Last Minute Potluck

A week ago, Ryan reminded me a little last minute that there was a squadron pot luck that night and that he didn't sign us up to bing anything, because he was crazy busy that week, but he wanted to know if we should bring something, and what could be bring.  Since this was a crazy day for him, he would not be able to help me cook anything, so the choice was entirely mine.  I thought about it and I wondered "What can I make that is quick and easy, vegetarian, and could be served cold?"  I wanted it to be served cold because I was squeezing this into my already planned and packed day, so I did not want to be hovering over the stove last minute, possibly running late to get hot food to the base.

So, I decided on some tortellini veggie salad, served cold.  But like I said, I was in a time crunch, so I made the simplest dish I could imagine.  Here is what I grabbed from the store...Broccoli, cheese tortellini and garlic.

The pasta was very easy to make, and saw was the broccoli.  It does not get much easier than boil some water and put on the stove.  For the broccoli, to minimize nutrient loss by cooking for too long in too much water, I used a little water and then assumed more would "appear" when these ice crystals melted.  I also did not cook it until it was mushy, just nice and crisp, because I knew it would continue cooking after I removed it from the heat and added it to my hot pasta.

Once I drained the tortellini, I added some olive oil to the same pot, put the tortellini back in, and then added garlic.  I turned the heat on very low, and waited until I could smell the garlic, which smelled so good.

With the broccoli, I added black pepper.  This did not need salt because the frozen tortellinis already had enough!

Then I layered in a bowl, alternating between pasta and broccoli.  I gave it a little loss around, and...

Viola!  I had a nice pasta salad, vegetarian, with a good dose of broccoli, ready to be chilled until I had to leave for the party.

Here is my plate from the pot luck.  There was a lot of good options.  Often I do not get much choice, but this was great.  I was also not the only one thinking pasta salad.  I think there were probably 6 or so others, but mine was the only one with tortellini.

Don't forget that I am going on a little trip soon, so I may "disappear" for a few days, from both blogging and commenting.  I will share more details later, but this trip should provide some amazing photos, from both places and foods.

Have a good weekend!

QUESTIONS:  What is your go-to last minute party item?  What is the one dish you know you can prepare in a hurry?  If you had lots of time to plan, what is your favorite dish to bring to a party?