Bowtie Pasta Salad

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted anything! I think the whole back to school thing stresses me out too much to do anything fun like cooking and blogging.
This is a pasta salad Tamara gave me the recipe for last year when I was looking for food to make for my sister's baby shower. This was a popular one with everyone who was there and I have since made it a ton of times. It is really easy and versatile-- you could add some chopped, cooked chicken to make it more of a main course meal or vary what vegetables you add to it.
It tastes better if made the day (or at least a few hours) before. I reserve some of the coleslaw dressing and fold it in before serving to make sure the salad is moist. Also the cashews shouldn't be added until just before serving so they don't go soft.


1 454 g (1 lb) box of Farfalle (bowtie) pasta
1 lg bottle (2 cups) of Coleslaw salad dressing
1/2 C mayonnaise
4 stalks of celery, diced
2-3 cans of mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 C chopped green onions
1/2 C of red grapes, cut in half
1/2 C unsalted cashews (optional)
1/4 C Craisins (optional)
salt and pepper to taste