pickles or pickle-less??????

how do you prefer your potato salad??? here are our 2 favorite potato salad recipes. 1 with pickles, 1 without. you choose:) leave us a comment & let you know how you take yours!

{Mom’s Overnight Picnic Potato Salad}

10-12 medium red potatoes

1 sweet onion, chopped

1/2 cup italian salad dressing

3 large dill pickle, cut into chunks

6 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup miracle whip

1/2 cup sour cream

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Drain & cut into large chunks. Place potatoes into a large bowl. Add onion & italian dressing. Carefully toss together until well combined, try not to break up potatoes. Cover with plastic wrap & refrigerate overnight.

The next day:

In a small bowl stir together mayo, miracle whip & sour cream. Set aside.

Add pickles & eggs to marinated potatoes. Fold in mayo mix & mix well. Serve immediately.

{Kesley’s Pickle-less Potato Salad}

12 large red potatoes

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 cup diced celery

1 tsp. salt

6 eggs, hard boiled & chopped

~Dressing~

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1 tsp. cornstarch

1- 5 oz. can evaporated milk

1 tsp. yellow mustard

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup butter

In a very large pot, boil potatoes in salted until fork tender.

While potatoes are cooking- whisk together 2 eggs, sugar, cornstarch & salt in a medium sauce pan. Stir in vinegar, milk & mustard. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thick, about 10 minutes. Remove form heat & stir in butter. Refrigerate until cool. Stir in mayonnaise.

Drain, cool & cube. Transfer to a large bowl toss with celery, onion & salt to taste. Add hard boiled eggs. Stir in cooled dressing. Lightly stir until all combined. Cover & chill for several hours.

holy crap... did you think i died???

i officially will the award for the biggest blog slacker:) this summer has just been CrAzY!!! no excuses though, i have been a slacker & hopefully anyone who still actually checks this blog doesn't hate me;). here is a tasty classic we have been making a lot this summer. Enjoy!

{kacy's asian chicken salad}

1- 16 oz. bag coleslaw

5 green onions, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

3 chicken breasts, cooked & cubed

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/4 sesame seeds

1 cup cashews

2 packages Chicken flavor Ramen noodles, uncooked & crushed, seasoning reserved

{Ginger Sesame Dressing}

3/4 cup oil

1/4 cup sugar

2 TBSP rice vinegar

3 TBSP soy sauce

3/4 tsp. dark sesame oil

2 packages Ramen noodle seasoning packet

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. minced fresh ginger

1 tsp. dry mustard

Scatter almonds, cashews, sesame seeds & crushed uncooked ramen noodles on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8- 10 minutes. Watch closely so they don’t burn. Remove from oven & cool.

In a large bowl mix coleslaw, green & red peppers, onions & chicken. Stir until mixed.

In a separate bowl, mix all of the dressing ingredients. Whisk together until sugar is dissolved. Pour dressing over salad & mix well. Add cooled nut mix just before serving & toss one more time.

Raspberry Tapioca Jello salad

I thought for sure that I had posted this recipe before- but I came searching for it tonight and its not on here- I know I have brought it to Recipe Club- but knowing me- I never posted it:) And there is one that is similar to this recipe on our blog but not the same so I thought that I would post mine. I just made this for a funeral lunch in my ward today- and got an email saying what a hit it was and that everyone wants the recipe:) It is a perfect Summer Salad.
What I love about this salad- is that its SIMPLE and Delicious!! You can totally mix things up with this salad too- try different fruits and jellos (strawberry, peaches, mandarine orange, cranberry, etc...)- this past week I tried it with pina-colada jello and frozen pineapple- it was so yummy! Try it- I promise you won't regret it- and your kids will love it too!:) Happy Summer everyone!

3 cups water
1 3oz raspberry jello
1 3oz Cook and serve vanilla pudding
1 30z tapioca pudding
2 bags frozen raspberries
2 8oz cool whip

*In sauce pan heat water til almost boiling and stir in dry ingredients, make sure they dissolve and cook til comes to a full boil and get thick.(2 minutes)
When pudding mixture has cooled fold in fruit and put in fridge to cool. When cold, mix in cool whip and refridgerate over night or til set up. Enjoy!

jess' golden graham treats...

jess brought these to recipe club quite a while ago, & they are so simple & yummy! with school almost out, we all need to stock up on recipes to keep our little ones sweet & happy. also, this is a great one to let the little ones help out with.

{jess' golden graham treats}

1- 18 oz box Golden Graham cereal

1 bag mini-marshmallows

1 stick butter

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate chips

In a large pot over medium heat, melt together butter & marshmallows. Mix in cereal. Pour out & flatten onto a greased cookie sheet. In separate microwave safe bowls, on half power, melt chocolate chips in microwave. Cook 1 minute, stir & then melt again 30 seconds at a time. Drizzle melted chocolate, one flavor at a time, over treats.

** you can also substitute white chocolate chips instead of milk.

heather's root beer cookies...

with warming weather teasing us, outdoor cooking is just around the corner! this is such a great dessert for a potluck or any other summer occasion. don't for get end of school parties! these little babies are perfect for kids!!!

{picture courtesy of cafe johnsonia}

{Heather’s Root Beer Cookies}

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup margarine

1 egg

1/2 cup water

1 tsp. root beer extract

2 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix first three ingredients. Stir in water & root beer extract. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Refrigerate 1 hour. If dough is sticky, add a little flour. Roll into small balls & bake for 6-8 minutes. frost after completely cooled.

{root beer frosting}

1 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. rootbeer extract
a few tablespoons hot water

in a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter until light & whipped. add powdered sugar & continue to mix until combined. add extract & enough hot water to make spreadable.

brit's poppy seed cake with berries & cream

i found this recipe on another great food blog & changed it up to suit me better. i just can't leave things well enough alone!:) it is such a great mix on sweet, tart (with the berries), creamy & not too sweet. i just love the flavors & the beauty of it too! so great for mother's day!!!!

{brit's poppy seed cake with berries & cream}

2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Powder
2 Sticks Butter, softened
2 Cups Sugar
4 Large Eggs
1 Cup Buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond extract
1/4 Cup Poppy Seeds

~Cream & Berries~

1 cup chilled whipping cream

1 cup creme fraiche

1- 8oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/2-3/4 cup powdered sugar--to taste

1 pint fresh blueberries

1 pint fresh blackberries

1 pint fresh raspberries

1 pint fresh strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

in a large bowl, cream together, butter & sugar. add eggs one at a time, mixing after each. set aside. in another bowl, whisk together, flour, salt, baking powder & soda. stir both vanilla & almond extract into buttermilk. add 1/2 of the flour mixture to your butter & sugar & mix until combine. add 1/2 of the buttermilk & repeat the steps again. add poppy seeds & gently mix until combined. butter & flour 2- 9 in. round cake pans. evenly split batter between the 2. bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out dry. let cool in pan for 10 minutes, turn out & cool completely. after cakes are cooled, with a serrated knife, cut each cake in half horizontally.

In a small sauce pan, over medium-high heat, combine blueberries, sugar & water until berries start to burst & create a sauce. Set aside. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, whipping cream & creme fraiche & beat until whipping cream has reached full volume. Toss remaining berries in blueberry sauce.

Assemble cake by spreading cream mixure & spooning berries between each layer & on top. Serve immediately & enjoy!

brit's tex-mex shredded beef tacos...

the first time i ever made these, i had a roast & wanted to so something different with it. so i checked all my cupboards & this is what i came up with:) i have made them over & over since, but never been confident enough with "the recipe" to post it. so, this time i wrote it all down as i went, the way i thought i had done it the other times & it was perfect. so here it is--

{brit's tex-mex shredded beef tacos}

4-5 lbs. beef chuck roast

3- 14.5 oz. cans mexican style stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 can water

2 envelopes sazon goya

1 tsp. salt

1 TBSP dried chopped onion

1 TBSP cumin seed

2 tsp. beef bullion

place all ingredients into a heavy metal roasting pan. do not stir or mix. pre-heat oven to 400 degrees & cook for 4-4 1/2 hours. checking about halfway through to make sure you have enough liquid. if all liquid is gone add 1/2 cup water & continue cooking. remove pan from oven & carefully remove lid. using 2 forks, shred the meat & mix with the remaining liquid. replace the lid & let sit at least 30 minutes.

serve on tortillas, i prefer corn, with tomato, onion, cilantro, avocado, sour cream & lime. do not under any circumstances use ketchup:)... sorry dad, i'm calling you out on this one.