Famous Potato Salad

Ok, in the interest of keep things new and interesting around here, I'm going to share my Famous Potato Salad recipe with you. I'm pretty sure Budman didn't decide to propose to me until AFTER I fed him this potato salad. This recipe is one I've developed over years, adapted from several family recipes.

I'm a little disappointed with the way my pictures turned out, but we'll just make the best with what we have. Heck, it's my first attempt at a recipe post anyway.

Let's begin:

You will need mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, olives, salt, pepper and of course, potatoes (not shown)

Optionally, you may also add 3-4 strips of bacon, chopped. That's what I did today, because I had some left over from Breakfast.

Now, I normally add chopped red onion to my Potato Salad. It adds a good flavor, and it looks so pretty against the yellow... Unfortunately, Budman does not like raw onions, so I generally end up leaving them out, or else he won't eat any. Sometimes, if I'm feeling particularly ambitious, I will set aside some without onions for him, before adding onions to the rest.

But anyway, back to the preparation.

First, naturally, you will need to wash and peel the potatoes. Ignore the blurry photos. I had the camera settings all wrong. Grr...

Generally, I use one potato per person, not counting the children, this will give you plenty, and you will have leftovers (YAY!!) We had nine grown-type persons today, so nine potatoes... (I know you just counted - I did!!)

Now, I cut the potatoes in 1 inch slices, then quarter them. You don't have to be exact, but you want them to be close in size so that all the pieces cook at about the same rate.

Then place them in the (salted) water on the stovetop. You can heat the water before you put in the potatoes, or you can wait until they are added to heat the water. I do it differently every time, depending on my mood. If you place the potatoes in the heated water, just be careful of splashes!!

Cook the potatoes until they are fork-tender. You don't want them too done, but you want to be able to mash them fairly easily.

When they are done, you can use a potato masher to mash them up. Or, if you like, you can throw them in the KitchenAid Mixer (or use a hand mixer) if you like them completely smooth. I usually like to use the Stand mixer, but mine has gotten a little dusty, and I didn't feel like getting it out and cleaning it off so that I could use/take pictures of it. Either way, this recipe is super easy like that.

Add Salt & Pepper

Still looking like Mashed Potatoes at this point, but now... We add the Mayonnaise.

And a little more. Start off slow, you can always add more, but you can't take it out.

I put in three big spoonfuls to begin with for 9 potatoes, but I did end up adding more later.

Mix it in well, you want it smooth and creamy, then add the Mustard.

Again, add a little, mix it up, and taste until you've got enough. If you accidentally put in a little too much, just add a little more Mayo.

Now, it's time to get the pickles... It doesn't matter what kind you use, this is just what we had in the fridge.

Chop them up - I like to leave them a little large, but again, this recipe is all about what makes you happy.

And some olives...

Chop them up a little.

Dump it all in, and mix it up. (At this point,the color is not quite yellow enough, so I added more mustard.) Also, if you're using red onions in your potato salad, now's the time to add them in. And here's my secret ingredient, I always add a teaspoon or two of olive or pickle juice and mix it in.

Now, at this point you can be done...

Or, you can throw in the bacon pieces...

Once it's all mixed in, smooth it out, all pretty like (I'm OCD like that)

Now, once I've finished, I like to put some foil on top, and put it in the fridge. I LOVE my 'tater salad cold.

Of course, you can totally serve it hot, and it still tastes delish!!

So, give it a try, and let me know how it turns out!!

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Oh - and head on over to see http://halftimelessons.blogspot.com/.

He's having a triple giveaway. Check it out!!!

a/k/a time flies when you're... oh never mind

I'm going to have to start numbering these... Not to mention finding a way to make our weekends some more interesting... Ah well, just the highlights, then...

Here's the weekend update.

Friday, we took the day off of work. The memorial service wasn't until the evening, but we were not about to spend the extra gas, to go to work, come home early, get us and the kids ready and drive all the way back up to the church where the service was.

Gas prices seem to influence more and more where we go. I don't even like to drive the 4-7 miles it take to get wherever I need to go in town. If it weren't for those pesky kids wanting to eat all the time, I probably wouldn't go anywhere EVER!!

The service Friday evening was nice. My uncle wasn't the kind of guy who would have wanted everyone dressing up all fancy for him, but we did it anyway. The boys behaved well (Thank goodness). There was a slide show, some music, and then people told their stories. My uncle was the kind of guy, that if you knew him you had a "story". There will be no funeral - at least not yet. Due to the nature of the incident, he has not yet been identified, and the investigation is ongoing. So, in lieu of a funeral, the memorial service offered some closure (as much as you can get in this situation, anyway).

Saturday, Budman went to his parents to help with work around the house, the kids and I went to get Father's Day gifts. I got T-shirts and paints, and we made hand print T-shirts. The boys each picked their own paint color, and I could not have picked better colors if I had tried. They went perfect together . We went ahead and made four of the shirts, for my dads and Budman's dad, also.

Sunday, we gave Budman his shirt, and the cards that the little ones had made for him. He was touched. (He should have been... The boys asked for my help in spelling. I got a piece of paper, and wrote the things they said they wanted to put in the cards, I was a bit teary-eyed just reading them.) Monkey, especially, who wrote, "I love you for keeping us safe. Thank you for being the best dad." Aww.... excuse me just a moment. 'Talk amongst yourselves'

Dinner that evening was, surprisingly, a success. Seems lately anytime I get in the kitchen, something goes wrong. It's part to do with my scatterbrained nature, partly bad luck and partly that I always get a bit ambitious in the kitchen. I planned the menu last week, bought my groceries ahead of time. And feel free to laugh at me, Budman does, but lately ALL my recipes come from bloggers.

The menu:

Bacon Tomato Cups from Robin at Pensieve - Oh mama, were these good... I think I overdid the Mayo a teensy bit, but they still turned out heavenly, and if I hadn't reminded them to save room for desert, Budman and Possum would have eaten them all. Thankfully, I still have quite a few of these in my fridge, and I'm kicking myself for not bringing them for lunch today...

Shrimp Scampi from My Wooden Spoon - This was awesome. I think I will use more butter next time, but it was a hit. Both Possum and Monkey went back for thirds!! Granted, Possum will eat anything, but he won't go back for seconds or thirds unless it's REALLY good.
What went wrong: I forgot until the very last minute that the shrimp we bought was not already peeled, and had to turn off the fire under the pan while I spent almost 20 minutes frantically peeling shrimp.

Creamed Spinach from The Pioneer Woman - I really cannot get enough of her recipes. I have not found a bad one yet... And to be perfectly honest, I have never eaten spinach before yesterday. Shocking, I know. I've never been able to get past the smell of canned spinach, but when I made fresh creamed spinach yesterday, I REALLY liked it!!
What went wrong: Not having ever cooked fresh spinach (or any spinach, for that matter) before, and being the stubborn know-it-all that I am, I did not look at the spinach until showtime, and I wasted another ten minutes removing all the stems. This is something I could have had Possum do for me, he was already hovering around the kitchen anyway... but I'm stubborn like that.

Carrot Cake from... a box. I had big plans, to make Sigrid's Carrot Cake, also from The Pioneer Woman (I told you - 90% of my recipes come from her!!), however Budman talked me out of it. He thinks I like to make things complicated. Once I started listing ingredients, he BEGGED me to just make him a box cake. Truth be told, I'm glad he did, if I had been doing it from scratch, I would have had to begin cooking right after lunch, and probably, I would have procrastinated, and not made it at all, and then I would have been upset with myself for not being Superwoman. I'm weird like that. So box cake it was, and my step-mother said it was the moistest cake that she had ever eaten, so YAY Betty Crocker!!!

So, even after going back and removing the really boring stuff... This is still way too long. But, if you've made it this far, you either really like me, or maybe it wasn't quite as boring as I thought...

Have a great week.