Bacon Ranch Salad

Before I started eliminating processed food from my diet, Suddenly Salad Bacon  Ranch pasta salad appeared on my table almost weekly.  It was quick, easy and, best of all, cheap.  What more could you ask for?   I was really disappointed that Suddenly Salads couldn’t be part of my diet anymore.

What I didn’t know then is that homemade Bacon Ranch pasta salad is just quick, easy and cheap as the boxed stuff and best of all, devoid of unnecessary chemicals the manufactures feel need to be there.

Last week I gave you a recipe for a homemade ranch dressing mix.  You can use that here.  You could also buy a package of Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix or use already prepared ranch salad dressing mix here also.  Also, feel free to add or eliminate any vegetables you want.

• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients

1 cup dry shell pasta

½ cup frozen peas

1/3 cup real mayonnaise

1 ½ tsp ranch dressing mix

1-2 baby carrots, shredded

1 TBS bacon bits

¼ tsp onion powder

Bring water to a rolling boil in a saucepan. Add shell pasta and carrot; boil for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together, the peas, ranch mix, bacon bits, onion powder, and mayonnaise. Mix well. Add pasta and carrots. Stir together until everything is coated. Chill and serve.