by John Zienkosky

Created on: March 30, 2009

I learned how to make this from my first wife. This Pasta Salad is easy to make and tastes great! The ingredients can be found at any store or come straight from your garden. Total time to prepare this salad is less than 15 minutes. Large shell macaroni is best but medium shells will do in a pinch. This salad goes great with about anything or stands alone as a midnight snack. You won't lose weight eating this, but who cares?

Here are the things you will need:

1 lb. large shell macaroni 2 medium tomatoes 1 jar of Spanish olives 1 cup of real mayonnaise 1 large cucumber 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp pepper dash of msg

Step 1 Boil the pasta according to the directions on the packaging, usually about 7 to 10 minutes. Stir the pasta from time to time so it does not stick.

Step 2 Peel the cucumber. Slice the cucumber in half long ways. Scoop out the insides with a spoon and rinse remaining seeds. Now slice the cucumber. Slice the olives. Save the olive juice. Quarter the tomatoes.

Step 3 When pasta is ready, drain and rinse with cold water. Mix the pasta, mayonnaise, olives, cucumbers and tomatoes in a large bowl. Add the salt, pepper and msg, mix again. Finally, add the olive juice from the jar and mix. Chill for 30 minutes to an hour.

The longer you let this chill the better. It is a lot like chili in this respect, only in reverse. We will put it in the fridge uncovered and days later it's tastier than on day one. If it is covered this is fine but uncovered allows the top of the pasta to get very al dente and then you stir this into the rest of the salad before eating. The flavors and spices mingle and get all happy together! And this recipe is easily doubled just by doubling the ingredients. Please note that the recipe calls for Real Mayonnaise not Miracle Whip. Miracle Whip creates a totally different experience, trust me on this one.

Learn more about this author, John Zienkosky.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.