Pasta Salad for a Crowd

rice salad, green salad, and mini broccoli cheese muffin

If there is one thing I make incessantly during the summer, it's salad. Green salad, pasta salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, shrimp salad, pea salad-- you name it, we eat it as a salad pretty much.

My mom doesn't always enjoy cooking, but she gave me some valuable training when I was growing up about making summer salads. When I was beginning to cook on my own, she told me, "Add mayo, pickles, and boiled eggs (and maybe a little mustard) to just about anything to make a great summer salad." And she's right. Think about it. Add those things to potatoes, you get potato salad. Add them to tuna or chicken or ham and you get the corresponding salad. Come to think of it, just serve mayo, pickles, and boiled eggs and you can have egg salad or deviled eggs; take your pick. And, of course, add them to your favorite pasta, and you have a great pasta salad.

But as I've told you before, I pretty much have to tweak any recipe, even if it isn't written down.
So here's my suggestion for "Pasta Salad For a Crowd"
32 oz. pasta (bow tie, shell, or elbow are my favorites)
8 boiled eggs
2 jars diced pickles (or the equivalent, if you're chopping your own)
1 red pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, chopped and rinsed
3 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1/2-1 1/2 cups (+/-) light mayo and or dressing/olive oil
2 T Italian seasoning
1 t garlic
(and whatever else you feel like adding at the time)
You can also swap out the pickles for green olives (my favorite) or use broccoli instead of the pickles and peppers.
All in all, it's really hard to mess this salad up and it makes A LOT!
Enjoy!

(first posted last July)

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