Macaroni Salad

Macaroni salad is a great dish to throw together on the fly for any BBQ or party! Here is my go-to recipe - 

• 4 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 2.5 Tbsp yellow mustard
• 1.5 tsp salt 
• 0.5 tsp pepper 
• 2-3 stalks of celery, chopped to your liking (I do small, but rough pieces)
• 1 large onion, chopped to your liking 
• 0.5 large green bell pepper, chopped to your liking 
• 6-ish baby carrots grated (about 1/4 cup) 
• Cajun seasoning

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook macaroni, stirring occasionally about 8 minutes. Taste one before pulling it off the heat & draining to make sure that they are tender, but still a little bit firm. Drain & rinse under cool water. Drain well. 

2. Mix the mayo, sugar, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, & a sprinkle of cajun seasoning in a separate bowl. 

3. Combine chopped & grated veggies, sauce, and macaroni in a large bowl. Sprinkle a bit of cajun seasoning across the top, and stir well. Taste & adjust seasonings. 

4. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, overnight is even better. In a pinch, you can serve it as soon as 1 hour, but 4 hours really gives the flavors time to meld. 

Optional: You can swamp cajun seasoning for dill if you prefer a dilly flavor to the cajun. Alternately, you can omit the cajun seasoning all together & it is still great. I just like the spice!