Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful fall day here in Iowa. The sky was a gorgeous blue, the humdity was low (finally!), and the bugs were nowhere in sight. Kevin wanted to grill some burgers, so I thought I’d whip up a couple side dishes to go along with.

The boys love my Italian Pasta Salad and tell me I need to make it more often. It’s an easy peasy recipe that’s great to take to potlucks and family reunions. I eyeballed the amount of each ingredient, so you can add more or less to your family’s taste.

I also decided to make a Watermelon Peach Salsa. We have four peach trees, the kind that has the little white peaches, and they are huge this year. I’ve already canned two lugs of peaches, so this was a great way to use up a few more. The recipe called for cilantro, but my family’s not a huge fan, so I omitted it.

Italian Pasta Salad

1 package rotini pasta noodles, cooked per package directions and cooled
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 a medium red onion, diced
1/2 a red bell pepper, diced
1/2 a green bell pepper, diced
1 3.8 ounce can sliced black olives
Half a package of turkey pepperoni (or regular if you prefer), sliced into strips
1 bottle zesty Italian dressing

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Set aside until cool.

In a large bowl, combine the diced onion, diced peppers, black olives and sliced pepperoni. Add the cooled pasta. Pour the Italian dressing over the pasta, and mix until well combined. Refrigerate for several hours to let the flavors meld together.

Watermelon Peach Salsa

2 cups diced watermelon
2 cups diced fresh peaches
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 a green bell pepper, diced
1/2 a red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
Juice of 1 lime
Fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, and mix well. Refrigerate for several hours to let the flavors marinade together.