Best macaroni salad - well, I think it's pretty great

I grew-up eating macaroni salad in the summer but never really liked it. Too white and not enough flavor so I decided to create my own version.

Here's what you'll need:

• Brown Rice penne pasta or pasta of your choice cooked until tender but don't overlook. Fill pan with water and add pinch of salt and bring to boil. Add pasta. Approximate time 8-10 minutes in boiling water. Place in colander and rinse.

+ add 2-3 cloves garlic to cold water and cook with pasta until done

Then place in glass bowl and add:

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

• 1/4-1/2 cup Best Foods mayonnaise

Cream garlic with mayo and yogurt

• 1/4 white balsamic vinegar

• 1-2 sweet red onions or 3-4 green onions chopped

• 1 fennel bulb stocks, cleaned of frilly leaves so looks like celery. Washed and sliced thinly

• 2-3 hard boiled eggs, peeled, washed and chopped. I used a combination of Duck and Chicken eggs because I had both

• 1/2-3/4 cup chopped Bubbies sweet pickles. Trust me, they're worth it. Super crispy and taste like my great grandmas homemade sweet butter pickles.

• 1 Tablespoon Sierra Nevada Stout mustard or mustard you have on hand. French's will work.

• 1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes

Blend together and enjoy. If stored overnight, pasta will absorb the liquid/yogurt/mayo but flavors will open up and be more intense in day 2.

Bon appetite!

a.m. granola

I don't consider myself a picky eater but I am picky about the granola I put on my morning yogurt. No raisins or dried bananas and it can't be real sweet.

I also didn't find any recipes online that inspired me. So I decided to create a personal granola recipe based on my tastes and what I had on hand. I really liked the idea of controlling the ingredients and incorporating favors I thought would compliment any of the fruit yogurts I eat daily.

Here's what I came up with:

1 cup raw organic pumpkin seeds (Costco purchase late last year so I wanted to use up the bag. Tip: Nuts can be stored in the freezer to prevent them from going rancid)

1 cup organic walnuts (Trader Joes)

2 cups Irish oats (Trader Joes and these look like large grains and are very crunchy)

2 cups old fashioned oatmeal (Trader Joes)

1 cup chia seeds (Trader Joes)

1 cup finely ground flax seed (Whole Foods. I'll use whole flax seeds next time for a change)

1 tablespoon good vanilla (real vanilla, not vanilla flavor. Madagascar vanilla is delicious and worth the extra money.)

3/4 cup Cecchetti olive oil or another really good olive oil

1/2 cup local honey

And yes, I made way too much. I basically grabbed and poured everything into a large bowl and stirred it up.

Spread thinly on parchment lined cookie sheets. No more than 1/4 deep. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Stir. Bake another 10-15 minutes and pull from oven and stir. Bake to honey color, not brown.

I placed my granola abundance in glass jars and froze for future use. I do eat 1/4 cup every morning.

Alternative ingredients to add:

Coconut oil or dried coconut

Almonds, pecans, other nuts

Dried cranberries, cherries, figs

Bon appetite!