Grandma Eaton's famous Macaroni Salad

Ok, so this macaroni salad is my grandmother's. It is the macaroni salad that is made at every family summer get together. Either my aunts or my sister will bring this when there is a family affair! It has since been passed down to all of her grandchildren since her passing. Love you Grams!

G's Macaroni Salad

1 pound elbows macaroni
2 cans small shrimp rinsed and drained
6 hard boiled eggs
1 tall thin jar of green olives
1 can of black olives
3-4 stalks celery chopped

Ingredients
Cook macaroni until just passed done. Rinse, drain and cool. Chop eggs, olives and celery. Mix all ingredients in large bowl and Add mayonaisse until moist. As salad sets it will absorb, chill and add more mayo if needed. Decorate with additional sliced eggs and sprinkle with paprika for color! Add salt and pepper to taste.

Antipasta Salad

I moved from Hawaii when I was almost 3 years old and the only salad that I knew of until I left the house for college was this salad right here. My dad is Italian and our town predominantly is Italian as well, so much that every year they have an Italian festival filled with live bands, amazing food, and pastries.

My children aren't really big fans of this salad but I definitely am. I believe that your children take on the tastes of the "Man of the house". It was the case with my mother and her cooking and it is now the case with me and my cooking.

Antipasta Salad

8 oz. genoa salami slivered bite sizes pieces

8 oz. of a hard salami

8 oz. of pepperoni bite size

8 oz. of sharp provolone cheese slivered into bite sizes

8 oz. of fresh mozzarella cheese bite size

1 small jar of peppercini with 3 tablespoons of juice

2 large tomatoes sliced

1 can of black olives sliced

1 14.oz can of artichokes drained and sliced in bite size

1/4 cup green olives

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives

1 head of iceberg lettuce

6 ablespoons red wine vinegar

2 table spoons extra virgin olive oil

fresh ground pepper to taste

Any one of these items may be omitted if you do not like.

Mix and toss into large bowl, chill and serve!

KFC coleslaw...mmm good

Last summer I went home for my nephew's graduation party! The Eaton family never disappoints when they have get together, parties or gatherings! The food is always plentiful and top notch! My blog should actually be called the EATON FAMILY recipes because this is where the majority of my recipes come from! My sister, Jennifer is a wonderful mom, cook and baker! Yes, she does it all and does it well! I secretly envy her. It's ok because she doesn't blog. If she did she would put me to shame.

This recipe was taken from here. It had 275 reviews and was given 5 stars! It is a definite keeper if you love slaw! Eat it plain, serve it with chicken, bbq or on top of a hot dog. Anywhere you serve it, one thing is for sure it will be GONE!

KFC Coleslaw
If you want to take an easy way out! you can buy the pre mixed slaw packages and then just pulse them slightly in your food processor! Huge time saver!
Prep time 15 minutes, total time 15 minutes! The longer you allow to set up the better it becomes!

8 cups finely diced cabbage (about 1 head)

1/4 cup diced carrott

2 tablespoons minced onions

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup mayonaise

1/4 cup buttermilk

 1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar

To have the right consistency you need to make sure that your cabbage and carrots are finely diced.

A food processor will come in handy. Be careful not to over process! Do it until it looks good to you.

In a large bowl you will add slaw and your minced onions together

 Using regular blade on food processor process remaining ingredients until smooth and then pour over your slaw mixture! mmm mmm good!.

  Cover and place into fridge. It will be best to marinate and sit a few hours to over night.

Basil Pesto Bowtie Pasta

Basil & BowTie Pasta Salad


1 lb bowtie pasta
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
4 oz fresh parmesan cheese, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
2 large roma tomatoes, seeded and diced small
3/4 -1 cup basil pesto
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 1/2 Tbls olive oil

Cook bowties according to pkg directions, drain and set aside.

Put olive oil in small saute’ pan, add pine nuts and garlic to room temp olive oil. Cook over a moderate temperature allowing garlic to infuse oil. Saute’ until nuts are just turning golden color making sure not to burn garlic (about 2 minutes). If there is excess oil* drain through a paper towel and return nuts to pan. Do not leave on paper towel as you do not want it to soak up all the flavored oil. Set aside.

In a large bowl fold the pesto into the pasta allowing it to lightly coat the pasta. Carefully stir in the nuts, cheeses and tomatoes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

*You should be able to see the oil on the nuts, but there should not be standing oil in the pan.

PASTA SUPREME SALAD

Pasta Supreme Salad
This is a great summer salad.

2lb. rotini pasta
1/2 to 1lb. ham sliced into 1/2 inch thickness or 1 inch thickness
1 1/2 to 1lb. turkey cut in 1/2 inch or 1 inch slab
1 package of cubed cheese
1 lg. bottle Italian dressing
1 pkg. frozen broccoli florets
3 Tbsp. salad delights (seasoning section)

Boil pasta as normal. Salt water. Take slabs of cold meat and cut into cubes.
Add to pasta with the cubed cheese. Drain pasta from boiling water, pour the boiling water over the broccoli florets to Blanch them, add broccoli to salad.
Pour into large mixing bowl and add 3 Tbsp. seasoning along with one bottle Italian dressing. Mix gently but thoroughly. VOILA! ready to serve!

My favorite Salad

1 bag curnch romaine and zesty radiccio lettuce
pecans (coarsley chopped)
Ken's Rasberry walnut vinaigrette
strawberries
1 bag craisins (sweetened dried cranberries)

Mix these all together and you will have the perfect salad. This is my favorite. It costs $8 at the airport for this little baby. It is the perfect summer salad or a definite go to salad for a bridal shower, baby shower or any ladies get together. The fruity taste is grounded by the earthy taste of the pecans and then an explosion of flavors by the dressing offers a. Only Ken's brand will do.

Eggy Potato Salad

Hmmm... Hmmm good! This is the best recipe for potato salad. Nice and easy and simple. Unadorned with all the other possiblilities that people put in their potato salad. WE like ours plain!

5 lbs potatoes cut and peeled
Helmans or Best Food Mayonaisse, (no other substitution will do)
we are snobby that way
salt
pepper
dozen eggs

Boil potatoes until done in salted water. Drain and let sit.
Boil eggs until done, salt your water or add vinegar to water. Your eggs will peel easily and cleanly. You can tell if your egg is cooked all the way through by using a slotted spoon and removing one of the eggs from the boiling water. If the egg dries or evaporates quickly your egg is done. If it takes a moment for the water to evaporate you have a soft boiled egg.

Put potatoes in large mixing bowl. Use an egg slicer or mash each egg with a fork in your palm over the bowl. Once eggs are completely cooked, remove from water and peel. Lastly, add mayonaisse to your bowl, approx 2 xtra large spoonfuls. Stir and combine adding more mayo if necessary. Add as little mayo or as much mayo to your liking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.