Summer Salads: Tuna Macaroni Salad

Spring is here and summer is just around the corner. For me that means it’s time to bring out the salads!  On Friday, I made my first summer salad of the year: a tuna macaroni salad.  With some fresh fruit (I have a fondness for grapes with my macaroni salads) and crusty bread this main dish salad makes an excellent summer meal.

If you’ve read any of my other recipe type posts you already know that I don’t really measure anything.  I’m a “dump cook”.   I just dump the ingredients in a bowl and mix it altogether making adjustments as I go depending on how it looks or smells.

What you need:

• 2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions (I prefer elbows with my tuna but you can use any shape)
• 1/2 cup or so mayonnaise or Vegenaise (more if you want it creamier. Vegenaise is a vegan alternative to mayo which contains no egg or dairy)
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks or about 1/4 cup or so celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup or so GREEN olives, sliced (these are what takes the tuna salad to another dimension and the red pimento adds a nice bit of color)
• Salt, Pepper and Garlic powder to taste

What you do:

• combine, macaroni, tuna, onion, celery and olives in a large mixing bowl
• you can use a small mixing bowl and mix together the mayo and spices
• or you can dump the mayo on top of the salad and add the spices to the mayo
• mix together thoroughly. 

I served it immediately (it was lunch time and we were all very hungry) but you can make it ahead and chill.  This will give the flavors time to meld and I think a chilled salad tastes better on a hot summer day.  When I make it ahead of time, I use more mayonnaise or I stir in a bit more mayo just before serving as I prefer a creamier salad.

Here is a picture of Friday’s lunch:  Tuna Macaroni Salad with sliced Cara Cara Oranges.

(This  post appears in the Christian Home—Issue 8  hosted by Mrs. White at The Legacy of Home.   The Christian Home is a weekly blog magazine.  For more information check out this about page.)