Salad Shells, salad you eat with your hands!

I first made this salad when I was catering my sister-in-laws baby shower.
The foods were all finger foods, I had cheese balls, fruit and dip, a veggie tray, spinach dip with bread, sweets, lots of yummy foods..
But something was missing.
We needed a salad dish.

I love salads.
I especially love pasta salad!
How do you make a salad into finger food?
Instead of pasta salad....

I decided to make a salad IN pasta!

It turned out great!
It makes a wonderful presentation.
And now this is a salad I make often.

It takes a little more work than a "normal" salad.
But it is worth it and no one will forget this salad!

Dana's Salad Shells.

This is more of a technique than a recipe.
Start with a box of large pasta shells. (the ones made for stuffing)
Cook the shells per package instructions, DO NOT OVER-COOK!!

As soon as the shells are done cooking, remove them from the boiling water into an ice-water bath, to quickly cool them and halt the cooking process.

While the shells cool, make your salad.
You can put anything you want into the salad, but all of the ingredients must be shopped into very small pieces, this way you can really stuff the shells.

I used
finely shredded lettuce,
salami,
diced cucumbers,
diced tomato,
thinly sliced green onion,
Shredded cheese.

You can use any dressing you choose.
I like to use a creamy garlic Italian.

Toss the dressing with your salad ingredients.

Remove shells from ice water, and set on a towel to dry slightly.
Stuff each shell with a handful of salad.

Place your stuffed shells into a shallow baking dish and refrigerate at least 1 hour to meld flavors.
Serve these to your guests at your next party and be prepared for oooh's and ahhh's!

Tips...
Try stuffing shells with, Seafood Salad, Tuna Salad, Avocado salad, or chicken salad... the possibilities are endless!