Latest news with #macaroni salad

Yahoo

This 5-Ingredient Macaroni Salad Tastes Like Summer in the Midwest

It's the only recipe you'll ever need. Growing up in the Midwest, my summertime memories are sprinkled with lakeside family reunions and get-togethers at my grandparents' farm. Each event was marked with long potluck-style banquets laid out in a colorful parade of glass casserole dishes and vintage Tupperware. As kids, my younger brother and I would covet the Oreo-sprinkled tins of dirt dessert and lumpy bowls of fluffy green Jell-O salads with maraschino cherries poking through Cool Whip. We'd inquisitively side-eye the dill pickle slices wrapped in cream-cheese-slathered dried beef and happily take a ham and cheese slider, cuts of salted watermelon, and of course, a scoop of cold macaroni salad. Why I Love Macaroni Salad A summer side legend, potluck staple and reliable barbecue companion, cold mac salad goes with almost everything we pull off the grill: chicken, steak, bratwurst—you name it. I grew up with bits of chopped ham (thanks, Iowa pig farmers), tiny cubes of cheddar and bright green peas in my elbow macaroni salad. My mother-in-law makes hers with chives and tiny chilled shrimp. I've even witnessed Southern iterations littered with hard-boiled eggs and diced sweet pickles—a tasty take that brings tang and a hearty bite to the dish, if you ask me. Traditional macaroni salad is built around cooked elbow macaroni pasta, diced onion, celery, and red or green peppers, and some sort of creamy dressing tying it all together. Typically that dressing is mayonnaise-based seasoned with a little salt and pepper, but some folks like to add spoonfuls of sour cream or yellow mustard, splashes of vinegar and pinches of granulated sugar to balance the acidity and enhance the flavor in the veggies. But I prefer a simple, quick throw-together macaroni salad, incorporating just five ingredients: elbow macaroni, red onion, celery, mayo and white vinegar. Easy peasy. My 5-Ingredient Macaroni Salad Recipe Prep Time: 20 minutesCook Time: 10 minutesChill Time: 2 hoursTotal: 2 hours, 30 minutesServings: 8 to 10 Ingredients 3 cups elbow macaroni ½ large red onion, diced⅓ cup celery, thin sliced¾ cup Hellman's Mayonnaise (or your preferred brand)2 tablespoons white vinegar Directions 1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and run cool water over the pasta until slightly cooled, but still a little warm (dressing sticks better to warm pasta). 2. Stir together mayonnaise and vinegar and mix into pasta in a large bowl. 3. Add onion and celery. Mix well. Tip: To cut the sometimes overpowering red onion flavor, soak the diced onion in cool water for 5 minutes, and drain before adding to the pasta mixture. 4. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, allowing the flavors to marry. The longer the macaroni salad sits, the better (up to 24 hours before serving). 5. Add salt and pepper as desired before serving. Read the original article on ALLRECIPES Solve the daily Crossword