Not Your Mama's Macaroni Salad

Macaroni Salad. Used to make me shutter. My mom never made macaroni salad - but for every BBQ we went to and for every time I saw it in the deli at the grocery store, it always looked the same and smelled horrible - so no thanks for me!

BUT - I came across this recipe HERE and tweaked it a little to suit my family's tastebuds...

Not Your Mama's Macaroni Salad

1 lb pkg. pasta (my kids love to choose different shapes so we went with wheels today)
1 1/2 c mayonnaise
2 T mustard
1/4 c sour cream
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T sugar
1 c ham steak, cut into small cubes
1 c cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
1/2 - 1 c frozen peas
3 green onions, diced (some for garnish)
2-4 carrots, shredded
1- 2 T Seasoned Salt
Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, mustard, sour cream, apple cider vinegar, sugar and seasoned salt. Set in refrigerator until needed.

Prepare pasta according to package directions. After pasta is cooked, drain and rinse in cold water.  Once macaroni has cooled down, drain well. When I make cold pasta salads, I generally leave the pasta in the colander and set on a towel in the fridge until needed.

Do all your mis en place while the dressing is getting nice and cold and the water is coming up to boil.

Now we're ready to put everything together! In a large bowl toss pasta with ham, cheese, peas, green onion and carrots. Fold in mayonnaise mixture until pasta is well coated.

I let it sit in the fridge for about an hour before we ate - but as everything - it's always better the next day!! I think next time I'll make it, I'll shred some onion into the dressing instead of using green onions, and I'll make it the night before or at least the morning of. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Original posts suggests: If the salad seems a little dry after setting up overnight, add some milk a little bit at a time until salad becomes nice and creamy again.