Picnic Pasta Salad

 We were taking dinner to some friends who just had a new baby. Sandwich rolls were rising and about to go into the oven, shredded beef was in the crockpot, and I went into my pantry to retrieve the potatoes, to peel and chop for mashed potatoes. But the potatoes (that I had only gotten in my grocery pick-up order two days before) were moldy! I didn't have time to run out and get more so I started searching the fridge, freezer, and pantry to find a replacement side. We had the ingredients for macaroni salad except macaroni pasta but I did have a box of Banza chickpea cavatappi so I renamed it picnic pasta salad and got to work.

I didn't have a lot of extra time so I threw the salad together using several recipes for inspiration, packed up the food, and headed off to deliver the meal. When I got back home, Andrew was devouring a serving, telling me I needed to keep the recipe. Eek! So the next week, I tried making it again. It was close but not quite there. The following week I needed to bring a side to a family dinner so I tried again, and again it was close but not quite. The next time was a success and we had our recipe. 

Picnic Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound chickpea pasta

• 1/2 cup celery, diced

• 1/2 cup carrot, shredded

• 1/4 cup red onion, diced

• 3 pickle spears, diced

• 3 hard boiled eggs, diced

• 1 cup miracle whip

• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard

• 2 teaspoons celery seed

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Boil pasta according to package directions, let cool.

2. Combine pasta, celery, carrot, onion, pickle, and egg. 

3. In a separate bowl, combine dressing ingredients. 

4. Add dressing to the pasta until moist. 

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Note

I prefer to use chickpea pasta but any short pasta will work.