Whenever this salad would show up at family reunions, holiday potlucks, or funerals, I would always go back for more and more. One day I decided that I wanted to make some, so I called up my mom and asked for the recipe. She didn't have it. She told me to ask one of my aunts. My aunt had the recipe. That is, she had the ingredient list. But not the amounts for each ingredient. The first time I made it, I used too much seasoned salt and Leann refused to help me eat it. Since I believe that no one should have to stumble through a recipe not knowing how much to use of each ingredient, I present you with the amounts I came up with.
INGREDIENTS [1]
DIRECTIONS
Make the pasta according to the directions on the package. When it's done, strain the pasta and wash it in cold water. This removes starch from the outside of the pasta shells and prevents them from becoming sticky.
Combine the cheddar cheese, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes in a bowl.
Add the mayonnaise and Lawry's Seasoned Salt and stir together.
Add the noodles and stir thoroughly. Refrigerate for several hours to give the flavors time to blend.
Notes:
[1] I have a vague memory of once having this pasta salad with slices of polish sausage in it, but I haven't tried putting them in, yet.
[2] Most people make this with elbow macaroni, but I think that particular pasta is too thick and chewy. I don't really like it in anything. It doesn't help that elbow macaroni is found in many of my least favorite dishes—tuna casserole, Spanish macaroni (which we called "Spanish Maco"), macaroni and cheese, etc.
[3] I personally don't like mayonnaise. To me it tastes like they waited for the eggs to go a little bad before they made the mayonnaise. I like Miracle Whip better. But Leann won't eat it if I try making it with Miracle Whip. For the origin of the word mayonnaise, see my review of Mahón cheese.
- 1 16-oz bag of conchiglie pasta (seashell pasta) [2]
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- 1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
- 2 cucumbers, peeled and diced
- 1 Tbsp. Lawry's Seasoned Salt
- 2 c. mayonnaise [3]
DIRECTIONS
Make the pasta according to the directions on the package. When it's done, strain the pasta and wash it in cold water. This removes starch from the outside of the pasta shells and prevents them from becoming sticky.
Combine the cheddar cheese, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes in a bowl.
Add the mayonnaise and Lawry's Seasoned Salt and stir together.
Add the noodles and stir thoroughly. Refrigerate for several hours to give the flavors time to blend.
Notes:
[1] I have a vague memory of once having this pasta salad with slices of polish sausage in it, but I haven't tried putting them in, yet.
[2] Most people make this with elbow macaroni, but I think that particular pasta is too thick and chewy. I don't really like it in anything. It doesn't help that elbow macaroni is found in many of my least favorite dishes—tuna casserole, Spanish macaroni (which we called "Spanish Maco"), macaroni and cheese, etc.
[3] I personally don't like mayonnaise. To me it tastes like they waited for the eggs to go a little bad before they made the mayonnaise. I like Miracle Whip better. But Leann won't eat it if I try making it with Miracle Whip. For the origin of the word mayonnaise, see my review of Mahón cheese.
A lot of people put olives in this, too. That really wasn't in the recipe? I agree about having recipes that don't list amounts. Thanks for putting yours in!
ReplyDeleteIf it was, I promptly deleted it from my memory.
ReplyDelete