Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

I was looking for a traditional pasta salad recipe but ran across this recipe at allrecipes.com. I've been using a lot of pasta lately because my couponing has gotten me quite a few free pasta boxes and I might as well make good use of them.  This recipe was really good and I would definitely make it again.  I used light mayo if that helps:).  You could add thawed frozen peas or shredded carrots too.

Ingredients:

1 (12 ounce) package uncooked rotini pasta

10 slices bacon (or 1 cup crumbled bacon)

1 cup light mayonnaise

3 tablespoons dry ranch salad dressing mix

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup milk, or as needed

1 large tomato, chopped

1 can coarsely chopped black olives

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Stir in rotini pasta and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until al dente; drain.

(Skip this step if you used pre-cooked bacon crumbles).  Place bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook until evenly brown. Drain and chop.

In a large bowl, mix mayonnaise, ranch dressing mix, garlic powder, and pepper. Stir in milk until smooth. Place bacon, tomato, black olives and cheese in bowl and toss to coat with dressing. Cover and chill at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. Toss with additional milk if the salad seems a little dry.

Nutritional Content: Servings per recipe: 10, amount per serving (made with regular mayonnaise): Calories: 336; Fat: 26.8g; Total Carbs: 14.9g; Fiber: 1.1g; Protein: 9.3g; Sodium: 691mg; WW Points+: 9