I've been cooking for my boyfriend's crew (he has custody of his 3 teenaged boys - all extremely picky eaters) for quite a while now, and we always make a nice Sunday meal for whoever is around the house on Sunday. One day we were trying to decide on a side dish to go with a cookout and a macaroni salad that wasn't "too bland and mayonnaise-y" was requested. I pulled this one together out of the ingredients he had on hand at his house, and I now make this twice a month because they loved it (well, some of them pick out the peppers).

BTW, Old Bay Seasoning is a spice blend commonly used to coat the famous steamed blue crabs we have here in Maryland, which is why I've named the recipe such. We also use it to spice lots of other things, like potato and macaroni salads, fried chicken, and I won't eat cottage cheese without it! I believe it has become widely available in most parts of the country in the supermarket (check both the spice aisle and near the seafood). If you can't find it, use another seafood spice blend, or search on this site for a copycat recipe (I'm almost certain that there is one posted here way back when). (sorry for the build-up for such a simple salad, but the Old Bay is the key to the flavor!).

One additional thought, cooked shrimp would be a great addition to this salad to make it a main course, as would chopped celery. Lastly, we prefer the salad without much dressing - if you like creamier salad, increase the sour cream and mayo.

Maryland Macaroni Salad
Serves 8

1 lb. box of small seashell shaped pasta, cooked al dente
1/2 cup Hellman’s or Duke’s mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip, please!)
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tsp. Kosher salt (or 1 tsp. table salt) – adjust to taste before serving
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. to 1 TBL Old Bay Seasoning (use less if you don't like things spicy and add more after allowing flavors to blend if you want more)
1/2 red onion, finely minced (or to taste)
1 small red pepper, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped

Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, pepper and Old Bay until well mixed. Combine the cooked pasta and vegetables with the dressing. Make ahead and chill so the flavors can combine.