Simple Pasta Salad

I have a mission in life and that mission is to put as little effort as possible into all things. Some might call it lazy, I call it smart. Why try to cobble together lunch for Mila all week when I can make something on the weekend that she can eat all week long?

Cold pastas, man. They're the bomb.

This particular one is particularly bomb-tastic because it's a "base," so to speak. She'll eat it exactly as photographed one day, and then the next I can add some veggie pepperoni to change it up.  I can toss in some cucumbers, olives, Italian dressing, or whatever. I can even heat it up and toss in some veggie ground beef.

It won't last long enough to do that, though. Alexis will make sure of that.

Simple Pasta Salad

1 pound cavatappi or penne, cooked per instruction on the box
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in halves
1 8-oz package mozzarella balls
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried basil
Salt to taste

1. Once the cavatappi is cooked, toss in the olive oil and white wine vinegar then refrigerate it until cool.

2. Add in all of the other stuff. Toss.

3. DONE. It's summer; you should be spending time outside, not in the kitchen.