Ham & Pineapple Pasta Salad Recipe

I've been trying quite a few new recipes of late.  Until just a few months ago, I didn't cook.  (True story!) But it's a skill I want to get better at, and it's been said practice makes perfect.

When I first began gathering recipes, I hit a lucky streak.  Either the recipe was delicious as is, or I at least knew what I could do to make it more to our liking.  Recently, however, that luck has gone.  It seems everything I've tried has either been ho hum or plain ol' yuck.  Frustration has set in – I'm ill from wasting money, and tired of eating stuff I don't want so as to not waste more money.

Ever been there?

Enter this simple, seemingly modest pasta salad with a classic flavor combination, and a base of only four ingredients:  ham, pineapple, green onion, and macaroni.

I'll bet that caused a mixed reaction.  Some of you might think I'm just plain crazy, and others are on the side of ho hum.  Please allow me to finish.  I haven't told you about the dressing, yet.

The sweet, yet sour, and oddly creamy – more like a sauce – dressing.  It takes this pasta salad from um, ok to wow.  Jack. Pot.

There are a few more ingredients needed for the dressing, but nothing too crazy – mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, sugar, and apple cider vinegar.  You just might have all that in your fridge and pantry right now.

You really ought to try this maybe weird concoction.  I can eat it all alone for a meal.  We even ate it as a side dish with barbecued pork chops and zucchini patties.  Regardless of how we ate it, two adults finished the bowlful in 24 hours.

Here's how to make it.

Ham & Pineapple Pasta Salad

Adapted from The Recipe Critic.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. dry elbow macaroni
  
• 1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks (in juice, not syrup), drained -- reserve juice for dressing!
  
• 2 cups cubed ham
  
• 3/4 to 1 cup green onion (green parts), sliced
  
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  
• 1/4 cup honey flavored Greek yogurt
  
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
  
• 1 tbsp. sugar
  
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup reserved pineapple juice

Instructions

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Rinse in cold water.
   
2. In a large bowl, combine pasta, pineapple chunks, cubed ham, and green onion slices. (I used 3/4 cup green onion, then went back and added more.)
   
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and reserved pineapple juice. (I needed more juice to combat the cider vinegar, so start with a 1/2 cup and taste.)
   
4. Pour over pasta and combine.
   
5. Try not to eat it all in one sitting!

Yield: 4 - 6 servings

Shared at Thrifty Thursday, From the Farm, Happiness is Homemade, and Tasty Tuesdays.

Hope you find it as tasty as we did. From my mountaintop to yours,