4 small sweet peppers, diced (red and yellow)
1/2 package each of sweet red and yellow cherry tomatoes (or 1 package of mixed)
1 medium sized can sliced black olives, drained
small block medium cheddar, cubed (I might use sharp next time)
small block monterrey jack cheese, cubed
1 jar basil pesto (I used Classico brand)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
4-5 minced garlic cloves
1 jar roasted red peppers (diced)
2 packages of frozen tri-color tortellini (boiled and cooled)
1-2 cups grated parmasean/romano blend (or one cup of each)
Mrs. Dash Italian Blend (or some kind of italian seasoning)
salt and pepper to taste
EVOO
Combine first 5 ingredients. Marinade overnight with Pesto marinade (pesto/EVOO/minced garlic). Combine with cooked and chilled tortellini, roasted red peppers, remaining cheeses, and spices to taste. Refrigerate to combine flavors (can be done overnight). EVOO is needed to add moisture back into salad before serving (while cooking pasta coat with EVOO while cooling to avoid pasta sticking together). You could add many different veggies as you desire. Next time I would add red onions or mushrooms to the veggies that are marinaded. The olive bars at grocery stores are good places to get add-ins to this salad if you don't have the time to marinade. You could even replace cheese tortellini with spinach tortellini (it would just not be tri-colored).
