Herb Potato Salad

I am a potato salad snob.
I admit it.

Maybe it's because I am biased, but I tend to eat only my baked potato salad. (Not that it's a bad thing)
We were having some friends over, and I was making some chicken wings. Potato salad goes with wings like bubble-gum and shoe.

BUT...I was making my regular to bring to a family function the night prior, so I wanted to shake things up a bit.
Enter Ina Garten.

(I admit, I find this picture funnier than I should)

This recipe is hers, and I wasn't sure. Well. I loved it. I like it better room temperature, but that is all personal preference.

Ingredients:

3 Lbs small white boiling potatoes

Kosher Salt

2 Tbsp dry white wine

2 Tbs Chicken stock

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Garlic cloves (minced)

½ Tsp dijon mustard

Freshly ground black pepper

⅔ Cup olive oil

¼ Red onion (finely diced)

2 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Directions:

1. Place potatoes and 2 tbsp salt in large pot of water

2. Bring water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife

3. Drain in a colander. Place colander with potatoes over the empty pot off the heat and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel

4. Leave potatoes to steam for 15-20 minutes

5. In a small bowl, whisk together the wine, chicken stock, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, 2 tsp salt, and ¾ tsp pepper.

6. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Set aside.

7. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into quarters or halves (size depending)

8. Place cut potatoes in a bowl and pour enough dressing over them to moisten

9. Add onion, tarragon, and parsley.

10. Salt and pepper to taste.

11. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend

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This recipe was shared on:
Monday: Pioneer Momma, New Mama Diaries, Kitchen Table Art, Call me PMC, The Chicken Chick, Flour me with Love, Jam Hands, Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, A Southern Fairytale, A Pinch of Joy, Feeding Big, Jambellish, All Things Fee, Boogieboard Cottage, Mom's the Word
Tuesday: Cornerstone Confessions, Inside Bru Crew Life, Memories by the Mile, Pint Sized Baker, A Peek into my Paradise, My Joy Filled Life,Our Table for Seven, Mandy's Recipe Box, Kathe with an E, Sweet Silly Sara, Hot Momma's Kitchen Chaos
Wednesday: The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Buns in my Oven, Crafty Allie, Lady Behind the Curtain, Dizzy Busy and Hungry, Wine and Glue, White Lights on Wednesday, Ginger Snap Crafts, Sew Crafty Angel, Mom's Test Kitchen, Mostly Homemade Mom, Lemoine Family Kitchen, Gooseberry Patch
Thursday: Sweet Haute, Lambert's Lately, Sweet Bella Roos, What's Cooking Love, Saving 4 Six, Miz Helen's Country Cottage, Embracing Change, The Nourishing Gourmet
Friday: The Best Blog Recipes, Craft Dictator, Endlessly Inspired, The Grits Blog, O Taste and See, Hungry Harps, A Little Clarification, Daily Dish, The Better Baker, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Thirty Handmade Days, Angel's Homestead, Morsels of Life, Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom, What's Coking Ruthie, Northeast Bloggers, Craft O Maniac
Saturday: Coffee with us 3, Cheerios and Lattes, Simply Gloria, Six Sisters Stuff, Sewlicious Home Decor, Weary Chef
Sunday: Denise Designed

Creamy Broccoli & Sun Dried Tomato Orzotto

I am so tired of rain.
It feels like it is never going to stop. I am pouty like the kids in "The Cat in the Hat"

Since no 6 ft cat is going to come walking through my door
(he's not...right?)
I needed to find something that would make me smile with all this gloom.

Comfort food comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
Pasta + cheese + slow cooked flavor= beating those rain drop blues!
This came from a Pampered Chef cookbook, it took no time at all and was delicious!

Ingredients:

1 Medium onion

3 Garlic Cloves (minced)

2 Tsp olive oil

1 ½ Cups uncooked orzo pasta

3 ¼ Cups vegetable broth

¾ Cup dry white wine

1 Jar (8oz) sundried tomatoes in oil (drained and patted dry)

1 Head broccoli (about 2 cups)

2 oz parmesan cheese

6 oz mascarpone cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat for 1-3 minutes

2. Finely chop onion

3. Add onion and garlic to oil and cook 30-45 seconds or until fragrant

4. Stir in orzo pasta

5. Add broth and wine, cook uncovered 14-16 minutes or until almost all liquid is absorbed and orzo is tender

6. Remove skillet from heat. Add tomatoes and broccoli.

7. Cover, let stand for 5 minutes.

8. Add cheeses, mix well

Note: An additional ¾ cup broth can be substituted for the wine

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Just noticed my Parmesan cheese is missing. Whoops!

This recipe was shared with:
Monday: Pioneer Momma, Kitchen Table Art, New Mama Diaries, Call Me PMC, The Chicken Chick, Flour me with Love, Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, A Pinch of Joy, Feeding Big, Jam Hands, A Southern Fairytale, Uncommon Designs, Jambellish, All Things Fee, Boogieboard Cottage, Mom's the Word
Tuesday: Inside Bru Crew Life, Pint Sized Baker, Yesterfood, A Peek into my Paradise, The Road to 31, Cornerstone Confessions, New Mrs Adventures, My Joy Filled Life, Our Table for Seven, Mandy's Recipe Box, Kathe with an E, Sweet Silly Sara
Wednesday: Buns in my Oven, Crafty Allie, Lady Behind the Curtain, Dizzy Busy and Hungry, The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Wine and Glue, White Lights on Wednesday, Gingersnap Crafts, Sew Crafty Angel, Mom's Test Kitchen, Lemoine Family Kitchen
Thursday: Sweet Haute, Lambert's Lately, Sweet Bella Roos, What's Cooking Love, Saving 4 Six, Miz Helen's Country Cottage, Endlessly Inspired
Friday: The Grits Blog, Hungry Harps, Craft Dictator, A Conquered Mess, AKA Design, The Daily Dish, O Taste and See Blog, The Better Baker, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Thirty Handmade Days, Angel's Homestead, Morsels of Life, Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom, Cooking with Curls
Saturday: Yummy Healthy Easy, Will Cook for Smiles, Cheerios and Lattes, What's Cooking with Ruthie, Six Sisters Stuff, Sewlicious Home Decor, Raising Memories
Sunday: A Peek into my Paradise, Denise Designed

Easter 2014

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

Loved checking out FaceBook this AM and seeing some of the Easter baskets and treats some of my friends and family have done up.
My kinda cousin was scanning Pinterest and decided her little lady needed to see bunny toes when she woke up this am....

Dying to hear what the reaction will be!

This year is a little odd for us.
My mother in law decided last minute that she was going to host a small Easter and wanted us there.
(Hubby doesn't get it, he thinks a week is more than enough notice, I say it's still short notice when it comes to a holiday, esp one you already have plans for. What say you?)
So, breakfast with my side and a later lunch with his.
Can we say mass quantities of food?!

My side:
(for further description of odd sounding dishes, check out last year's Easter where I explain them all)
Babka
Kielbasa
Pyraga
Fruit Salad
Ham
Egg Casserole (x2...one regular, and one gluten free)
(I made the following)
Baked Beans
Strawberry Cheesecake Cake
Key Lime Pie

Hubby's Side:
Ham
Steak
Mashed Potato
Sweet Potato Casserole
Salad
Raspberry Cake
(I made the following)
Chocolate Toffee Cream Pie


Let me tell you though, my kitchen stories of the day.
Sigh.

Made the Chocolate Cream pie. Looked delicious....put it in the fridge.
I went to grab something later....and knocked a whole pound of butter INTO my pie! You should have seen me trying to doctor it up. Sigh. I did the best I could. It's no longer gorgeous...but it will have to do.

While making the Key Lime Pie, I set it in the other room to cool (my kitchen is too tiny, and when I have a million projects, I take over the dining room too). Kept going and forgot about it. Realized I needed it in the fridge, grabbed it...and promptly stuck my finger into the meringue on top. There is no fixing that. One could say...I left my "mark"...(cue drum roll....)

Then there was the strawberry cheesecake cake.
I always thought my round cake pans were 9 inches
and that my springform was 9 inches.
Yeah, not so much.
My cheesecake was much bigger than my cake. Always fun to try to carve frozen cheesecake. That is a Saturday adventure everyone should have (sigh).
Then my frosting didn't turn out frosting-y...it's gloopy.
I used it anyhow because it tastes amazing.

That's OK.
I am sure the family enjoyed them anyhow. Ugly food can still be good food.

Country Crock Mashed Potato

As much as I would like to pretend that I have all the time in the world, 7 nights a week, to cook a homemade meal...sometimes I need to cut corners.

That pesky life keeps getting in the way! Job, taxi mom, other obligations. :::sigh:::

When I am in the need for a quick dinner, I will grab one of these packages to heat up quick in the microwave.
I was suspicious at first, but now I am sold. They taste pretty darn awesome.

Are they homemade, no. Are they good enough, heck yes!
That being said, I will always prefer my own.

Tomato and Feta Salad

This is something we ate a LOT of growing up. It is just the perfect summer salad and makes a great side dish to any meal.
Hubby tells me to make this whenever we have meat...especially steak. He thinks it goes best with steaks.

I do not like onion, so I leave it out. Hubby likes a little diced red onion with his, so I put it on the side when I put the salad out to be served.

When there is extra left over, save it. Eat it with a hunk of Italian bread the next day for lunch. Heaven!

Ingredients:
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in ½ or ⅓
½ Cup feta cheese
¼ Cup Italian dressing
Red onion (optional)

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients, serve immediately

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Insanely simple ingredients

Mixed and ready to go

This recipe was shared with:
Monday: This Gal Cooks, The Chicken Chick, Pioneer Momma, Kitchen Table Art, New Mama Diaries, Flour me with Love, Jam Hands, Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, A Southern Fairytale, A Pinch of Joy, Uncommon Designs, Jambellish, Boogieboard Cottage, Moms the Word, Feeding Big, All Things Fee
Tuesday: Cornerstone Confessions, Chef in Training, Inside Bru Crew Life, Pint Sized Baker, Memories by the Mile, My Joy Filled Life, Our Table for Seven, Mandy's Recipe Box, Kathe with an E, Sweet Silly Sara
Wednesday: Buns in my Oven, Crafty Allie, Lady Behind the Curtain, Dizzy Busy and Hungry, Wine and Glue, White Lights on Wednesday, Gingersnap Crafts, Sew Crafty Angel, Mom's Test Kitchen, Mostly Homemade Mom, The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Lemoine Family Kitchen
Thursday: Endlessly Inspired, Sweet Bella Roos, Sweet Haute, Lambert's Lately, What's Cooking Love, Saving 4 Six, Miz Helen's Country Cottage, Embracing Change, The Nourishing Gourmet
Friday: Mommy on Demand, The Grits Blog, O Taste and See, Hungry Harps, A Little Claireification, The Better Baker, Love Bakes Good Cakes, This and That, Craft Dictator, 30 Handmade Days, Angel's Homestead, Morsels of Life, Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom
Saturday: What's Cooking with Ruthie, Six Sister's Stuff, Simply Gloria, Sewlicious Home Decor, Raising Memories
Sunday: A Peek into my Paradise, Denise Designed

Double Fudge Cake

Hey, another card from the mega stack of recipes!
Shocker!

One day we will work our way through them all...together we can move mountains!

One thing I love about the cards are the handy dandy tips

• Bake this delicious cake up to two days ahead. Cool completely and cover with plastic wrap. Store at room temperature until ready to frost.
• Variation: Serve slices of rich fudge cake in pools of pureed raspberries or strawberries. Top with more sauce or whole berries.
• For the best "no-crumble" results when removing a cake from a pan, cool in the pan for about 10 minutes; remove while slightly warm
• Use a small plastic bag as a "glove" when greasing a baking pan. It's an efficient way to avid greasy hands and reduce clean up time.
• Chocolate squares hold their shape while melting- so don't wait for them to look completely melted or they may burn. Use low heat and test the melting process by stirring frequently.

Ingredients:

3 Eggs

1 ½ Cups sugar

½ Cup milk

1 ½ Cup all purpose flour

½ Tsp baking powder

¼ Tsp salt

1 Cup butter

4 oz semisweet chocolate

1 (16 oz) can prepared chocolate frosting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Whisk eggs, sugar, and milk in a medium bowl

3. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl

4. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture. Mix until well blended.

5. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan

6. Melt butter and chocolate in top of a double boiler (cool slightly)

7. Blend chocolate mixture into batter.

8. Pour into prepared baking pan.

9. Bake for 35 minutes

10. Cool cake. Frost with prepared frosting.

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This recipe was shared with:
Monday: A Bright and Beautiful Life, The Chicken Chick, Flour me with Love, Pioneer Momma, New Mama Diaries, Call Me PMC, A Peek into my Paradise, Jam Hands, Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, Feeding Big, A Southern Fairytale, A Pinch of Joy, Uncommon Designs, Jambellish, Mom's the Word, Boogieboard Cottage
Tuesday:  Our Table for Seven, Anyonita Nibbles, Cornerstone Confessions, Mandy's Recipe Box, Pint Sized Baker, Chef in Training, The Road to 31, Inside Bru Crew Life, My Joy Filled Life, Yesterfood, Kathe with an E, Sweet Silly Sara
Wednesday: Wine and Glue, White Lights on Wednesday, Buns in my Oven, Crafty Allie, Gingersnap Crafts, Dizzy Busy and Hungry, Lady Behind the Curtain, Sew Crafty Angel, Mom's Test Kitchen, Mostly Homemade Mom, The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Lemoine Family Kitchen, Gooseberry Patch
Thursday: Sweet Haute, Lambert's Lately, Saving 4 Six, Miz Helen's Country Cottage, Embracing Change, Sweet Bella Roos, What's Cooking Love
Friday: Oh Taste and See, The Grits Blog, Craft Dictator, Endlessly Inspired, Morsels of Life, The Country Cook, Hungry Harps, Angel's Homestead, The Best Blog Recipes, Daily Dish, Thirty Handmade Days, Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom, A Little Claireification, Love Bakes Good Cakes
Saturday: Yummy Healthy Easy, Simply Gloria, What's Cooking with Ruthie, Cheerios and Lattes, Six Sisters Stuff