Macaroni Salad

Here’s another of our Thursday evening recipes. Now, my Beloved Husband wouldn’t touch it for a couple of reasons.  First, I didn’t use elbow macaroni.  I could have – but wanted to try the multi-colored veggie pastas.  Second, I used more than the traditional Miracle Whip dressing he’s used to.  He couldn’t understand why I would want to change the recipe he was used to.  But I think recipes should be flexible and changed up every once in a while.  I doubled this for Thursday night -- two packages of Wacky Macky!

Pasta Salad

2 cups uncooked pasta (I used Wacky Macky for color and texture, your favorite pasta will do)
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced (a nice large 1015 would be good, too)
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
3 hard cooked eggs, sliced
1 cup frozen frozen peas (optional)
1/4 cup thickly grated carrot (optional)

Dressing:

1 cup Miracle Whip
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar (cut in half if adding sweet pickle relish)
1/3 cup sweet pickle relish (optional)
1/3 cup white sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1  teaspoons salt (I prefer a seasoned salt)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic power

Cook the pasta al dente according to directions, rinse and cool quickly to retain the al dente texture. I like to refrigerate mine – adding the onions so an airtight container is needed. Prepare the dressing, mixing it well and taste testing to match your family’s taste.  Add the dressing to the pasta, then mix in the additional ingredients, taking care not to make a mush out of the sliced eggs. 

The list of ‘optional’ isn’t complete until you’ve decided what you’d like to add.  A friend of ours would throw in some jalapenos for his family – I wouldn’t!!

It needs to refrigerate a few hours – overnight if possible – for all the flavors to blend.