What to do with a box of pasta

[chai18]

What do you do? (and not just plain mac and cheese)

[igj]

I also like the pasta salad idea, but I take a small can of concentrated Thai curry (I usually use the Mussaman curry, but the red curry and gaeng galee (yellow curry) also works) and mix that with the highest quality canned tuna I can find. I then mix in some crunchy vegetables like carrots, very fresh cucumber or squash. Then either a small dab of mayo or, for a truly Thai pasta salad, a splash of coconut milk. Toss all that together with cooled elbow macaroni and--voila--a fast Thai pasta salad.

[chai18]

all sound really good, now just have to decide which one to make.
though the tuna noodle salad sounds like it tastes good and is great for a comfort food craving, its quick, cheap and easy, what else do you need?

[MaggieB]

I'd say the recipe above covers it! Just add whatever you like, really. Pasta salads are good like that.

[carswell]

Next time you make a beef stew, especially one with Provençal leanings (red wine, garlic, orange peel, maybe some olives), serve macaronade as a side. Pile half your cooked macraroni into a baking dish; moisten with the stew juice; cover with Parmesan; repeat once more for a total of two layers; run under the broiler until the cheese melts. Comfort food at its finest!

[Cory]

how about some easy shrimp alfredo...use some angel hair pasta boil according to package , A jar of prepared garlic alfredo sauce, a couple of pounds of cooked shrimp from the deli, and maybe a bag of frozen veggies such as a mix of broccoli,cauliflower and carrots.....steam shrimp and veggies in microwave for convenience add a little parm and some dill weed to sauce when heating... throw shrimp, veggies and pasta together top with sauce takes aboput 3o minutes no more to make and is very good

[mhoffman]

But where does the elbow macaroni come in?

[Dommy]

Use it in a great ragu recipe. I love meat sauce and elbow macaroni. :)

--Dommy!

[Janet from Richmond]

One of my favorites for elbows is to serve chili over it and add lots of cheese and mix it all up.

[shanagain]

What about really GOOD mac and cheese? I have a recipe around here somewhere that is fantastic and uses cream cheese, cheddar, havarti, and a parmesean crust if I'm in the mood. (Sometimes I use fresh tomatoes and basil in there as well.)

For some reason, it's the only way I like elbow macaroni - I never use it for anything else.

[chai18]

sorry about the confusion, i did mean elbow macaroni and in general what sort of quick unusual recipe do you use when you have a box of elbow macaroni sitting on the shelf and you want to get rid of it.

[MaggieB]

Tuna Noodle Salad

My mom always made this with elbow macaroni and it's a family favorite. Here's a basic run down of ingredients:

Elbow macaroni
Miracle Whip (we used light)
canned tuna in water, drained
celery, chopped
hard boiled eggs. roughly chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

I think the directions are fairly self explanatory here. Boil the pasta, drain and mix in a small amount of Miracle Whip to coat. Refrigerate until cool.

Add tuna, celery, hard boiled eggs, salt and pepper and mix well. Eat!

I've since made this salad with a whole variety of ingredients: green olives, peas, bell pepper, onion, dijon mustard, etc. You can really mix and match it however you like!

[pinstripeprincess]

i do something similar but rather than mayo to hold it all together, we'd often use a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup. you could really use any thick creamy soup base and get some fantastic salty flavour in.

no eggs for us either, but i've definitely tossed in peas, corn, carrots, celery and other bite sized bits. my dad used to call it tuna casserole and it's become a bit of a comfort food.

i would definitely toss some elbows into any soup or thick sauce and just eat. i have this incredibly meaty tomato pasta sauce and macaroni by the spoonfuls with it would sort of be a fun little reminder of being a kid. mmm... with cheddar melted on top too....

[sivyaleah]

for some reason, I think the poster might mean "elbows", since mac & cheese was mentioned and that's the usual shape used. But yes, "pasta" way too generic - please give more info.

[MikeG]

That's almost like asking "what do I do with a glass of water"? The possibilities aren't quite endless, but nearly so - what do you have in mind?

[faijay]

I don't really understand this question. What kind of pasta--what shape, what make etc?