Hawaiian Mac Salad

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Hawaiian macaroni salad, part of the holy trinity that makes up plate lunch, is something close to my heart. Everyone has their own special recipe and every since I visited Helena’s Hawaiian Food this past fall, I’ve been trying to figure out what made it taste so good. My dad clued me in that he uses whole milk in his mac salad which makes it taste creamier and mellows out the vinegar.

So when I saw a recipe for Hawaiian Pasta Salad on Kim’s blog Feed Me Seymour, my mind was made for this month’s Secret Recipe Club pick. Kim prides herself on recipes that aren’t daunting or scary such as: Black Tea Honey SconesPumpkin Spice MarshmallowsButterbeer CupcakesRolo Cookies, and Nutella-stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Since I made this mac salad in the middle of a snow storm, I had to improvise. There was no macaroni pasta at the store so I picked the closest thing; I had to make my own mayonnaise out of olive oil, egg yolks, mustard, and salt; I used almond milk instead of regular milk. Using a more traditional milk, especially whole milk, will make this much creamier and less tangy.

Regardless, this was a mighty fine macaroni salad — 2 scoops of this and some Honey Garlic Chicken really hit the spot.

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Healthy Spinach Artichoke Dip

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Spinach artichoke dip is one of the things that I sometimes indulge myself in when I eat out at restaurants. It always seemed a mystery how the dip would be perfectly gooey, cheesy, and warm. I’m not going to lie, I have rushed into a dish of dip too early a few times and burned the roof of my mouth.

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So you can imagine my surprise when I found out that not only was spinach and artichoke dip easy to make, but it’s also easy to make healthier. I’m not going to say that this is healthy because it is spinach and artichoke dip. I’m also not going to say that I have devoured a big dish of only this for dinner, because that would be crazy, right?

I crafted this recipe from one that I saw on Washingtonian and have served it fresh on Super Bowl Sunday, used it as a spread on a sandwich, and re-heated it for a side for normal weekday dinners. It’s easy to customize to add more or less moisture and flavor, so mix it up to your liking! Serve with chips, crackers, or pretzels (trust me, they’re all good).

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