My Mom's Potato Salad

My mom makes great potato salad. She usually makes it for me when I come over in the summer since she's such a great mom. :) I decided to try to replicate her potato salad tonight, but of course it didn't taste the same! I don't normally have regular mayo in the house so I used Miracle Whip instead and I put in pickle juice (I thought my mom used pickle juice in hers but she uses it in macaroni salad, not potato). I thought my version still tasted good though. I would like to get my mom's version down someday!

Potato Salad (sorta kinda my Mom's version)
Inspired by my mother!


Ingredients:
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped (I used red-skinned but really you can use any kind)
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
The following ingredients are all estimates since I go by taste:
1/2 - 3/4 cup Miracle Whip
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon pickle juice
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
Boil potatoes for 12-15 minutes until fork tender. Drain water and put potatoes in a mixing bowl. Add hard-boiled eggs to potatoes. Mix together the Miracle Whip, mustard, pickle juice and sugar together. Adjust ingredients to your taste. Add mixture to the potatoes and eggs. Refrigerate.

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Revised Potato Skins

I think I've mentioned before how much I love potatoes. I was going to actually make dinner one night, but the pork ended up going bad before we could eat it so I made it a "fend for yourself" night. I ended up eating these potatoes and a salad. Not the most balanced meal, but it was definitely good. I didn't know what to call these so I just call them revised potato skins. They have all the flavors of a potato skin, but are cut into small rounds. I've seen variations of this recipe in the food blogging world so I have no idea if there is an actual recipe for it, but I just did my own thing to come up with this. I only used 1 potato to make for myself, but you can use however many you want depending on how many you need to feed.

Revised Potato Skins
My own recipe


Ingredients:
1 potato, washed and scrubbed
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Barbecue sauce
Bacon bits (the real ones)
Shredded cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut the potato into 1/4 inch rounds. Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Spread potatoes out on a baking sheet (I always line mine with foil to cut down on the mess). Bake for 15-20 minutes, then brush bbq sauce over each potato. Top with bacon bits and cheese (use the amounts according to your preference), then bake until the cheese melts. I always dip mine in sour cream while eating.Pin It

A nice Sunday meal

I think I've overcooked boneless pork chops every single time I've made them except once. I don't know why this is, but tonight I was determined to cook them right! They actually came out really well...maybe I need to pan-fry them every time I make them. This sauce is a perfect complement to the pork and would probably taste really well with chicken too. I made some twice-baked potatoes & a broccoli/corn mix on the side as well. I got a KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment from my in-laws for Christmas and tried it out for the first time today. I was impressed with the results! I am excited to make some other types of ice cream and even some sorbets for a lighter treat.

Apricot Pork Chops
Adapted from Cooking Light, as seen on Just 2 Good


Ingredients:
4 boneless pork chops (I only used 2)
1/4 Cup chopped onion (Omitted - Jon doesn't like onions and I made soup last night with a ton of them in them so I decided to be nice tonight)
1/4 Cup apricot preserves
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 green onion, sliced (Omitted)

Directions:
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add the pork to the pan; cook on each side approximately 6 minutes, or until done. Remove from the pan and keep warm.

Add the diced onion to the pan and saute until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in preserves, soy sauce, garlic, and salt. Cook 3 minutes or until thickened. Add pork to the pan, turning to coat. Sprinkle with green onions.

Twice-baked Potatoes
My own recipe, although I'm sure a ton of people have made them like this & twice-baked potatoes is a popular recipe anyway!

Ingredients:
2 potatoes
Shredded cheddar cheese
Light Ranch dressing
Real bacon bits

Directions:
Pierce the potatoes with a fork and microwave them for 10 minutes, turning half-way through. Scoop out the insides and mix with the cheese, ranch dressing and bacon bits. Fill each potato skin with the insides. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Chocolate Strawberry Ice Cream
Adapted from Annie's Eats, originally from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, 10 Speed Press, 2007

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I only had a 1/2 cup left of heavy cream so I made my own from this recipe) - Melt 1/3 cup butter, pour in 3/4 cup of milk and stir. I used low-fat milk so add in 1 tablespoon of flour to thicken it up. - Note: it will not thicken as much as heavy cream, but it still did the trick, especially when mixed with the 1/2 cup I already had!
5 tbsp. unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen (I used frozen strawberries)

Directions:
Whisk together the cream, cocoa powder, and sugar in a large saucepan. Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full, rolling boil (it will start to foam up). Remove from the heat and add the strawberries. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.

Puree the mixture in a food processor or blender.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

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