Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I adapted this from an Ina Garten recipe (Barefoot Contessa Family Style). And I will admit that I had a major cooking FAIL tonight. I made way too much pasta in one pot and I thought it was all cooked and then I mixed together the pasta, dressing, olives, and tomatoes and realized that the pasta was not just al dente, but it was chewy and nasty. So, I actually went through and picked out all the good stuff and started over! So a really quick and easy recipe became a nightmare!!!

1 pound pasta (I ended up using little shells. The rotini got tossed, sadly.)
kosher salt
olive oil
5 carrots, sliced (not in Ina's recipe)
2 red bell peppers, chopped (not in Ina's recipe)
1.5 cups kalamata olives, pitted & diced
1 container feta cheeses (Ina calls for 1 lb. fresh mozzarella but I was feeling like Feta)
12 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained & chopped

for the dressing:
10 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
12 tablespoons good olive oil
1 garlic clove, diced
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water with a splash of oil to keep it from sticking together according to directions on box. Drain well & allow to cool. Place pasta in a bowl and add olives, veggies, tomatoes.

For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.

Pour the dressing over the pasta. You can garnish with parmesan cheese or fresh basil if you like! She also calls for fresh tomatoes in the recipe but I left those out. Oh, and she calls for 1 teaspoon of capers in the dressing but I didn't have any on hand (and I don't really like them!) Serve cold. This is kind of a summery recipe in hopes that all this snow will soon melt.