Macaroni Salad

My mom has made this side dish for a few BBQs or family gatherings. It is fantastic, so for a recent trip I had to get the recipe from her. It was in one of her cookbooks, a church potluck collection.

Note that this recipe is HUGE! I halved it and still filled that bowl in my picture. Unless you literally need to feed an army, I would suggest always halving it. I will leave the recipe it's original size because it leaves some of the numbers a little more round.

The one thing I found difficult was actually finding the pimientos. I wasn't sure exactly what they were, let alone where in the store to find them. I knew they had something to do with olives (turns out they are the red things stuffed in green olives). In our local store I found them on the same area as the canned olives and peppers in a short little jar. Also, I purchased the ham already cooked and diced in the meat section of the grocery store.

2 lbs uncooked elbow macaroni
12 hard cooked eggs, chopped
2.5 lbs cubed fulled cooked ham
16 oz frozen peas, thawed
3 cups sliced celery
1 large green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 oz diced pimientos, drained
4 cups mayonnaise

• Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water.
• Place in large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours.