Home Town Drive-In Pasta Salad

A small drive-in dairy bar in our town which has been closed for some time used to make this...my kids missed it. I remembered they had the ingredients posted to a board in the drive-in for some reason, so I worked on trying to get it the way they prepared it. It's finally right and I thought I would share it. We like this at room temperature, but it certainly can be refrigerated.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Calories: 338 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 (12 ounce) package tri-color rotini pasta
• ¼ cup finely diced sweet onion
• 1 pinch ground black pepper to taste (Optional)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook rotini pasta at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain and rinse with cold water to cool.

Step 2

Whisk sugar, salt, and hot water in a large salad bowl until sugar has dissolved. Stir vinegar, vegetable oil, and oregano into sugar mixture to make a dressing. Mix tomato, red bell pepper, and onion in the dressing. Gently fold rotini into dressing and vegetables, mix in Cheddar cheese, and season with black pepper.