PinkPetunias

The Best Red Potato Salad Recipe

For Ellie's birthday party, more on that later, I wanted some potato salad and since I had an entire bag of red potatoes sitting around I searched for a recipe that would use them. I would love to say I made the potato salad but I am thrilled that when things got a little, ok a lot crazy, my friend Tammy took over the kitchen and got all the food done. Here is what she did with the potatoes.

The Best Red Potato Salad Ever Recipe

Ingredients
5 lb bag of red potatoes, washed, skin on and cut into bite sized chunks
5 hard boiled eggs
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 1/2 - 2 cups light mayonnaise
2 teaspoon celery seed
2 teaspoon sea salt
dill (optional)

Directions
1. Boil potatoes until done, drain and move to a large mixing bowl.
2. Mix together the mayonnaise, salt, celery seed and dill in a small bowl.
3. Peel and chop the eggs.
4. Add sauce mix, eggs and green onions to the potatoes and toss. It is best to use your hands here for good mixing, or so Tammy says. :) 

This was intended to be served cold but once we tasted it while it was still warm, it was a unanimous decision to serve it as is. It was the right choice. This really was an outstanding recipe. Sorry I do not have any pictures, maybe next time.  

Dinner tonight, Black Bean Soup Recipe

A while back I made this black bean recipe and it was good but last night I tried a new one and man-oh-man, it was 100 times better than the first one. This one is thicker and much more flavorful. 

 

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup diced white onion
3/4 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
5 cloves of garlic minced
4 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups of chicken broth 
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
sour cream (optional)
diced onion (optional)
shredded cheese (optional)

Directions

1. In a dutch oven, cook onion, celery, carrots and green peppers in oil until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
2. While the veggies are cooking, take 4 cups of the black beans and 2 cups of the broth and blend until smooth in food processor or blender.
3. Add garlic to the pot and cook 2 more minutes, stirring constantly so the garlic does not get over cooked.
4. Add bean mixture, remaining broth, vinegar, chili powder, cayenne, cumin and salt to the pot and stir well. The soup will be very thin at this point.
5. Bring the soup to a full boil and reduce the heat to keep it at a low rolling boil.
6. Allow the soup to cook down without a lid for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally so the beans do not stick to the pot and burn.
7. Serve and top with onion, cheese and/or sour cream.

Enjoy, I know we loved this one!

Dinner tonight, New Orleans Style Shrimp and Rice Recipe

I had to share this recipe with you. It is not a go-to recipe for me but for the life of me I do not know why. It is a great recipe and not difficult or time consuming. Each time I have it, I tell myself I will make it more and then I just forget. I think I need to print this post and put it on the fridge to remind me to make it more. 

New Orleans Style Shrimp and Rice

Ingredients

1 stick butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
2 green peppers cut into 1/4 inch thick strips
1 onion cut in half and then into 1/4 inch thick half rings
2 celery stalks cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
3 tomatoes chopped
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with the excess liquid drained
2 cups of chicken broth
2 teaspoons diced parsley
2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 - 1 teaspoon of hot sauce (I used Tabasco)
1 lb of large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I keep frozen raw shrimp in the freezer for this)
Cooked white rice

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Add flour and stir until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add green peppers, onion, celery and cook until softened, about 7 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, broth, parsley, seasoning, salt, and hot sauce.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until veggies are soft and the sauce has thickened from the reduction, about 30 minutes.
6. Add shrimp and cook until the shrimp is pink, about 4-5 minutes. 
7. Serve over rice. 

Enjoy!

An end to a great day, chicken pot pie (recipe)

Today was a really good day. Rob and Ellie got up while I slept in. Once I decided to get up, we had chocolate chip pancakes. Ellie helped and there were far too many chips in the mix. They were much more like dessert but, hey, she had fun. 

We played in her house box (that we made yesterday from a new dishwasher box), played with play-doh, did markers (that is what she calls coloring with markers), read some stories and finally took a little nap. After her nap, Rob watched football and Ellie and I went to Kid's day at Ladew Topiary Gardens. 

While we were there, she got to paint rocks, get a butterfly painted on her arm, ate candy, saw fish and frogs, danced and sang with a group of kids, colored a paper fish and did a little pretend fishing. After that, we went to the grocery store, where she got to pick out a balloon because momma refused to stand in line for 30 m-i-n-u-t-e-s for a balloon figure at Kid's day. Really, what toddler can wait that long? 

Anyhow, after we got home, she watched the last few minutes of the game with Rob while I made a chicken pot pie, recipe below. As soon as it was done, we ate dinner and then took a walk and pulled Ellie in her wagon. We came home and had ice cream cones and coffee and then did the whole bath/bedtime stories routine and she went right to sleep. 

I wish every Sunday could be this good. I hope you had a good one too.

Anyhow, here is the easiest recipe for the greatest comfort food, that is not a dessert. 

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

1 package of roll out pie crust
1/3 cup of butter
1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped
1/3 cup of flour
1/2 cup of milk
1 and 3/4 cups of chicken broth (I use homemade but you can use can)
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cups of frozen soup veggies or fresh ones diced
2-3 cups of cooked chicken (I cook a whole chicken and use for 2 meals)
salt
pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Unroll one pie crust, place in glass or stone pie dish and poke 5 to 6 times with a fork. Set aside.
3. Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat.
4. Add onion and cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
5. Add flour and mix well.
6. Add chicken broth. (I try to use the broth from when I boiled the chicken. I usually add ground sage and bay leaves to the water.)
7. Add milk.
8. Add crushed up bouillon cubes.
9. Cook until bubbling and thickened.
10. Add veggies and chicken.
11. Pour into pie pan.
12. Unroll remaining crust and place on top of pie.
13. Trim and crimp the edges. 
14. Bake for 35 minutes. The top will be nice and browned and crisp. 
15. Set aside for 20-30 minutes to allow for the pie to set up a little. Trust me, it is too hot to eat anyway. I know some will try to immediately eat it and first, they will make a mess of the pie and second, they will burn the crap out their mouths.

Enjoy!

Homemade popsicle recipes

While catching up on my blog reads, I came across this great list of homemade popsicle recipes over at Tipnut. The banana-blueberry swirl and mocha flavors caught my attention. Stop over and browse the list for a little last minute summer flavor.

Banana-Blueberry Swirl Popsicles, Martha Stewart

It was a Happy Father's Day

I hope you all had a nice Father's Day. I know we did.

 
Rob and Ellie
(His sister Krissie took the pic when she was in town a few weeks ago.)

Rob's dad and Aunt Theresa came over for dinner. Thankfully we did not have any rain...what a shocker! I grilled a beef tenderloin with potatoes and onions on the grill. We had corn on the cob and a great salad. I thought you might all like the recipe so here it is.

Mexican Chopped Salad (picture by Aunt Theresa)

Ingredients

Dressing:
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 c. lime juice (approximately 3 limes)
1/8 c. orange juice (approximately 2 oranges)
1/4 c. canola oil
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1 shallot, finely diced

Salad:
2 heads of iceberg lettuce, chopped
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 large yellow bell peppers, diced
1 red onion, diced
2 large firm but ripe avocados, peeled and cut into 1/2 in cubes
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

Directions
Mix all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and set aside for a couple of hours.

In a large bowl, toss the lettuce and cilantro so it is evenly mixed. Spoon out into a shallow serving bowl. Take the remaining ingredients and place on the salad separately. I did mine in rows across the salad but you could layer it or put the ingredients in mounds. Who knows. Just do what looks good.  

Drizzle the salad dressing over the entire salad.

How cute is this picture? (picture by Aunt Theresa)

After the huge meal we had a great pie for dessert. Thanks to Carrie over at Dixie Mango for the idea! Based on her post, I would call it Poor Man's Margarita Pie. It was so yummy!

I used a small box of lime jello (even though the jello site says there is margarita flavored jello, I could not find if after going to three - yes, I said three - stores) and instead of using just water, I used 1/2 cup of Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix and 1/2 a cup of water. I also topped it with spray whipped cream ('cause that is how I roll - I couldn't help but say that). It really was great.

Check it out, Tipnut

Remember this recipe? It was mentioned on Tipnut.com. Thanks for checking out my blog! I wish I knew how she found me.

Be sure to go check out the site. She really has some great tips, like how to grow 100 lbs of potatoes in 4 square feet. Who doesn't want to do that? No, really. Who doesn't want to do that? What is not to love about potatoes and now you can grow a lot in a very small space. She also tells readers how to clean their house on the cheap. Today, we are all about quick fixes and products that will take less time but cost more and fill up our landfills. Save some money, save the planet and have a really clean house.

Thanks Tipnut! I even subscribed to your tip emails.

Dinner Tonight, Margherita Pizza Recipe

Tonight I made a house staple - Margherita Pizza. We used to get this pizza every time we went to Bertucci's so I decided to make it at home. I think I did a great job of recreating such a simple, classic recipe.

Margherita Pizza Recipe

Ingredients

3/4 cup of water
1 tbs oil
1 tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs dry milk
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 tsp active dry yeast
spray cooking oil
1 tbs olive oil
course salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 oz.), drained
1/4 - 1/2 cup of your favorite tomato pasta sauce (I use a Spicy Tomato and Basil)
8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 chopped fresh basil
1 tsp corn meal

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place the first 7 ingredients in your bread machine and select the pizza dough cycle (yep, that easy). When the cycle ends, remove from the machine and place dough into a very lightly sprayed large bowl. Cover and let rise for another hour or two.

3. Flour work area and roll out the pizza dough to fit your pizza pan (or cookie sheet).

4. Sprinkle pan with corn meal and place pizza crust dough in the pan.

5. Approximately every 2 inches, poke the dough with a fork and then drizzle with olive oil and brush to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

6. Bake for 5 minutes and remove from oven.

7. Cover the pizza crust with tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.

8. Return to oven and bake for approximately 10 - 15 minutes. The cheese will be bubbly and starting to brown.

9. Sprinkle with fresh basil, cut and serve.

Dinner Last Night, Smothered Pork Chops with Cheese Grits Recipe

How lucky am I? Rob made another great dinner last night. I could completely get used to this royal treatment. This time he made pork chops smothered with caralized onions, cheddar cheese grits and steamed green beans. The entire meal was perfect!

 

Not the greatest picture but Rob could not wait to eat so I grabbed my cel and snapped a shot so you would know he really did make it.

Smothered Pork Chops with Cheese Grits

Ingredients

2 2/3  cups  water
2/3  cup  uncooked quick-cooking grits
1/4  cup  (1 ounce) preshredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2  teaspoon  salt, divided
1/8  teaspoon  garlic powder
Dash of ground red pepper
4  (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops, trimmed
1/2  teaspoon  garlic powder
1/8  teaspoon  black pepper
3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
2  teaspoons  butter
1  cup  chopped onion
1/2  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4  cup  water

Directions

Bring water to a boil; stir in grits. Reduce heat, and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder, and red pepper.

While grits cook, sprinkle pork with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and black pepper. Dredge in flour. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and onion; sauté 6 minutes, turning pork over after 3 minutes. Add broth and water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes. Serve with grits.

Dinner Last Night, Chicken with Southwestern Salsa Recipe

Last night Rob made one of the best dinners and I thought I would share the recipe. He found it on Cooking Light's website and it will become a staple recipe for us. It was so good that I ate the remaining salsa with a spoon!

 

Chicken with Southwestern Salsa

Ingredients

1  tablespoon  canola oil, divided
1  teaspoon  ground cumin, divided
3/4  teaspoon  ground coriander, divided
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
4  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2  cup  prechopped onion
1  teaspoon  bottled minced garlic
1/3  cup  chopped plum tomato
1/4  cup  chopped fresh cilantro
2  tablespoons  fresh lime juice
1  (15 1/2-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1  (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added whole kernel corn, drained

Directions

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Combine 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon coriander, salt, black pepper, and red pepper; sprinkle mixture evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; cook 7 minutes on each side or until done.

2. While chicken cooks, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add garlic to pan; sauté 30 seconds. Transfer onion mixture to a large bowl; add remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin, remaining 1/4 teaspoon coriander, tomato, and remaining ingredients to onion mixture, tossing well. Serve with chicken.