Peggy Jean-Ish Pasta Salad

I am back among the living - blogging!  Hurray! 

We have had a very, very BUSY (did I say busy?) couple of weeks at our house.  My older daughter graduated from college a couple of weeks ago and this past weekend my younger daughter and one of my nieces graduated from high school.  To celebrate, we had two separate graduation parties and even though it was a TREMENDOUS amount of work getting our Central Missouri yard presentable for guests, we had a great time!  Each party had different foods and we did a pretty good job representing each graduate's favorite dishes. 

At my older daugher's graduation celebration we served, this pulled BBQ pork (I baked it in the oven and made six times the recipe of BBQ sauce), and this Super Easy Slaw recipe, and, of course, her favorite deep fried crinkle-cut french fries, some of these Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars (which were a HUGE HIT) and lots of other stuff. 

At the most recent graduation celebration for my younger daughter and niece, my husband smoked a briskit, a long pork loin, and a turkey.  We had LOTS AND LOTS OF SIDES and I also made this pasta salad recipe which I'm going to share with you today.  I ALWAYS get the most compliments on this dish!  Everyone begs for the recipe.  I even took it to my husband's work picnic and an older lady whom I didn't even know walked up to me and pleaded that I share this recipe with her.  Its so EASY that I was able to jot it down from memory for her on a napkin!  You cannot go wrong with this recipe!

Some background on this recipe:  We used to have a local restaurant owned by two ladies and their specialty was pie of all kinds  They also served soup, salads, sandwiches and a pasta salad that I could not get enough of.  I searched high and low, scouring all kinds of sources, looking for a recipe that I thought sounded right because the restaurant CLOSED and the ladies retired!  I found a recipe in an old QUICK COOKING magazine and I have altered it to create my version of this fantastic pasta salad.  It uses no oil and since it has no mayo or anything like that, it will last without you having to worry about how long it has been un-refridgerated. 

You will love this!  And with garden season fast approaching, this will be a nice recipe to have around because you can include lots of your fresh garden veges in this pasta salad!

PEGGY JEAN-ISH PASTA SALAD

• 1 package (16 ounces) tricolor spiral pasta (or regular spiral pasta will work JUST FINE)
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped (I peel the cucumber, slice lenghwise into fourths, and then slice each 1/4 piece)
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped (or use red or yellow for pretty color).
• 1/2 red or white (sweet onion) finely sliced & cut the rings into 1/4ths.

DRESSING:

• 1 cup granulated (white) sugar
• 1/2 cup white vinegar (or cider vinegar is also fine)
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard (do not omit this ingredient - key player!)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Place in a large serving bowl. Stir in the onion, tomato, cucumber, green pepper, and onion set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the dressing ingredients. Cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved (watch out because it swells when it boils.  Keep an eye on it.). Pour over salad and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve with a slotted spoon. Yield: 16 servings.

I shared this recipe at Carole's Chatter HERE!