"Cheesy" Southwestern Pasta Salad

Because quitters never win.  Or whatever.

It's been almost two months since my last blog post.  What have I been doing the past two months, you ask?  Lying in bed, staring at the wall, wondering what I'm doing with my life.  Nothing.  A whole lot of nothing.  [Well, I take a lot of naps, actually.]  But mostly I've just been really lazy, uninspired, unmotivated, broke, tired, and basically ready to give up on this stupid thing.  I don't have a lot of time to cook, I don't have a lot of space to cook, I don't have a lot of good ideas coming to me lately, so what's the point?  But then I came up with a new recipe (for the first time since Christmas) and I figured, oh what the hell.  I'll share this because it's pretty damn tasty [not to mention cheap and easy, just the way you like it] and you'll all be thanking me for it later.  You're welcome.  Yay mood swings!

I actually bought the majority of these ingredients with the intention of making a leafy salad, but wouldn't you know, the store was all out of baby spinach.  [I'm not even making that up.]  Well, everyone knows that pasta salad is the next best thing, so that's what we've got.  This is actually good both hot and cold, so technically I'm giving you two recipes!  Yay overachieving!!!

Ingredients:
12 oz pasta (You can use whatever shape makes your heart happy)
15 oz can petite diced tomatoes with onion
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
11 oz can corn and pepper blend
8 oz can sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup reduced fat vegan mayo
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/4-1/2 cup nutritional yeast (Start small and add more as you see fit)
Cayenne, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Boil water in a large pot.  Cook pasta according to directions on package.  When pasta is done, drain and rinse with cold water.  Return pasta to the pan and add all other ingredients, stirring well to mix it all up.  Cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight.  Or, return the whole pot to the stove and heat over medium high until all ingredients are heated through, stirring frequently.