Patriotic Pasta Salad

Still looking for a festive dish to to serve for the Fourth of July? We have a fun, easy!, and celebratory red, white and blue pasta salad recipe for you today. The perfect thing to bring to a Fourth of July barbecue or potluck (do such things still even exist?!?).

A takeoff from Freutcake’s beautiful Blueberry Tomato Pasta Salad, I simply added penne noodles and diced chicken breast to take this recipe from a side dish to the main event.

How to Cut Mozzarella into Stars

Cutting mozzarella into stars is not nearly as hard as it looks and because the rest of this recipe comes together so quickly, it’s worth the little extra effort to bring that star spangled flair! 

Ryan thought I was nuts when I came home from the office on Tuesday evening and began searching for my small star cookie cutter. I believe his comment was “Why not just cut the mozzarella into pieces?” Not the point Ryan, not the point! I ransacked my house looking for my large bag of extra cookie cutters (still haven’t found it!) that don’t fit in my kitchen storage and called Mallory but she did not have one (what?!?). So, I have to give Ryan credit, he managed to redeem himself by coming up with a great alternative – Sam and Emma’s play-doh star cutter. It worked great! Sam asked if I washed it before using on the cheese….oops!

1. Wash cookie cutter (see paragraph above).
2. Start by slicing firm and chilled mozzarella into 1/4 inch slices. 
3. Use a small (preferably metal) star cookie cutter to gently cut out cheese. 
4. Place stars throughout your salad for a patriotic finish. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups blueberries
• 4 cups cherry tomatoes
• fresh basil
• mozzarella cheese
• noodles cooked per package’s instructions (I used penne but any variety of short pasta would work)
• BBQ or baked chicken breast (diced)
• balsamic glaze (I used Trader Joe’s)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash blueberries and cherry tomatoes. Slice cherry tomatoes in half and toss in a very large serving bowl with blueberries, set aside.
2. Slice chilled mozzarella cheese into 1/4 or 1/2″ slices and then cut into small stars with a cookie cutter. (Or, if you are like me and suddenly cannot find your small star cookie cutter, your children’s star play-doh cutter.)
3. Top the tomatoes and blueberries with the star cheese.
4. Add cooked noodles and diced chicken.
5. Tear fresh basil over-top and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic glaze.
6. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Freutcake’s Patriotic Blueberry Tomato Caprese