Perfect Potato Salad

I must admit I don't love potato salad. I especially don't like the stuff you get pre-made at the store. But I tried this recipe the other night and really liked it, as did Jared and Caden. It was the perfect mix of ingredients. It's a pretty basic potato salad recipe. I found it at allrecipes.com.
4 Potatoes
4 Eggs
1/2 stalk celery, chopped
1/4 cup sweet relish (I used dill relish and Jared wanted even more relish...)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
Paprika

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes; I like to cook mine in vegetable or chicken broth for a bit more flavor... I would recommend it so your potatoes aren't too bland.

2. Drain Potatoes and after they've cooled, chop into bite size pieces. (They're much easier to chop once they've cooled...)

3. Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil; cover, remove from heat, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water; peel and chop.

4. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, eggs, celery, sweet relish, garlic, mustard, mayonnaise and salt and pepper. Gently mix together and serve warm. (I served mine cold and it was still good!) Give it a nice dusting of paprika to top it all off!

Strawberry Whipped Sensation

I made this the other night and it was delish! I got it off the Kraftfoods website and they even have a video to walk you through it. It was a bit like fresh strawberry ice cream. Oh, and I accidentally added extra lemon juice and it was great! So I'm including my lemon juice measurements... I can't imagine doing it with less. Enjoy!

4 cups fresh strawberries, divided

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 c lemon juice (the original recipe only calls for 1/4 cup but I thought 1/2 cup was perfect!)

1 8 oz. tub whipped topping, thawed and divided

16 Oreo cookies, chopped finely chopped (original recipe only calls for 8... but I thought it needed more)

1 Tbsp. melted butter

LINE 9x5-inch loaf pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Make sure there's enough hanging over the sides, that you can cover the pan with it. Mash 2 cups of the strawberries in large bowl. Add condensed milk, juice and 2 cups of the whipped topping; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. (I actually used 3 mini bread pans and gave 2 away... made for a very pretty gift...)

MIX chopped cookies and butter. Spoon over whipped topping mixture. Cover with ends of foil and gently (make sure it's really gently... I pressed too hard even when I thought I was being gentle) press cookie mixture into whipped topping mixture. Freeze 6 hours or until firm.

INVERT dessert onto serving plate when ready to serve; remove pan and foil. Spread remaining whipped topping onto top and sides of dessert. Slice remaining 2 cups strawberries; arrange over dessert. Store leftovers in freezer.

Alfredo Sauce

I needed an alfredo sauce the other night and found this one (I think it was at cooks.com). It is fabulous!! Very fattening but so good!!

1/4 cup butter
1 cup cream
1 clove garlic, minced finely
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Melt butter over medium low heat. Add the cream. Simmer 5 minutes. Add garlic and parmesan. Whisk quickly. Stir in parsley and serve.


Now parmesan does not tend to melt very well. So I used a 5 cheese Italian blend which worked perfectly.

Lemon Milkshake

3 cups chilled buttermilk
1/2 cup lemon juice
pinch salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 t grated lemon rind
2 small scoops of ice cream

Combine in blender.


That was the recipe Alan used, but it wasn't very lemony and it was more of an ice milk consistency than a shake. So we're still experimenting. We add lemon yogurt and about an 1/8 slice of lemon, rind and all (thanks to a Vitamix we can do this!). We also add more ice cream.