Summer is the time for cool salads. For some reason a few weeks ago, my mom and I started talking about this macaroni salad my brother-in-law Jim used to make for family reunions or afternoons at the lake. If you don’t like tuna, you could use pulled rotisserie chicken. But this is the original. 🙂 My brother-in-law was making this before “Pasta Salad” was all the rage! That’s why it’s called Macaroni salad.
4 cups Macaroni 1-1½ cups Hellman’s Mayonnaise 1 packet dry ranch dressing mix 1 bag frozen peas slightly steamed ½ tsp onion powder 1 12oz can of tuna
Cook and cool macaroni. Meanwhile, mix everything but the peas together. Stir macaroni into sauce. Once mixed. Gently fold in peas.
These have been some PRETTY hot days, right? How about a meal you can cook entirely on the stove top!? This recipe comes from long-time friends of ours. We had this at their house and I said I MUST have the recipe. She showed me the box of Rice-A-Roni! I couldn’t believe it came from there. We’re not sure if it is still featured on the box, so here you go! ENJOY! (and it is easy, too!)
We visited a friend’s boat the other day and they had made a batch of these. I can’t tell you the last time I had them! So I dug up my old recipe and made some the next day! They taste like my teen years. And you don’t have to heat up your oven!
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
½ cup milk
1 stick unsalted butter
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 TBS pure vanilla extract
Large pinch kosher salt
Directions
Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment.
Bring the sugar, milk, butter and cocoa to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, then let boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Add the oats, peanut butter, vanilla and salt, and stir to combine.
Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, and let sit at room temperature until cooled and hardened, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate in an airtight container.
These muffins remind me of my childhood. When it started getting cold outside and through the winter, my mom would make up a batch of these and we’d keep them in the fridge for weeks! (thus the name!) Each morning, she’d fill the muffin tins and bake them which made the house smell amazing! It’s never been easier to have a hot breakfast every chilly morning! YUM!
1 12 oz box of Raisin Bran Cereal 3 cups sugar 5 cup flour 5 teaspoon soda 4 eggs (well beaten) 1 cup vegetable oil 1 quart of buttermilk 1 tablespoon salt
In a large bowl mix together cereal, sugar, flour, soda, and salt. To this mixture add eggs, oil and buttermilk. Mix well. Store in refrigerator. Do NOT freeze.
To bake fill muffin tins (I use liners with them) 1/3 full. Bake 15 to 20 min at 400 degrees. Open and slap with butter while warm!
This makes a gallon and can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. Great with cider.
If you’re as tired of cooking as we are, whip this up for a yummy dinner! This is a great and EASY comfort food recipe! My family LOVES it!!
1 pound ground beef
1 tsp onion powder (or 1/4 cup chopped onion)
3 cups tomato juice
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 TBS vinegar
1 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup macaroni
Brown ground beef in like a 5 quart pot. (if you’re doing real actual onion, put it in when you’re browning the burger) Once it gets going, sprinkle the onion powder in and let that fry into the beef. Once the ground beef is no longer pink, drain the fat and keep the beef in the pot. Add everything else right into the pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Enjoy!
Everyone loves pasta salad, right? But I’m telling you, this one (which apparently came from a mistake) is my absolute favorite. I crave this more than any other pasta salad I’ve ever had. The ingredients are so unique that it gives it a sweet and savory flavor. But my mom swears she never made it the way I make it. She said her original recipe did NOT have green olives in it, but she can’t remember what it had instead. So I just make it like this. And since Memorial Day weekend is coming up, it’s about to be pasta salad season! Enjoy!
Ingredients
2 boxes of tri-colored pasta (cooked and drained)
2-3 cups of red seedless grapes (washed and loose)
2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast (or pulled rotisserie chicken)
6 oz jar sliced salad olives drained (I know it’s weird, but I pitch all the pimentos)
Sauce
Hellman’s Light Mayo – 4-6 spatula dollops
2 Tbs or more Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp dill
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp onion powder
Put first 4 ingredients in large bowl and chill
Whisk sauce ingredients together until it looks like salad dressing
Fold into pasta salad
Refrigerate 2-4 hours or overnight. The longer the better!
Summer is the time for cool salads. For some reason a few weeks ago, my mom and I started talking about this macaroni salad my brother-in-law Jim used to make for family reunions or afternoons at the lake. If you don’t like tuna, you could use pulled rotisserie chicken. But this is the original. 🙂 My brother-in-law was making this before “Pasta Salad” was all the rage! That’s why it’s called Macaroni salad.
