Recipes: Macaroni Salad

One of my favorite summertime meals. Great and frugal for picnics and carry ins too. Here are a few macaroni salad recipes I use regularly from my stash. These are easily adaptable to your own tastes (which I do often) and what you may have on hand like chicken or carrots. They are also easily adaptable to dairy-free. My opinion is it always tastes better the next day, so I like to make it a day ahead if I have the time. What is your favorite macaroni salad recipe?

Macaroni Salad 1
2 cups macaroni
2 small cucumbers, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 3/4 cups creamy salad dressing
1/4 cup milk

DIRECTIONS - Cook macaroni pasta in a large pot with boiling salted water until al dente. Rinse with cool water and drain. In a large bowl add the chopped cucumber, tomatoes, green bell pepper, and onion. Blend the milk and creamy salad dressing together in a small bowl until smooth and to your liking of thickness. Add cooled pasta and salad dressing mixture to large bowl of chopped vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until chilled. Serve.

Macaroni Salad 2
1 lb. box elbow macaroni - prepared as directed
4 hard-boiled eggs - peeled, coarsely chopped
3 ribs celery - sliced
1 med. onion - chopped
1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives - halved
1/2 cup mayonnaise OR creamy salad dressing - low-fat okay
2 Tbls. milk - low-fat okay
2 Tbls. distilled white vinegar
1 Tbls. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS - Fold together all ingredients in large bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight before serving.

Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad
2 cups macaroni
2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS - Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Rinse under cold water, and drain.

Mix tuna, onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic powder, mayonnaise, salt and pepper, and mustard together in a large bowl. Add pasta, and mix well.