John's Pasta Salad

A number of years ago, John first made this pasta salad for a family get-together, probably a Memorial Day or Labor Day party. Since that time, others in the family have made this recipe, each adding their own favorite add-ins. Laura likes to add garbanzo beans. The great thing about this recipe is that once you make the basic recipe, you can easily add in any combination of vegetables, cheese, meats, etc. As Laura says, it is a great recipe for using up any veggies that you have sitting around.

Now this recipe will feed a crowd, but could easily be reduced to feed fewer than a crowd. The key ratio for the sour cream to mayo is 1:1. John prefers to use more mayo and sour cream, but it is entirely up to your taste. Other than balancing the sour cream to mayo, the amount of other ingredients is entirely up to you. When I made this recipe, I used everything listed below.

John's Pasta Salad

• 1 16 ounce bag or box of pasta (elbow or rotini work best)
• 1-1/2 cup mayo
• 1-1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 packets dry Italian dressing
• 2-6 cups chopped veggies, such as cucumber, carrot, tomato, celery, etc.

Optional add-ins, to taste:

• Cheese, cubed 
• Diced ham or salami (or other meat)
• Black Olives, sliced
• Can of Garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed 
• Bottled Italian Dressing, to taste

Cook the pasta. Cool the pasta. Mix the mayo and sour cream with dry Italian. Add the mixture to the pasta. Add cheese, meat and veggies. Stir in. Depending on the veggies, more sour cream and mayo (using a 1:1 ration) may be mixed in. If it is too dry, add some bottled Italian dressing. Chill for several hours. Enjoy!