Katie Tovar's Perfect Pasta Salad with Artichoke

Another fabulous salad served at the March Historical League meeting. Thanks to Katie for creating this delicious salad. Even better, you can make it a day ahead.

Quick Artichoke Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
4 oz. (about 1 cup) medium sized pasta
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
1/4 pound small mushrooms
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup medium-size pitted ripe olives
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
fresh basil
salt and pepper

Directions:
Cook macaroni according to package directions;
drain well, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
Turn into a large bowl.
     Add artichokes and their liquid, mushrooms,
cherry tomatoes, olives parsley, and basil; toss
gently.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours
or until the next day.  Before serving, season with
salt and pepper to taste.

Susie Brinegar's Penne Pasta Salad

Sometimes being creative is much more fun than following a recipe. I love how Susie experimented on this Penne Pasta Salad. She writes, " I don't have an exact recipe - Several months ago I bought that Penne salad at Costco's and loved it.  It was expensive, though.  So I just read the ingredients and came home and made my own salad!  The quantity is not exact - I just put in as much as I like, so I'll give you the ingredients and you can do the same. Try it!  Hope it turns out good!"
It sounded so good, I made it too and added chopped celery, chopped sweet red pepper and chopped lettuce.

Ingredients:
16 oz of cooked (al dente) penne pasta and drained
Cooked skinless chicken breast, chopped (I usually use two)
Whole Kalamata olives
8 oz can (or more) of artichoke hearts, quartered
One or two cups of cherry tomatoes
Medium size red onion chopped
Garlic salt
Celery salt
Onion salt
Salt
Pepper
Toss with Greek salad dressing.  Caesar dressing and also Italian dressing are good.
Top with crumbled Feta cheese

Options: Top with toasted Pine Nuts.