Cowboy Pasta Salad

Looking for a cool meal on a hot day that’s sure to fill you up? Cowboy pasta salad certainly does the trick! Filled with ground beef, cheese cubes, bacon, beans, corn, and a flavorful homemade dressing, you definitely won’t walk away hungry.

Ingredients

• 1 pound pasta
• 1 pound ground beef cooked and chilled
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 8 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes , halved
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese , cubed
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can black beans , rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can canned corn drained
• 1/2 red onion , diced
• 4 slices cooked bacon , crumbled
• 1 jalapeno , optional, thinly sliced
Cowboy Dressing:
• 16 ounces salsa verde
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water until pasta is cooled.
2. Cook ground beef in a skillet over medium high heat and season with salt, pepper and cumin. Drain any excess grease and transfer to a bowl and chill.
3. Halve the tomatoes, cube the cheese, open the cans and drain, dice the pepper and onion and crumble the bacon.
4. In a large bowl, combine the pasta and the dressing together and stir until pasta is all coated in the sauce. Top with the cooked and chilled ground beef, tomatoes, cheese cubes,black beans, corn, bell pepper, red onion, and bacon crumbles.
5. Serve right away or cover and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Dressing:

In a blender add salsa verde, mayonnaise, lime juice, smoked paprika, garlic, cumin, onion powder, salt, black pepper and chili powder. Blend until smooth.