Summer isn’t summer without an old-fashioned traditional macaroni salad.  My mother-in-law used to make this and I just loved it.  Just the right dish to serve with hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs….can you say ‘cookout’?

1 16 oz. box of small sized pasta (rings, elbows, small shells, penne)

1/3 of a full stalk of celery, chop from the top down in 1/4 inch size (you want the leafy parts)

3 eggs hard boiled, peeled and rough chopped

1 cup frozen peas – flash boiled, drained and cooled

1/2 sweet onion chopped

1/2 green pepper chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

small bunch of fresh chives, chopped

1 cup of mayonnaise*

milk to thin – if needed

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta until al dente.  Drain and allow to cool.  Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients, except the mayonnaise in a large bowl.  When the pasta is completely cooled mix in with the vegetables and add the mayonnaise.  If the consistency is too ‘thick’, you can thin by adding a little milk – approx. 1/3 cup to your preference.  This works especially well, if you are serving the next day and the pasta has absorbed some of the moisture of the mayonnaise.  Cool thoroughly.  Enjoy!

*If you prefer not to use as much mayonnaise, I have cut the mayo in half and added sour cream in the past to just as good results.  Remember to keep this dish cool on hot days.