How to handle the Recipe Chain Letter Going Around...

Do you remember getting “Chain Letters” when you were a kid? I was never really a fan…. It seemed like such an obvious attempt at a Pyramid Scheme (Hint: it was! And admission: I learned what Pyramid Schemes were at a young age from an ‘entrepreneurial’ dad who thought chain letters were a great idea.:>)
 
So here I am, 40 years later, and my recent inbox is filled with friends who have included me on a chain letter type email for Isolation Recipes. I ignored the email the first time I received it (bad me) and then when I got it a second and third time I decided to write this post instead. Not exactly what they were looking for, but at least it got me writing, right? The recipe is below... but just in case this topic has inspired you, here are some other ideas for chain letters that I have thought of:

• A Photo that makes you smile
• Your favorite saying to use on your child(ren) to confuse or distract them
• Your favorite way to get involved politically
• Other uses for Rice Krispies (this is sort of self serving as my hubby and I duplicated our quarantine shopping and ended up with 10 boxes of the cereal…. I’ve already made RK Treats twice… so, yeah, I’m looking for other ideas.)

 
Anyway…. For those of you who got here via the chain letter…. here’s the recipe I owe you:
 
Grandma Joan’s Pasta Salad
(A special shout out to my old neighbors who would get this every Easter during our Easter Egg hunt.)
 
Ingredients
 
1 box Macaroni salad pasta noodles
2 Celery stalks chopped
3 large Carrots shredded or chopped
4 or more green onions sliced
1 cup (plus more as needed to make creamy) mayonnaise
1 TBLS (or more to taste) Dijon mustard
1 small can sliced olives, drained
2 eggs, hard boiled and then chopped
 
Instructions
 
Boil pasta in a large pot until al dente (do NOT overcook.) Take off heat and rinse under cold water and put aside til ready to mix all ingredients.
 
Mix celery, carrots, olives and onions (please note that celery and carrots can be chopped as large or as fine as you like. The chunkier they are the more crunch your salad will have.) Add mayo and mustard and then stir into cooled pasta. Stir to mix and add more Mayo until creamy. Add olives and eggs and stir again. Add salt and pepper to taste. Salad is best made the day ahead or at least a couple of hours in the fridge. It will need more salt (probably) just before serving. ENJOY!


Here's to all of our journey, even the small ones at home.
Deanne