More Macaroni: Potluck Macaroni Salad

Remember that Hamburger Macaroni recipe my sister and I made the other day? We had so much Elbow Macaroni left that we decided to save the rest for another macaroni dish. Charmaine happened to find a great recipe on Recipe Zaar, and it's called the Potluck Macaroni Salad! Seeing as we had nearly all the ingredients in our home, we decided to give the salad a try.

Ingredients:
6 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni (1 1/2 cups)
1 (28 ounce) can baked beans, preferably barbecue-seasoned, undrained
1 1/2 cups sliced celery
1 1/2 cups chopped red onions
1 1/2 cups chopped red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers or green bell peppers
1/2 cup prepared herb vinaigrette
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil or fresh parsley leaves
basil or parsley sprigs

Directions:
1. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain well.

2. In large bowl, combine macaroni and beans; toss to combine.

3. Add celery, onion, bell pepper, vinaigrette, and basil; toss lightly.

4. Let stand at least 15 minutes before serving to allow flavors to blend, or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours.

5. Garnish with the basil or parsley before serving.

6. NOTE: Recipe may be reduced to 6 servings.

7. Prepare as directed, using 4 ounces (1 cup) elbow macaroni, 1 can (16 oz.) undrained baked beans, 1 cup each of the vegetables, 1/3 cup prepared herb vinaigrette and 1/4 cup chopped herbs.

Serves 8.

Verdict: The recipe was simple to make and it doesn't take a lot of time if you have canned baked beans ready and some already-boiled macaroni on-hand. Even if you don't have the macaroni boiled before-hand, you can boil the water while you are cutting the vegetables and preparing the rest of the ingredients for the salad. I do have to say though, this macaroni recipe turned out very well for my family. My dad loved it, and even though we substituted the fresh herbs with dry herbs, it still tasted rather nicely. Instead of the herb vinaigrette, we used Balsamic Vinegar from the store and it went along very well with the salad. Another addition was the sliced and pitted black olives (they were canned). They ended up giving a nice and subtle salt flavor that blended well with the less bold flavors of the salad. It's good to keep this refrigerated quite some time before eating dinner, maybe an hour or two. In my opinion, the more chilled, the better.

This recipe makes a great amount of food, about 8 servings, so it'll be sure to fill up your friends or family. We paired this dish with Chicken Marinara, which I'll be posting about next! :)

Thanks to Recipe Zaar for the great salad!

Recipe courtesy of Recipe Zaar: http://www.recipezaar.com/64285