Recipes

[LeeA7]

I was wondering if anyone has made this without the ham and if so how did it taste? I like the look of the recipe but I don't eat meat. 

[pupwhipped]

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@LeeA7 wrote:

I was wondering if anyone has made this without the ham and if so how did it taste? I like the look of the recipe but I don't eat meat. 

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@LeeA7, I've prepared this a couple times and have never put the ham in it. I eat meat but I just don't want it in my pasta salad. It's been awhile since I made it, but I do think I used a little more of the spices and mustard then in the recipe cause it needed more "oomph" to me. I also added a little Tabasco sauce. As with all new recipes, you make it, try it, and then adjust to your own taste.    

[novamc1]

One of the best similar pasta salads I ever made had a small amount of thin-sliced hard salami (purchased at the deli counter) and cut into slivered pieces. 

I think you could add any type of flavorful meat and it would be good.  The hard salami provides the "oomph".

I don't know  how much I'd like the hard-cooked eggs in this  particular recipe.

I'd also prefer making this with small (not the large) pasta shells instead of elbow macaroni.

Also good without any meat at all, as long as it contains enough other non-pasta additions such as  finely chopped celery, carrots, onion, green/red peppers, peas, maybe some barely cooked slender green beans cut into small pieces.

[BeccaLou]

Make the macaroni salad, and just keep the meat on the side and try it, alone, and with a variety of meats until it hits home. I always keep my meats and cheese on the side and mix only when I'm ready to eat it so as not to get the meat soggy. Because chunks of different cheeses in macaroni salad is very delicious also.But I keep the cheese on the side until I'm ready to eat it. But I keep the meats and cheese on the small side.