Salmon Pasta Ranch Salad

On Monday I decided to make Chili-Mac for lunch.  This simply consists of cooked macaroni, a can of Nalley's Hot Chili thinned with a little water, mixed together and topped with shredded Mexican Blend Cheese.  Since I was going to cook macaroni anyway, I cooked extra to make a salad.  I decided I wanted a salmon and pasta salad.  Hubby doesn't eat either pasta salad or fish.  Yesterday I posted that he does not eat cabbage.  I think that I am making him sound like a picky eater, which he is not.  I just seem to be posting recipes for things he doesn't eat.  I shared the salad with a friend at work.

I have unofficially been doing the pantry clean-out that some of the bloggers are doing this month, and I wanted to use up some food that had been on hand for awhile.

The thing that I love about pasta salads is they are so versatile.  Cook any kind of pasta, combine with almost anything, season with almost anything, and use almost any dressing.  It is just whatever you want to do that day.  Here is my current rendition of pasta salad.  I used 1/2 package of dry Ranch Dressing Mix because it was left from making something else and I wanted to use it up.  If I hadn't used that, I might have instead used Greek seasoning, lemon-pepper, curry powder, Italian herbs just to suggest a few.  The amounts of ingredients added to the pasta are approximate.  Add or subtract as you like.

Salmon Pasta Ranch Salad

1/2 lb. macaroni or other pasta, cooked
1-2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 c. chopped onion, red would be nice if you have it
1/2 c. chopped red pepper (I put red pepper in everything I can)
1/3 c. chopped dill pickle
1/4 c. sliced black olives, drained
1 c. frozen peas
1 (5 1/2 oz.) can salmon, drained (could be tuna, chicken, ham) Use a larger can if you want.  This is the size I had on hand
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. sour cream (I used Mexican Sour Cream which they sell in our area)
1/2 pkg. dry Ranch Dressing Mix

In a large bowl combine pasta with celery, onion, red pepper, dill pickle, olives, peas and salmon. Measure mayonnaise and sour cream into a 2-cup glass measuring cup.  Add dressing mix and stir well.  Combine pasta mixture and dressing mixture, blending well.  Chill, covered, in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  Makes about 6 servings.  (Or just for me eaten over several days.)