Summer Pasta Salad

While I was pregnant with Van I craved fresh vegetables. However, I was usually too sick to prepare real meals, so I ate a lot of TV dinners and sandwiches. It was a treat for me to have someone else cook a meal and bring it by. One of my good friends, Crystal, was always quick to invite me over for dinner if she knew Mike was out of town on business. On one such occasion she made this pasta salad. It was heavenly! Maybe it was all the freshness and simplicity of it or maybe it was because I hadn't eaten anything besides dry cereal, crackers, and a lean cuisine. Whatever the reason. I still remember it as one of my favorite dinners during that time.

Serves: 4
Start to Finish: 20 minutes
Recipe By: Crystal Ross

Ingredients:

1/2 box bow-tie pasta noodles
1 (6 oz) can tuna I prefer solid, white albacore tuna packed in water
1 head romaine lettuce, finely chopped a head of romaine lettuce is smaller than a head of iceberg lettuce. So if you are going to substitute, you will probably only need 1/2 a head of iceberg. Note: romaine lettuce has significantly more vitamins than iceberg lettuce and there is hardly a taste difference.
1 large tomato, diced
2 TBSP low-fat mayonnaise or ranch dressing I don't like mayonnaise, so I substitute it for the ranch dressing but you can really add any kind of salad dressing, Thousand Island, French, Bleu Cheese, etc ... as long as it is thick enough to hold the salad together.

Directions:

In in a large stock pot, boil water for the noodles. Meanwhile, wash and chop the lettuce and tomato. When water begins boiling, cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool. Drain tuna. You can run a knife inside the tuna can to break up the chucks and cut down the larger pieces. In a gallon-sized Ziploc bag combine all ingredients: cooked noodles, tuna, chopped lettuce and tomato, and dressing. Close and shake. Can be served immediately or refrigerated for later.