Pesto Ranch Pasta Salad

I'm a sucker for pasta.  Seriously.  I have a serious pasta addiction,  Hot. Cold.  Doesn't matter.  Marinara sauce. Italian dressing. Ranch dressing.  Doesn't matter.  Have I mentioned I LOVE pasta!?! That led me to today.  We're having some baked chicken tenders and roasted asparagus for dinner and I was looking for another side dish.  I had some broccoli and grape tomatoes - which both go GREAT in pasta salad - so I decided a pasta salad would be a great dish to serve!  But I've been in a "creative mood" lately, so I decided to experiment.  A jar of pesto in my fridge was calling my name, so I whipped up this Pesto Ranch Pasta Salad!  And it was pretty doggone good - if I do say so myself!

Pesto Ranch Pasta Salad:

1 lb box small shell pasta pasta

1 large head of Broccoli (about 4 cups), cut into bite-size pieces

1 1/2 to 2 cups Grape tomatoes

4-6 Green onions, sliced 

4 tablespoons pesto

2/3 cup ranch dressing

1/2 tsp paprika 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1.) Boil a pot of water. Add pasta and broccoli. Boil pasta and chopped broccoli according to pasta package directions (about 7-8 minutes)

2.) While pasta and broccoli are cooking, sliced tomatoes and green onions.

3.) In a small bowl, mix pesto, ranch dressing, and paprika.

4.) When pasta and broccoli finish boiling, drain. DO NOT RINSE. (The desire is often to rinse pasta to stop the cooking process if you’re making a pasta salad, but this actually removes a lot of the starch. With the starch removed, the dressing won’t adhere to the pasta like it should.)

5.) Let pasta drain a cool for a couple of minutes, then, in a large bowl, mix pasta and ranch dressing mixture. Let cool another 3 or 4 minutes.

6.) Once pasta has cooled a few minutes, add tomatoes, green onions, salt, and pepper, and toss to mix.

7.) Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. (If pasta seems a little less “saucy” when it’s time to serve, just put in a little more ranch dressing.)