Southwest Pasta Salad

Pasta salads are one of my favorite things to make.  They combine two of my favorite things -- pasta and dressing!  The pasta salads I tend to like have tons of flavor and simple ingredients.  As an added bonus, sometimes I can sneak in veggies that my girls otherwise wouldn't eat (tomatoes in this case).  If they're chopped small enough and coated with dressing, somehow they don't notice them and gobble them up.

We have 'taco night' a couple of times a month at our house and this dish has been a perfect accompaniment several times.  I made the dressing a day in advance, so when it was time for dinner all I had to do was cook the pasta, chop the tomatoes and green onions, and take the corn out of the freezer!  So easy!  

Southwest Pasta Salad

(adapted from Cooking Light)

1/4 cup Low-Fat Buttermilk

4 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro, Chopped

3 Tablespoons Lime Juice

3 Tablespoons Sour Cream

3 Tablespoons Mayonnaise

1 1/2 teaspoons Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Pepper

1/4 teaspoon Ground Red Pepper (if you'd like to spice it up)

3 Cloves Garlic, Crushed

1 cup Orzo Pasta, Cooked

1 cup frozen corn, thawed and drained

2 plum tomatoes, chopped

4 green onions, chopped

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, cilantro, lime juice, sour cream, mayonnaise, chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic, and ground red pepper.  Set aside (or make ahead and store in the refrigerator).

Cook pasta according to package directions.  In a large bowl place corn, tomatoes and green onions.  Drain the pasta and add it to the large bowl.  Stir to combine.  

Drizzle the dressing over the pasta mixture and stir to combine.