Macaroni Salad

This is a simple macaroni salad, the dressing is much like a coleslaw, so since I can't seem to leave recipes alone I added in some seasonings. I also added in lots of veggies, too much for my liking, so I would recommend adding 2 TBL- 1/4 cup of each. We had this with grilled burgers and grilled corn on the cob. This is a great picnic/BBQ salad.

Macaroni Salad

adapted from Hellman's/Allrecipes

1 box elbow macaroni

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons of sugar

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

For add ins, add diced red and green bell peppers, celery, red onions, frozen peas, roughly chopped olives and 4 chopped boiled eggs.

Cook pasta for about 8 minutes, rinse under cold water and drain. Combine all ingredients except the add ins. Add to the pasta and stir in the add ins. Allow to chill in the refrigerator overnight or a few hours (if the pasta seems to be dried out before serving, stir in a little milk).

enjoy,

Cheesy Ham and Hash Brown Casserole

When I saw this recipe at Mommy's Kitchen (back in Sept.!), I knew I had to make it! I have already made it once before, but it was so good there wasn't any left for a photo. This time I set aside a little so it wouldn't get eaten so quickly. =)

This is such an easy recipe and everyone loves it. I am also thinking this would be a great potluck dish!

Cheesy Ham and Hash Brown Casserole

1 30 oz. bag frozen, shredded hash brown potatoes
8 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup (gluten free homemade version)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 small onion, diced fine
16 oz package cubed ham (I use sliced deli ham too)
2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, set aside 1 C

Stir all the ingredients together. Place into a lightly greased casserole dish (9 x 13 in). Sprinkle top with 1 C cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min - 1 hour. Let cool a bit and serve.

enjoy,

Mini Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

My gal pal Jenny Mac posted about these little cuties on Facebook. I have been looking for new dinner recipes so I thought I'd give these a try (plus I hear they're great for potlucks, so I wanted to try them). I used King's Hawaiian sweet rolls (lucky me, they were marking them down that day at the store, so I froze them until ready to use). I also had a heck of a time finding a honey mustard! I did find some though, and the poppy seeds...I was glad to have found a bottle for $3.79 on sale (gosh those are expensive!), which I'll also use for some lemon poppy seed muffins sometime.

Anyways...these are easy to do, assemble the sandwiches and pour the marinade/sauce over it and let sit over night in the fridge. I wasn't able to get all 24 in my 9x13, so some were just plain little sandwiches. I baked them the next night for dinner. They hold up well, because well all that butter hardens. They are not soggy, once baked they form this nice crusty shell all over the little rolls. Everyone (kids and Mr.) loved them! Yay! My little girl even asked if she could take one for school snack! haha! I served these with a veggie and potato salad for a nice little dinner. It was a nice change.



Mini Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
from BeantownBaker

1 c (2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 Tbsp grated dried onions
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp honey mustard (not dressing, could mix honey & mustard?)
2 (12 ounce) packages white party or Hawaiian dinner rolls
1 pound cooked ham slices (I used deli sliced ham)
12 ounces sliced swiss cheese

In saucepan, mix butter, poppy seeds, onion, Worcestershire sauce & mustard, stir until blended and melted. Pour 1/2 of mixture into bottom of baking dish.

Assemble sandwiches with ham and cheese slices (I cut each to fit the rolls). Arrange rolls in single layer in baking dish, spreading them around to soak up sauce in pan. Pour rest of sauce over tops of sandwiches, cover dish and refrigerate up to 24 hours for sauce to soak in.

Preheat oven in 350 degrees, bake rolls for 10-12 minutes until rolls are lightly browned and cheese is melted.



enjoy,

Potato Salad

This is adapted from my mom's recipe and every time I make it I do it a little differently, this time I added in garlic, olives and sour cream. I also just eyeball everything but I'll guesstimate how much I used in this batch for you. Also, this makes a ton, perfect for get togethers or potlucks! Feel free to half this recipe. We love potato salad so it's great to have around all week.

5 lbs russet potatoes, boiled whole, slightly cooled (peeled or unpeeled*)
1 dozen eggs, hard boiled, cooled (How-to)
1 C celery, small dice
1 C dill pickles, small dice
1 small can sliced olives
1 onion, finely diced (I grated mine)
crushed garlic to taste
salt & pepper to taste
1 C mayo
1/4 C sour cream
1 TBL mustard
1/4 C milk (or to desired consistency)
paprika for garnish

-Cut warm potatoes into bite size pieces (fyi-doing so when potatoes are warm, helps them soak up the flavors of the salad better) place in a large bowl. Add in the diced celery, pickles, olives and onion. Carefully toss together.
-Separate the hard boiled egg white from the yolks. Dice up the whites and add to potato mixture (I use a potato masher for the whites).
-Mash up the yolks in a small separate bowl. Add mayo, sour cream, mustard, milk, garlic, salt and pepper to the yolks. Stir well. Adjust any liquids or seasonings if needed.
Pour over potato mixture and carefully fold into to combine. Sprinkle with paprika is desired. Refrigerate 6-8 hours for flavors to combine.

Psst! Watch this neat trick* on how to peel a boiled potato from Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island! I tried it for this recipe, and it sort of worked for me. I forgot the ice bath! I did have to peel pieces off and some potatoes broke righ tin half while trying to peel it, but it was pretty easy!

Then I found this on how to peel a hard boiled egg! I hate peeling eggs for deviled eggs and they get all torn apart! I may have to try this.

I'm bringing this to share at Tina's



enjoy,

BBQ Sauce, Pulled Pork, Baked Beans and Coleslaw

See what happens when you watch too much food tv! Since you can't always get what they're having, you improvise and make it yourself. I had been watching some of those BBQ pit shows, you know, the real deal BBQ food. Well I don't live in the BBQ South or have a smoker, so what I did was crock pot it. haha.

I did a pork butt roast seasoned with salt and pepper, a tiny bit of chicken broth and poured a tiny capful of liquid smoke over the roast. I let it cook on high for 1 hour then I poured a little BBQ sauce over it and set it on low for about 6 hours. When it was done, I shredded it into big pieces and tossed it with some more BBQ sauce. Put it on a bun and topped it with a little slaw! A side of beans finished the plate off and we all chowed it down.

This is my favorite BBQ sauce. It's found here and I blogged about it sometime ago.

Big Al's K.C. Bar-B-Q Sauce
-doubled, this makes 5 1/2 C.

2 cups ketchup
2 cups tomato sauce
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar
1/2 cup molasses
4 teaspoons hickory-flavored liquid smoke (a must!)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix together the ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, wine vinegar, molasses, liquid smoke and butter. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, celery seed, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to low, and simmer for up to 20 minutes. For thicker sauce, simmer longer, and for thinner, less time is needed. Sauce can also be thinned using a bit of water if necessary. Brush sauce onto any kind of meat during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

~my side note:
I let this one simmer for almost 1 hour. then used it the next day to let the flavors merry and thicken up even more.

I made up some coleslaw using this sauce recipe here. I have never eaten slaw on a pork sandwich, so I decided to just try it. YUM! It's great! I used a bag of ready to mix shredded coleslaw.

Country Coleslaw
as seen at Guilty Kitchen

1/2 head of green cabbage, shredded
2 large carrots, peeled and shredded
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. White wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
Fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 tsp salt

1. Combine cabbage and carrots in a large bowl.
2. Combine remaining ingredients in another bowl. Stirring until sugar is dissolved. Combine with cabbage and let stand for 30 minutes prior to devouring.
3. Serve as topping for pulled pork sandwiches, or as a side dish for another meal.

I also made up some of my Mom's Baked Beans. Soo soo good! You may half this recipe, since it makes 2 casseroles. I also figured using a bag of frozen peppers and onion mix, then dicing it up a little more was just easier.

2 (30 oz) cans pork and beans
1 Lb. bacon, cut into pieces
1 large white/yellow onion, diced*
1 large green bell pepper, diced*
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Cup ketchup
3/4 Cup brown sugar
1/4 Cup molasses

Combine all ingredients and put into 2 round casserole dishes sprayed with nonstick spray. Cover and bake at 325' for at least 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Undercover for last 30 minutes. These will thicken over time too.

I am sharing this at:



enjoy,