Dill Pickle Pasta Salad

 

I guess Dill Pickle Pasta Salad is a hit on TikTok. I don't know anything about TikTok. But I now DO know about Dill Pickle Pasta Salad. It was on the potluck table at our church recently, courtesy of Lauren - one of my former Joyful Noise Children's Choir members. Now she's a mama herself and bringing tasty dishes to church potlucks. (Am I old, or what?!)

I like pasta salads in general. When I saw it on the buffet, I figured it would just be a tasty pasta salad. But this was not your usual pasta salad. The dill pickles packed a powerful puckery punch. After discovering who brought the salad, I asked for the recipe and then promptly tried it myself.

The recipe Lauren shared was from the Together As Family blog. I also did a little Googling, and there are lots of versions of recipes for Dill Pickle Pasta Salad. For my version, I used extra sharp Cheddar cheese. Together as Family suggested Colby Jack, but I think the stronger flavor of extra sharp Cheddar holds up better against the powerful pickle taste. I only had enough of the dill pickles for 1 cup (without a trip to the grocery store), so I used bread and butter pickles for the remainder. (That was a suggestion from another recipe.) You can use the combination that best suits your taste buds. We liked the touch of sweetness that the bread and butter pickles provided. 

The recipe said dill pickle slices or baby dill pickles could be used. I like the chopped whole baby dill pickles for more flavor and more crunch.  

If you try it, let me know what you think! 

Dill Pickle Pasta Salad

Adapted from Together As Family blog 

For salad

1 box (16 oz) rotini pasta 

1/3 cup dill pickle juice (from pickle jar)

2 cups chopped baby dill pickles 

1 block (8 oz) cubed extra sharp Cheddar cheese

1 small onion, finely chopped (opt.)

 

Creamy Dill Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup dill pickle juice 

2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill (or 1 tbsp. dried dill)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper 

 

Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions.  When pasta is done cooking, drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Move rinsed pasta to a mixing bowl and pour 1/3 cup pickle juice over it. Stir to combine. Let sit while you prepare the rest.

 

Chop the dill pickles and cut cheese into small cubes. Finely chop the white onion, if desired. (You can use green onion for a milder onion taste.)

 

In a small bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients, mixing well.

 

Drain the pasta again that was sitting in the pickle juice. Add the pasta back to the mixing bowl. Add in the pickles, cheese and white onion. Stir to combine.  

 

Pour dressing over pasta salad; stir well. Salad can be eaten right away or, if you prefer a colder salad, refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. 

 

Store leftovers in the refrigerator. However, after sitting, the pasta absorbs the dressing, making it less creamy.  

 

Cream of Coconut Cake

I'm not sure whether a coconut dessert has a place at the table for a Cinco de Mayo celebration. (And Cinco de Mayo, coming up on May 5, seems to be the current theme among food bloggers these days.)

But this Cream of Coconut Cake had good reviews at a church potluck dinner last weekend. And, since my husband is a coconut fan, it also got good reviews for leftovers consumed at home. 

When people ask for a recipe, I always feel a little guilty when it starts with a cake mix. But this one is doctored up with some extras, like pudding and coconut. And who can really argue with easy?

It's essentially a poke cake:  When it comes out of the oven, you use a fork and jab it like a maniac on one of those detective TV shows. Then, for even more subtle coconut flavor, pour cream of coconut over the cake. Cream of coconut can be found where you'd find ingredients for mixed drinks. It doesn't have any alcohol. It just has the tropical flavor. A word to the wise: This isn't coconut milk, so keep looking if that's what you find. It's a syrupy concoction that oozes over the cake and gives it delicious moistness. The bottle I found was 21 ounces, but this isn't an exact science. Don't make yourself crazy looking for that exact amount. If it's an ounce more or less, it's still going to work just fine.

Once the cake has completely cooled, top it with Cool Whip. Or make your own sweetened whipped cream from scratch if you're feeling all virtuous. (I wasn't.) Sprinkle with toasted coconut to make it pretty and add a little more flavor and texture.

So, whether for Cinco de Mayo or for a church potluck or to satisfy your coconut craving, this recipe will be the "cream" of the crop.

Cream of Coconut Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 pkg. French vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1 1/3 cups water
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
**
1 21-oz. bottle of cream of coconut (not coconut milk)
1 tub Cool Whip
1 cup coconut, toasted

In a mixer, combine eggs, oil and water and blend until well mixed. Add cake mix and pudding mix. Blend until smooth. Add flaked coconut. Pour into 9- by 13-inch pan which has been sprayed with baking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven. Using a fork, poke holes all over the cake. Pour the cream of coconut over the cake. Put in the refrigerator to cool. When the cake is fully cool, spread Cool Whip over the cake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut to garnish.

Keep refrigerated until serving and refrigerate all leftovers. 

Ingredients for Life

Last Saturday, I helped serve a funeral dinner at our church. Some made "Methodist meatloaf," our church's go-to main dish for funeral dinners. Some made cakes, salads and potato casseroles at their own homes and brought them to be shared by the grieving family. A few of us gathered to serve the meal, pouring out smiles along with hot coffee.

I think the dinners are among the most important services at our church. Our family has been on the receiving end a couple of times. Having a place to gather around a meal after saying goodbye to a beloved family member is a priceless gift.

Marion and Wanda can probably make the meatloaf without a recipe, though they have it all recorded in a massive 3-ring notebook, with the ratios of hamburger to cracker crumbs to ketchup to eggs all broken down in a handy chart. That notebook also holds a record of some of the precious people of our church who no longer share our earthly pews (like my in-laws who always sat in the balcony).

This month, Pastor Ben has been sharing the stories of saints during our Sunday morning worship services. Some of them, like St. Francis of Assisi, are people we've all heard about. Others aren't household names, but they made a difference that reached beyond their little corner of the world. For example, Jennie Fowler Willing , 1834-1916, was one of the saints Ben talked about last week. The Women's Home Missionary Society she founded is a forerunner to today's United Methodist Women. At our church, that's been the driving organizational force behind the funeral dinners, though others contribute to the bounty of food offered to families.

It's good to remember people who have impacted the world. But Pastor Ben has also brought it closer to home. We've had the opportunity to fill out postcards, remembering saints more near and dear to us. It's been good to remember the people who've made a difference in my faith walk. Like me, they weren't perfect people. But they walked alongside me and others in a way that impacted all of us.

For most of us, it's not a big deal to make a strawberry cake or throw together a salad. But, as we cut squares from the cake pans and lined up salads on the serving table, I thought about how we can all do just a little bit and end up making a big difference. Maybe cooking isn't your thing, so you're not on the "call list" at funeral dinner time. And that's OK, too. Isn't it a blessing that we all have different talents and abilities to share?

***

I made this Crunchy Poppy Seed Coleslaw for the funeral dinner. I also served it at the PEO luncheon I was in charge of earlier this month. It won't be the last time I turn to this easy, yet tasty, salad that serves a crowd. 

Crunchy Poppy Seed Coleslaw

Adapted from Jamie Cooks It Up blog

1 (16 oz.) bag tri-colored coleslaw mix
3 tart apples, chopped
8-10 green onions, finely chopped
1 (12 oz.) bottle Brianna's Poppy Seed Dressing
2 (3 oz.) pkg. ramen noodles (discard seasoning packet or use in another recipe)
1 to 1.5 cups roasted, salted cashews
Salt and pepper to taste

Note: I used Jonathan apples because I liked the tart red apple for a color variation with the coleslaw mix. Since those are not always available, you may use Pink Lady, Honey Crisp or another favorite apple. Granny Smiths would be good, too, but wouldn't give the color contrast.

Combine coleslaw mix, chopped apples and chopped green onion (white and green portions). Pour dressing over the salad. You may do this part 1 hour ahead of time, but it shouldn't be more than 2 hours before serving. Crush ramen noodles and combine with cashews. (Discard the seasoning packet or use for another recipe). Just before serving, toss ramen noodles and cashews into the dressing-covered salad. Stir; add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Makes about 10 servings.

I served the leftovers from the PEO luncheon to Randy with a hamburger and baked beans.

Memorial Day Picnic Salad

Jill helping decorate graves in 1988 - Age 2 1/2

On Sunday, I'll join my parents for our annual Memorial Day pilgrimage to several Pratt and Stafford County cemeteries. Then, on Monday, Randy's sister, Kathy, and family will be here to decorate graves for that side of the family.

Back when I was a little girl, my Grandma and Grandpa Leonard from Sublette came back to their home county (Pratt) to make the trip on Memorial Day weekend. My Grandma's flowers were usually from her own garden and carefully arranged in cans which my Grandpa had spray-painted a dark green.
(There she is in the background with my Grandpa in 1989. Brent, 1, is with my Dad, and the young-looking guy in the middle is Randy.)

Maybe you don't think about a cemetery being a joyful place. But when I see the joy in these two little girls' faces, I can't help but think that the ancestors whose graves we were visiting had to be smiling as the little girls danced. (Read more in my 2010 blog post, Dancing in the Graveyard.)

Dancing in the graveyard - Jill & Paige - 1988

When I was a little girl about their age, we sometimes gathered at Lemon Park in Pratt for a picnic before our car caravan to the cemeteries. My Great Aunt Helen and Great Uncle Mike and their family would often meet us there. As a child, I loved getting together, eating homemade favorites and playing on the playground equipment until it was time to go and place flowers on graves of ancestors, some of whom I remembered and some who had died long before I was born.

At the time, I was blissfully unaware that preparing a picnic meal while also getting flowers ready for Decoration Day was more work for Moms and Grandmas. These days, we usually let a local pizza parlor do the cooking for us. And that's OK, too. But, if you have a picnic or a potluck to attend this Memorial Day weekend, this Cornbread Confetti Salad could be a contender. 

I last made it for a funeral dinner at church. It makes a large amount, which is great anytime you need to serve a crowd. Enjoy!

Cornbread Confetti Salad

From Taste of Home magazine

1 pkg. (8.5 oz.) cornbread/muffin mix
2 cans (15.5 oz. each) whole kernel corn, drained
2 cans (15 oz. each) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 pt. grape tomatoes, halved (or 3 small tomatoes, chopped)
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onions (bulb and green tops)
10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese

Dressing:
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
1 cup Miracle Whip
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

Prepare cornbread according to package directions. Cool completely; crumble. Set aside.

Combine dressing ingredients; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine corn, beans, tomatoes, peppers and onions. Refrigerate.

Just before serving, add corn bread, crumbled bacon and cheese to the bean mixture. Pour dressing over all and toss to coat. Makes 20 to 22 servings.

Notes: I used both low-fat Miracle Whip and sour cream. Instead of preparing my own bacon, I used a package of already prepared real bacon bits found near the salad dressings. It was more expensive, but it worked well and saved time and mess.

The original recipe added the cornbread to the beans ahead of time. I prefer not having the cornbread, bacon and cheese soggy, so I add those just before serving. However, the leftovers were still good even with all the ingredients combined.

If you are serving this at an outdoor event, be sure and have a cooler ready for the leftovers.

Here's another potluck salad good for a Memorial Day outing:

Marinated Vegetable Salad

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