Rice Pasta Salad

This is not a recipe so much as an idea for those times when you just want something different or when you just want to clean out the fridge. I have forced it into recipe form for practical purposes, but really I just throw in handfuls (my handful is about ¼ cup) of this and that until it looks good. Keep in mind that if you can’t have rice pasta there are also pastas made of corn, quinoa, amaranth, and, well, even wheat (lol). This colorful pasta salad is full of flavors and versatile enough to be made free of all allergens that are unique to you, so let your creative juices flow. By the way, these are just the ingredients I had on hand last night. Some of our other favorite additions are: broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, red onion, green onion, cubed cheese substitute (my daughter who can have dairy likes grated parmesan in hers), any canned beans, sugar snap peas, and canned chicken or tuna.

4 c Cooked rice pasta veggie spirals (Tinkyada)

¼ c Each (basically 2 c total):
Kosher dill pickles, diced
Black olives, sliced
Carrot, grated
Cucumber, diced
Celery, diced
Grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
Ham, julienned
Red onion, chopped

¼ c Kosher dill pickle juice

¼ c Safe Italian dressing (we use Briannas Blush Wine Vinaigrette, it is sweeter than regular Italian so if you are using a standard vinaigrette then you may also want to add a pinch of sugar for the kids)

¼ t Black pepper

OK…Throw it all in a bowl and mix it up, that's it! If you can wait then refrigerate for about an hour to chill and to blend the flavors...personally, I like it room temperature straight out of the pot. :)