{Tuesday's Guest Post} Mango Salsa Pasta Salad

Oh do I have a treat for you all today!

As you know, I'm on my wonderful vaca down at Smith Mountain Lake so I've been lucky enough to have some fabulous guest bloggers fill in for me while I'm gone.  Today's guest is such a sweetheart!

Angie from the fabulous blog Living Aloha shares her amazing life on the beautiful island of Maui (soo jealous!) and her love story is nothing short of inspiring.  I've been a fan of her blog for awhile now and anytime I need that little pick-me-up, her blog is the first one I go to.  Her incredibly optimistic attitude and witty humor is infectious and I know you will just love her!

I mean c'mon, isn't she just adorable??

Love, love, LOVE her shoes too.

Angie doesn't have a cooking blog but she was sweet enough to share one of her delicious recipes!!  So friends, please welcome this pretty little Hawaiian!

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Aloha, friends of Kelly!  I'm Angie, and I blog over at Living Aloha.  I am happy to be guest posting here on Kelly's blog today and I am excited to share with you a favorite recipe in our home.  Before I do, I feel the need to throw out the caveat that in no way, shape or form, do I consider my blog to be a Foodie blog by any stretch of the imagination!  I don't post a lot of recipes because I still consider myself a novice in the kitchen, but every now and then I like to share recipes that I think may appeal to even the most discriminating of palates.

Today I am sharing a pasta salad that is not only healthy and refreshing, but quick and easy to make!  I came up with this recipe earlier this year while digging through our refrigerator in an effort to use up as much of our produce before it went bad.  It quickly became a staple favorite, not only in our home, but among our friends.

Mango Salsa Pasta Salad

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 box of penne pasta (can also be substituted with whole wheat pasta)

2 mangoes

1 apple (golden delicious)

1 red bell pepper

1 orange bell pepper

1 small cucumber

1/4 red onion

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Cilantro

Feta cheese

1/3 cup Light Italian dressing (your favorite brand will do!)

Salt and pepper to taste

....and the most important ingredient of all:  LOVE  :)

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box.  Drain and cool (I force-chill the pasta by running it under cold water).  Dice your fruit and veggies (but be sure to leave out the cucumber seeds - they tend to make the salsa watery), combine and set aside.  In a separate bowl, whisk the lemon juice, Italian dressing, salt and pepper.  Toss in the pasta and portion out.  Add your fruit and veggies on top, sprinkle with feta cheese, add salt and pepper and additional cilantro if needed.  It's that easy.  Enjoy (best served chilled)!

This recipe is super low-maintenance and we've tweaked it many times, depending on what produce we have on hand.  Sometimes I add olives (yum!) and on nights when The Hubs is craving protein, I serve it with a side of roasted chicken breast or mahi-mahi.  And just so you know, this salsa is also AMAZING on a bed of raw spinach, too!  The nice thing about the recipe is that the feta cheese and mangoes create a perfect balance of salty and sweet.  A super "clean" and refreshing recipe.

And FYI, mangoes are still available and in season through September, so head out to your Farmer's Market or grocery store now!  You still have time to give this recipe a try before Fall sets in!