Pasta Salad: I wish I could quit you

(Am I allowed to make a Brokeback reference on what is largely a family-friendly blog?)

I have a recipe for you that will make you want to move to Idaho and become my best friend.
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I know what you are thinking- but really, the potatoes are SUPER awesome around here, and Idahoans aren't ALL hicks.  A lot, but not ALL.  And the salad is worth it.

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This heaping bowl of goodness was first made for me right after Isaac's birth by my good friend, Colleen. 
And we haven't been able to stop eating it since.
Seriously.

I am almost (if I wasn't so darn tired) willing to have another baby just so that Colleen will make me some more.

When I just started thinking about writing this post, I had to go to the store to get ingredients to make some more.  That is how strongly I feel about this pasta salad.
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It is also, almost definitely, the answer to the question : why do I still feel so chubby and pregnant-ish when my baby is 4 months old?
I'm sure that it has a gazillon calories,
But, you know what else has calories?
Vegetables.
And fruit.
And rice.
And chicken breasts.
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So, here is my theory:
  If I cut out all of that other “healthy” junk, and just eat this pasta salad, pretzel m&ms (yes.), and s'mores, than I will actually start getting thin....  ish.

I also have some crest-whitestrip knockoffs burning my teeth right now, so maybe my smile will be such a dazzling shade of white that it will blind anyone before they can look down at my stomach/hip/thigh region?

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Armed with those weight-loss theories, here you go:
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(This recipe came out of the Taste of Home magazine, but I don't know what it is called.  So, for all intents and purposes, it will hereafter be referred to as:)

This is Why My Pants are Unbuttoned Pasta Salad

-Boil up a package of cheese tortellini.  I choose rainbow pasta because color makes it look a little healthier to me.  It is probably actually the opposite (food coloring, anyone?) but there you go.Drain it and dump it into a bowl.

-Throw in a container of MARINATED fresh mozzarella balls.

-Add a can of olives

-Dump in a jar of MARINATED artichoke hearts, quartered.  (I break these up into little chunks so that I have one in every bite.)

The original recipe had chopped up orange bell peppers in it, and it was delicious.  But remember that vegetables = calories, so I would throw in a few more cheese balls instead.

-Stir it on up with some pesto sauce to taste (I use about 3/4cup)and a glug of red wine vinegar.

Let it sit in your refrigerator for a few hours, and serve. 

Take bites out of the leftovers any time you feel like you can't survive being a mom for another minute.

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I’ll meet you at the airport.