Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Salad On Tuesday: Week 1 {BLT Macaroni Salad}

After a crazy post-holiday day last January, I hatched a plan to make a different soup every Tuesday throughout the winter.  I served some tried-and-true soups, but I also experimented with new recipes and found a couple of winners!  

As hot weather approached, I wondered if I could rise to a new challenge and serve a different salad every week throughout the summer.  This one will be a little harder to do successfully, mostly because Ron is not a huge fan of salad, especially when served as THE dinner.  But I am going to try, with a mix of main dish type of salads and side salads.  (Gotta keep hubby happy!)  

I'll begin this series with one of our tried-and-true salads.  I found this recipe several years ago in an e-mail from Gooseberry Patch.  (Do you receive their e-letters?)  I have made this at least once or twice every summer since...and it is a main dish salad that Ron likes!  Of course, the fact that bacon is an ingredient doesn't hurt.  

Here is the recipe for BLT Macaroni Salad, with my own tweaks.  (I included the link to the original below my recipe.)  







Ingredients:
  • 8-oz. package elbow macaroni, cooked
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
  • 6 slices bacon, cut into bite-sized pieces and cooked
  • 1/2 cup salad dressing (as in Miracle Whip)
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon each, salt and pepper
  • lettuce


Directions:
  1. Mix macaroni, bacon pieces, and tomato halves in a large bowl.
  2. In a small bowl, combine salad dressing, sour cream, mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper to make dressing.
  3. Pour the dressing over the macaroni mixture and toss until well mixed.
  4. Serve over a plate of torn lettuce or your favorite boxed salad mix.



*  For original recipe from Gooseberry Patch, click ~here~.


What about you?  Do you make more salads in the summer?

5 comments:

  1. AngelaJune 12, 2012 at 10:58 AM

    I make a lot of salads, but not usually as the main dish -- too many males and teenagers in this house for that:) I just look around and see what I have that I can throw in it, but they usually turn out good. Sunday's salad had tomatoes, cucumbers, and onion from our garden, so that was fun.

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  2. VeeJune 12, 2012 at 2:56 PM

    That sounds so good. No, my husband is like Ron...not a fan of salad if that's ALL there is. =D I, on the other hand, love salads.

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  3. SueJune 12, 2012 at 8:23 PM

    This looks and sounds delicious, Cheryl! I do make more salads in the summer! Thanks for the link and recipe. I will be looking forward to your salad recipes.
    Enjoy your week.
    Hugs,
    Sue

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  4. Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage BlogJune 13, 2012 at 1:31 PM

    We do eat lots of salads especially in the summer! This one sounds good...do you think it would be just as good with mayo and not salad dressing?

    Deanna

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  5. VeeJuly 18, 2012 at 5:22 PM

    I may have printed this off four times, but can I find any of them? No. So I'm running back and forth between the kitchen to read the recipe. I refuse to print it off again. It's here somewhere! =D

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