Potato Salad

i freaking LOVE potato salad but people always ruin it with tons of onions, celery & etc etc- blech! i like it simple! so i adapted a recipe from Emeril- he uses onions, celery & other stuff i'm not keen on. so i mixed it up and made it my own.

The Best Potato Salad

2lbs potatoes (red, or peeled baking potatoes) cut into bite sized pieces
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground pepper
2 tblsp limeade (or lemon juice or lime juice)
1/2- 1tsp celery salt
1 tsp onion powder
*1/2 tsp mustard powder (if you DON'T use whole grain mustard)
1 tsp parsley
2-4 hard boiled eggs (chopped)
3/4 cup mayo (or miracle whip)
*1 1/2 tblsp whole grain mustard OR 1 1/2 tblsp regular mustard (i used regular because that's what i had)
4-6 strips cooked bacon (nice & crispy)- bacon is optional, but who doesn't like bacon?!

Directions:

Boil the potatoes in water with 1 chicken boullion cube, until tender- about 10-15 min

Drain the potatoes and transfer to a salad bowl. While the potatoes are still warm, season with the salt, cayenne, black pepper and limeade -mix well to combine. Add the celery salt, onion powder, parsley and eggs- mix again.
Combine the mayonnaise and mustard together and then mix in.
Crumble the bacon & mix it into the salad- not too much, but enough!

Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve chilled.
Enjoy!

Pumpkin Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpking (from a 15-oz can)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tbsp sugar
1/2
tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350.
Put liners in muffin cups.
Sift together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.
Mix together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1 1/2 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then mix in flour mixture until just combined.
Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.
Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then spinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Bake until puffed and golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.
Makes about 12- 15 muffins

aaand thanks to a massive can of pumpkin i also made some Iced Pumpkin Cookies

nom nom nom.

Enjoy!

Quick Corn and Potato Chowder with Cheddar Biscuits

in my opinion there is no need to slave over chowder for hours (not that i don't appreciate it when people do- i mean, i AM from New England)- but you can make a very quick, awesome chowder in about 20 min. literally- sooo good!


Quick Corn and Potato Chowder

2 cups water
2 cups milk
2 medium yellow/white/red potatoes (skin on- chopped)
1 can corn- drained (yes, CANNED CORN! ZOMG!)
1 chicken boullion cube
sea salt, black pepper, basil, onion powder, celery salt, smoked paprika
corn starch & water (it's better to mix the corn starch in water first & then use it to thicken)

In a medium saucepan: add the water & boullion cube- cover & cook the potatoes until tender (about 15 min or so)
turn the heat down to medium low & add the corn & milk (don't drain the potatoes because the starchy water will add flavor & thickness)- mix & then add seasonings to taste (not too much, no need to overwhelm, but make sure to use plenty of salt & pepper)

Allow the chowder to simmer for about 5-10 min- while it simmers, add the corn starch (to desired thickness)
Remove from heat & ladel into bowls- NOM NOM!!!

p.s. you can top with cheese or bacon or whatever you want- i just keep it simple :)

Cheddar Biscuits

Biquick Mix

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Follow the directions on the Bisquick box- add the cheese into the mix & plop them on a greased baking sheet (usually not greased but cheese requires grease people!)

Bake for about 10 min- butter & eat! YUM!

Enjoy!

Rice Pudding

i LOVE rice pudding- but not the soupy, goupy, oopy, runny, shmunny stuff that people seem to gravitate towards- no! i like something firm, sweet, savory & lacking in tapioca!

and the only person that ever made it the way i like it is my mother- so here it is- my mom's Rice Pudding (minus the nasty raisins she likes to add)


Rice "Pudding"

2 cups cooked white rice (hot, cold- doesn't matter)
2-3 tblsp butter
1 cup heavy/whipping cream
2 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
cinnamon (to taste)
nutmeg (to taste)

Pre-heat oven to 350
Butter an 8x8 baking dish

in a bowl- mix together all of the ingredients- pour into the buttered baking dish and bake for about 25-30 min.
Remove from the oven and serve whenever! i love it hot, but it's good cold too. serve it as is or with milk or yogurt.

OMG it's soooo good!!!!

Enjoy!

Strawberry Banana Muffins

Strawberry Banana Muffins

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup of flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, diced
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 stick of butter, melted
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 and Line muffin pan with liners

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. After mixing, gently fold in the strawberries, making sure to coat them with flour.

In another large bowl, combine the brown sugar, eggs, butter, bananas, and vanilla until mixed thoroughly. Slowly combine the wet mixture into the dry mixture, stir until just combined – do not over mix!

Fill the muffin cups with the batter (2/3), place in the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

i forgot to take a picture so i had to steal one from online (ie: below picture is NOT mine- der)- thank you google!
my muffins basically looked the same- except more sugar/choc chips on top:

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup oatmeal, quick or old fashioned- uncooked
2/3 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp.baking soda
1/2 tsp.salt
2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten

Topping:
3/4 cup choco chips
1/4 cup sugar
4-6 tblsp flour

mix together.

Heat oven to 350 and line muffin cups with paper liners.

For muffins, mix flour, oats, baking powder, soda and salt in large bowl.
In another bowl combine buttermilk, honey, oil and egg and mix well; then add wet ingredients to dry mixture and mix until just blended. Do not overmix!
Divide mixture evenly to the muffin cups. Top with "topping"
Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove muffins from pan after about 5 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins w/Lemon

Blueberry Muffins

3 cups flour
1 tblsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
10 tblsp un-salted butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 cup blueberries
2 tbls lemon zest
juice of 1/2 lemon

Pre-heat oven to 375

Whisk together flour, baking powder/soda & salt in small bowl
Cream together butter & sugar until fluffy. Add eggs 1 @ a time, beating well after each addition. Lastly, beat in lemon zest & juice.
Beat 1/ dry ing. into wet mix
Beat 1/3 yogeurt into wet mix
Beat in 1/2 of the rest of the dry mix
Beat in 1/3 of the yogurt
Beat in the rest of the dry & then the rest of the yogurt- beat until JUST mixed (no NOT overbeat)
Fold in Blueberries
Line muffin pan with muffin cups- fill about 2/3 full & bake for about 25 min.

Enjoy