Whole Wheat Penne Pasta Salad

I made this salad for a potluck at a neighbors house on the fourth of July. I stood in front of the pasta at the store unable to decide, regular pasta or whole wheat. The whole wheat is better for you but there will be a lot of kids there and you know how kids are, what kind of noodles are those....they look funny, what's wrong with them? Well I thought about it for a little while and decided the kids probably wouldn't eat it any way. It's full of vegetables and green stuff and what kid's going to want to eat that, right? So I bought the whole wheat pasta and away we go. Guess what, I kind of watched and looked around and all of the kids had some pasta salad on their plate and most of them actually ate it. I even noticed a couple of them getting seconds, I guess you just never know for sure do you? Any way it's a nice salad with lots of flavor so let's get started. Here's the ingredients:

Whole wheat penne pasta                                    1 - 14 ounce box
Grape tomatoes, cut in 1/2                                   1 pint
Red onion, julienne                                               1/2 medium
Carrot, cut in matchsticks                                     1 large
Broccoli, cut bite size floret's                                1 bunch
Green bell pepper, cut in strips                             1 large
Fresh Spinach, chopped coarse                            about 2 ounces
Fresh Basil, cut in ribbons                                     about 1/4 cup
Fresh Garlic, minced                                             4 cloves
Black pepper, fresh ground                                   to taste ( lots )

Cajun spice (optional )                                          to taste

Wishbone Robusto Italian Dressing                       24 ounces ( 1-1/2 bottles )

Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta, when you are cooking pasta for salad you want to be sure to cook it done instead of al dente as you won't be adding any more heat to it. If your not sure follow the directions on the box, they are usually pretty accurate for pasta. While you're waiting for the pasta start chopping the vegetables. Put it all in a large bowl so when it's all done it will be easy to mix. This recipe makes about 6 quarts so choose your bowl accordingly. So I'm cutting red onions julienne which is basically fine strips but you can give them a medium dice if you like, and matchstick carrots, if your not comfortable with doing that you can buy them already done or just cut the carrot in 1/2 the long way and then cut 1/2 coins. Really you can cut your veggies any way you might desire as long as it's bite size and fits on the fork. When the pasta is done drain it and rinse it well with cold water, add it to the bowl of cut veggies, add the seasonings and Italian dressing, mix it well, give it a taste and refrigerate until it's time to serve. Again I like Wishbone Italian dressing as it has a lot of flavor but you can use what ever brand of dressing you prefer and still have a wonderful salad. This salad would also be good with Ranch dressing or a nice Balsamic vinaigrette, it really all depends on your preference. If your plating it up a small sprig of fresh basil adds a nice touch. There it is, a nice fresh whole wheat pasta salad that even the kids will enjoy!!!