I rarely cook anything like my mother, but this is the exception. I like it just the way she made it. If she had extras of any of the ingredients, she would add more. She liked it to have a lot of stuff. She made this for large groups many times by doubling, tripling, etc. the pasta and then throwing in more stuff. Also, I always make my own salad dressing for anything else. This recipe is the way my mom always makes it, and she always used Kraft dressing. No matter what dressing I have tried on this, it only tastes “right” to me with the Kraft dressing. If you prefer to make your own dressing or use another bottled brand, and you were not raised on my mother’s antipasto salad, use what you like!