Sweet Pea-Bowtie Pasta Salad

I love pasta salad, and this one's definitely a winner in our family.  This recipe also makes a lot, so it's great to serve at family functions, outings, picnics, etc...



Sweet Pea-Bowtie Pasta Salad

Salad:

2-1/2 lbs. uncooked bow tie pasta

8-oz.  shredded carrots (See *Note)

8-oz. frozen peas, thawed

1 celery rib, diced

4 teaspoons diced red onions

Dressing:
2 cups sweetened condensed milk
2-1/2 cups mayonnaise
1-1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1.)  Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.  (I add a bit of vegetable oil to the water before it comes to a boil, so the pasta doesn't stick together.)

2.)  Rinse pasta under cold water, and drain pasta well.

3.)  In a large bowl mix together, the sweetened condensed milk, mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, buttermilk, salt and pepper.

 

4.)  Place in refrigerator until ready to mix salad ingredients together.

 

5.)  When ready to assemble salad together, in a medium sized bowl, add some of the pasta, some of the carrots, a teaspoon or so of the diced red onion, a third of the diced celery, and some of the dressing; mix together gently with a spatula.

 

6.)  Add salad mixture to a "very" large size bowl, (I used my largest Tupperware bowl; total capacity: 32 cups) because this recipe does make an enormous amount of salad.

 

7.)  Toss a few peas, over the salad.

 

8.)  Repeat mixing the pasta, carrots, onion and celery together, (in small amounts) in the medium sized bowl along with the dressing, then place on top of the salad in the "very" large size bowl, along with some of the peas.

 

9.)  Keep layering until all the ingredients are used up; ending with peas on top of the salad.

 

10.)  Cover the bowl, and chill the salad for several hours in the refrigerator, or overnight.

 

11.)  Before serving, be sure to stir the salad.

 

12.)  This salad keeps well for several days in the refrigerator.

13.)  Yields: 25 - 30 servings.

14.) *Note: For this recipe, I substituted matchstix (French-Cut Cooking Carrots) for the shredded carrots.  You can find these in your produce section. It came in a (10 oz.) bag, but I only use 3/4's of the bag, about (8-oz).

Sweet Pea-Bow Tie Pasta Salad | Just A Pinch Recipes

Macaroni Salad (Paula Deen's)

I came across this recipe at FOOD.COM, which Addrienne in Reisterstown had posted the recipe, but I slightly tweaked the recipe to suit my taste.  The end results... A delicious tasting salad which I would make again.

Macaroni Salad (Paula Deen's) 

2 cups cooked macaroni

3 hard boiled eggs, chopped 

1/2 cup thinly sliced celery

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 small green onion, chopped

1 (2-oz.) jar diced pimentos, drained

1 Tablespoon honey Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Morten's Season-All Salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning

1 cup mayonnaise, chilled

1.)  Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

2.)  Note: After I prepared this salad, I chilled it in the refrigerator for 3 hours, but the salad seemed dry, so I prepared a bit more of the dressing, and added it immediately.  What a difference that made.  The salad was a lot more creamy, and stayed creamier, for several days in the fridge. 

3.) Also, when adding a bit more of the dressing, I used, 1/2 cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise, 1/2 Tablespoon of the mustard, 1/4 teaspoon Morton's Season-All Salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, and 1/2 teaspoon Lawry's Lemmon Pepper seasoning.

 

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Macaroni Salad (Paula Deen) Recipe - Food.com

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Pasta & Imitation Crab Salad

Pasta & Imitation Crab Salad 

(8-oz.) pasta (I used Creamette Radiatore Nuggets)

About 1-1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup chopped broccoli

1/2 cup thinly sliced baby carrots

2 Tablespoons diced red onion

(6-oz.) Colby-Jack cheese, cut into small chunks

(5-oz.) imitation crab meat, cut into chunks (about 1 cup)

1 cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise

1 cup light Italian salad dressing

 2 Tablespoons Kraft Grated Parmesan Cheese

28 grape tomatoes

freshly cracked black pepper, add according to taste

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1.)  In a large pot of boiling water, add the vegetable oil and salt.  Add the pasta, and cook pasta for 8 minutes and 30 seconds.

2.)  During the last 30 seconds of cooking time, add the broccoli.  After the 30 seconds, immediately drain and rinse the pasta and broccoli under cold water in a colander.

3.)  While the pasta and broccoli is draining in the colander, add the carrots, onion, cheese, and imitation crab meat to a large bowl.

4.)  In another bowl mix together, the mayonnaise and Italian dressing.  Use 1-cup of the dressing to mix into the salad, and reserve the other cup for later.

5.)  Incorporate the 1-cup of dressing into the large bowl of vegetables, cheese, and meat. Add the pasta and broccoli to the bowl; stir gently to mix the salad.

6.)  Season the salad with a bit of the freshly cracked black pepper.  Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the salad, and gently fold in the grape tomatoes.  Cover the salad, and place it in the refrigerator to chill.

7.)  After 2-3 hours of refrigeration, and before serving the salad; stir in a 3/4 cup to 1-cup of the mayonnaise/Italian dressing.  The extra dressing will keep the salad creamy and moist, even up to a day or two later.

8.)  Servings: 8 to 10

Up close photo of Pasts & Imitation Crab Salad.

Pasta & Imitation Crab Salad | Just A Pinch Recipes