A few years ago, when I first ‘retired’ from corporate life, I went through an extreme couponing phase. I had an extensive filing system for my coupons and spent hours each week pouring over store match-ups and shopping at certain places on certain days in order to get the best deal. As our lifestyle has evolved to include mostly organic, real food I realized the effort I was putting into coupons just wasn’t worth the return to me. I no longer cared if I could get 5 boxes of Stovetop Stuffing for $2 or 2 liters of pop for 50-cents. I didn’t want those foods in my house anymore. I have found new ways to save on grocery shopping for real, whole foods but there are definitely some majorly processed foods that I miss, one being the Suddenly Salad box pasta salad mixes. I used to keep at least 3 of these in my house, they were so quick and easy and made the perfect side dish or pot luck contribution. My favorite was the bacon ranch variety and I recently set out to recreate that with ingredients I would be OK with feeding to my family. What I ended up with was slightly different but a refreshing lighter version that I will keep rotating in throughout the summer.
Normally I would probably use a smaller noodle like a small shell or elbows but on this day I had rotini on hand and that is always great in a pasta salad. The first step is to cook up 3 or 4 slices of bacon (stove, oven or microwave) and in the mean time, grate some carrots (about 1 medium or 5 baby sized). My mom gave me this tiny grater that I finally had a chance to use! That is a baby carrot below, it is so cute but it got the job done. I boiled the pasta according to the directions on the box and tossed the grated carrots into the boiling pasta water for the last 3-5 minutes of cooking to soften them up. This would be the time to toss the peas in as well, I left them out because peas are one veggie that I know will render any dish inedible in my kids minds. Organic pasta does not cost much more than conventional and it is very easy to find, the same goes for baby carrots.
I would recommend using a colander with the smallest holes possible so the little carrot pieces don’t escape when you are draining. Immediately rinse the pasta and carrot mixture with cold water to stop it from cooking further.
The box mix always called for mayonnaise, and I could have easily used that here but I wanted to try something lighter (plus I’m still trying to find my ideal natural mayo, I have not been impressed with the flavor on many brands so far), Greek yogurt gives this salad a great tang that is refreshing and perfect for warmer weather. I only buy organic yogurt because yogurt comes from milk which comes from cows which are most likely given GMO corn in their feed as well as being administered drugs and antibiotics if they are not certified organic. I thought I was being so smart by using the homemade buttermilk ranch that I already had in my fridge, but I think in the future I will actually use the seasoning equivalent to a ranch packet (recipe below) and a few tablespoons of milk or buttermilk. This will kick up the ranch flavor a notch and really help balance the Greek yogurt.
I combined the yogurt, ranch and cooked, chopped bacon with the drained and rinsed pasta and carrots and it had a great flavor that everyone enjoyed. No, it isn’t quite as fast or easy as using a box mix – but honestly it doesn’t take that much more effort and it is helping me keep even more chemicals and preservatives out of my family’s mouths so it is totally worth it. Give it a try at your next picnic, BBQ or just any random weeknight!
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Looks yummy, thanks for sharing!