How to Make a Great Pasta Salad with Whatever's in Your Pantry
by 20 people |
Ranked #3,975 in Food, #82,049 overall
Step-by-Step for a Great Pasta Salad - With Gluten-Free Option Included!
Pasta Salad Basic Ingredients
The basic ingredients needed for a filling main dish pasta salad are:* medium or large shaped pasta (spirals, bowties, shells, elbows, etc); I like the way spirals catch and hold all the other flavors
* a little tuna, salmon, chicken, or whatever leftover meat is handy
* mayonnaise
* salt and pepper
Options:
* finely diced pickles
* veggie like peas or diced carrot
* dash of mustard powder if you like a bit of a kick
* cheese (I like sliced cheddar on the side, but you could grate some directly in if you wish)
Tinkyada Whole Grain Pasta
Whole grain goodness without the too-hearty texture
But my very picky husband, who refuses to eat whole grain whole wheat pasta (which I admit usually tastes like cardboard) will eat Tinkyada whole grain brown rice pasta. The taste is very similar to regular white pasta, without the overly hearty, grainy texture of whole wheat pasta, and yet it has the whole grain with all the health benefits of that.
And the true test: my kids eat Tinkyada pasta at home and don't even notice a difference from what they get at restaurants or friends' houses!
Tinkyada Brown Rice Spirals with Rice Bran, 16-Ounce Packages (Pack of 12)
Amazon Price: $40.00 (as of 12/07/2009)
Whether you need to eat gluten-free, or whether you are trying to get more whole grains into your diet, you should consider Tinkyada brown rice pasta, which comes in every shape imaginable: spaghetti, fettucine, elbows, spirals, shells, and lasagna shapes, to name a few.
Most rice pasta tends to clump together or turn into mush much more easily than regular pasta, and that's where Tinkyada stands out from the rice pasta crowd. It does need to be stirred a bit more than regular pasta but as long as you give it that extra attention, it will not glue itself together like the other brands, and it doesn't fall apart into mush like so many of the other brands do.
Tinkyada Pastas
Fasta Pasta Microwave Pasta Cooker
Fasta Pasta The Microwave Cooker
Amazon Price: $12.85 (as of 12/07/2009)
No waiting for a big pot of water to boil. Cook pasta to al dente perfection in the microwave! Saves time, energy and water. Use with spaghetti, fettuccini, macaroni, lasagna noodles, rotini and more. Will not boil over. Cooks evenly without sticking. Great for dormitory, motorhome, boat or cabin. Dishwasher safe. FDA approved microwaveable material.
Ingredient Proportions
For a 16oz bag of pasta spirals, I add an almost 15oz can of salmon, or two 6oz cans of tuna. You can play with this proportion and see how much meat you have, or how much your family enjoys. You can add more pasta and less meat if that fits your budget or your pantry, or more meat if you need a more filling meal.
Menu Planning for Busy Moms
Menus for Moms Can Help You!
-
Menu Planning for Busy Cooks
-
If you could ask for more of any one resource in your daily life, what would it be? Odds are good that you would say either more time or more money. Food costs are skyrocketing and it is wreaking havoc with our budgets, but you may not realize that s...
Step 1: Prep the Meat, Cook the Pasta
Cook the pasta according to package directions.While the water boils for the pasta, prep the meat. If you are using canned meat, drain it well and put the meat in the bowl.
For tuna or salmon, use a fork to break it up into minuscule pieces; if it is salmon with the bones in, mash the bones until they crumble. (YES you can eat the salmon bones without danger!)
If you are using canned or leftover chicken, dice it finely or shred it with two forks.
Prime Pacific Pasta Cooker and Steamer
Prime Pacific Pasta Cooker and Steamer set with Glass Lid and Bonus 1.5 Quart Euro Colander
Amazon Price: $44.99 (as of 12/07/2009)
8-quart stainless steel pasta cooker/steamer is a four piece set. This set includes the stockpot, deep pasta cooker, steamer insert, and vented tempered glass lid. Also includes a 1.5 quart Euro stainless steel colander.
Step 2: Add Other Ingredients
Add salt and pepper to your taste. Then add mayo. Again, you will adjust proportions to meet your family's taste, but this salad tastes good with a lot of mayo.Remember the mayo is going to stretch to cover the pasta too, so I add at least a cup here, enough to make an almost soupy mixture.
I like to add mayo to the meat before the pasta, so that all the meat is well-coated; adding it after the mayo results in sadly insufficient mayonnaise coverage.
Hain Mayonnaise
All their oils are expeller pressed and use no hexane or other chemicals to extract the oils. Most health food stores and even larger grocery chains with health sections will carry some Hain products.
Mayonnaise, Safflower, 24 oz.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/07/2009)
Ingredients in Hain Safflower Mayonnaise:
expeller presse4d safflower oil
whole eggs
grain vinegar
filtered water
egg yolks
salt
egg whites
dehydrated cane juice
spice
lemon juice concentrate
honey
mixed tocopherols (vitamin E)
natural flavors
paprika extractives
Step 3: Pasta Cooldown
If you want to add pickles, chop them while the pasta finishes cooking. You can also add a can of drained & rinsed peas or half a bag of frozen peas, rinsed. Diced carrots would also be good.As soon as the pasta is cooked as you like it, drain it in a colander and rinse with cold water. Use your stirring spoon to mix the pasta so it is all cooled by the water.
If you are adding peas or another vegetable, frozen is a good choice as it will help the pasta to cool.
My daughter and I differ on dicing pickles - she likes big & crunchy; I like small & subtle.
Step 4: Put It All Together
Drain the cooled pasta well and dump it into the meat/mayo mixture.Add your extras (pickles, veggies) now. As you can tell from my directions, this is a dish I make by feel rather than exact measurements. I added two medium-large dill pickles to this salad but when making more or less pasta, I go with approximate proportions. The picture shows the proportion of pickles I go for.
Mix it thoroughly and you may want to add more mayo. I almost always add at least a half to a whole cup more. Taste and adjust salt if necessary.
The Finished Pasta Salad
More Great Recipe Lenses
Find more wonderful recipes on Squidoo!
-
Scrumpdiddlyumptious Blueberry Banana Bread (or Muffins)
-
This is my family's absolute favorite breakfast food: Blueberry Banana Muffins!
-
Coconutties: Super Simple, Super Quick, Super Sweet!
-
Coconutties are the quickest, easiest dessert around, and yet they can look - and taste! - very elegant. Make these when you're headed out the door and the fancy dessert you were supposed to bring was eaten by the dog (at least that's what you'll tel...
-
Luscious and Low-Carb: Meatloaf
-
This meatloaf does triple duty: it is low-carb for Atkins eaters, it is gluten-free for celiac sufferers, and it is utterly, sinfully delicious for everyone. My kids beg me to make this meatloaf. Yes, there's a filler that helps it hold together, jus...
-
How to Make Perfect Scrambled Eggs - WITHOUT a Nonstick Pan!
-
How do you get nonstick eggs without a nonstick pan? Even with nonstick, are your eggs a gummy mess? I always wondered how chefs turned out such light, fluffy eggs, when my scrambles were always heavy and soggy. Turns out the perfect scrambled eggs a...
-
The Hungry Squidz Choice Headquarters
-
The Hungry Squidz Choice These are the recipe lenses that have been awarded the Hungry Squidz Choice Award. Do you aspire to join the ranks of these excellent Squidoo cooks and lensmasters? Would you like to display this beautiful blue ribbon on...
Pass the Pasta Please! Reader Feedback
Pasta Salad on Squidoo
-
Reply
- WindyWinters WindyWinters Sep 6, 2009 @ 2:20 pm
- I love this salad. I make it with lettuce or pasta with the dry mustard. Never tried adding peas or pickles but that sounds like a very tasty variation. Thanks for great pasta salad ideas! :)
-
Reply
- aj2008 aj2008 Aug 24, 2009 @ 3:14 am
- Thank you for including a gluten free option and very helpful step by step instructions.
-
Reply
- merylvdm merylvdm Aug 22, 2009 @ 2:20 pm
- I am going to make one of these this week!! I have a can of salmon waiting to be used. I love simple easy quick ideas like this!!
-
Reply
- Treasures-By-Brenda Treasures-By-Brenda Aug 2, 2009 @ 1:02 pm
- Great idea; I've never quite approached pasta salad in this manner although I certainly can throw a quick one together. My mother-in-law called food created from bits of this and that (mostly leftovers) catfood. We love catfood!
Great job & blessed!
-
Reply
- Heather426 Heather426 Apr 14, 2009 @ 7:40 pm
- what a lifesaver! I used to do this and call it _____Surprise, fill in the blank with whatever meat or protein you use...because my kids would eat anything if it had the word "surprise" in it.LOL
5*
-
Reply
- stargazer00 stargazer00 Feb 10, 2009 @ 5:43 pm
- Welcome to the Hungry Squidz Choice Group. Please stop by the group and grab the blue ribbon for your lens!
-
Reply
- stargazer00 stargazer00 Jan 21, 2009 @ 11:39 am
- Welcome to the Money Saving Tips group!
-
Reply
- stargazer00 stargazer00 Jan 18, 2009 @ 10:06 pm
- I would love for you to submit this lens to my new group./www.squidoo.com/groups/money-saving-tips">Money Saving Tips
-
Reply
- Susan52 Susan52 Dec 9, 2008 @ 6:28 pm
- Really nice step-by-step directions. Good job!
-
Reply
- Tiddledeewinks Tiddledeewinks Dec 7, 2008 @ 7:14 pm
- I'll have to make some now. Would be nice in the hot summer months!
- Load More
Pasta Salad in Blogs
- Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe @ CDKitchen.com :: it's what's cooking ...
- A recipe for Pesto Pasta Salad containing ***Pasta*** farfalle, ziti penne pasta olive oil ***Pesto*** basil leaves that have been rinsed dried extra virgin olive oil pine nuts garlic, pressed chopped salt freshly grated Parmesan cheese ...
- Katy's Quick and Easy Pasta Salad – Tasty Kitchen
- filed in Pasta Salads, Salads. 2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5 5.00 Mitt(s) | 2 Rating(s). Loading ... So named by my husband because he couldn't stop eating it, this easy and simple macaroni salad can be made "as is" or embellished to ...
- Pasta Salad with Broccoli and Pine Nuts: » Kosher In The Kitch ...
- Pasta Salad with Broccoli and Pine Nuts: I recently made this pasta salad for a dinner party and as usual, it was a hit! It's a great way to make your favorite high carb dish a little more nutritious! Ingredients: ...
- Chicken or Turkey Pasta Salad « FoodMayhem
- One of my go-to recipes is a Chicken & Cucumber Pasta Salad that I posted way-way back. I've tweaked it and played with it many times, and you can too, though the reason I thought to post it now, is because it's a great way to use up ...
Gluten Free News
- Gluten-free holidays: Pretty sweet after all
- SEAN SPERRY/CHRONICLE Cory Talbott's gluten-free gingersnap cookies. But for people with celiac disease -- that increasingly common term meaning an ...
- Perrigo Company Launches Labeling Initiative to Identify Gluten-free Products
- Previously, the only way a consumer could verify a pharmaceutical product as "gluten-free" was to call Perrigo directly. Now, consumers will be able to ...
- Elisabeth Hasselbeck's Diet: Now Gluten- and Lawsuit-Free
- The woman behind the initial court action was Susan Hassett, a self-published author who claims that Hasselbeck's recently released best-seller, The G-Free ...
- Elegant Rice Custard with Pomegranate is gluten-free
- By Chef Channon This simple but refreshing rice custard makes for an easy but elegant dessert when served in a footed glass with gem-like pomegranate seeds ...
Find NEW Books at Closeout Prices!
Or swap your used books for new-to-you for *** FREE *** !!!
Squid Angel Blessings!
Many thanks for
SquidAngel blessings from
Thanks to tagsforkids for his angelic SquidArt.
Squidoo logo is a trademark of Squidoo LLC. Graphics, Squidart and Squidoodles © 2008 by tagsforkids (Steve Thompson).
Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License.
Automatically Donate to Your Favorite Charity!
Join Squidoo, make money, and donate to your favorite charity ... all at once!
Part of the proceeds from this lens will
automatically go to make a donation to
Heifer International,
working to solve global poverty.
Doesn't that feel good?
Join Squidoo now
to start making donations to your favorite charity ... AND money for yourself!
by tandemonimom
Explore related pages
3 Ways to Use Stale Pastries or Cookies- Living in a dry climate, baked goods dry out very rapidly so I've developed some...
Our Favorite Quesadilla- We love quesadillas in our house, although they are probably not considered auth...
Soy Free, Gluten Free and Dairy Free Diets and Recipes- Food allergies are not the same. Soy allergy is an auto-immune condition tr...
Coconutties: Super Simple, Super Quick, Super Sweet! - Coconutties are the quickest, easiest dessert around, and yet they can look - an...
How to Make Perfect Scrambled Eggs - WITHOUT a Nonstick Pan! - How do you get nonstick eggs without a nonstick pan? Even with nonstick, are you...
Menu Planning for Busy Cooks- If you could ask for more of any one resource in your daily life, what would it...
