Peppermint Mocha

After a long shopping day with my Mom and my sister, Sheri,...we decided to stop at McDonalds to get something to drink for the 45 minute ride home.  They were wanting peppermint mocha coffee...

                                                    
.since I'm not exactly an avid coffee drinker, I do drink coffee from time to time, I decided on the peppermint mocha hot chocolate....And I would recommend it!!  It was very warm, creamy, and refreshing!  You absolutely must try either the hot chocolate or the coffee!
                                                     
              Here is my sister, Sheri, enjoying hers..............

                                                
     I make a lot of salads through out the year...one of my favorites is an Italian pasta salad.   It's so easy, and fast to make...I guess you could call it my "go to" salad.  It's the one I always make in a pinch because it's fast, easy and cheap!   It also has so many variations of ingredients, that I usually always have enough of something on hand to throw it all together.....Here's how I made one the other night..                     


First of all I start my water boiling for my pasta....I chose Radiatore                    

                                                          
Then I got busy chopping my my veggies........ I chose, tomatoes, red, yellow, and orange peppers, shredded carrots, and mini pepperoni's....                             

     I also added some sliced black olives.....I put it all in a big bowl and I added the pasta and one bottle if dressing.........

         This dressing always works best for me....since it's light, it's not as oily and it doesn't have quite the bite that some of the others do............

 and there you have it.   It's a great, easy side that most of my family loves.   You can also use broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, green bell pepper, green onions...basically any raw vegetable.