Penne Salad

Sometimes eating the staple food seems to be a bit bored, more so when we have to prepare for the side dishes. I have always looking for a substitute, a sub that can be easily prepared without much hassle. Just within one dish, it can make me full for a long time.

Pasta salad is one of the solutions. I love it, my kids love it & my husband love it too, so I have no problem preparing this dish. I have done this several times as I really love the flavor, using different kind of pastas & ingredients. One of them is penne:

Penne (pronounced /ˈpɛniː/ [UK], or /ˈpɛneɪ/ [US]) is a type of pasta with cylinder-shaped pieces. Penne is the plural form of the Italian penna, deriving from Latin penna (meaning "feather" or "quill"). In Italy, penne are produced in two main variants: "penne lisce" (smooth) and "penne rigate" (furrowed), the latter having ridges on each penna. There is also pennoni ("big quills"), which is a wider version of penne.[1] The same or similar shape is also called mostaccioli (meaning "little mustache" in Italian, a form of penne lisce that is smooth, not ridged, in texture) and ziti (long hollow rods which are also smooth in texture and have square-cut edges; "cut ziti" are ziti cut into shorter tubes),[2] and can refer to particular dishes made from penne-shaped pasta. There is also zitoni, which is a wider version of ziti.[3] It can be somewhat difficult to differentiate between subtypes of penne in the USA, since regional differences in product naming can result in both ridged and smooth forms of penne being labelled interchangeably.[4][5][6] In the U.S., many people refer to penne as "penne pasta," while other types of pasta are not typically referred to in this manner.

Penne is traditionally cooked to al dente and served with pasta sauces such as pesto and marinara. Penne is a popular ingredient in pasta salads. Penne makes an excellent and versatile pasta for many applications because of its very practical design. The hollow center allows it to hold sauce, while the angular ends act as scoops. Penne rigate's ridges allow it to hold still more sauce, as well as offering an alternative textural option for certain dishes; penne lisce offers a refined sensation to the palate.[7]

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I got the original recipe from Taste of Home, with slight of changes here and there:

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (I used penne to finish off my stock)
1 cup fat-free mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish (I don't have this)
Sugar substitute equivalent to 2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery (substituted with parsley)
1/3 cup chopped carrot (substituted with cucumber)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 hard-cooked egg, sliced
Dash paprika

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Cool completely.

2. For dressing, in a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, pickle relish, sugar substitute, mustard, salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine the macaroni, celery, carrot and onion. Add dressing and toss gently to coat.

3. Refrigerate until serving. Garnish with egg and paprika.

Yield: 8 servings.

*I also added tomato (preferably Cherry Tomato). You can add any vegetables and lime juice if you prefer. Or you can add in shrimps or salami.