Turkey & Pasta Salad

This is my VERY favorite pasta salad recipe! My mom made this growing up, and I can't ever get enough of it. I don't do great with eating leftovers, however, I made this pasta salad a few weeks ago and I ate it five different times throughout the week. And it was just as good the fifth time as it was the first time. I store all the ingredients in separate baggies to use throughout the week (see picture at the bottom of the page). And, I keep the dressing in our blender in the fridge, so when we were ready to eat I could quickly re-blend the dressing (as it's oil based). This is a great meal to store and use throughout the week, although it also works to combine the ingredients all at once to use for an event. Rating: 10/10

Ingredients (dressing):

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. dried mustard

2 Tbs. poppy seeds

Ingredients (pasta): 

1 box bowtie pasta

1/2 bag baby spinach

1 lb thick turkey, cubed (I always do less, since I'm not a huge meat lover)

1 package monterey jack cheese, cubed

1 red onion, chopped

1-2 cups dried cranberries

1 cup pinenuts, toasted

Directions:

1) For the dressing: Add all the items into a blender and mix on low until smooth.

2) Add pasta ingredients all together in a bowl and add desired amount of dressing. Mix.