Super easy macaroni salad

My partner in crime loves macaroni salad. But the kind you get at the deli is way too sweet for our taste, and a lot of the recipes I looked at seemed over-complicated. They'd add vinegar for tang and then add sugar for sweetness, and then lemon juice for more tang, etc. Harrumph. I thought I could do something simpler, so I came up with a recipe that after a few tweaks, now resembles deli macaroni salad but without being so sweet (and is probably a lot healthier).

Boil 2 cups of whole wheat macaroni noodles until they still have a bit of bite to them (they will soften further as they sit in the dressing), then drain and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking process.

Dice finely and uniformly:

• 1 large red pepper
• 2 or 3 sticks of celery
• a couple of pickles
• half a red onion OR a bunch of green onions

Make the dressing by stirring together:

• 1 cup of mayonnaise OR 1/2 cup mayonnaise and 1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt (partner in crime did not notice when I subbed yogurt for some of the mayo)
• 1 heaping tablespoon (not the measuring variety but the kind you eat cereal with) of Dijon mustard
• 1 heaping tablespoon (not the measuring variety but the kind you eat cereal with) of yellow mustard (e.g. French's)
• Salt and pepper (maybe a half teaspoon of each? do it to taste)
• 1/2 tsp (or so) of dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp (or so) of dried dill

Mix veggies and macaroni in a large bowl and season it with some salt and pepper. Stir in the dressing. You're done! For the best flavour, let the salad sit for a few hours before you eat it. This makes enough for two of us to eat for a few days.