Entertaining BIG in a smalllllll house!

So over the weekend I threw a "Stock the Bar" themed shower for one of our best "Couple" friends! We had about 25 attendees, and in my estimation it was a BIG success! Let me preface this with the simple fact that I became a vegan for lent. Full blown--won't even eat honey--vegan! It has been an interesting few weeks to say the least.  My first inclination was how do I throw a party without cooking anything that compromises my newfound beliefs yet still please a crowd?? Well one solution was asking a few of my great friends to help bring snacks, and my other solution was to try out some new delicious "vegan" recipes and see how it worked! One recipe that was particularly delicious and a huge hit was my "veggie cold pasta salad"! Most of the recipes I found called for yummy parmesean or mozerella (which don't get me wrong would be delicious) but I decided to amp up the veggie factor and keep it clean!! I'm just now taking pics (and they are with my IPHONE) but my goal is to start making videos of my recipes! Also as a side note, I am posting these recipes as inspired by otheres I have found and putting my "vegan twist" on them!  I also tried vegan banana bread, it was also extremely delicious!  Other items included hummus and veggies, and marinated olives--YUM!! I only took a pic of the pasta salad as I was making it, and I promise in the future to be more "picture concious"!

Veggie Pasta Salad
1 box of whole wheat pasta (I used rigatonni)
1 yellow bell pepper-diced
1 cucumber-seeded and diced
1/2 of a red onion-diced
1/4c sun dried tomatos-diced
1/2c cherry tomatos-diced
3Tbs basil-chopped

Vinaigrette- (inspired by a similiar recipe posted on allrecipes.com)
Mix all ingredients together.
1 and 1/4 c of Red Wine Vinagar
3/4c of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3/4 TBS of Oregano
1/2 tsp of Crushed red pepper flakes
1/4c Agave Nectar
2 TBS dijion mustard
1 tsp ground mustard
pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Boil Pasta to al dente. Add all veggies and let chill.  Once chilled, add vinegrette. Chill overnight (or at least several hours) and try not to make it last until u need it (I loved to go "check" on it every once in a while!)

Enjoy!!