Macaroni Salad - Surfer J's Family Recipe

• Salad Macaroni - (1) 16oz. bag
• Del Monte Sweet Pickles - (1) 12oz. jar (you may need the juice, so don't dump it)
• Cheddar Cheese (Medium or Sharp) - About 2 cups cubed
• Hard Boiled Eggs - (6)
• Red Onion - Whole
• Black Olives - (1) can Whole, (1) can Sliced
• Mayonnaise - Amount Varies (usually 2.5-3 cups)
• Paprika - (mostly for presentation)
• Optional Ingredients - Salt or Black Pepper (to taste)

This is an old family recipe, one that has been around over 50 years. I am not a fan of Italian noodles, so if I like it, you can bet it tastes great.

Boil the eggs and noodles (in separate pots of course). The longer you cook the noodles, the less they will "drink" the mayo. (There is a fine line between cooking longer and cooking too long, so use your best judgment here). Chop the pickles into small chunks. Do not discard the pickle juice. Cube the cheese. Chop the onions into small chunks. The onions and pickles should be roughly the same size, but it is up to you. My family loves onions, so we make the chunks large.

Set aside 2 of the hard boiled eggs. They will be used as decoration/presentation. Chop the other 4 eggs with yolk into small chunks.

Once you have everything boiled and chopped, it is time to mix it up. Put the macaroni, onions, pickles, cheese, chopped eggs, and sliced olives into a large mixing bowl. Add the Mayonnaise. You want it to be creamy. Note: The noodles will soak up a substantial amount of mayo. You need to allow for this. Don't be afraid of too much mayo.

Once you have mixed the mayo in, take a taste test. Does it need salt? Does it need some pickle juice for added sweetness? Does it need more mayo? At this point, it is really up to you how you like it. Adjust the ingredients as necessary. Remember this will need to refrigerate for a while, so it won't taste quite right while it is still warm.

Once you have it ready to go, it is time to spruce it up a bit. Black olives, 2 hard boiled eggs, and Paprika are the ingredients. Slice the eggs in half length-wise. Open the can of whole Black Olives. Place the yolks on top of the salad. Slice the rest of the whites lengthwise. Place the sliced egg whites around the yolk in a flower shape. Fill any gaps with the whole olives. Sprinkle the Paprika to give it some color, and you are done.

As you can see, the hardest part of this salad is the decoration. Enjoy. Be sure to let me know how it goes.