.

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