Pasta Salad with Bacon and Peas

 Summer is the time for Pasta Salads and here is another one for you to try. Bettie and Lyle thought it was good and adding the bacon just as you are serving it helps keep it crispy. If you do not have soft cream cheese with chives and onions just use plain cream cheese and add some finely diced onions or shallots about 2 tablespoons or too taste in the dressing. I used sour cream onion dip for the sour cream which worked well. I was out of sour cream and it just calls for 1 tablespoon. You can easily add or change the vegetables also.

Pasta Salad with Bacon and Peas

Dressing:

¼ cup soft cream cheese with onion and chives (2 ounces cream cheese)

⅛ cup Mayonnaise or salad dressing (Sue’s recipe would be good here)

1 Tablespoon sour cream or onion dip

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

½ Tablespoon white wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

⅓ teaspoon black pepper or to taste

 Combine ingredients until smooth. Chill in refrigerator while making salad.

Salad:

4 ounces uncooked pasta of choice (I used elbow macaroni)

⅓ to ½ cup fresh or frozen peas

⅓ cup diced red bell pepper

⅓ cup diced red onion

¼ cup chopped parsley

¼ teaspoon grated lemon rind

3 slices cooked and crumbled bacon

 Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, rinse with cold water and drain again. Stir in salad ingredients and salad dressing. Save a little to add just before serving. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Top with the bacon crumbles just before serving to keep them crisp.