How to Make Pasta Salad

The following instructions are on how to make pasta salad. My mom came up with this pasta salad by herself and every summer she makes it for the family. For a couple of years now my brother and I have helped her make the pasta salad. I love eating my mom's pasta salad and I wanted everyone to try how amazing the pasta salad is. I thought this would be a great way for teenagers and young adults to spend time with their parents.

Warning/Safety info: Use caution when using the stovetop burner. The surface will be hot and you could get burned. The cooking pots that come off the stove burner will be hot. Be extra careful when dealing with knives, the food chopper, and the egg slicer. Make sure to not fill the cooking pot with too much water, as it will spill over and burn you from the bubbles popping.

Caution: Cover your hands with oven mitts when draining hot water from the pot.

Note: A roiling boil is when a liquid is boiled rapidly with lots of bubbling. It is suggested to read through all of the instructions before starting this recipe.

Supplies

Note: You do not have to use garden noodles. You can put more or less olives, cheese, and eggs in the pasta salad.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of garden noodles
• 13-15 eggs
• 1 can of olives
• Block of cheese
• Use as much mayonnaise as to your liking
• Use as much milk as to your liking
• Use as much powdered ranch as to your liking

Tools/Equipment

• Egg slicer
• Liquid measuring cup
• Cooking pot with a lid
• Strainer/colander
• 1 Bowl with a lid
• 3 food storage containers
• 3 spoons
• 1 knife
• Cutting board
• Food chopper
• Can opener

Step 1: Boil Eggs

Warning: This step is going to be dealing with boiling hot water.

Caution: Cover your hands with oven mitts when draining hot water.

Note: Roiling boil is when a liquid is boiled rapidly with lots of bubbling. You can boil fewer eggs.

Start by adding 13-15 eggs to your cooking pot. See Figure 1.

Fill the cooking pot until the eggs are covered with cold water.

Caution: Make sure to not fill the cooking pot with too much water, as it will spill over and burn you from the bubbles popping.

Turn the stove burner on high.

Keep the stove burner on high for 5 minutes when you see a roiling boil. See Figure 2.

After 5 minutes turn the stove burner on low for 20 minutes and cover the pot with a lid. See Figure 3.

Caution: Cover your hands with oven mitts when draining the hot water from the pot.

After 20 minutes drain the water from the pot and add cold water. See Figure 4 & Figure 5

Put the pot in the refrigerator and wait for 3 hours or longer for the eggs to be cold.

Step 2: Peel Eggs

Crack the eggs by tapping them on your counter or any surface.

Do not tap the egg on a surface too hard or too softly.

Peel the egg. See Figure 6.

Wash and dry the eggs to get the little pieces of the hard shell off. See Figure 7.

Put the boiled eggs in a food container.

Step 3: Cut Up Eggs

Note: You can either use a knife or an egg slicer to dice the boiled eggs.

Place the boiled eggs on a paper towel or on the counter.

Dry the bowl that had the boiled eggs.

Use the egg slicer or a knife. See Figure 8.

Caution: Be sure to move your fingers before slicing or cutting, you may get cut.

Place the sliced eggs in a food container. See Figure 9.

Step 4: Cut Up Cheese

Note: You can cut less or more than a block of cheese.

Caution: You may want to use a piece of fabric when cutting slices of cheese, your hand may get cut.

Grab a cutting board or use the counter.

Grab a block of cheese.

Cut the cheese in any way. See Figure 10.

Caution: Make sure that your hands and fingers are nowhere near the blade unless covered.

Cut little squares from the sliced cheese. See Figure 11.

Put the cheese in a food container. See Figure 12.

Step 5: Cut Up Olives

Note: You can grab any kind of olive or premade sliced olives. You can slice olives with a knife or with a food chopper. You can slice less or more than 1 can of olives.

Grab the same cutting board or use a new one.

Grab a can of olives.

Place a small handful of olives in the food chopper or use a knife. See Figure 13.

Caution: Be careful when using a knife to cut the olives, you may get cut.

Push down on the handle three times or more to your liking.

Place the sliced olives in a food container. See Figure 14.

Step 6: Boil Garden Noodles

Warning: This step is going to be dealing with boiling hot water.

Note: You can use garden noodles or different kinds of noodles. A roiling boil is when a liquid is boiled rapidly with lots of bubbling. Grab a big enough bowl so that everything can fit. You can use less or more noodles than 4 cups.

Grab a cooking pot.

Fill the pan with water 3 quarters of the way.

Caution: Make sure to not fill the cooking pot with too much water, as it will spill over and burn you from the bubbles popping.

Place the cooking pot on a stovetop burner.

Caution: Use caution when using the stovetop burner. The surface will be hot and you could get burned.

Wait until the water is at a roiling boil. See Figure 15.

Put in four cups of garden noodles. See Figure 16.

Turn down the stove burner to 7 or 8 when the pot starts to boil again. See Figure 17.

Boil for 20 minutes.

Stir the noodles every 5 minutes.

Grab a strainer or colander.

Slowly dump the garden noodles into a strainer/colander. See Figure 18.

Caution: Cover your hands with oven mitts when dumping the noodles into the strainer.

Rinse the noodles with cold water to get the starch off. See Figure 19.

Place noodles in a bowl with a lid. See Figure 20.

Step 7: Make Dressing

Note: You can go by taste when putting mayonnaise, powdered ranch, and milk together.

Grab a liquid measuring cup, mayonnaise, powdered ranch, and milk. See Figure 21.

Grab two spoons. One for the mayonnaise and one for the powdered ranch.

Put 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise in the measuring cup.

Put 1 tablespoon of the powdered ranch in the measuring cup.

Put 1/4 cup of milk in the measuring cup.

Stir the ingredients together. See Figure 22.

Try the dressing.

Add 1 or all of the ingredients until desired taste.

Step 8: Add Everything Together

Note: It does not matter what order you put the ingredients in the bowl. You can put as many eggs, cheese, olives, or dressing for the pasta salad.

Grab a spoon if needed.

Put diced eggs in the bowl. See Figure 23.

Mix in the eggs.

Put the cut cheese in the bowl. See Figure 24.

Mix in the cheese.

Put olives in the bowl. See Figure 25.

Mix in the olives.

Add in a little bit of dressing. See Figure 26.

Mix in dressing.

Keep adding a little bit more until desired.