Sure and all, pasta salad is a staple for summer meals, but it is also quite nice on a cold winter’s evening – and this pasta salad has a wee, tiny bit extra…
Macaroni and cheese (Kraft Dinner), and Catalina French dressing!
Yeh. I know. It sounds kinda gross and weird and like something found in a mid 1960’s ladies’ magazine.
That would be because it was.
My mom clipped the recipe for this (tasty, trust me!) salad, taped it onto a recipe card, stashed it in her recipe box, and then, somehow, never got around to making it.
Then, I came across it (years ago now) and figured “why not try it?”
I’ve tweaked it a bit over the years, even to the point of making my own French Dressing – which is much lower in sugar than store bought – but in a pinch, trusty old Catalina really works just fine.
INGREDIENTS
•1 box mac and cheese dinner
•1/4 cup butter
•1/4 cup milk
•1/3 cup + 2 tbsp Catalina dressing
•1/3 cup mayonnaise
•1 tbsp chopped onion
•1 cup diced celery
•1 cup diced cucumber
•1 jar diced pimiento, drained
•1/4 cup sliced peperoncini
•1/4 tsp Seasoned Salt
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
Prepare the mac and cheese according to the directions on the box, but, stir in 1/3 cup of the Catalina dressing along with the milk, butter, and cheese packet.
Set aside to cool, then stir in the remaining two tablespoons of Catalina, the mayonnaise, and the veggies.
Note: feel free to swap out veggies according to your tastes and what you have on hand. To make it a bit more of a meal, drained tuna, or chunks of chicken are nice additions.
Another recipe rescued from oblivion.