Garden Pasta Salad

• 1 (16 ounce) Package uncooked tri-color spiral pasta
• 1/2 Cup thinly sliced carrots
• celery/cucumber (optional)
• 1/2 Cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 Cup chopped broccoli
• 2 Large tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 Cup chopped onion
• 2 (16 ounce) Bottles Italian-style salad dressing/House italian dressing
• 1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese

• Boil a large pot of water. When water is boiling, add broccoli and cook for three minutes. Scoop the broccoli out of water. Put broccoli into a bowl of ice water. Remove broccoli from water and pat dry with paper towels. Cook pasta in the boiling water.
  
• Rinse under cold water, and drain.
• Mix chopped celery, cucumber, green pepper, tomatoes, and onion together in large bowl.
• Combine cooled pasta and vegetables together in large bowl.
• Chill for one hour.
• Right before serving, toss pasta with dressing and cheese.

1st trail : 3rd June 2010

Tuna Macaroni Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup macaroni
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1 cup chopped red, orange, and or yellow bell peppers, seeded and de-stemmed
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 cans of tuna, packed in olive oil (do not drain), or if you get tuna packed in water, drain the water out and add 2-3 Tbsp olive oil.
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• Juice of 1/2 lemon, freshly squeezed
• 1/4-1/3 a head of lettuce (preferably iceberg lettuce), sliced first and roughly chopped into 2 inch long strips
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika / sweet Hungarian
• Fresh ground pepper

Method

1 In a saucepan, add 1 cup of elbow macaroni to 1 quart of boiling water with an added teaspoon of salt. Simmer either covered or uncovered for about 10 minutes until the macaroni is just a little more cooked than al dente. When ready, remove from heat, drain and rinse with cold water.

2 While the macaroni is cooking, assemble the other ingredients.

Serves 4.