Hawaiian Mac Salad Recipe--Don't overthink it!

After 5 years of trying to trust Google to give me the recipe that would make Hubby happy, I decided to just use what I had learned from all the experimenting and created the most basic Mac Salad EVER! And Hubby Likes it.

Google for Hawaiian Macaroni Salad and you'll find all kinds of fancy stuff. I have a Hawaiian cookbook that tries to make it all fancy with Water Cress. Seriously? No. You'll find people claiming it's the Maui Onions that are the secret, or the Brand of Mayo. Nah, the secret is to think SIMPLE.

When you look at the
Mac Salad from a Plate Lunch 
place like Kenekes or a Lunch Truck/wagon like they have all over, it's basically just greasy elbow macaroni with some tiny Cubes of Questionable Origin.

My First Time...With a Circular Saw

So, a few months ago, I convinced myself that Spring really would come eventually, and decided that I will make a couple more Square Foot Gardening beds of various sizes. Previous things I have built, I have paid 50 cents per cut at the lumber yard to get what I need.

It's embarrassing to stand there like a little woman who is afraid of saws or something while Mr. Manly Man with an Apron  instructs teenage Future Manly Man in the things I could do if only I had a saw.

The cost effectiveness of this decision had to be ignored. Really, it's a matter of pride.

So, I called My Dad, My Hero, the guy who made building everything and anything look so easy for my whole life. My dad's been through a few saws in the last bunch of years while remodeling 2 houses. He and my mom and extended family actually built a house, A WHOLE HOUSE, from scratch before I was born. 

It's like having my own The Learning Channel expert on speed dial. He recommended the 7 1/4 inch Skil saw as the best in my budget.  My budget was stretched a long way by Amazon. I love Amazon. In just 88 cuts, the saw will pay for itself!  

He also recommended this set of blades. It comes with one, but apparently, different numbers of teeth are needed for different types/thicknesses of wood. Dad said one of these will even cut the conduit I use for making Trellises for my Square Foot Garden. That's one more thing I got to stand around like a Little Woman while Mr. Manly Man with an Apron instructed teenage Mr. Manly Man in the art of cutting.  Having the right blade for whatever job I decide to do will make life so much easier, and really expand the uses of my new toy.







So, My saw came in the mail. I took it to the garage, cleaned off the work bench, organized the tools some, etc. It's a good thing the previous owners of the house put up a pegboard and super workbench!  My Power Tool Collection now consists of a Drill, Sander, and Circular Saw.

Fast Forward a few weeks. My two youngest kids start playing in the yard on nice days, digging and digging in whatever dirt patches I'll let them attack. I decide to build them a Sandbox.

Eventually we go to the nearest city where building materials cost slightly less than an arm and a leg. This Mega Sandbox is going to be in my front yard, so I have decided I want to build it out of Redwood (whatever that is...), because my SFG book says it's prettier and lasts longer than Pressure Treated. I head into the store thinking 12x12 for my size, since an awesome friend offered me as much free sand as I could shovel! But...2x8x16 Redwood boards are $32/each. 12 footers aren't much cheaper, and I would have used the extra 4 footers to make a pretty SFG for the front yard. Anyway...For $120 I could have bought a plastic Step2 sandbox years ago. Hello...I'm a cheapskate, and the longest board that would fit in my Minivan is an 8 footer, so ....8x8 or 6x8 became my answer.  The lumber yard was nice enough to make those two cuts for free so they'd fit in my car.

All good homemade sandboxes have corner seats, so 8x8 turned to 6x8 so the whole thing could be made out of $66 worth of Redwood.

So, this morning...it was cold....but not wet...yay Spring!
 I had marked my lines to cut on yesterday.

Called Dad to get advice on which cuts to make first...angles or straights...Angles.

Ok. I opened the box! and got out my BRAND NEW CIRCULAR SAW!!

Oh crap...must install blade. How hard can it be? With directions in 5 languages, after calling Dad to get the push I needed to use force to remove the little wrench from the machine, on the 2nd try, The BLADE WAS INSTALLED, AND TURNING! yay!

Ok, 2 little kids running around the yard will make excellent weights to hold the boards still while I cut.

My cuts weren't perfect, but I wound up with two 6-foot boards, two 8-foot boards, and two identical corner seats. Mission Accomplished!

How I grew up around saws and woodworking and got the highest grade in my 6th grade Shop class, where I was actually THE ONLY ONE who passed the test that actually allowed me INTO the woodshop to build a birdhouse-- without ever operating a circular saw by myself --is beyond me. But--Now I've done it!

What's next? lots of ideas, but first, I need to FINISH the sandbox project!

8 cuts today =$4. Only $80 more cuts till the thing pays for itself!

Read The MENU!!!!--Creative Contest!

Does this sound familiar?

Kid: "Mom! I'm Hungry!!"
Mom: "What would you like?"
Kid: "What do we have?"
Mom: "Same thing as 10 minutes ago."

Well, it happens that way about a gazillion times a day around here, so a couple months ago, I snapped and made menus. Are they fancy? not yet. I was going to laminate them, but wanted to wait to see if it would simplify things a bit around here. They really have helped, so now I'm going to look for some fun frames for them and do something cute with scrapbooking materials, but if I wait till that happens, it could be next winter.

If your kids can't read,  you could do this with pictures, either take the pictures yourself or steal them from Google images or *gasp!* use clip art. I know some people hate "clip art."  You could even get your kids involved cutting up the packages of what you feed them routinely and gluing them to a "menu."

My 4 y/o is catching on to reading, but the 3 y/o needs a picture menu, although she pretty much only eats apples. all. day. long.

So, here's the challenge.

Create YOUR fancy, decorated menu, and blog about it with a link back to this post, or if you don't have a blog, just email me pics of your creation.

Deadline is March 31.  Winner will be chosen by readers through a vote! Be sure to leave your email address when you submit links in the comments!

When you submit your entry, please say if you'd prefer an apron or an alien if you win!

Yours certainly will be better than mine!

Presenting Da Kokoleka!!!!! with recipe!!

If I had to name a hometown, I'd have to claim Hawaii. I lived there for a total of 7 years, which is longer than anyplace else I've ever lived. My heart is certainly Hawaiian, even if I can't speak Pidgin and was only lucky enough to try surfing a few times.