Caprese Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is perfect for a cookout, party, or even a non-occasion because it's super-easy to make with a lot of delicious pay-out. This recipe took some inspiration from Recipe Favorite and makes about 22-ounces of pasta salad. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
One (1) 12-ounce box of your favorite pasta -- I used Mueller's Hidden Veggie Twisted Elbows
One (1) large tomato, diced
Eight (8) ounces of small mozzarella balls -- I used the pearl/perline size
One (1) large handful of basil, sliced into ribbons
Two (2) cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
Four (4) tablespoons of olive oil
One (1) teaspoon of salt

Directions
Cook pasta as according to box. Drain, and set aside.
While pasta is cooking, mix balsamic, olive oil, salt and garlic together in a small bowl.

When pasta is finished and has cooled down, spoon pasta into a large mixing bowl.
Top pasta with mozzarella and diced tomatoes.
Next, pour the balsamic mixture into the bowl and stir until everything is coated evenly.

Add in the basil ribbons and stir lightly to mix in.
Serve cool. 

Tip
To chop fresh basil in ribbons, stack the leaves, roll them up and slice the roll. When you unfurl it, the basil will be in neat strips.