Artichoke Asparagus Pasta Salad

This was a big hit at the BBQ! I added just a bit of bottled ranch and Italian dressing dressing to add a little more zest, but it was great before the additions too. Yummy!

This is totally worth all the chopping!! I always use fresh spinach and Spicy Ranch Mix, and add twice the amount of red wine vinegar. My sister LOVED it and asked for the recipe. That means it is really really good!!! I also cut back on the parsley.

Amazing and addicting!

Made as per recipe, this wasn't creamy at all; in fact it suffered from being too dry. The taste was a bit too "canned cheesy" for my tastes.

I made this yesterday because I love pasta salads and I really like the ingredient list. However, I found the dressing to be too overpowering. I had several test bites once it was assembled. The RWV and parm cheese seemed way too strong. But once it had set in the refrigerator I tried it again - all I could taste was the dressing even though the RWV tartness seemed to have disappeared. I would gladly use this recipe again but I will definitely be changing the dressing.

For sure it makes 30 servings. I had to bust out a large cooking pot to stir it all together. If the recipe is followed exactly, you will get a very, very creamy salad. I decided to make some modifications to better suit our tastes. I did 1 cup of a parmesan, asiago and romano blend. 1 cup mayonnaise (and kept the 1 cup sour cream the same). Still came out pretty creamy (see photo). Make sure you use nice thin, tender asparagus. I would say this is pasta salad is on the "fancy" side considering the decadent ingredients.

This is such a hit everywhere I have taken it to.

I had no asparagus, broccoli or parsley. I always alter recipe by what I have on hand. So, I added 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped, and 1/2 cup cilantro. I substituted Southwest Ranch drsg. for sour cream, no packet of dried ranch. mmm, yummy