Avocado Pasta Salad

I saw this recipe on a friend's site and she said it makes a fabulous salad dressing so I thought, "why not add it to pasta". And it turned out great. I think even adding some sliced avocado would have made it even better, but I only bought one and used it all in the dressing. And be creative with your add-ins, anything goes here. I can't wait to eat it on a green salad with bacon as suggested! Enjoy!

Pasta Salad:

1 lb. garden rotini pasta, boiled and rinsed in cold water

cherry tomatoes, chopped

grated carrots

black olives

chopped cucumber

red onion or green onion, chopped

fresh cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:

1/4 cup ripe avocado (I used 1 whole avocado)

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

1/8 teaspoon dried parsley

1 pinch dried dill weed

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1 garlic clove

DIRECTIONS: Mash avocado in a bowl, then stir in mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, and vinegar. Add parsley, dill, onion powder, and garlic. Stir until well blended and add to pasta salad. Stir well and chill until ready to serve. *Note: You can add a little extra vinegar and buttermilk to thin it out to a more pourable dressing.

If you don't have buttermilk (who does?) then place 1 TBS of vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup, add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line. Let stand for five minutes. Then, use as much as the recipe calls for. Works just as well and no one will ever know the difference!