Simplest of Simple Pasta Salad

It's summer time. Life needs to be simple. So this is a simple pasta salad that can be made the night before.

What ya need:

1 box of garden pasta (Great Value for $0.98/box)

1 bottle of Italian dressing (i used zesty fat free Italian)

Ham (the amount is up to you) I always just used left overs or the small inexpensive ham you can get at Wally world

2 small cans of sliced olives, drained

1 cucumber, chopped (optional)

1/2 to 1 lb of cheddar cheese, cubed.

Boil the pasta until it is al dente. Drain and blanch (rinse in ice cold water). Set aside until completely cold. While the pasta is boiling and cooling, prepare the rest of the ingredients, except the dressing and place in a medium-ish bowl. Combine pasta and ingredients. Pour dressing over mixture. Cover and refrigerate over night.

You can also add sun-dried tomatoes, bacon bits...all kinds of fun stuff.

My perfect dinner :) This salad goes really good with BBQ chicken, grilled hamburgers or hotdogs. It's a perfect family reunion dish! Cheap, easy and feeds alot! :) I know you're probably thinking, Jamie, why are you sharing this easy crap? Well, I made it. It was easy. I share. :) I'm sure most of you moms out there are starting to get pummelled with play dates, weddings, , family reunions... I'm just trying to help a motha out :) I'm going to make some BBQ chicken this weekend, I think :) I'll share that with y'all too!!

**for those that HATE olives, you can use pickles**