Green Bean & Tomato Salad

We had a crazy hot summer this year.  Like 100* for a very long time.  Most of our meals consisted of something that could either be cooked in the crock pot, on the grill, or not at all.  I'd like to say that the weeks of grilled meat & salad meals helped me lose weight...but I'd be lying.  I think it had to do with the ice cold beers that were consumed to help keep us cool.

I think I also developed a new love for fresh green beans.  I've always been a fan of green beans, although we don't eat them often since Cooper won't even look at them.  During the fall I love to steam them and toss with a little bit of bacon or lemon zest.  But summer, especially a hot summer, begs for them to be served in a cold salad.  I added a little bit of pasta to this salad to beef it up a bit, and so that I could cook a little extra pasta for Cooper.  The dressing was very easy to make and I was a fan - although it did break the "no oven during the summer" rule.

Green Bean & Tomato Salad with Roasted Tomato Dressing from Cooking Light

• 1 large ripe tomato, halved
• 1 tablespoon chopped basil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
• salt
• pepper
• 1/2 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
• Romaine lettuce, torn
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 1/2 cups cooked bow-tie pasta

Heat the broiler.  Place the tomato halves on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and broil for about 10 minutes, or until blackened.  Let the tomato cool for about 10, peel and core discarding the peel & seeds. Combine the tomato, basil and next 6 ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  

Cook pasta according to directions on the package in salted boiling water.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Steam the green beans until tender, about 7 minutes.  Rinse with cold water, drain.  Combine the Romaine, tomatoes, pasta & green beans in a large bowl.  Serve dressing over each salad.