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Simple Pasta Salad

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A wonderful side dish for any cookout, picnic, or barbecue (or any meal if you like it as much as I do) is pasta salad. It is an easy, versatile dish that can be made well in advance.

You can use your favorite type of pasta and vegetables to make it the way you like it. If you add some ham, bacon, turkey or other deli meat you have a complete meal.

I make two types of pasta salad. One has a creamy dressing made with sour cream and another dairy-free variety. Both are simple and taste even better if you make them a while before serving.

: Creamy Pasta Salad
  • 1 lb. dry pasta (macaroni, rotini, shells, etc.)
  • 5 quarts water
  • 1 Tbsp. salt
  • Cubed sweet pickles or salad cubes
  • Diced canned pimentos
  • 1 med. diced onion
  • Other vegetables, as desired (peppers, peas, cucumber, etc.)
  • 1 c. Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
  • 1 c. sour cream
  • 3 Tbsp. cider vinegar
  • 1/4 – 1/3 c. sugar
  • salt, to taste
  1. Cook pasta according to package directions. In general, it is usually 1 lb. pasta in 5 gallons salted, boiling water. Cook until al dente.
  2. Drain and rinse pasta.
  3. Add pasta, pickles, onion and other vegetables to a large bowl.
  4. In a small bowl, combine Miracle Whip, sour cream, vinegar, sugar and salt to taste to make dressing.
  5. Add enough dressing to pasta to coat. As pasta sits in the refrigerator, it will absorb some of the dressing, thus add more than if you were going to serve immediately.
  6. Refrigerate for a minimum of two hours.

Here is an even easier version that is great when refrigeration is an issue or you need to be dairy-free.

: Picnic-Friendly Pasta Salad (Dairy-Free)
  1. 1 lb. dry pasta (macaroni, rotini, shells, etc.)
  2. 5 quarts water
  3. 1 Tbsp. salt
  4. Cubed sweet pickles or salad cubes
  5. Diced canned pimentos
  6. 1 med. diced onion
  7. Other vegetables, as desired (peppers, peas, cucumber, etc.)
  8. Bob Evans Colonial Salad dressing or similar dressing
  1. Cook pasta according to package directions until it is al dente.
  2. Drain and rinse pasta.
  3. Add pickles, pimentos, onion, and other vegetables as desired.
  4. Add enough of the jarred (or bottled) dressing to coat the salad without overwhelming it.
  5. Can be served immediately or refrigerated until later.

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  1. […] to make so much. Second, I thought combining their recipe with elements of  the my other favorite macaroni salad would be interesting. Finally, I think I have a problem leaving well enough alone. ???? […]