CRUNCHY MACARONI SALAD W/BLACK BEANS

CRUNCHY MACARONI SALAD W/BLACK BEANS image

I created this side salad to compliment the meat items we made for the holiday. It was so crunchy & tasty. It had so much crunch & texture that I couldn't stop eating it. I wanted Macaroni Salad but wanted it to be somewhat healthier than most Mac Salads. So I added the Black Beans for fiber, celery for crunch, Sweet Gherkin Pickles for their sweetness & crunch & a few other ingredients to add flavor like Greek Fat Free Yogurt then allowed it to sit a few hours for the flavors to blend & it was like Jays Potato Chips, you just could not stop eating it. DELICIOUS

Provided by Rose Mary Mogan @cookinginillinois

Number Of Ingredients 16

Ingredients

1/2 box(es) creamettes macaroni (cooked al dente)
10-12 medium sweet gherkin pickles,chopped
3 stalk(s) celery chopped
1 medium red onion chopped
1 jar(s) roasted sweet red peppers 8.3 oz, chopped
4 large eggs boiled(optional) and chopped into large pieces or as desired
11/2 tablespoon(s) fresh horseradish (from refrigerated section)
3/4 cup(s) real mayonnaise
11/2 cup(s) fat free greek yogurt (i used fage)
2 teaspoon(s) granulated garlic (not garlic salt)
2 teaspoon(s) coarse ground black pepper
1 can(s) black beans, 151/2 oz. rinsed and drained
3 tablespoon(s) dijon mustard
3 package(s) splenda or 2 tbs. sugar
1/4-1/3 cup(s) freeze dried chopped chive or use fresh
- medium tomato for each serving if desired (optional)

Steps:

I used creamettes macaroni for this recipe, and cooked it to the firm stage for 7 minutes. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MAY WANT TO USE LESS MAYO AND GREEK YOGURT THAN I DID, IT IS A MATTER OF PREFERENCE &TASTE. I cooked the entire box but reserved the other half for a recipe I will post later.
Add the yogurt, chive, mayo, splenda, black pepper,granulated garlic, horseradish & Di Jon mustard to a medium size bowl and stir until blended together.
Drain the roasted red peppers. Then wash and rinse the black beans.
Chop the red onions. Add to bowl of salad dressing.
Chop the roasted red peppers, and add as well as the rinsed and drained black beans to the bowl.
For more crunchy texture I added 3 stalks of chopped celery and the gherkin pickles chopped. Blend into the salad dressing mixture, then stir in the Macaroni, and stir to mix. Since this was my first time creating this recipe, I measured the chopped veggies to see how much I had, and I had 4 cups of chopped veggies, I was aiming for at least 4 cups to minimize the carbs from the macaroni.
Add the chopped boiled eggs, chop into the size you prefer, I prefer larger chunks of eggs. Gently stir together and refrigerate at least 2 hours or longer to allow the flavors to blend together. The flavors will intensify the longer they sit in the fridge.
To serve, Cut a medium size Tomato into 6 or 8 wedges, but not all the way through and fill with macaroni salad. Top with additional chive and roasted red peppers if desired, or serve plain. The tomato is optional.