July 4th was looming and I had not found a macaroni salad recipe that I was excited about yet. I had found a few that I was considering, but nothing that I knew would be a slam dunk. Then, I ran into a recipe on The Pioneer Woman blog that sounded exactly like what I was looking for to complement our picnic.
I made the salad, with a few changes to the ingredients and measurements, and we ALL loved it.
The best part about this salad is that it is light. There is not a lot of goopy mayonnaise and grease surrounding the fresh pasta and veggies. The sauce is just the right amount to lend a great taste with no grease.
Steps to the Perfect Macaroni Salad
The pieces to the perfect macaroni salad puzzle: red peppers, olives, spring onions, mayonnaise, relish, elbow macaroni, salt, pepper, pickle juice, distilled white vinegar, and sugar.
Boil the elbow macaroni until it is at a perfect softness. I go past the al dente stage. I like it to be softer. After finished, strain the noodles and run cold water over it, and set aside.
To make the sauce pourable, we will add milk next.
Now, time to mix the noodles and sauce together…..
My family LOVES olives, so we added an 8 ounce can of sliced black olives as well as relish for a kick.
Here’s the recipe with all of my alterations today…..
8 cups elbow macaroni
2 Freshly Chopped Red Peppers
8 oz of sliced black olives
4T Relish
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1T distilled white vinegar
2T pickle juice – adjust to your taste
3t sugar
1/4t salt
Black Pepper – as much as you like
Boil the Macaroni until soft, then strain and run under cold water. Set aside.
Mix mayonnaise, distilled white vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and milk to create sauce. Pour sauce into noodles and stir well.
Chop the red peppers and spring onions, then add to the noodle and sauce mixture. Add can of olives and stir well.
At this point, you can do a taste test and decide if you would like to add more relish or pickle juice.
SO, SO YUMMY!!! Enjoy!
Follow the instructions above and you will be all set with the perfect macaroni salad for ANY occasion. So light and refreshing. Absolutely Delish!!
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