Potatoes · Side dish

Roasted English Potatoes

The five main food groups include everything for a healthy life, but in my opinion, potatoes should perhaps be in a group all their own. Consider that they are served baked, French fried, scalloped, twice-baked, mashed, roasted, grated, as a salad, on top of casseroles, as the base of casseroles, and can appropriately served at all three meals. I’m pretty sure that no other vegetable can do all that!

Over the Christmas season, I was introduced to a new potato side dish via a couple of British people I follow on social media. Enter the Roasted English Potato. They require quite a bit of hands-on, but it is worth every minute! They are par-boiled, then roasted in the oven in a bit of oil for close to an hour, turning them every 15 minutes. The result is a crispy outside and a fluffy, tender potato on the inside. Potato Heaven!

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Chicken · Uncategorized

A Fall Road Trip & Family Recipes

I had the blessing of making a trip to Kentucky this weekend to visit with my mom. The trip here was a beautiful fall drive through the Cumberland Gap. The trip on that route is always refreshing, but on Saturday the colors made me gasp! The curvy roads dotted with barns and silos were even prettier with the autumn colors as a backdrop. I’m thankful that the trip is an easy one. I enjoy listening to an audio book while I drive. It truly makes the time pass quickly. Then conversations with my girls and my husband also made the trip easier!

Not long after I arrived at my mom’s house she said, “Guess what we’re having for supper?” Many things popped into my head that she is known for, but before I had a time to start guessing she said, “Herbed Chicken!” Oh my, this recipe takes fried chicken up a sophisticated notch! The chicken breast is filled with an herbed cream cheese mixture and it’s heavenly! I haven’t made it for a couple of years, so I was excited about the supper meal coming in a few hours! I first shared the recipe here – a long time ago!

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Side dish

Side Dishes That Will Add New Life to Dinner

Corn, peas, green beans…repeat. Sometimes I feel that’s how my side dishes go. A bit boring and far too routine! So I set out looking for a couple new recipes to add to my menu. These are simple and delicious – tastes special enough to bump up any weekday menu.

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salad · Side dish · summertime

Corn & Tomato Salad

I’ll never forget having dinner with Dale and his parents before we got married. It was a summer day in South Carolina and the fresh vegetable stands were brimming with fresh sweet corn from the fields. When we sat down to eat, there was no meat – there was a HUGE bowl of corn and another large platter of cantaloupe. Coming from a family of girls, and also parents

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salad

Mayo-Free Potato Salad

Happy July! That means Fourth of July picnics, picnics at the park, picnics at the lake, and also picnics in the backyard! We LOVE eating outdoors and do so at any opportunity! But with that, there’s always the need to be careful with food preservation. After having food poisoning once, I’ve been quite careful about keeping food cold!

It’s for that reason that I recently went searching for a recipe for potato salad to take to our church picnic this weekend that didn’t require any mayonnaise. The German potato salads are vinegar based, making them the perfect addition. I found a great recipe on Taste of Home’s web site. I made it a day ahead so we could have some for supper, and then also enjoy it at our church picnic.

German potato salad is typically served warm. It was delicious that way when I first made it, but it was also good cold the next day. The recipe calls for several kinds of potatoes to make it “red, white and blue.” I used what I had on hand – red and yellow potatoes. It didn’t change the taste at all. Here’s the recipe:
Red, White and Blue Potato Salad

  • 1-1/4 pounds small purple potatoes (about 11), quartered
  • 1 pound small Yukon Gold potatoes (about 9), quartered
  • 1 pound small red potatoes (about 9), quartered
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup white wine or additional chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons stone-ground mustard
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 celery ribs, chopped
  • 1 small sweet red pepper, chopped
  • 8 green onions, chopped
  • 3/4 pound bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
  • 3 tablespoons each minced fresh basil, dill and parsley
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Directions

  1. Place all potatoes in a Dutch oven; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain; transfer to a large bowl. Drizzle potatoes with stock and wine; toss gently, allowing liquids to absorb.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk vinegars, mustards, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in oil until blended. Add vinaigrette, vegetables, bacon and herbs to potato mixture; toss to combine. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve warm.

This salad is delicious either hot or cold, and there’s no worry of it spoiling since there’s no mayo! This would be the perfect addition to your Fourth of July gathering!

Enjoy a worry-free Happy Independence Day!