Although we had a great evening at our family cookout this past Monday, I have to say those events should really happen more often on the weekends when there’s less of a curfew. Thanks a lot, full time job! At any rate, we had almost all the siblings together and enjoyed too much food as usual – burgers, sweet potato fries, caprese salad, watermelon, veggies with hummus and this California Spaghetti salad!

We also got to celebrate Hailey’s birthday for the second day in a row! She turned 15 on Sunday. Y’all…15…as in almost 16. This girl will be driving on her own next year? She’s practically an adult, one who’s 3 inches taller than me too! Do you ever stop missing the days of when they were teeny tiny, always wanted to snuggle with you on the couch and asked you to color on a daily basis? Every age has its own perks, but those early years are just the sweetest! For those of you who don’t know me well yet, Hailey was a cute little 6 year old when I started dating Allen! The first time she met my parents (we were going out to dinner naturally) she had me do her hair and she wore her Easter dress, because she wanted to look nice! Sweet 🙂

She doesn’t wear dresses much anymore, but she is still very into art and has upgraded from coloring to painting and occasionally still makes artwork just for us! Since this is a food blog, I’m obligated to tell you about the delicious red velvet cake we had at the cookout for her birthday! Topped with homemade cream cheese icing of course! She’s typically an ice cream girl, but when it comes to cake red velvet is her favorite. Girl still has some learning to do about the yumminess of vegetables, but she knows where it’s at when it comes to dessert!

And now that I’ve posted that photo, is anyone really still interested in pasta salad or are y’all drooling over cake, thinking about a trip to the bakery, wondering if any of them deliver or possibly half contemplating checking your kitchen cabinets to see if you have the ingredients to bake your own? It’s okay, the California Spaghetti salad will be waiting for you when you get back and need a dose of veggies to even the playing game! or field? The saying goes something like that! I love the crunch and color this particular mix of veggies adds to the salad!

The dressing is a very simple mix of Italian salad dressing (Wish Bone is my go to), Parmesan cheese, sesame seeds, celery seed (confession: I didn’t have any on hand so I excluded this ingredient), paprika and garlic powder. I added all the dry ingredients to a large measuring cup with a spout first and then poured in the dressing and whisked to mix it all together. As with any pasta salad, it’s best to make it a few hours early so it can marinate in the fridge before serving and soak up all the flavor!

Best places to take this salad:

• A cookout with friends and/or family
• Family reunion in a pavilion by the river
• Potluck at work, depending where you work 🙂
• On your deck or patio with a glass of wine

There’s only a little over a month of summer left this year! Plan some cookouts, get outside, stay away from the Halloween aisles at the stores and make this yummy pasta salad! Enjoy!

Print

California Spaghetti Salad

A summertime staple perfect for cookouts!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1 Ib thin spaghetti broken into small pieces
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes sliced in half
• 2 zucchini quartered
• 1 large cucumber quartered
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 1 red onion diced
• 2 cans sliced olives (2-1/4 ounces each)
• 1 bottle Italian salad dressing 15-16 oz
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions

1. Wash and prep all vegetables and set aside.
   

2. Cook pasta according to directions on package, rinse under cold water, drain and add to a large mixing bowl.

   While the pasta is cooking make the dressing by adding the Italian dressing, cheese, sesame seeds, paprika, celery seed and garlic powder to a measuring cup and whisking until well mixed.

3. Add the vegetables to the spaghetti, pour dressing over top and gently mix to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.
   

Recipe Notes

Recipe found from therecipecritic.com !

Have a beautiful day!