In the kitchen

I've been watching Ree and Valerie again, so I thought I would start sharing some summer recipes, because I've come across some goods ones of late. These aren't necessarily their recipes, but Pioneer Woman and Valerie Bertinelli do motivate me when I get tired of making the same old things. I like to cook, but I have to keep it interesting by changing things up, so if you are that way, maybe you'll enjoy some of these recipes. Some are new (to me) and some are old ones I haven't made in a long time.

Here's a recipe for good old macaroni salad, that I think I found on Facebook, but I can't remember. I usually make mine plain, but this has some good stuff in it, and it was a hit when we had family for supper last Friday.  

Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:

One pound elbow macaroni, cooked according to box

4 oz cheddar cheese, cube or shredded

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

4 ribs celery, diced

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

DRESSING:

1/2 cup mayo

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 Tbs. sugar

2 Tbs. sweet pickle relish

1 Tbs. Dijon mustard

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:  Mix the salad ingredients in a big bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients separately, then fold into salad. Chill for a couple of hours.  I always make extra of the dressing for pasta salads, and before serving, moisten it up with the extra dressing.

This recipe called for 1/2 cup of fresh dill, which I didn't have on hand. It was delicious without it, but even if added, I would probably use less.