Julies Pasta Salad Recipes

LIGHT AND EASY BOW TIE PASTA SALAD RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling water, prepare pasta until al dente.
• In a small mixing bowl or jar whisk or shake lemon juice, olive oil, mustard and minced garlic until well combined.
• Drain bow tie pasta and rinse with cold water to shock the noodles.
• In a large serving bowl, toss drained pasta with dressing, feta, cherry tomatoes and basil.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Refrigerate until serving (recommend 2+ hours to allow the pasta salad dressing to marinate the bowtie pasta).

JULIE'S CRUNCHY POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, cool, and cut potatoes into bite-size pieces.
• Combine celery, green onion, carrots, bell peppers, and olives, in a large bowl. Stir mashed eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, salad seasoning mix, and dill seasoning in another bowl; season with salt and pepper. Stir egg mixture and potatoes into vegetable mixture. Add pickle juice and mix until creamy.

JULIE'S CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl toss together the chicken, raisins, celery and grapes. Fold in the avocado and the apple. Mix in the mayonnaise and lemon juice. Chill.

JULIE'S MEXICAN SALAD INSPIRATION

Steps:

• Layer lettuce, corn, black beans, tomato, green onions, cilantro, green bell pepper, avocado, Cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips, in this order, in a serving bowl.
• Stir ranch-style dressing and salsa together in a bowl; pour over salad.

JULIE'S MOM'S PERFECT POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Steam potatoes with skin on.
• Mix together all ingredients except potatoes.
• When potatoes are done, cut (it's up to you whether or not you want to leave the skins on) while still warm and fold together with the mayo mixture - it makes it taste better to combine while warm.
• Put into serving container and garnish.
• Refrigerate for at least three hours before serving (the longer the better).
• This potato salad is even better then next day!
• Note from Julie: I use the dried minced onion because I like their texture, omit the celery, and add about 1/4 tsp of both curry powder and dried mustard... but don't tell Mom. ;)

JULIE'S ITALIAN PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box, drain & rinse with cool water.
• While the pasta is cooking prepare the other ingredients.
• Combine prepared ingredients with the pasta in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
• Pour in one half the Italian dressing and sprinkle with parmesan cheese (be liberal). Mix and repeat if needed.
• Refrigerate overnight.
• Add the rest of the Italian dressing and more parmesan the next day. If it looks too dry add more Italian dressing. Don't worry, it's almost impossible to mess it up.

JULIE'S PRETTY ANTIPASTO SALAD

Steps:

• I make this in a large shallow pasta bowl with sloping sides so I can put the rolled meats and cheese all around the edge. My bowl is about 18" wide and 4" deep. If you don't have such a bowl, you'll have to arrange the meats and cheese differently.
• NOTE: I can't get prepackaged sliced provolone to roll without cracking, so I buy both the meats and the provolone fresh from the deli and have them sliced fairly thin. You want to end up with the same amount of slices for the mortadella and the provolone, so the exact ounces will vary.
• Dump the lettuce into the bowl and sprinkle the garbanzo beans over the top. Sprinkle with a dash of garlic salt and fresh ground pepper and top with tomatoes.
• Slice the provolone and mortadella in half, then roll each piece tightly, placing them around the salad at the edge of the bowl, alternating meat and cheese, cut side down. Tuck them under the salad just a bit so they stay rolled.
• Fold each slice of salami in half, then in half again and place it into the bowl of salad so that they look like rosettes. Cover tightly with saran wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Feel free to add additional ingredients, I kept the recipe simple to stay true to my childhood memories.