Marlene's Perfect Pasta Salad!

This here is one of the very best, top of my list past salads. We recently had a cook out at the new humble home. Well Stephanie's mom brought ....you guessed it pasta salad. Here I am expecting the classic elbow noodles and mayo concoction that is at every event only to be pleasantly surprised by this amazing mix. Let me first state my problem with classic pasta salad recipes. I hate when they are so sweet they make your teeth ache, however if they are tangy enough then they leave a horrid after taste in your mouth. This recipe solves both problems and it's basic enough to make it your own.

You will need:
1 jar of Marzetti "Classic Slaw" dressing (this is non negotiable...this makes the recipe)
2 tbs of mayo (I prefer Dukes if it's available....just no low fat or the dreaded miracle whip)
1/2 a cup of onion-chopped
1 1/2 cups of celery-chopped
2 hard boiled eggs-chopped
1 can of tuna/chicken your choice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of shredded carrots if you like them (they add a nice crunch)
1 box of your preference of noodles. I like shells, Mizz Marlene used spirals...my mama loves elbows...pick your pleasure.

Boil your noodles according to the directions on the box, or Al Dente for this recipe.
Rinse them in cold water and drain well.

Then just dump all the rest in a bowl with the noodles, mix well and refrigerate for at least one hour. Now enjoy and thank me later y'all.

A word to the wise about this recipe. This is a very basic recipe that you can add or remove what you like. When I had it the first time it had carrots but no egg or salt and pepper. However unless you truly love onions in the extreme I would not add more than half a cup. For whatever reason this dressing makes the onions really stand out. I have found that half a cup delivers the perfect amount of flavor, and I like onions. I also add more celery because I really enjoy the crunch with the noodles. This works equally well with canned chicken or tuna. I like the tuna but some people don't. Now you can leave the carrots out, however they add some color and a small bit of taste.

I just had to bring y'all this recipe because it is that good. Really yummy. Since I now live in a place where going to the store requires going "into town" I do a lot of cooking. I am trying out beef pepper steak tonight. I will let you know how it goes.

With the beau working all day and me only working weekends I am about to loose my mind with all this free time. I have been doing a lot of reading lately but I have yet to read anything worth passing on. Even with all the boredom and free time driving me crazy(never thought I could have to much free time) I am still happy to be out of the crazies house. The level of stress relief that brought is amazing.

I hope everyone else is doing well. Kelsey the old lady and I are just unpacking and adjusting to life in the country. Have a great week!

Life when you have to go"in to town" for everything.

I am happy to say that we are no longer living with the crazies. I am unhappy to say that the chance of getting a pizza delivered to the new place is right up their with flying pigs. Which there are plenty of down the road from me. Not the flying variety but pigs none the less.

I highly enjoy being able to exist with out dealing with the crazies doing strange and unexplainable things. For example the day before we were set to move out the step-monster felt the need to scratch and gouge up all the furniture the dad said we could take with. His exact words were "if you don't take it I'm going to throw it in with the trash on Tuesday". Now it's not priceless antiques but it's a bed and a dresser we didn't have before. I thought his wording was pretty clear.....yes we can take this furniture......is what I thought. However step-monster apparently felt the need to pay us back for "stealing right out from under her" her beloved water warped fiberboard headboard and the dresser with the missing handles and broken drawer tracks by completely ruining them before we took them with. Notice the frugality I have shown by not running out and purchasing brand new furniture just so I can say...fine you want it you keep it now that you have messed it up! This may end up being necessary though since every time I look at the furniture I get a wash of seething anger. There is also the never ending accusations of us stealing all matter of things from the house. "I had three cartons of yogurt not two!"-"I bet she took the scrunchy I wore with my nursing uniform in 1982!"-"I can't believe they took the remote control to OUR bedroom TV". This list is never ending. If the step-monster(who I will call fudgy face from now on due to the constant consuming of fudgsicles which she promptly smears all over her face in her Xanex induced haze" has managed to misplace something in one of her inebriated states then we have taken the item just to spite her. Because oh Lordy B I really had a thing for that chocolate smeared scrunchy with the little fuzzy craft balls hanging off the edges!



That is the end of my venting! Now on to the good stuff. I am interviewing for another job......one that isn't 48Min's from the new house. The new roommates don't completely stink which is good for my mental state. The old lady has also somewhat bonded with the new puppy..Duncan or Dumkin depending on the mood which is also good so I don't have to play dog mediator all the time. That's about it. I am so much less stressed since leaving that house that I can actually sleep at night and everything is so much easier to deal with now. God love peaceful living situations!