Creamy Pasta Salad

I haven't been diligent with my menu planning but I did make a list of meals last week that we did use some of.  The hits were:

Stove Top Easy Cheesy Chicken Bake - everyone loved it, even the baby.  The only thing I do differently is add seasoning to the chicken.

Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry, Fried Rice, and Chung's All Natural Vegetable Spring Rolls - I made the everything but the spring rolls homemade and it was good!  James and I were surprised at how delicious the spring rolls were but I think it was because it was made out of real stuff and not a long list of crazy things we couldn't pronounce.  They were very light and tasty.  We tried their chicken egg rolls too but they weren't great and they are loaded with mystery ingredients. 

I know I cooked more than that last week but I can't for the life of me remember what.  We did eat a lot of sandwiches on fresh bread from the bakery at Fresh. My favorite is the rosemary olive oil bread with salami, chicken, lettuce, and a little creole mustard.  Delish! 

Today James is smoking ribs and I am cooking purple hull peas and made up a tangy, creamy pasta salad to go with it.  I found the recipe for the pasta salad on All-Recipes but altered it based on preference and what I had on hand.  Click the link above for the original recipe and I'll post my version below.

1 bag of whacky spirals cooked according to package directions and cooled
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
15 baby carrots thinly sliced
Dressing:
Mix up 1/2 c mayonnaise, 1/4 c prepared ranch dressing (I used HV this time but you should definitely try the pioneer woman's homemade version), 3 T milk, 2 T rice vinegar, 1 T onion powder, 1/2 tsp Tony Cachere's, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes, 1/2 tsp Zatarains creole mustard.

Stir dressing into spirals and veggies.  Chil until ready to serve. 

I plan on putting shredded cheddar and sliced almonds in just before serving.  If we weren't having it with ribs, I would add bacon bits.  If I had fresh broccoli I'd add that too.... the possibilities are endless!  :)