Turkey Club BLT Pasta Salad with Swiss Cheese

 I don’t care how cold it is outside. I didn’t care when I woke up to a blanket of spring snow covering the tulips and daffodils, either. Because I just pretended it was sunny and warm! 😉 Ok, that’s not completely true. Not even mostly true. I pitched a fit and cursed out Old Man Winter. Yep, I finally lost my last marble when I hit my head falling off my rocker. 

Ok, so, I made that last part up. But I did make a nice spring salad just to let Mr. Winter know, that he’s not winning. 😉 Nope. Not by a long shot! We are celebrating spring anyways. Yes indeedy we are. 😉

My hubby has always sworn to me that he hates pasta salad. And not a strong dislike, but that he really hates “the stuff”. But to me, that’s like saying you hate Chinese food. All of it. Not possible. So this time, there was not going to be any battle ending in defeat. Not this time. I might not be able to beat Old Man Winter, but I was going to win this one. And I had to be sneaky. No problem. 😉  

I just simply didn’t tell him what I was making. 😀 😉 I decided that we needed a little sunshine, and a nice refreshing salad was just the ticket! One of my all-time favorite sandwiches in the summertime is a good old-fashioned B.L.T.! And many years ago, many, many and not saying how many, I came up with a darn tasty pasta salad based on this classic sandwich. 

Though there are many versions of this out there now, I’ve always kicked mine up a notch by turning it into a “club-style” salad by adding julienned swiss cheese and deli turkey meat. The icing on the cake, though, is the fresh squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest that adds freshness really brightening it up, and adds a little (much needed) sunshine! 😀  

I might not have won the Pasta War, but, I did win this battle! 😉 He really liked it! He loved it in fact, and even went back for seconds! I am thrilled!! I LOVE pasta salad in the summertime, and can eat it for lunch every day and not tire of it. So this gives me hope! I’m going to slowly introduce him to a few more favorites that I make that I’m sure he’ll enjoy just as much, too! 😉  

So if you’ve about had it with this cold weather, too, you might want to make a nice big bowl of this BLT-style pasta salad! It actually did cheer us up a bit and was truly a breath of fresh, lemony, spring air!  

This recipe can easily be doubled for upcoming celebrations such as Graduations, Family Reunions, Showers, Anniversaries and Birthdays!  So Pin It or save it for future use! You, your family and friends will really enjoy it, too! I promise. 😉 Have a wonderful day all! 😀   

TURKEY CLUB BLT PASTA SALAD with SWISS CHEESE

6-8 servings

half of a 1 lb. box penne pasta, Barilla works really well (*I just eyeball it)

4 strips quality lean thick bacon cooked crisp and snipped into 1/2″ pieces

1 thick slice deli turkey, julienned into small pieces, (about 3/4 lb. but a little less is ok) 

4 oz. swiss cheese, julienned into small strips (half of an 8 oz. block)

1 pint grape or pear tomatoes, halved lengthwise

1-2 Tbl. finely chopped red onion, to taste

1 cup mayo

3/4 tsp. salt, or to taste

1/4 tsp. pepper

fine zest of half a lemon, (grate)

juice of half a lemon

half of a small head of lettuce

*also really good with Ritz or Saltine crackers and hard boiled eggs (sliced or chopped) 

DIRECTIONS:

In pot, bring water to a boil with 1 tsp. salt. Add pasta and cook to al dente. Do not overcook! 

While water is coming to a boil and pasta is cooking, cut up bacon, turkey, cheese and tomatoes. 

Drain pasta well and dump into large mixing bowl. Stir in mayo, salt, pepper, lemon zest and juice until pasta is well coated and all is mixed. 

Fold in bacon, turkey, cheese and tomatoes. Fold in lettuce last. 

Chill. 

*Can serve with crackers, and chopped or sliced hard boiled eggs. (Half an egg per serving.) 

**Other pastas that work well are farfalle (bow tie), rotini, ziti, conchiglie (seashell), and macaroni.