Macaroni Salad

Ingredients
8 ounces dry macaroni (I use Pappardelle’s Southwestern Blend pasta)
½ cup finely diced Bread & Butter pickles
¾ cup finely diced red bell pepper (about ½ pepper)
⅓ cup thinly sliced celery (1 to 2 stalks)

Dressing
¾ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
1 to 2 Tablespoons Bread & Butter pickle juice*
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
salt & pepper to taste (about ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon)**

Instructions
Prepare macaroni according to package instructions. Drain.

In a large bowl, combine macaroni, pickles, red pepper, and celery. Stir until well-combined. Set aside and prepare your dressing.

For the dressing: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, red wine vinegar, pickle juice, sugar and mustard. Taste; add salt & pepper as desired.

Pour the dressing over the macaroni and toss until well-combined.

Cover the bowl and allow the macaroni salad to chill for at least two hours. The dressing tends to sink to the bottom of the bowl, so stir again before serving.

Notes:
*I used 2 tablespoons of pickle juice and the dressing had a good flavor, but the pickle juice was prominent. Next time I’ll try just using one tablespoon.
** If adding crabmeat or Spam (see variations below), skip the salt.

Variations, add to the cooked macaroni mixture (before stirring in the dressing):
1 – 6 ounce can crabmeat, drained, rinsed (to reduce sodium) and patted dry OR
6 ounces (½ can) Spam, diced OR
2 large hard boiled eggs, finely chopped OR
¼ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese OR
½ cup fresh peas

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