Macaroni Salad

This is our favorite macaroni salad in our family and we eat a lot of it during the summer.  I made it for the first time this year - on this second day of summer - to take to a barbecue party tomorrow.  This salad is also in my previous post when I made the open-faced grilled sandwiches for my son's basketball team dinner and served this macaroni salad as a side dish.  My kids always liked the rainbow radiatore pasta instead of the usual elbow macaroni so it's just what I always use now.\

Sometimes you can buy it in the bulk section of grocery stores with the rice and pasta bulk items. It just makes the salad a little more interesting and fun, just like summer ought to be.

Makes 12 servings

4 cups rainbow radiatore
3 whole roasted red peppers, chopped (more to taste, if desired)
1/2 cups black olives, chopped finely
3 stalks of celery, diced
6 whole sweet/spicy pickle slices, diced
3 whole green onions, sliced (white and dark green parts)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
3 tsp. sugar, more or less to taste
1/4 tsp. salt, more to taste
plenty of black pepper
1/4 cups milk or as much as needed to make the right consistency
splash of pickle juice
2 hard boiled eggs
paprika

1. Cook the radiatore in lightly salted water according to package directions, approximately 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool. Set aside.

2. Mix together mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Splash in enough milk to make it pourable. Splash in pickle juice for extra flavor. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Set aside.

3. Place cooled radiatore in a large bowl.

4. Pour 3/4 of the dressing into the pasta.

5. Stir dressing into the pasta. (Dressing will seem a little thin, but it will thicken up as salad chills.)

6. Add the olives, celery, roasted red peppers, pickles, and green onions.

Try to find good quality pickles because they will make a big difference. The only way I can describe good quality pickles are those that are sweet, yet spicy. Canning your own pickles is one way to find them but I found these at the grocery store 

and they are top notch! Yum!

6. Add more of any ingredient if you'd like. Add the rest of the dressing and mix together.

7.  Chill at least 2 hours.  Top with sliced hard boiled eggs and sprinkle with paprika before serving.