Shells' BOMBdotCOM Macaroni Salad

I've been making this BOMBdotCOM macaroni salad for the past two years for BBQs and birthday parties and I don't mean to toot my own horn but it never fails to be a crowd pleaser. And today on a car ride back from an amazing weekend in Las Vegas (woot woot!), I suggested that we have macaroni salad for dinner. So when we got home we immediately got to work on some delicious macaroni salad.

First we brought some salted water to a boil and cooked the ditalini pasta. In the meantime, we busied ourselves with chopping up some onions, green bell peppers and celery.

Sous chef Lards working on some fresh green bell peppers

Onions, celery, and green bell peppers chilling in a mixing bowl

Pasta straining in a colander

Lastly, we added the rest of the ingredients and mixed everything together in a large mixing bowl, making last-minute adjustments to some ingredients..

Flavors are melding together

After we seasoned the macaroni salad we popped it in the refrigerator for about thirty minutes (since we didn't have the time or patience to allow it to properly chill) and dug in! It was BOMBdotCOM!

Serving of Shells' BOMBdotCOM macaroni salad

Looks good, doesn't it?? Well, lucky for you, here's the recipe!! It's a pretty simple recipe, the hardest part is trying to chop the onion without crying. Give it a try under one condition- don't you dare omit or substitute any ingredients. :) enjoy!!

Shells' BOMBdotCOM Macaroni Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 cups uncooked ditalini pasta
• 1 cup mayonaise
• 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 cup white sugar (adjust to taste)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 4 hard boiled eggs, chopped (optional)

Instructions:

1. Bring pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Strain and allow to cool.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, mustard, relish, salt, and pepper.
3. Chop onion, bell pepper, celery and add to mixture in large bowl. Allow mixture to sit for 30 mins.
4. Transfer pasta into large mixing bowl and combine contents of large bowl into a super large bowl.
5. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, but preferably overnight.
6. Share with people you love!

Yields 10 servings (but goes by fast- trust me)

Note: The macaroni salad might look liquidy when you initially mix everything together , but have no fear- the pasta will absorb all the vinegary mustardy goodness in a matter of hours.

Toodles!

The Best Things Come in Small Packages!

Aren't these little sliders absolutely adorable?!

Each one was made with love by Shells and I. Carefully put together, these little guys are pretty filling. I was full after about two and a half! This delicious concoction is something we just decided to put together one night. Quick trip to the store and we were on our way to amazingness! These sliders so easy to make:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

You'll need ground beef (or turkey if that's your preference), salt, pepper, barbecue sauce, garlic salt (because we add garlic salt to everything), and what ever other kind of spice you want to add to this mash up.

We pretty much winged the measurements, just don't over do it! Put all of these in a bowl and mix it together with your hands to distribute all the spices throughout the meat.

Next we just molded the little patties by rolling up cute balls of meat and gently pushing them into a flat disk with our fingers. Wrap the little patty in bacon (because bacon makes everything better) and set on a baking sheet. Bake for about 25-30min until cooked all the way through. Before it's done though, you want to add a slice of provolone (or your choice of cheese) to the top of each of the patties and place back in the oven. This will melt the cheese perfectly!

After they're done, take them out and slide each onto a slightly toasted split hawaiian roll. Top with the other half of the hawaiian roll and enjoy!

Hugs! - Lardy.