I’m taking it easy in the kitchen this week.  Tomorrow is my last “rest” day in the cooking department.  I love that it is acceptable to eat a very large cold salad in the summer for dinner.  My husband spends his after work hours in the yard making our lawn beautiful and pushing the girls on the swings.  A nice crisp salad is always a welcomed meal for him.
The thing I really like about this salad, is how filling it can be.  It is a romaine lettuce base with pasta salad, dressing, tomatoes, and bacon.  Lots of bacon.  The recipe calls for 6 slices, I used about 15.  We always like a little extra protein for dinner.

This boxed pasta salad is a great starter.  I don’t know that it gets me really excited when I eat it just by itself.  But toss it with a bunch of extras and you have me sold!

I like to toss the romaine lettuce with a bit of ranch.  You could use any dressing.  I like it better this way, so as not to need to put dressing on the whole plate after it is served.  Keep it light, you wont want soggy salad.

I served myself a bowl first to taste it.  My husband went with our toddler to a BBQ with some families from his Bible Study group.  N and I had to stay home since she is still fighting off a yucky eye infection.

I cooked the pasta and did all of the slicing and dicing while the girls had a nap.  Then I just put it all in the fridge to chill.  Then all you have to do it toss the lettuce with dressing and top it with the pasta, tomatoes, bacon and cheese.  Really easy and it will be crisp and cold ready for dinner.

BLT Pasta Salad
1 box Suddenly Salad Pasta (prepared according to directions)
2 vine tomatoes (you can use any tomatoes, these were about baseball sized)
6-15 slices of cooked bacon (I keep precooked bacon in the freezer)
1 bag romaine salad
ranch dressing or dressing of your choice
shredded cheese to garnish.  I used mozzarella.
1. Prepare pasta according to directions on box.  Let it chill in the fridge for an hour or so.
2. Toss lettuce with dressing, just enough to give it a light coating.
3. De-seed and dice tomatoes.  Set aside
4. Cook bacon and crumble.  Set aside
5. In a large bowl, layer lettuce, pasta, tomatoes, bacon and cheese for garnish.
6.  Serve and enjoy.
*Try adding shredded chicken or BBQ chicken to make it a little more hearty.*