Antipasto Pasta Salad

Wow!  The weekend is only half over and I feel like I've accomplished so much! Don't you just love days like that?  I feel especially awesome because my husband was gone all morning at an archery competition so I was on kid-duty as well.  Luckily Big Sister played at the next door neighbors all day and Little Brother was kept busy with the garden hose for a looooong time, allowing me to work my butt off. Here's a little rundown of my day:

1. Ate breakfast with the kids, read our new library books again, then they watched cartoons while I drank some coffee and read my magazine, and had a nice chat with my mom ♥
2.  Did 2 loads of laundry and it's all put away!
3.  Cleaned all of the floors in the house
4.  Cleaned the laundry room that looked like it was right out of an episode of Hoarders.  Seriously, I should have taken before and afters.  While I did that I also got all of my sewing supplies and fabric stash organized- something I've needed to do for a loooooong time.
5.  I prepped and put 2 coats of paint on a furniture project I'm working on.  Did you know I also custom paint furniture?  You can see my work at Pierce Street Furnishings. I'm really excited about this because it's my last project to wrap up for my first booth at the local consignment and antique mall.  They are having an outdoor sale and I rented a booth for the weekend.  If the sale goes well I might consider renting a booth inside their shop to sell my wares :)

It feels great to have all of this accomplished and know that a lot of my not-fun things are crossed off of my list so tomorrow I'm free to do lots of REALLY fun things! Like grilling out and eating this delicious pasta salad :)

source

1 pound corkscrew pasta
1/4 pound Genoa salami, chopped
1/4 pound pepperoni sausage, chopped
1/2 pound Asiago cheese, diced
1 (6 ounce) can black olives, drained and chopped or fresh pitted kalamata olives
1 jar artichoke hearts
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix- look for a low sodium one
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, and cool under cold water.

In a large bowl, combine the pasta, salami, pepperoni, Asiago cheese, black olives, red bell pepper, green bell pepper and tomatoes. Stir in the envelope of dressing mix. Cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour.

To prepare the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, parsley, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Just before serving, pour dressing over the salad, and mix well.