Dilly Dip Potato Salad

I've never been much of an experimenter in the kitchen; I have always been pretty dependent upon other people's expertise, cooking wise. That said, I've been getting braver in the last year or so, and today's recipe is representative of that. I adapted two different recipes for this potato salad, which I'll be taking to a party tomorrow. The first recommended baking the potatoes, rather than boiling them, so that's what I did. The second recipe is my own, which usually calls for mayo (Miracle W and mustard); I decided to go really crazy and use a local product that I'd never tried before: Let's Get Dilly dip mix, from Chics-n-Dip.

"Specializing in creating zesty chip & veggie dips, sweet cheesecake dips, meat rubs & bread mixes," Chics-n-Dip is a small Wisconsin company run by two women who work their tails off to offer more than thirty delicious dips and more. My personal favorites are The Villain, I'm Too Sexy for My Beer Belly, and Bling for Carrots; but that's only because I like them so much (as do my guests) that I haven't had the chance to try the rest! I'd never tried the Let's Get Dilly Dip, but since the others are so great, I figured it would be too, and I was right! The directions are simple: mix with one cup each of sour cream (or plain yogurt) and mayo, and you're in business.

I mixed the dip, chilled it, and then prepped the rest:

1 cup chopped celery

1.5 cups chopped cucumber

1 cup chopped dill pickles (my favorite ingredient)

3/4 cup chopped red onion

3 hard boiled eggs, chopped

yellow mustard

1 cup real mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream 

1 pkg Chics-n-Dip Let's Get Dilly dip mix

I used this much mustard:

[I had my ingredients in bags because I prepped them ahead and put them in the fridge.]

1 5-lb bag of potatoes

Poke holes in and bake the potatoes (whole) at 350 degrees for an hour or until soft. 

Cut them in half and let them cool enough to handle.

Remove the skin (or keep it, if that's your style) and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Place on a tray and chill about an hour.

(This helps the bites keep their shape and keeps the dressing cold during mixing.)

Mix everything together,

add salt if desired, and enjoy!

I enjoyed some before it even had time to "get happy," 

and I can't wait to eat my fair share tomorrow!

It has just the right amount of dill in it, and the crunch and zing of the pickles...YUM!

Spinach and Quinoa Mediterranean Salad

I recently made this delicious, healthy salad and plan to make it again, so here you go!

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Ingredients:

Dressing:
3 tbls freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 tbls red wine vinegar
1/2 tbls olive oil, and a pinch of oregano

Salad Stuff:
1 cup cooked quinoa (I cooked mine in chicken broth.)
3 cups fresh baby spinach (missing from my photo above, btw; Mr.4444 was picking some up)
1 red pepper, diced
1 cup of chopped cucumber (missing from Pop Sugar's recipe, as well as my photo above)
10 grape or cherry tomatoes
10 sliced kalamata olives
1/4 cup feta cheese

First, mix the dressing ingredients while you cook the quinoa.

In a medium-sized bowl, gently mix the spinach, quinoa, and half of the dressing.

  

Add the other vegetables.

  

Fold the feta cheese in gently.

Pretty and delicious!

A few years ago, a woman took the time to leave a comment on Mrs.4444 Cooks, chewing me out for sharing so many unhealthy recipes. I found that hilarious (and still do), as if I was twisting people's arms to make unhealthy food. Whoever she was, she'd be proud of me today; this recipe is relatively healthy; the dressing is deliciously lower in fat than a typical salad dressing. There's plenty of fiber, protein, and potassium here. The olives are 20% of your sodium for the day, but check out the vitamin content!

There are about 300 calories per 2-cup serving (This makes about six cups worth.) and the olives provide a fair amount of monounsaturated fat (the good kind!). As mentioned previously, this salad is delicious, and I look forward to making it again!

California Quinoa Salad

On a recent trip to Minneapolis, I was thrilled to visit Whole Foods, the deli of which is always a highlight of my visit, as I love their salads. (I also love that they let you sample them.) On that particular visit, I fell in love with their California Quinoa salad, made with red quinoa, veggies and fruits and some type of light dressing that tasted guilt-free. Sadly, though, the guilt returned when I saw the price sticker on the pound-and-a-half container when I got it home--$13! I resigned myself to not buying it again (which is easy, since we don't have a Whole Foods where I live) and just enjoying the salad. Then I remembered Pinterest! This recipe is inspired by this pin and this pin.

For a no-nonsense version of this recipe, click here. For the nutrition facts, scroll to the bottom of this post.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups of vegetable broth (or water)
2 cups uncooked quinoa (I used red; it's pretty!)

1/2 cup dried fruit of your choosing [I switched the pictured raisins out (too old) for Door County cranberries. You could use cherries, too.]

First, put the broth, quinoa, and dried fruit in a saucepan and heat it to boiling over medium heat.

By the way, I didn't have any broth and didn't want to use plain water, so I made my own broth! (So exciting!) All you have to do is throw some veggies (any, really) into a pot of water, season it with salt and pepper, bring it to a boil and simmer for at least an hour, then strain it.

And now, back to our show!  Once the quinoa mixture is boiling, lower the heat and cook (covered) 15-20 minutes or until the water has been absorbed. To be completely honest, after 20 minutes, my quinoa was still a little soupy, but I liked its texture, so I just drained it and moved on.)

While that's cooking, prep the rest of the delicious, healthy ingredients:

2 mangos, peeled and diced (I only used one, but will use two next time.)
1 red pepper, diced
1/4 cup finely-chopped red onion
1 cup shelled edamame
3 tablespoons finely-chopped cilantro
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds (I just chopped mine.)
2 limes (zest and juice)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 orange, peeled, skin removed, and diced (This will be my addition next time.)

Don't let the coconut scare you; I couldn't even taste it.

Do yourself a favor and zest the limes before you cut and juice them! (I forgot.)

To me, the mixture looked like Christmas candy of some kind. Yum...

When the quinoa mixture is somewhat cooled, mix everything together, and voila!

While typing this, I decided I would add another mango and maybe an orange, 

because I have a sweet tooth, but it was delicious, all the same, 

and I'll definitely be making this again.

Serve warm or cold.

Makes about three quarts.

Believe it or not, I had no clue how to cut a mango, 

so I found this video, which made it seem simple.

(Keyword: seem)

P.S. Guessing that this recipe makes 14 cups (one cup per serving), 

I analyzed it via SparkPeople and got the following result:

Homemade Pesto

Does this look amazing, or what?!

It tasted amazing, too, with its wonderful mix of flavors and textures; I just love pesto, and when it comes to recipe payback for the amount of work put in, this one really packs a punch. It's made with six simples ingredients that bring plain pasta to life and make you feel like a gourmet cook! I found this gem, years ago, in my The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 cup packed with basil leaves

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts (or walnuts), chopped finely

1/3 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese (and no, you can't just use the canned stuff--the horror!)

1-2 minced garlic cloves

1 tsp salt

One method is to throw everything into a food processor and chop until it meets your pesto-texture preference. Another way is to simply chop the basil and nuts and then mix everything together. Then mix it with freshly cooked pasta, use it on homemade chicken pesto pizza, or whatever your heart desires. This recipe freezes beautifully; I packed a frozen container in our camping cooler and served it a few days later. If using that method, allow it to thaw to room temperature before mixing with your pasta. (There is no need for it to be hot when you put it on hot pasta.) If it's too cold and you don't have time to let it get to room temperature, set it in a pan of warm water while you boil the pasta.

This year, I used my own basil, grown in my garden. Next year, I plan to plant several plants and whip up enough to freeze and give as gifts--It's that delicious. I'd love to hear how you like it! :)

Mango Slaw

This recipe was offered to me by 93-year-old Cousin Ed, who assured me it is one of his popular recipes. If he hadn't insisted that I wouldn't even taste the sauerkraut*, I would have politely accepted it and dropped it in the recycling bin, but Ed also shared his wonderful Chicken Pasta Salad, so I had to trust him.

Ingredients:
1 15-oz can sauerkraut (preferably Frank's)
1 cup sugar or artificial sweetener
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 whole mango, chopped (or one large jar) Ed says jarred mango is the best; it's nice and juicy. I agree.)

I took the simple ingredients with my family on a camping trip, figuring it would be easy to assemble. It was. First, drain the jarred mango and sauerkraut.

I measured the sugar at home. It was my first time using sugar that wasn't refined, so it's brown, "in the raw." (It tastes like sugar.haha)

Dice the mango and celery.

Mix everything together. I did this in a Ziploc bag, which worked beautifully.

 I prepped the salad in the morning, for dinner that night. It turned quite juicy by dinner, 

so I used a slotted spoon to serve it, 

along with pan-fried walleye, little red potatoes, and marinated veggies.

You may have noticed the smallish portion on my plate (I was nervous!).

However, I'm very happy to report that Ed was absolutely right;

this salad is a winner, and every one of my family members said that I should make it again,

so it doesn't get better than that.

*Nothing against sauerkraut, of course; I adore it with spareribs and wouldn't dare a bratwurst without it, but in a salad?! I'm so glad I bravely ventured into this recipe :)

Fattoush Pasta Salad

When I first found this prize-winning salad, I wasn't sure my family would like it, even though everyone reviewing it raved about it; it contained ingredients we've never been drawn to, such as radishes and "Greek Seasoning" (whatever that is). However, I'm very happy to report we loved it! I made it as a trial-run for a potential graduation party salad, loved it, and then made it again for the party.

I found the recipe via this Pinterest pin. I was a little put-off about the number of ingredients (Was this recipe complicated?), but it's actually very simple, so don't be intimidated. Just get your prep dishes ready :)

For a printer friendly version of this recipe, click here.

Ingredients:
In my photo, you'll see portions for quadrupling the recipe, since I made it for a graduation party. Missing from the photo are the mint and the red onion, which Mr.4444 was shopping for when I took the photo:

1 box Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad Classic pasta salad mix

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsps Greek seasoning
the seasoning packet from the Suddenly Salad mix

The Rest:
1 1/2 cup coarsely-chopped cucumbers (one good-sized but skinny cuke)
1 cup coarsely-chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup thinly-sliced zucchini
1/3 cup thinly-sliced radishes
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 cups garlic-flavored croutons or pita chips
1 tbls finely chopped, fresh mint leaves

Mix the seasoning packet, olive oil, lemon juice, and Greek seasoning in a small bowl. Set aside.

Cook the pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the remaining ingredients. When I made this, I didn't have any mint, so I left it out, but I look forward to trying it next time.

Lettuce

Grape Tomatoes

Cukes

Zucchini

Radishes

I just got these stainless bowls (Pampered Chef--killer deal because I sold a bunch of stuff in a book party) the day before the party, and I am totally in love!! Notice the measurements inside the bowl; that made prepping a lot easier, especially since I was making so much.

Feta Cheese

Parsley

(Don't forget the red onion and the mint.)

Garlic-flavored croutons or Pita Chips

I broke them into small pieces.

Throw everything together.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll confess that I mixed mine in this:

In my defense, it was brand-new, and it is called Homer's "All-Purpose" Bucket.

Add the dressing. Stir.

and refrigerate "for at least an hour." I didn't have an hour the first time I made this, so we ate it right away and found it to be deliciously flavorful. I had some again the next day, and it was still wonderful. I brought party leftovers to work two days later, and people still raved about it, so it holds up well.

Reviewers of this recipe noted that croutons or pita chips get a little soggy after a while, but I didn't think that took away from the salad.

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As stated previously, I quadrupled this recipe for the party, and in case you're interested in doing the same, here are the amounts I ended up using:
3-4 skinny cukes
4 small, skinny zucchinis 

1 whole red onion
1 full head of Romaine lettuce
2 of the containers of grape tomatoes
3 4-oz containers of Feta cheese
2 bags of pita chips
1 bunch of parsley
1 bunch of radishes

This made more than enough for 50 guests.