Dill Pickle Pasta Salad, Peanut Buster Bars, and Marie’s Beans
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I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for a good pasta salad. And it seems like I haven’t seen a “new” one for a while. That was, until my mother-in-law, Marie, starting bringing her dill pickle pasta salad to our get togethers.
What’s Marie’s secret to making this tangy pasta salad so remarkable? She immerses the cooked pasta in pickle juice and refrigerates it overnight. That’s right—the pasta soaks up dilly deliciousness for 12 hours.
What if I prefer sweet pickles?
If you prefer sweet pickles, customize Marie’s recipe by swapping out the dill pickles and fresh dill and adding sweet pickles and celery seed.
So you better bet when I asked Marie to be a guest on my podcast, I asked her to share her recipe for the unique salad. Listen to Episode 18 of Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens on your favorite podcast app or click the Spotify link below. I also asked her to share her recipe for Peanut Buster Bars because every once in a while, Jason mentions how much he liked that ice cream dessert when his mom made it.
Since a family get together wouldn’t be the same without Marie’s Beans, she shares how she makes them. Of course she doesn’t have a written recipe. I also get her to share a funny story about a time I brought salted peanut chews to the Munson Survivor Weekend at their family farm near Milbank, South Dakota. (Munson is Marie’s maiden name/family.)
After spending time at the lake with Jason’s family last summer, Marie mailed her dill pickle pasta salad to me so I could give it to Kalani because she liked it so much. I kept a copy and have made it few times since then. I can eat a bowl of this salad for lunch, and it’s nice to make during Lent.
How to Make Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
What you’ll need:
- Small or medium pasta shells
- Dill pickles
- Pickle juice
- Mayonnaise
- Sour cream
- Ground cayenne pepper
- Fresh dill
- White onion
- Sharp cheddar cheese
Tip: When a recipe calls for a measurement in ounces, like this one did when Marie gave it to me, I use my kitchen scale to measure it in ounces and then measure it in cups. Then I write a note on the recipe so I can measure instead of weigh it next time.
I finally bought this Taylor kitchen scale (affiliate link) a few years ago and I wish I would have purchased a scale a lot sooner in my life. I especially like to use it when we buy ground sirloin in bulk and measure it in 1-pound portions to freeze.
Make the salad:
STEP ONE: Boil pasta shells al dente or slightly longer. Drain. Cool pasta in cold water. Drain.
STEP TWO: Place pasta in a bowl. Add the pickle juice from a 25 to 32 ounce jar. Stir. Cover tightly and place in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
STEP THREE: Drain pasta really well so your salad isn’t runny.
STEP FOUR: Stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, ground cayenne pepper, and dill. Add to the pasta and stir to coat completely.
STEP FIVE: Stir in the pickles, cheese and onion. Cover. Refrigerate. Keeps for about 4 days.
Marie uses baby dill pickles. So far, I’ve used my favorite dill pickle chips, Grillo’s Pickles, which I usually buy at Costco. Now that we’ve eaten Wickles Pickles, I may try those in this salad sometime.
Do you want another pickle recipe? Try South Dakota Sushi, also known as ham and pickle roll-ups, from my sister Heidi.
How about another couple of pasta salad recipes? Try our family-favorite salami pasta salad or for the ranch dressing lovers in your life, make taco ranch pasta salad.
Marie’s Beans
As Marie talks about in the podcast, she doesn’t have a written recipe for her beans, which are much like calico beans. She makes large batches to feed a crowd. Here’s the foundation of what she puts in them:
- Hamburer
- Bacon
- Bacon drippings
- Brown sugar
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Worcestershire sauce
- All kinds of beans
- Diced onions
If you listened to podcast episode 18 with Marie, you know the story about a time I brought salted peanut chews to the Munson Survivor Camp. I added the recipe at the bottom of this post.
Thank you for sharing your special recipes with us, Marie! I love that when I married Jason, it meant I get YOU as a mother-in-law.
And thank you for taking me on a little road trip to the The Dam Store near the Rapidan Dam. Only the true locals know about that place.
Sweet wishes,
Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry small or medium shell pasta, approx 2½ or 2¾ cups
- pickle juice from a 25-32 ounce jar of pickles
- ⅔ cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, optional
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
- ¾ cup sliced baby dill pickles or diced pickle chips
- ⅔ cup small cubed sharp cheddar cheese
- 3 tablespoons finely diced white onion
Instructions
- Boil pasta shells al dente or slightly longer. Drain. Cool pasta in cold water. Drain.
- Place pasta in a bowl. Add the pickle juice from a 25 to 32 ounce jar. Stir. Cover tightly and place in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
- Drain pasta really well so your salad isn't runny.
- Stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, cayenne pepper, and dill. Add to the pasta and stir to coat completely.
- Stir in the pickles, cheese and onion.
- Cover. Refrigerate 8-12 hours before serving for the best flavor. Keeps for about 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
All text and images © Staci Mergenthal • Random Sweets
Peanut Buster Bars
Equipment
- 8½x11 or 9×13 pan
Ingredients
- 1 package Oreo cookies
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted (8 tablespoons)
- ½ gallon vanilla ice cream, softened enough to spread
- 1 package salted Spanish peanuts
Chocolate Sauce
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ⅔ cup chocolate chips OR 13-ounce can Hershey chocolate syrup
- 1½ cups evaporated milk
- ½ cup unsalted butter OR 1 stick Fleischmann's margarine
Instructions
- Bottom Layer: crush 1 package of Oreo cookies with 1 stick melted butter. Stir to combine. Press evenly into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Mixture is similar to a graham cracker crust. Place in freezer until firm (about an hour).
- 2nd Layer: spread ½ gallon softened vanilla ice cream over the frozen crust. Freeze until firm (about 2-3 hours).
- 3rd Layer: sprinkle Spanish peanuts evenly over the ice cream.
4th Layer Chocolate Sauce
- Bring to a boil the powdered sugar, chocolate chips OR chocolate syrup, evaporated milk, and butter OR margarine. Boil 8 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Cool completely and then pour onto the layer of Spanish peanuts. Freeze.
All text and images © Staci Mergenthal • Random Sweets
Salted Peanut Chews
Ingredients
- 17.5 oz peanut butter cookie mix
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 egg
- 3 cups miniature marshmallows
- ⅔ cup light corn syrup
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 10 oz peanut butter chips
- 2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- 2 cups dry roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13×9-inch pan with cooking spray or line pan with non-stick foil so they are easy to pull out and cut.
- In large bowl, stir cookie mix, oil, water and egg until soft dough forms. Press dough in pan using floured fingers.
- Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until set. Immediately sprinkle marshmallows over crust; bake 1 to 2 minutes longer or until marshmallows begin to puff.
- In a small saucepan, cook corn syrup, butter, vanilla and chips over low heat, stirring constantly, until chips are melted. Remove from heat; stir in cereal and peanuts.
- Immediately spoon cereal mixture evenly over marshmallows. Cool at room temperature until firm enough to cut, approximately 4 hours.
Nutrition
All text and images © Staci Mergenthal • Random Sweets
