Tasty Appetizer - Bow Tie Pasta Stacks

We had our nearly-annual block party recently. We did a potluck-style gathering and featured soups, appetizers and s'mores along with homemade hot cocoa (with a little peppermint schnapps for the adults).

In addition to a tasty vegetable-beef soup, my daughter and I made these adorable and tasty bow-tie pasta appetizers. I chopped the cheese and vegetables, and my daughter assembled the tiny pieces for a back breaking amount of time (these are her words and descriptions :)

I bought these adorable striped, bow-tie pasta on our recent day trip to Galena, IL.

Here is the recipe:

Bow Tie Pasta Stacks

1 package of bow tie pasta,prepared according to the package instructions

1 pound of good quality Mozzarella cheese, cut into approximately 1" X 1" by 1/4" slices)

1 red pepper, cut into 1" pieces

1 can or jar of black olives (you will probably not need all of these)

Sweet, Italian dressing (or your favorite Italian-type dressing)

I cooked the pasta, rinsed it in cool water and let it marinate for a few hours in the dressing. I also let the cheese, peppers and olives marinate as well. Then my daughter back-breakingly assembled the ingredients and placed it into a glass pan. We poured the marinating liquid over the stacks and covered the pan in plastic wrap.

These made a beautiful presentation and went over well!

In the sprit of my 31 days of gratitude posts, I am grateful for wonderful neighbors and grateful for delicious food.

I'm participating in Nester's 31 day series. Click here to access the index of gratitude posts.

I'm linking up at Tatertots & Jello and Reasons to Skip the Housework