Ingredients:
1 box of medium shells or rotini (corkscrew) pasta, cooked in boiling water per instructions on the box 12-ounce package of frozen stir-fry vegetables which include broccoli, sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms and red peppers, all chopped 14.5-ounce can of Red Gold Diced Tomatoes with onions and garlic, with juice 1/2-pound hard salami, cut into bite-size pieces Good sprinkling of garlic powder 1 cup Italian salad dressing, any kind you like

Instructions:
When the pasta is boiled, drain it well in a colander and place in a large bowl or casserole dish. In the meantime prepare the vegetable mix in your microwave according to directions on the package. Drain liquid off. Add the can of diced tomatoes with juice and the salami pieces to the cooked veggies, cover and return to the microwave for 4 more minutes. Stir this into the pasta in your large bowl or casserole dish. Give the top of the mixed pasta a good sprinkling of garlic powder and stir it together well. Then add, and stir in, the Italian salad dressing. When served warm, this is a tasty dish that may become your new way to dine on pasta, rather than making traditional spaghetti. It can be refrigerated and reheated if you like warm leftovers. This is also a tasty cold pasta salad when served after being refrigerated overnight. You can add other ingredients such as stuffed olives, black olives, various cheeses or even chopped artichoke hearts to this dish. Other meats of most any variety, from chicken, pork, beef or even shrimp, can be used rather than the hard salami. You can’t very well wreck this meal – and it’s a budget-stretcher you can enjoy often. Readers with questions or comments for Dave Kessler may write to him in care of this publication.