In Hawaii the plate lunch is their most popular dish. Yes, the poke bowl is a close competitor, but every road side stand, food truck, and hole-in-the-wall restaurant offers a plate lunch.

Classically your ‘plate’ will include a protein, then they add two scoops of white rice and a generous serving of this macaroni salad.

It’s a carb lovers dream!

Elbow macaroni, finely shredded carrot, a little shredded white onion, and thinly sliced green onion all tossed in a mayonnaise dressing.

This Hawaiian Style Macaroni Salad is Simply Delicious. It’s creamy, simple and satisfying!

The dressing is where the flavor builds by combining mayonnaise with milk, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt & pepper.

It’s ever so slightly sweet with a gentle tang. It’s just really good macaroni salad that pairs perfectly with our Kalua Pork Meatball Sliders!

I’ll leave you with a couple of my favorite Hawaii pictures to get you in the mood :).

• A killer hike in Waimea Canyon State Park.
• Wailua Falls – made famous in the opening scene of Fantasy Island
• Hawaiian Gold Tree
• The view from the top of Diamond Head State Park
• Nā Pali Coast (from a helicopter)

Are there recipes that remind you of a favorite vacation that you’d like to see us recreate? I’d love for you to comment below. Your feedback is so important to me (and keeps the recipe love fresh).

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad is simple and satisfying with a delicious mayonnaise dressing. You can easily double this recipe.

Course Side Dish

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the Salad Dressing

• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the Macaroni Salad

• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
• 1/2 cup carrot finely grated
• 1 Tablespoon onion grated
• 2 scallion thinly sliced

Instructions

For the Salad Dressing

• Whisk together dressing ingredients. Makes 2 cups.

For the Macaroni Salad

• Prepare the pasta accoring to package instructions, drain and allow to cool to room temperature. Toss cooked macaroni with shredded carrot, onion, and green onion. Pour 1 1/2 cups of dressing over pasta mixture and stir to fully coat. Reserve 1/2 cup of dressing to add just before serving as pasta will absorb some as it sits.

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Perhaps the dish I remember most from my childhood is Beefaroni.  Not the canned type, but Homemade Beefaroni, that I think we had every week.  It’s affordable, easy to prepare, family friendly, and so delicious.  For that reason I consider this a comfort food recipe.

I made One Pot Homemade Beefaroni on Sunday and have been enjoying it for lunch this week.  This recipe makes 12 servings so it’s a great family meal or pot luck dish to share.

The above step-by-step pictures basically illustrate just how easy this dish is to prepare. I must be honest and tell you that I have admired “One-Pot” dishes for months on Pinterest.  This was my first attempt.  I found the key to even cooking of the elbows was to stir a couple times during the simmering process, other than that….ONE POT people!! Bam!!

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One Pot Homemade Beefaroni

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 193kcal

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 Tbl. butter
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms sliced
• 1 onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 28- ounce crushed tomatoes preferably no salt added
• 1 14.5- ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes preferably no salt added
• 1 cup chicken or beef broth
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• salt & pepper to taste
• 5 ounces elbow macaroni
• grated parmesan cheese to serve

Instructions

• Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add mushroom slices and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring once. Add diced onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until onions are tender. Add in garlic and ground beef. Use wooden spoon to break up beef; cook until meat is no longer pink. Drain off any liquid.
• Add tomatoes, broth and seasonings. Bring to a simmer. Stir in macaroni, making sure it is completely covered with sauce. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until pasta is tender.
• Serve with a sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Notes

Each serving = 5 WW Pts+

The post One Pot Homemade Beefaroni appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Tuna Mac with Peas.  A family favorite comfort food.  A blog is after all a place to share memories.

I couldn’t recall how it came to be that Tuna Mac with Peas became such a favorite with my sister and I….so I called her and asked her.  Her earliest recollection dated back to when we were about 7 and 10.  It was our Baby Sitter Dinner.

Baby Sitter Dinner?  Without Mom here to clarify I can only imagine that she wanted to have a dinner that would make us comfortable and homey (as she slipped out for the evening).

Keep in mind this was Pre-TV Dinner time-frame.  TV Dinners became the new Baby Sitter Dinner.  Mom would take us to select our favorite novelty TV dinner.  Ah the choices.  I remember how much fun this was and how we viewed these as such a treat.  Today I’ll trade TV Dinners for Tuna Mac with Peas any day.

The post Tuna Mac with Peas appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

In an era of gourmet pasta salads…you know the ones, with over the top ingredients, exotic herbs & seasonings, and pasta varieties that make you go hmmm…is there room for a good ol’ Macaroni Salad?

Completely rhetorical. Hell yes there’s room!! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE every kind of pasta.  I appreciate and (on occasion) aspire to create a unique and intriguing ‘Pasta Salad.’  Yet they will never make me as happy as Macaroni Salad does.

Elbow macaroni and mayonnaise is where we start.  For my Picnic Perfect Macaroni Salad I like to add hard boiled eggs, crispy bacon, diced tomato, celery, scallions, and black olives.  This gives a nice variety of color and crunch and the flavors all play nicely together.

There is room for creativity when making macaroni salad.  Just don’t stray too far from elbows and mayo.  That’s all :)  Tuna Mac with Peas I’ve got my eye on you.

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Picnic Perfect Macaroni Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise or more to taste
• 3 hard boiled eggs peeled & finely chopped
• 4 slices of bacon cooked crispy & crumbled
• 2 Roma tomatoes diced
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• 2 celery stalks finely diced
• 1 small can 3.8-ounce ripe black olives, sliced
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• Prepare macaroni according to package instructions. Drain, run under cold water and cool completely.
• Meanwhile prepare remaining ingredients. In a large bowl, combine cooled macaroni with enough mayonnaise to coat. Add in remaining ingredients and gently fold until well combined. Season with salt & pepper.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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