My New Favorite Pasta Salad

I planted a garden this spring. I had hoped by now that we would be eating squash, zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes from that garden but by mid-June all the squash had died leaving me with peepers and tomatoes. My one Super Sweet 100 cherry tomato plant has been my garden's saving grace. Every few days, I get at least 10 cherry tomatoes from the bush. 


I've been using these tomatoes along with my herbs to make pasta dishes. I was excited to see a special recipe section in the July issue of Southern Living dedicated to tomatoes & basil - two ingredients I have in abundance these days. A few weeks ago I tried the Tortellini-and-Tomato Salad recipe and it has become my new favorite dish of the summer. 


My husband doesn't eat raw tomatoes (I know he's weird) so before I made the salad, I just half the cherry tomatoes and put them on a cookie sheet to roast in the oven. If you want to roast your tomatoes too, just drizzle them with a little olive oil and salt. Roast them a 300 degree oven for about an hour. Roasting the tomatoes gives them extra flavor so I don't mind the extra work.  


Last night, I halfed the recipe and used the cheese tortellini from Trader Joes. It is delicious hot or cold.  

Do you have any good and easy recipes to share? I would love to hear about them since I'm always looking for new ideas.