Hey friends! I had a wonderful birthday yesterday. I spent 3 hours in downpour rain at an outside church picnic, yikes! Boy was it a went one! I actually I didn’t mind too much though because I got to spend my birthday with some of my favorite people so that totally made up for the rainy day 🙂
Remember last week when I showed you this picture:
Well today I wanted to talk a little bit about macaroni salad. While the macaroni salad in the picture above was all right, it wasn’t amazing. It’s called Mom’s Best Macaroni Salad and it has a lot of great reviews but to me it was just okay. It’s made with both mayo and sweetened condensed milk which in my opinion made it a little too sweet. Not only that but I found it to be a little too saucy and gloppy for me. I’ve really had no luck at all with macaroni salads in general.
Then the other day I was going through my feed reader and Pioneer Woman had a post titled The Best Macaroni Salad Ever. In my quest to find the best macaroni salad ever, I immediately had to click on the link. It does look good although I haven’t had a chance to make it yet. I’m not really sure how I feel about black olives in a macaroni salad. I’m hoping someone else has given it a try and can give me their opinion. OR if you’ve got another macaroni salad that you absolutely love then please please share it with me. That would be awesome, thank you!
This is the last week of school for my kids and we are counting down the days. Can hardly wait!
I hope you all have a wonderfully organized and delicious week 🙂
My Weekly Menu Plan:
Monday: Spaghetti and meat sauce
Tuesday: Mexican Grilled Chicken Wraps
Wednesday: Pineapple Ham & Rice served with broccoli
Thursday: Leftover buffet
Friday: Quick Homemade Pizza
Saturday: Breakfast for dinner ~ Blueberry Yogurt Waffles
Sunday: Happy Canada Day! I’ll be making this fun Canadian Flag Cake to go with a simple supper!
WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU THIS WEEK? JOIN US!
Menu Plan Guidelines, banner selections and recipe helpers are here.
More family favorite recipes here.
One of my favorite menu planning resources:
Maria says
Thanks for featuring our waffles! Enjoy!
Pary Moppins says
Happy belated birthday! Enjoy my birthday party, er, I mean your Canada Day celebrations. July 1st is a wonderful day, eh? 😉
SnoWhite @ Finding Joy in my Kitchen says
I am with you on macaroni salad! Last year we tried a new version & we finally found one we liked enough to make again. In fact, it is on our menu this week. It uses bell peppers & peas & has a really light sauce. Maybe this one will work for your family too.
http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2011/05/macaroni-salad.html
Michelle @ The Willing Cook says
I’m having trouble (on my end) linking up today. I tried twice, but neither showed up above. Oh well! I’ve included the link below to our food allergy meal plan that also includes a number of allergy-friendly food ideas when traveling.
Thanks!
Michelle @ The Willing Cook says
and the link….not my day….
http://willingcook.com/allergy-friendly-traveling-foods-our-meal-plan/
Linda @ Linda's Lunacy says
Here’s my Macaroni Salad recipe. I think it’s the best! lol 🙂
http://lindaslunacy.com/2010/08/macaroni-salad/
dddiva says
Sorry the mac salad didn’t work out for you. I have yet to find a great one either, but if I do I’ll let you know. I like black olives but not so much with the mayo, so I think I’d have to leave them out.
Your menu, as always, looks wonderful. Happy belated birthday and early Canada day. Have a wonderful week.
Tammy @ Skinny Mom's Kitchen says
Happy birthday Laura! My mom puts black and green olives in her macaroni salad all the time. I love it and think it is very tasty.
This week we are having lots of salads and easy recipes. I need to clean out our freezer and pantry to make room for a big freezer cooking session this weekend. I need to stock with snacks and easy meals for hubs and the kids this summer.
Have a great week!
Jami @ An Oregon Cottage says
Just when I think I’ve heard it all…sweetened condensed milk in macaroni salad? No wonder you didn’t like it – that ingredient is so sweet, we make no-machine ice cream with it as the only sweetener! (super easy and good, btw- have you tried it yet? http://www.anoregoncottage.com/2011/09/incredible-chcolate-chip-ice-cream-no.html). It has no business being in a salad. 😉
I’m not a big mac salad fan, period. I much prefer pasta salads with just a light vinaigrette (made creamy with just a couple TB of mayo), but that PW recipe sounded much better than what I’ve had in the past. I’m sure you can leave out the olives- they don’t sound crucial at all. 🙂
SharonMarie@ kitchengrapevine.com says
Yay, I love anything pasta! Hot, cold, creamy, vinegary whatever! Thanks for the link to the Best Macaroni Salad ever! I’m definitely trying it out soon!
Tiffany @ DontWastetheCrumbs says
A big THANK YOU for hosting!
Tabitha says
I haven’t made the recipe from Pioneer Women but I did just read through the recipe and it sounds like it has a great consistency. What I love about recipes, is if there isn’t an ingredient that I’m not a total fan of, I’ll replace it with one that I do love or my family would love. If olives are not your favorite, switch out the ingredient to one that you already have on hand, one that is your favorite, or an ingredient that is on sale in the produce department. Making the recipe budget friendly and your favorite! That way you can make it your own Worlds Best Macaroni Salad. 🙂
WorkingMom says
Happy Belated Birthday! As for the menu… my mouth is now watering. We’re having sausage pesto toss tonight with salad, and the rest of the menu will be whatever meat and veggies we have in the freezer that we’re trying to eat out. With the kids out of school for only one week, I’ve already tired of the “I don’t want that for dinner” comments, and with the Oldest and the Middle Child both capable of cooking simple meals, I’ve assigned them dinner prep for the next four days.
Steph (The Cheapskate Cook) says
Thanks for hosting! No goof macaroni salads here. I mean, I’ve made some good ones, but never followed a recipe so… could never repeat it ;-P. Note to self: write down recipes.
Dani says
I was just about to say the same thing! I make a super great mac salad, but it’s my own recipe, and I could never tell you how to make it, unless I am actually doing it. So – note to both of us – write it down! I usually put black olives in my mac salad – or I make it with frozen peas and cubed sharp cheddar. Very little mayo….but the rest is just by taste.
Andrea says
Oh wow, I would never try sweetened condensed milk in macaroni salad…yikes :)…only in baked goods, lol.
Michelle says
Here’s a link to my macaroni salad http://mylifethroughfood.blogspot.com/2012/06/taste-of-summer-macaroni-salad.html
No sweetened condensed milk in mine 🙂
Beverly says
I had very bland macaroni salad as a side at a restaurant lunch yesterday. I had forgotten that I had doctored a box pasta salad so we had that for dinner, it had meat in it so we just had it and fruit. DH loves black olives, I hate them so I just put them in whole and they are easy for me to avoid when scooping out our servings.
Cassie says
We are having some yumminess this week! 🙂 Blueberry shrimp salad. yum yum http://www.lcvalleymom.com/2012/06/weekly-menu-plan.html
Rona says
Thanks for sharing your macaroni salad journey. I love the stuff and am still searching.
Have a wonderful week of good eats!
Dee says
I do like black olives in macaroni salad, I know a lady who puts pimento in hers, I think it is all yummy but macaroni salad is definitely a comfort food to me. Yikes, sweetened conedesnsed milk? Never heard of such a thing. I save Pioneer Women’s salad, everything she makes is pretty yummy so I am guessing it will be good, just leave the olives out.
Happy Belated birthday.
Laura says
Hi — I recently found this recipe and it is BY FAR my favorite pasta salad ever. A little non-traditional but delicious!
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/01/southwest-pasta-salad/
Janet @ Frugal & Focused says
Happy Birthday! Sorry it was a wet one but I’m glad you got to spend it with some of your favorite people. I’m not a big fan of macaroni salad so I’m afraid I’m of no help. The Mexican Grilled Chicken Wraps look really tasty for this week.
Kirstylee M says
I think black olives in macaroni salad sounds delicious. Maybe it’s just because I love olives. Too much mayo on the other hand, is a huge no no for me.
Laura says
Happy birthday! I just posted my macaroni salad recipe yesterday. I can’t promise it’s the best ever, but even my hubby who isn’t a big fan of macaroni salad in general will eat it. http://nowthingsarecookin.blogspot.com/2012/06/macaroni-salad-recipe.html
Pauline says
Happy Belated Birthday, Laura! Glad it was fun in spite of the weather!!
Kelly @ Dysfunctionally Functional says
Happy Belated Birthday, Laura!
sarebear says
We like this salad, we usually double it. http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Ham-Pasta-Salad
Instead of shells we often use elbow mac. We also optionally add chopped olives, esp. if we reduce the green pepper and tomato because of my acid reflux.
It’s really good! The parm cheese in it is good and then sprinkle some on each serving after you dish it up; scrumptious! Nice and colorful. Acidic ingredients easily substituted or reduced, because it doesn’t have vinegar in it.
Lisa @ CheapThrillsInOmaha says
We used to have black olives in macaroni salad when I was a kid. It was a way to use up some weekly condiments. I did not like black olives back then, and would pick them out. Might I suggest if you do use the sliced version, that you at least cut them in half? I don’t make macaroni salad often, and don’t use black olives because while I have come to love them, my fam does not.
Heather @Celiac Family says
Happy Birthday, Laura! And, Happy Canada Day, too. 🙂
Lorii Abela says
Belated happy birthday!
Linda says
Here is a link to my pasta salad recipe. I spent all last summer tweaking it. This summer I have been using a bit less sugar and liking it a little better. Hope you’ll try it!
http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/2196500-Summer-Pasta-Salad.
Yvonne says
Try this one. It’s a family favourite!
Salad:
2 cups uncooked macaroni
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
¼ cucumber, chopped
Dressing:
2/3 cups sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup ketchup
¼ cup vinegar
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Paprika
Jeni Brownson says
I just had to comment- I make a macaroni salad my husband LOVES. It’s pretty darn easy!
Cook some noodles, we use elbow mac but any would likely do. Finely chop onions, bell peppers, and pickles- I try to make about 1/3 of the total veggies, but we like a good amount of veggie goodness! Then add mayo sparingly… only add enough so that it coats the noodles, no more. Poor in some pickle juice… you really don’t need a whole lots. This should be done VERY sparingly, mixing and tasting as you go. Salt and pepper to your taste. My husband loves it because it is not gloppy or goopy at all, and it doesn’t taste too much like mayo or anything. It’s very light and refreshing!!! You just have to be sure to add the mayo and pickle juice slowly so you don’t over dress. SO easy!
Laura says
Thanks Jeni!!