Momma's Potato Salad

So last time I blogged I said the next post would be my mom's potato salad which I LOVE. Perfect for any barbeque or even if you just want to surprise someone with your amazing cooking skills, I promise you'll be asked to bring it to the next picnic too!




Momma's Potato Salad

Ingredients

-2.5 pounds of potatoes
-4 eggs
-1 cup mayonaise
-3 tbsp mustard (I like deli but whatever you prefer)
-2 celery stalks
-2 tbsp sweet relish
-2 tbsp salt
-2 tbsp mayonaise
-1 tbsp pepper
-parsley, onion powder, garlic powder
-paprika

Preparation

Peel the potatoes, place in a large stock pot & fill with water. Bring the potatoes to a boil & boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender, not falling apart, but soft enough to stick a fork through. Drain the potatoes in order to cool enough to touch, I like to add a little cold water to cool faster. Place the 4 eggs in another pot & fill with water. When the water begins to boil turn on the timer for 8-10 minutes, afterward dump out water & refill with cold water to cool down the eggs.

Cube the potatoes, I like to make the cubes smaller than larger. Place the potatoes in a bowl and add 1 cup of mayo. Stir together, coating the potatoes with the mayo. Add 2 tbsp of sweet relish and the 3 tbsp of mustard to the mixture & stir together.

Chop the 2 stalks of celery into small pieces and also add the egg, chopped. I like to crumble the yolks and add it also to the salad but if you'd prefer to use less yolk it will still be fine. To be able to properly mix the ingredients together add the extra 2 tbsp of mayonaise. (Just in case you aren't a huge fan of celery, I like to leave it out, or what I did this time was boil it for a couple minutes so it is more tender, less crisp.)

The last part is seasoning your potato salad. Add 2 tbsp of salt, 1 tbsp of pepper and mix. Then add a little garlic powder, onion powder, and parsley and mix again. If you don't want the little extra flavor you can leave it out or add more to your liking. Before you serve sprinkle the top with paprika. And Enjoy!

Perfect Sides for the Perfect Meal

Before I go getting all crazy, these aren't the ONLY sides you can use, but are some of my favorites that I add to my meals often. I will be adding more sides later. I'm new to this blog posting stuff so I'm trying to keep up. I could write and write about food but I want to give you guys the best! So here are a few of my favorite sides because they are soooo good! Speaking of being soooo good, I will soon be posting the yummiest addition to any barbeque my Mom's Famous Potato Salad. I say famous because it is that good period.

So I'm going to start with something very simple. I love love love mushrooms, all kinds, I haven't found one that made me say "ew!" I like to use sliced 'shrooms but if you like them whole it's all up to you!

Spicy 'Shroom Toppers

Ingredients

- sliced mushrooms, or whole, I like portabella, baby bella or the everyday mushrooms packaged at the grocer's
- about 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine, etc.
- teaspoon crushed red pepper
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- salt and pepper
- dried mustard
- parsley

I told you this was simple, you really don't need any special ingredients

Preparation:

Put the 2 tablespoons of butter into a small to medium skillet & turn the heat to low. Rinse the mushrooms of any leftover dirt (or other). Place the mushrooms in the pan with the butter, mix around lightly. Place a lid over the pan and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove lid & stir the melted butter & mushrooms. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley & dried mustard. Mix the mushrooms again & let cook for a couple more mintes or until the mushrooms are soft and the butter is thickening. Add the teaspoon of crushed red pepper 7 stir, cook for 2 more minutes & serve.

I like to place these on top of steaks. They add a great flavor & a little bite. MY most favorite steak to eat with these is porterhouse because you get the best of both steak worlds, filet mignon and t-bone, yummy!

My next side I love love love is Grilled Zucchini. Again, there aren't too many ingredients, most are just seasonings.

Grilled Zucchini

Ingredients

- 4 Zucchini, sliced long ways
- Olive Oil (I like extra virgin!)
- Salt & Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Parsley
- Basil
- Paprika

Preparation

Peel and slice the zucchini long ways, try to make the slices fairly thin. (Zucchini skin tends to be pretty bitter and could leave a bad taste in your mouth, I suggest to always peel the skin of zucchini) Lay them out on a pan or aluminum foil brush each piece or pour olive oil over the laid out pieces. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, basil, and finally paprika.

Now, if you don't have a grill, let's say you live in the city, like myself, you can make these just as easily in the oven or toaster oven even. Just place the tray with the zucchini seasoned & oiled in the oven on Broil for about 15 minutes or until they start to brown, turning the food halfway through. The zucchini will get soft & start falling apart so be careful. Some may get crispy, this usually happens to the ones laying on the outsides of the pan. This is all fine because either way they taste amazing, I promise!

If you have a grill, its just as easy. I find it better to use one of the grilling racks so the zucchini doesn't fall straight through the wire rack. Cook the same, flipping the zucchini often to ensure even cooking. Remove from heat & Enjoy!

Oven Roasted Carrots

Ingredients

- about 5 Carrots
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel the Carrots & cut off both ends. I like to slice the carrots into 3 equal pieces & then slice long ways OR you can just get a bag of baby carrots, may take longer time in oven. Rip off about a foot or longer piece of Aluminum Foil. place the carrots in a pile in the middle of the foil. Cup the foil around the carrots, almost like a bowl. Pour oil over the carrots. Add salt, mix around & close top of foil over carrots.

Place the carrots with the top of the foil closed over in the oven. Cook for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the carrots begin to get tender. Open the top of the foil exposing the carrots. Mix the carrots around in the oil & let cook longer in the oven. Check often to see if carrots begin to brown slightly. Add salt to your liking & enjoy. I feel that seasonings aren't something that should be measured unless by the chef. I like to cook to my liking, some may not enjoy certan strong flavors so make sure YOU like what you are serving, it will help.

The Truth about Beef Stew & a Great Recipe too!

The truth is, you can make beef stew from a bunch of left overs in the fridge that normally would get thrown away! Another truth is you can put just about anything in beef stew as long as you have some of the main ingredients: Beef and Beef Broth. Now I don't mean ground beef, I mean some sort of steak. Often I use left over steak from previous meals of the week. Today I used the sliced steak used for stir fry or fajitas. Of course there are vegetable essentials such as carrots, potatoes...and actually any other vegetable can be substitued for another. Heck, maybe even the carrots and potatoes can be substituted if you aren't a fan. But one thing to remember is, it's so simple! Honestly, I don't even measure half the time, I find sometimes when I'm adding ingredients I add to my liking, I stop when I think that's enough of that ingredient. Depending on what flavors you like more you add more or less of certain ones. I promise you, if you follow simple directions you can have a great stew brewing on your stove in minutes.

Lacy's Beef Stew

Ingredients

- Beef - about 1 to 2 lbs. cut into cubes
- Olive Oil - I prefer Extra Virgin
- 8 oz. sliced & cubed mushrooms
- 3 or 4 carrots sliced
- 1/2-1 chopped onion
-3 or 4 stalks celery sliced
- 6-8 cups of beef broth
- a couple fresh basil leaves
- 2-3 cloves of garlic- sliced
- 2-4 half baked potatoes cubed (amount depends on your potato liking, I LOVE potatoes)(to half bake put in microwave covered by wet paper towel for about 8 minutes & let stand - too hot to cube right out of the microwave)
- 1 cup frozen peas (thawed)
- salt, pepper, oregano
- 1 cup of rice - cooked (optional)
- parmesan cheese (optional)
- about 5 tablespoons of gravy or sauce thickener (I used Gold Medal Wondra, but you can also use flour)(amount may vary on how thick you want your stew)


Preparation
First start browning the cubed beef in a large stockpot, or one of the big spaghetti pots if you talk like me. Throw in about 2 tablespoons of the gravy thickener or flour, toss the 2 together. Then add some salt and some pepper I'd say about a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper. Pour in 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Let cook for a couple minutes, but not too long about 3 minutes.

Add sliced & cubed mushrooms, sliced celery, and chopped onion. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently until onion is tender & beef is browned. Add the Beef Broth, depending on how much stew you want your beef and vegetables to have you can use 6 cups for a thicker sauce that surrounds your beef and vegetables OR you could use 8 cups and have a slightly thick stew that covers your beef & vegetables, it's all up to your taste buds. Cover and let simmer for 25 minutes.

Add carrots, basil leaves, and cubed half baked potatoes. Reduce the heat a little, cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes stirring ocassionally. Or until vegetables and meat are tender. Add the peas and rice cook for 10 more minutes. To thicken the sauce add 3 more tablespoons of the sauce thickener or flour as well as some grated parmesan cheese. Flavor with salt, pepper & oregano.

Pour into bowls and garnish the top with a bit more of the parmesan cheese. I like to serve my beef stew with 1 or 2 pieces of buttered toast - such as an italian loaf or sourdough bread. Enjoy!!

If there are any questions regarding this recipe feel free to email me at lacyorama@gmail.com