Classic Potato Salad

I've made this a few times without my camera handy, and I'm glad I finally got my act together enough to snap pictures making it this time. Sorry that amounts aren't all that set, but this is really is a salad to taste.

Ingredients:
6-8 medium potatoes, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
6 hard boiled eggs
5 baby dill pickles, diced
1-1/2 - 2 C mayonnaise
4-5 squirts spicy brown mustard
Pickle juice to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil eggs. Drain and chill.

Chopped onion and put in large mixing bowl.

Chopped potatoes. Boil until soft. Drain. Add to bowl with onions.

In small bowl, mix 1 C of mayo and 1-2 squirts of mustard. Add salt and pepper to dressing. Add some dill pickle juice (not too much).

Coat potatoes and onions with dressing. If salad is too dry, make more dressing.

Dice pickles and add to salad.

Peel and dice four eggs. Add to salad.

Mix well. Slice last two eggs and garnish top of salad. Serve chilled.

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Frog Eye Fruit Salad

My husband has been asking me to make this salad for quite a while. Maybe even the full five years we've been married. I'm glad I finally gave into him, because it is a delightful salad, light and yummy. We took it to a family Christmas party, and it was a huge success. I found the recipe here: Frog Eye Salad with only a few minor changes.

Ingredients
3/4 C sugar
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 C pineapple juice
1 egg, well beaten
1 tsp lemon juice
1 C Acini de Pepe pasta, uncooked
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 (20-oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (20-oz) can pineapple tidbits, drained
2 C miniature marshmallows
1 C real whipped cream, whipped
1 C shredded coconut

Combine sugar, flour and salt in a saucepan.

Stir pineapple juice into beaten egg then into the sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Set aside to cool.

Cook Acini de Pepe in 3 quarts of boiling water for 6-8 minutes, stirring often.

Drain and rinse.

Combine cooked sauce with cooked Acini de Pepe. Cover and chill in refrigerator.

When cool, stir in the well drained fruit, marshmallows, coconut, and whipped topping.

Chill at least one hour before serving. ENJOY!!

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Grilled Steak Fajitas

We enjoy Mexican food a lot. We've been wanting to make fajitas for a while. The multi-colored peppers make this a colorful as well as delicious meal.

Ingredients
1 lb. steak
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 medium orange pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 pkg. fajita seasoning
Olive oil
Tortillas
Shredded cheese
Sour cream

Grill the steak just enough to sear it and cut it into strips.

In a large, deep frying pan, saute the onion in olive oil until translucent.

Add peppers and saute until tender.

Add fajita seasoning.

Add steak.

Cook over medium heat until meat is cooked to your liking.

Fill tortillas and top with cheese and sour cream.

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Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

It was another great year for tomatoes. The only problem was that they didn't all ripen at the same time, only in small groups. It meant that I didn't get to bottle tomatoes like I usually do, but it did give us the opportunity to try other things with our tomatoes, like this really great soup.

Ingredients:
For soup:
5-6 medium tomatoes, chopped in large chunks
3 medium tomatoes, diced
5 cloves of garlic, pealed
2 medium onions, chopped in large chunks
Dried basil
1/4 C milk or cream
1-1/2 tsp salt
Italian seasoning
Extra virgin olive oil
Grated Parmesan cheese
Sour cream

For cheesy biscuits:
1 pkg refrigerator biscuits (10 count)
Grated cheddar cheese

Coat your vegetable grill pan with olive oil. We have this amazing Misto sprayer that works beautifully for this.

Place the chopped tomatoes, onions, and garlic cloves on the pan. Season with olive oil, seasoning salt, and Italian seasoning.

Roast on your grill until the tomatoes are tender and the onion layers begin to separate.

Place in your blender and blend until finely chopped. (Yes, we had a minor incident with the blender.)

Transfer to medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add diced tomatoes, milk, salt, and at least one Tbl dried basil.

Heat until all ingredients are warm. Top with dried basil, Parmesan cheese, and sour cream. Serve with cheesy biscuits.

For the cheesy biscuits, preheat oven as directed on the package. Separate the biscuits and place on greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle liberally with grated cheddar cheese.

Bake per packaging instructions.

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