Homemade Macaroni Salad

I love a good macaroni salad, but the ones you buy at the store never seem to taste how I want them to. I got this recipe from my friend's mother-in-law who makes this macaroni salad for every party they throw. I always find myself pigging out on it, so I finally got the recipe--although its not much of a recipe. This is one of the easiest things to make, and everyone will love it. Definitely bring it to your next barbecue.

Cook the macaroni

After macaroni cools, toss all the ingredients in

Give it a good mix...

...then transfer to a pretty bowl for a fun presentation

Here's what you'll need:1 lb. bag of salad macaroni
Mayonnaise
Hard boiled eggs (I used 7)
Green onions (I used 3 bulbs)
Carrots (I used baby carrots and cut them up small; use however much you want)
Olives (I omitted these because Joe doesn't like them; it tastes great with them though!)
Salt and pepper

First you boil the macaroni until fully cooked. Drain, rinse, then set aside and let cool down. Chop up your green onions, carrots, hard boiled eggs and olives, then toss into the macaroni. Give it a good stir, then start adding the mayonnaise. I bought one of the big squirt-bottle type of mayonnaise and used about 3/4 of the bottle. Start with a little, then add as you need it. You can always add more in, but you cant take it out if you use too much. Give it a good stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix one last time. Transfer to a pretty bowl for appearance, and viola! A delicious homemade macaroni salad.

Like I said, mostly everything is 'add as much as you like' ...I feel like store-bought macaroni salad is always very "slimy" like it has a ton of mayonnaise in it; if you like that taste, go for it. I added a minimal amount, and I think it turned out delicious. I used low-fat mayonnaise to try and cut the calories down, and Joe and I both agreed that it tasted like a very light macaroni salad and definitely didn't sit heavily like store bought usually does. Perfect summertime food--just in time for summer barbecues. I hope you like it!