Italian Pasta Salad With Pepperoni, Mozzarella Cheese, and Tiny Peas

In days gone by, macaroni salad was a popular "side," served at family picnics and church pot-lucks. Mostly pasta, the salad had a little chopped celery, and a few chopped green peppers and tomatoes for color. Mayonnaise held the components together. Over time, ham, cheese and even hot dogs were added to the basic recipe.

Old fashioned macaroni salad is still around. Its popularity may be due to the ease of preparation or the fact that most people like noodles.

The 1955 edition of the Good Housekeeping Cookbook contains a recipe for "Best-Ever Macaroni Salad," a variation of potato salad. Fast forward to The Pillsbury Complete Cook Book, published in 2000, with its recipe for "Ham and Macaroni Picnic Salad." Pickle relish and diced pimientos are added to the traditional recipe. For a de luxe version, you may add chopped cumbers, sliced green olives and sliced boiled eggs. Like the previous salads, it is dressed with mayonnaise.

Today, restaurants and delicatessens are serving improved versions of the classic recipe. The Pillsbury website posted a recipe for "Layered Pizza Salad" made with rotini pasta, fresh mozzarella, and sliced pepperoni. I followed the basic recipe, but used vegetable pene pasta instead. Made with dried carrots, tomatoes, and spinach, this product has a full serving of vegetables in each four-ounce portion.

To cut down on fat and salt, I deleted the shredded Paremesan cheese from the recipe. To boost the vegetable content I added a cup of defrosted tiny peas. I didn't add any extra salt because I thought there was enough in the pepperoni and cheese. My 20-year old granddaughter loved the salad and so did I. Do pepperoni lovers live at your house? If so, this version of an old classic is sure to be a hit.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked vegetable penne pasta

1 medium red pepper, chopped

1 medium green pepper, chopped

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

1 cup tiny peas, defrosted in warm water

3.5-ounce package of sliced pepperoni

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (I used reduced fat cheese.)

Light Italian dressing (your choice)

Method

Cook pnene according to package directions. Rinse well with cold water, drain, and transfer to large bowl. Add chopped vegetables and drained peas. Slice pepperoni circles in half. Add to pasta mixture, along with mozzarella. Drizzle with dressing, toss, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least two hours to blend flavors. Serve as is, or over Boston lettuce leaves. (Boston lettuce is also called butter lettuce.)Makes about 10 servings.

Copyright 2012 by Harriet Hodgson

This news article is brought to you by CLASSIC-CARS - where latest news are our top priority.

Dress Up Your Meals With An Old Fashion Salad

The salad recipes in this article are all salads from the past that are still popular today. At your next meal, cook-out, picnic, etc, why not serve an old fashion salad. You will no doubt receive rave reviews for your White Corn Salad, Lettuce-Blue Cheese-Salad or American Potato Salad.

WHITE CORN SALAD
This is not one of my original recipes but one I grew up eating when my late mother clipped it from a local newspaper (now defunct) send-in recipe column. There is a local pharmacy ad on back of the recipe with a phone number that begins BR-5-... Now that does take you back, doesn't it? Most of you younger reader's never had a phone number like that!

2 cans whole kernel white corn
1 medium green pepper*
1 medium onion
3 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
tomato wedges
pimento strips

Drain 2 cans of whole kernel white corn. Slice green pepper and onion in thin slices, mix with corn. Cover and let stand in refrigerator for about an hour. Before serving, toss with oil and vinegar, and season to taste. Garnish with tomato wedges and pimento strips.

*In Southern Indiana where I was raised, a green pepper is a bell pepper.

LETTUCE - BLUE CHEESE SALAD
1 head lettuce
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 oz blue cheese
salt and pepper
dash of cayenne
1/4 cup salad oil
2 tbs. vinegar
1/2 tbs. paprika

Tear lettuce into small pieces. Toss the lettuce and cabbage together. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Crumble the cheese and mix together with the cayenne, oil, vinegar, and paprika. When combined, toss over the vegetables. Good idea to add fresh tomatoes and green pepper slices for more color.

AMERICAN POTATO SALAD
1 cup mayonnaise-style salad dressing
1 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
4 cups cubed potatoes, cooked
2 boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped sweet pickle

In a large mixing bowl combine the salad dressing, mustard, celery seed, salt, and pepper, mixing well. Add the potatoes, eggs, onion, celery, and sweet pickle; toss together gently to coat. Refrigerate until time to serve. Also keep leftovers refrigerated (if you have any!).

Serves 6.

Enjoy!

This article is brought to you by DATE.