Anyone have tips for hosting a party and a good macaroni salad recipe?

Question

I am hosting a party at our new house this weekend. I've never played host before, so I have no idea what to do. There will be about 20 people there and hopefully it doesn't rain.

Along with entertaining, I need to develop a menu. I believe we will do hamburgers and hot dogs (any other ideas are welcomed), but I am stumped for side dishes. Does anyone have an easy and delicious macaroni salad recipe? I would prefer if it didn't have any seafood in it.

Answer 1

Macaroni Salad

1 package salad macaroni, cooked
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped
Mayonnaise (however much you want it to be, start with a small amount and add a little at a time until you reach desired consistency)
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (depends on how much you want in the salad)

Mix the macaroni, bell pepper, onion and celery together, then add mayonnaise. Add cheese last, and any more mayo, if required. Salt and Pepper to taste. Better if made the night before, the flavors merge together.

Fresh fruit skewers are always a fun addition - watermelon, cantelope, pineapple. Chips, potato salad, or cole slaw are always good, too. If you want recipes for the potato salad or cole slaw, just email me.

Answer 2

Ingredients: 2 cups cooked macaroni, drained, rinsed, cooled 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped 1/4 cup chopped celery 1/4 cup chopped onion 1/3 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing 2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard pepper, to taste Preparation: Combine all macaroni salad recipe ingredients, using about 1/3 cup of mayonnaise and stir well. Add a little more mayonnaise, if necessary. Taste and adjust seasonings. Cover and chill for several hours before serving. Makes about 4 sevings of macaroni salad.

Answer 3

Ingredients:
• 1 16 oz box small macaroni or pasta spirals
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cucumbers, chopped
• 2 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse with cold water; drain and combine with all the other ingredients. Chill for 1 to 2 hours before serving.
Notes:
Make sure to rinse the pasta in cold water to prevent the cheese from melting. A great quick recipe that pleases everyone.

Number of servings: 10-12

Answer 4

Wow, it looks like you got a bunch of great recipes for the salad already so I won't add to that part. I'll just deal with the first part of your question.

When planning a party the best place to start is to try to determine the 'feel' you want to create. Do you want people to hang out, feel comfortable kicking off their shoes, mingle and socialize, whatever?

If you want to make sure that people move freely around the house and not cluster around one stop I suggest putting food and drinks in different locations. Putting everthing in the kitchen makes it terribly crowded when everyone wants a drink at the same time.

Another good idea is to pair the right music with the party. Want people to dance? The music must be consistant to keep that kind of energy high.
Want people to talk? Make sure the music is not loud and keep it light, some nice jazz is good.

I have a ton of ideas. (It's kind of what I do *wink*)

Answer 5

Vegetable Rotini Salad

3 cups tri colored pasta
1 cup chopped cucumbers
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
½ cup sliced black olives
½ cup Zesty Italian Dressing
¼ cup chopped red onion

TOSS all ingredients in large bowl
Cover and refrigerate at least one hour

AMAZING MACARONI SALAD

1 package elbow noodles
3 roma tomatoes
1 small purple onion
1/4 cup sweet relish
1 small can chopped/sliced olives
6 hard boiled eggs
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup mustard
salt and pepper

Boil noodles until soft, drain, rinse let cool in refrigerator, while cutting everything else. Dice tomatoes cut onions finely cut eggs (like making deviled egg sandwich) then mix together all ingredients at or leave out whatever you want to liking!
Best if made day before.

Answer 6

Another simple thing you can have is Baked Beans.
1/2 lb bacon (browned & drained)
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (browned & drained)
2 large onions chopped (cook w/beef)
2 cans (1 lb-14oz) Pork & Beans
1 (1 lb) can Diced Tomatoes in juice
3/4 Cup packed Brown Sugar
1 tsp Chili Powder
Generous Dash of Celery Salt

Throw it in the Crock Pot
I personally like to use a full pound of bacon.

Salad
Large size of Cool Whip
Same size of Cottage Cheese
Large package Jello powder (flavor to match fruit)
1 can (1 lb-14 oz) fruit (to match Jello)

Cut fruit into bite size pieces - stir all together - chill.
Peach is a great salad. Fresh Strawberry is a great dessert.Frozen strawberry can be too watery.

Answer 7

Yummy Macaroni Salad serves 25 so you have extra.

INGREDIENTS

4-1/4 (8 ounce) packages uncooked elbow macaroni
3 cups and 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup and 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon and 1-1/4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon and 1-1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 cup and 1 tablespoon green onions, sliced
8-1/4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni, and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, and rinse under cold running water.

In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, green onions and jalapeno peppers. Stir in the macaroni. Refrigerate until chilled before serving, at least 30 minutes.

or

No-Fuss Potato Salad also serves 25

INGREDIENTS

6-1/4 (5.5 ounce) packages scalloped potato mix
23 cups water, divided
3/4 cup and 2 teaspoons butter or margarine
4 cups and 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
12-1/2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
Paprika

DIRECTIONS

Set aside sauce packet from potato package. In a large saucepan, bring potatoes and 3 cups water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Rinse with cold water; drain thoroughly. Transfer potatoes to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in contents of reserved sauce packet. Gradually add the remaining water; stir until smooth.

Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Stir in mayonnaise and mustard; gently stir into potatoes. Add eggs and sprinkle with paprika if desired.

Refrigerate leftovers.

Answer 8

Pasta Salad with Vidalia Onion Dressing


Ingredients
1 box tri-colored rotini pasta
1 bag frozen baby sweet peas, thawed
1 lb. thick sliced ham, cut to bite size
1/2 cup Vidalia® Onion Dressing
1/2 - 1 cup mayonnaise
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Directions
Boil pasta, drain; place in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients; blend well. Chill to blend flavors. Makes 8-10 servings.

http://tastefullysimple.com/web/dgoodacre

Answer 9

Macarroni salad!
Boiled noodles (elbow noodles)
Mayo
Salt
Pepper
diced, peeled cucumber
died tomatoes
green onions

Blend noodles with mayo, salt and pepper. Then add chopped veggies. Be sure that you dont put too much mayo. You barely want it to cover the noodles.
For some reason, this salad tastes better if you make it the day before.

Baked beans are awesome too!

Answer 10

You can find almost any recipe you could ever imagine at allrecipes.com.

I made a macaroni salad from that site a few weeks ago.

The dressing was mayo, a little mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar.

It was delicious!