Cold Casseroles

What the heck is a cold casserole you may be thinking? Well it's just a pasta salad! Super simple and easy....and something I almost always turn to during the HOT HOT HOT dog days of summer! I have a very small kitchen that gets SUPER HOT when I have to have the oven on....no fun for the cook! Then trying to actually eat dinner in the hot kitchen....well no fun for everyone. We tend to plan more grilled outside dinners and I use the crock pot a lot also to keep the heat down.

BUT one of my favorite things to do is to make pasta salads! I like to boil the noodles at the end of the night when it is cooler and then throw it all together and put in the fridge. It's all cold and nice by the next day. Either for lunch or dinner...as the main dish or a side....they are NICE! They are a super good use of leftovers too....very affordable. Lets face it pasta is cheap. So I always start with whatever pasta I have....even spaghetti broke up works....and any shapes odds and ends all together too. Here's what I made last night for this weeks lunch. Ham pasta salad...this one is a true leftover dish. Ham from dinner on Monday ground up. 1/3 box mini penne and some elbow pasta. Chopped carrots, green pepper onions and the last 1/3 jar of pickle relish. About 1/2 jar ranch dressing and a splash of milk thrown in to bind it all together. Because of the meat....this one makes a terrific main dish or simple cool dinner. This one is really good with cheddar cheese in it....but I didn't have any....such is life!

It's really a simple equation ...cold cooked pasta + add ins + binder. That's it! Add ins are any leftovers chopped small...veggies...meat..canned tuna...hard boiled eggs...beans...cottage cheese....shredded cheeses....chopped nuts even. Binders are mayo, yogurt or sour cream...ANY salad dressings...simple oil and vinegar with spices. Mayo yogurt or sour cream and creamy type dressings can be cut with milk to thin them and have mustard added for a new twist. Here's some of my favorites:

Mexican: Cold pasta + 1 can rinsed black beans + frozen corn + salsa as binder

Mexican 2: Cold pasta + leftover taco meat + shredded cheddar cheese + chopped tomato + thousand island dressing for binder.

Tuna pasta salad. Make tuna salad how you normally do...but add extra mayo and relish and cold pasta....maybe some milk to thin and make creamy.

Bean pasta salad. Cold pasta + can rinsed garbanzo beans + chopped sun dried tomatoes or fresh + chopped pepperoni + Italian dressing for binder. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

These are just some of the ones we like around here...you can come up with your own family favorites!! Share them in the comments if you already have some you use!!! These make great items to take to potlucks or summer grill parties.

~Moxie