Today I was looking for a yummy pasta salad to go with Lindsey’s Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches. It is so yummy!

Ingredients-

• 2 cups mini pasta (measured when dry, I used shells but it would be great with mini bow tie pasta)
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup black beans
• 3/4 cup assorted sweet bell peppers*
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup red onion, (optional)
• 1/4 cup packed cilantro (~1/3 a bunch), finely chopped

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 5 tablespoons squeezed fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method-

1. Cook the pasta according to package direction. Add in the frozen corn about 1-2 minutes before the pasta is done.
2. Drain the pasta and rinse it with cold water.
3. Darin and rinse the black beans. Chop the peppers, I used 1/2 of a green pepper and 1/2 of a red pepper because that is what I had. Halve the cherry tomatoes. I seeded and chopped up two tomatoes because we were out of cherry tomatoes.
4. Finely chop up the red onion and cilantro.
5. Stir together the pasta, corn, black beans, sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, onion, and cilantro.
6. In a resealable jar, combine all of the dressing ingredients. Shake until combined. Pour the dressing over the pasta and vegetables. Stir to combine. (You may not want to use all the dressing – so add it slowly. I used about half and saved the rest because i know it will need to be freshened up tomorrow. Anyway, it would be good on a green salad, too).
7. To make ahead: mix all the ingredients and the dressing separate. Store in airtight containers in the fridge and then combine when ready to eat.