July 7th is National Macaroni Day! (not to be confused with Mac n Cheese day, which is next week). As it’s still rather warm and muggy out–and I want nothing to do with my oven being on whatsoever–I was on a quest to come up with a dinner to make that was healthy, cold, quick, and minimal when it comes to creating any additional heat in my apartment.
Here’s what I came up with:
- 1 cup macaroni
- 3-4 cups water
- 1⁄2 cucumber, sliced or diced
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, diced (optional
- 1⁄4 cup red onion, diced
- 1⁄4 cup green onion, chopped
- 1⁄4 cup canned corn, drained
- 1⁄2 cup cheese, shredded or diced
- 1⁄2 cup celery, diced
- 1⁄2 cup red peppers, diced
- 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Here’s all you need to do:
- Cook macaroni according to directions on package. This will be the only hot part of the preparation.
- Drain and chill the pasta, adding lemon juice along with a sprinkle of salt to the macaroni, and let the flavours soak in.
- While the pasta cools down, prep the rest of your ingredients. I’ve sometimes also mini red tomatoes, too!
- When the pasta has chilled, add the rest of ingredients into the bowl, mix thoroughly and refrigerate until serving time.
This combo will make enough for about 4-5 servings and can be easily cut in half or duplicated, depending how many you’re serving. This is also a dish that will last for a few days and would be fantastic if you’re looking to do a little meal planning for your week.
So there you have it – a quick and simple summer salad to enjoy seated next to your fan or A/C unit, or even out under a tree for a picnic. Serve this with a slightly chilled buttery Chardonnay (BC, California or Australia Chards are best, in my opinion), to really bring out the flavours in the pasta and cheese.
Happy National Macaroni Day!