Mom's Pasta Salad

We went to my mother-in-law's house last night for Sunday dinner. I was supposed to bring a salad but didn't have the ingredients for a green salad. So I decided to make my mom's pasta salad. It's always really good. Everyone likes it. It's easy. And it's great when it's 112 degrees outside. I didn't have the normal ingredients, so I fudged a little. It still tasted great. The recipe below includes approximations; make changes depending on your likes/dislikes.

1 box rotini noodles, cooked according to directions, drained (last night I used tri color but normal I just use the regular ones)

1/2 bag-1 bag frozen chopped broccoli (fresh can be used), cooked, cut into smaller pieces
2 tomatoes, diced (I used cherry tomatoes cut in half last night)
1 can sliced olives

1/2 bell pepper chopped (bigger chunks)
a few carrots diced
1-2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 bottle of your favorite Italian dressing (I usually use Wishbone)

After noodles have cooled down, throw all ingredients together. Chill- the longer the better- the Italian dressing soaks in over time. And you want the broccoli to be cooked but cold. I always add cheese after everything is cooled down because you don't want it to melt into the pasta.