Old-fashioned Picnic Macaroni Salad

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 1 lb elbow macaroni, cooked in boiling salted water until al dente and drained
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped red onions or 1/2 cup scallion
• 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet pickle (about 6 small pickles)
• 1 medium red bell peppers or 1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
• 2 teaspoons celery seeds
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika

Recipe

• 1 in a large salad bowl, toss together the warm pasta, oil, salt, and pepper; allow to cool, then add the onion, celery, pickles, and bell pepper; toss to blend.
• 2 in a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, milk, mustard, and celery seeds; pour half over the salad and toss to coat.
• 3 **at this point, cover and refrigerate the salad and remaining dressing for at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.
• 4 one hour before serving, remove the salad from the refrigerator, add more dressing, if needed, and taste for salt and pepper.
• 5 sprinkle with the paprika, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• 6 variations--try adding any of these to the salad:.
• 7 *2 cups frozen peas, defrosted.
• 8 *2 cups smoked turkey or ham cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
• 9 *2 cups cherry tomatoes, whole, or cut in half.
• 10 *2 cups pimento-stuffed green olives, drained and chopped.
• 11 *2 cups ranch dressing, in place of the mustard/mayonnaise combination; omit the celery seeds.
• 12 *6 hard-boiled eggs, sliced.