Shrimp Pasta Salad - Waco Style

Recipe Rating:	9 Ratings5
Categories:	Fish, Pasta Sides, Pasta Salads, Quick & Easy
Collections:	Picnic Picks!, Mom Made It Best
Serves:	8
Prep Time:	20 Min
Cook Time:	15 Min

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS
1 lb	bay shrimp, pre-cooked and shelled
16 oz	elbow macaroni, cooked and cooled (smaller is best)
1/2	green bell pepper, diced
1/2	red bell pepper, diced
1 can(s)	can sliced ripe olives, drained (3 7/8 oz
2-3 md	celery ribs, diced finely
1/2 md	walla walla onion, diced (any other sweet onion such as vidalia)
1/4 - 1/2 c	parmesan cheese, grated (the kraft flavored is nice in this)
16 oz	bernsteins light fantastic cheese fantastico salad dressing, to taste
1.5-2 Tbsp	tablespoons salad elegance seasoning mix, to taste (i prefer johnny's brand)
	black pepper, to taste
	garlic powder, to taste
GARNISH
	egg, hard boiled and sliced (optional)
	green onion, chopped (optional)
	grape tomatoes, (optional)

Pinched by bonitap, and 2,320 more.

Michelle Waco

Well Seasoned

Cornelius, OR (pop. 11,869)

Mommydiva

Member Since Feb 2010

Michelle's Notes:

This is my spin on my Mom's famous shrimp salad -adapted for my DH's tastes - which means no mayo or mustard. I tend to sprinkle, pour and shake until the consistency and flavor are to my (our)liking, so please bear that in mind as you make this and adjust the flavor to your liking. **My mom makes this using Knott's Honey Dijon dressing in place of the Berenstein's....and it is great - a bit less of the savory seasonings as it is a different flavor, but DH will NOT eat that one - hence my version. His friends ask for this when we have parties or take trips. **Prep time is boiling of pasta and chopping, Cook time is assembling pasta. Chill time not included as it is not required.****Can make this ahead and increase the serving size for large gatherings easily as it is usually a hit anywhere we take it*** ****Can make this ahead and increase the serving size for large gatherings easily as it is usually a hit anywhere we take it***

Comments from the Test Kitchen:

What a tasty treat! We weren't able to find the recommended Salad Elegance seasoning or Bernstein's dressing locally, so we used McCormick Perfect Pinch Salad Supreme and Kraft Parmesan Vinegarette instead. Worked like a dream.

Directions

Boil noodles as directed on package (around 9-11 minutes);immediately rinse in cold water to stop further cooing.

Prep all veggies and rinse shrimp removing any remaining shells etc that were missed while pasta boils then rinse and drain pasta so that you begin with a large bowl of cool pasta.

Add in the shrimp, veggies, parmesean cheese, and salad dressing. Stir thoroghly, and add seasonings to taste.

If desired,garnish with a sliced hard boiled egg,grape tomatoes and chopped green onions.
Chill for 30 minutes, minimum,for best flavor before serving.
Enjoy!

Comments

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sapa all sapa

Jun 12, 2010

I cannot get Fantastico salad dressing with in fifty miles of were I live any other suggestion in it's place?

Michelle Waco Mommydiva

Jun 17, 2010

Light cheese fantastico is sort of a savory parmeseqan cheese italian style dressing - so anything you found similar to that may work. As I mentioned above, another option is to use a honey dijon ddressing - my Mom always uses the Knotts honey dijon. :) Hope that helps!!

Gail Herbest Gaillee

Aug 2, 2010

Thanks for sharing this recipe, I'm the odd man in the crowd because I can not stand mayonnaise or mustard, (don't even like it on my skin lol) so this is perfect!! will be trying it soon :-)

Michelle Waco Mommydiva

Sep 16, 2010

Gail, my DH can't stand them either...hence this recipe. :) I don't think it is that odd..LOL.

Gail Herbest Gaillee

Sep 18, 2010

I guess if that's the only thing we don't like it's not to bad, My husband wont eat ANY thing that is mixed,we joke about the 11 foods he likes, except deserts he doesn't have a problem with them :-)

Karla Everett Karla59

Karla Everett [Karla59] has shared this recipe with discussion group:
SALADS

Kitchen Crew JustaPinch

I tried this recipe and say it's Family Tested & Approved!

Michelle Waco Mommydiva

Apr 15, 2011

:) Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

Molly O'Boyle TomatoMom

Jun 7, 2011

I don't know this salad dressing. What does it taste like? Perhaps there is a substitute from where I come from. Thanks.

Molly O'Boyle TomatoMom

Jun 7, 2011

Oh, good heavens! No need to answer as I just saw the comment above!! Will try this and let you know how it goes!

Lisa 'Gayle' Goff GayleGoff

Jun 8, 2011

I am excited to try your recipe, but since it's late and I am up perusing recipes I just wanted to post a helpful tip I began using a few years back to omit Mayonaise from some recipes.

TIP: Believe it or not if you use a food processor, magic bullet (my preference) or a blender you can blend cottage cheese into the same consistancy as mayo and then you only need to season it to mesh with the recipe (sweet, savoury, spicy etc...