Potato Salad (mayo free)

One of the best parts of summer are the family bbqs. It's always great to get together with friends and family to share a great meal - and its always made better when you can enjoy the sunshine.  Potato salad is one of the quintessential icons of summer. Seems like its semi-un-American to have a bbq without potato salad.  However, one of the things David & I have in common is that there are no mayonnaise jars allowed in our fridge.  We don't eat the stuff. I'm a little more lenient when it comes to saucy condiments, but nonetheless, I set out on a journey to find a mayo-free potato salad substitute - and I believe I may have found one.

Recipe: Potato Salad

Basicially, its red potatoes tossed in a vinegar/oil dressing and mixed with some veggies. I didn't have/want to purchase flavored rice vinegar, so I used plain rice vinegar and mixed in a small handful of some Herbes de Provence that I had stored in the pantry.

I added the drained potatoes while they were still hot in a bowl with the vinegar mixture, and was a little nervous at first because the smell of warm vinegar potatoes was a little strong. I was afraid that I had created a monster of pickled potatoes - but don't fear - with a little time, it all mellowed out. I made this the night before and let it sit in the fridge overnight to allow the flavor of the vinegar to meld around with everything. The vinegar could hardly be tasted - it just gave things a little zip.

I will definately be making this one again - probably much to my sister's demise - as she liked to pick out all the veggies.  Watch out pasta salad - you may have met your match.

Chocolate-Banana Cream Pie

For Father's Day, I decided that I'd whip up something a little special that I knew my dad would enjoy.  It might not have been the healthiest or most calorie friendly of desserts, but this baby was a delicious pie.  This guy was heavy - it probably weighed in at a good 3-4 lbs.  The combination of chocolate cookie crust, banana slices, chocolate cream filling and whipped cream on the top was to die for.  A little slice went a long way with this guy.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to make: Chocolate Cream Pie.  The recipe did not call for the bananas - I added those in as a layer on the bottom and sides of the crust before adding the pudding.  2 bananas sliced was plenty to cover the bottom and sides of the crust. I would definately recommend using the deepest pie dish you've got - you won't want any of the filling to go to waste!

This guy took a bit of time to make, as I had forgotten how long it actually takes to get homemade pudding to thicken - especially when using low-fat milk.  Homemade pudding is simply a combination of milk, cornstarch, sugar and egg yolks.  I think it takes a bit longer when using low-fat milk as its pretty thin to begin with, but that's what I had in the fridge.  Its amazing how 45 minutes of whisking turns into delectible chocolate pudding. No easy shortcuts on this one.

I didn't get a picture of it, but after transporting, I topped the whole thin with some thickly whipped cream and sprinkled with almond slivers.  Watch out Marie Callendar's.

Baked Turkey Egg Rolls

Hello Internet! David here with an important message:

Stop.

Stop what you're doing right now.

Whatever you are in the middle of is not nearly as important as what you're about to read.

However, take note of this moment. At this time you are blissfully ignorant. Unaware of a culinary masterpiece that will not only enslave you with its delicious taste, but knock all of your favorite recipes down a peg. Take note, dear reader, for this moment is akin to moving out of your parents home for the first time, or the instant before your first kiss. This is the moment before you lose your cooking innocence. This is the moment before your life changes forever.



The shining light at the bottom of the precipice from which you're about to tumble off is Baked Turkey Egg Rolls. Their preparation is simple and concise; So easy I won't bother elaborating here, but simply link to you at the end. Your home will be filled with smells of the freshest and most decadent Chinese food you've ever tasted. Your mouth will be full of contradiction that even an episode of Lost would envy. Salty, savory, sweet... alliteration aside, you're brain won't know what to make of these.

My life has been changed forever, and I still have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.



LINK WHICH COULD EASILY BE DESCRIBED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT MOUSE CLICK OF YOUR LIFE

Chicken-Apple Sausages

Sunday was definitely a BBQ day.  After a long day on Saturday with both of us at respective family graduation ceremonies and getting burnt in the sun - Sunday was a nice relaxing day *(full of lawn mowing and studying).

Tonight was a simple quick dinner, nothing difficult: leftover pasta salad & bbq'd chicken sausages on a whole wheat bun.  The chicken sausages that we pick up are a bit on the spendy side (about $1.25 a piece), but they are so fresh tasting.  New Seasons usually has a great selection in their meat case of all kinds of flavors, but I opted for pre-packaged selection from Albertsons.  Almost summertime - love it!

Colorful Pot-Luck Worthy Pasta Salad

It seems like most everyone has a "go-to" pot-luck type dish.  For example, my mom is the baker of pies.  Any special occasion, she makes the pies. Pies are her thing.  Over the years, she has the crust and filling down to an exact science.  And then my grandma, she the maker of crescent rolls - yeasty and flaky.  I have not perfected a special occasion food item, but I have discovered that for nearly every large summer type gathering I tend to lean towards the same pot-luck dish: Pasta Salad.

I don't remember when the Hein/Vranizan Pasta Salad trend began, but it seems like its always the thing I tend to make for gatherings - perhaps because its so darn easy.

My brother is graduating college tomorrow!   In celebration of his accomplishment, on what promises to be a gorgeous day, we're having a pot-luck bbq in his honor after the ceremonies. And yup, I made pasta salad.

In the mix:

• 2 zucchini
• 2 cartons of plum tomatoes
• 1 each: red, yellow and orange bell peppers
• 1 cucumber
• 4 oz of reduced fat feta cheese crumbles
• handful of blue cheese stuffed olives & Kalamata olives, sliced thin
• 4 oz of coarsely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 1/2 boxes of wheat spiral pasta (would have been 2 boxes, but ran out of room in the bowl)
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup of light italian dressing

I like to keep the dressing pretty light and let the flavors of the other ingredients shine through. 

This recipe makes a GIANT bowl of pasta salad - so much that I had to leave out some of the pasta and scoop myself a little bowl for dinner :)

And just to show you how many veggies are in this thing, this is how full the bowl is before adding any pasta:

Tons of: Vegetable Stifry

Yup, another vegetarian meal was on the menu for last night.  No - we haven't switched to a vegetarian diet, but grocery shopping is a bit more satisfying when 85% of the cart comes from the produce section and I hardly even ventured into the dreaded center aisles.

This stirfry utilized some yakisoba noodles we had on hand, even though they were masked by the copious amounts of vegetables I threw in.  This baby made a giant wok full of stirfry - our fridge is screaming at us to eat leftovers.

In this stirfry we've got (in order of cook time)

• 1 zucchini, sliced & quartered
• 1 bunch of bok choy, just the leaves sliced
• 1 head of cabbage, quartered then sliced nice and thin (coleslaw style)
• 5 or so mushrooms, sliced
• 2 carrots, thin ribbons from using the vegetable peeler
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 package of yakisoba noodles

Cooking the vegetables created enough moisture in the wok that only a minimal amount of sauce was necessary.

Sauce:

• a few tablespoons of lime juice
• few dashes of rice vinegar
• quite a few dashes of red pepper flakes
• few dashes of soy sauce
• 1/4 cup or so of teriyaki sauce

Like I mentioned before - this made tons!  Looking forward to leftovers as lunch, plus another dinner later on. YUM :)

Hearty (Almost) Vegetarian Chili

Nothing like an end to a workday with a hearty, comforting bowl of homemade chili & some cornbread. 
* I say almost vegetarian because we used Worcestershire sauce, which apparently is made from fish - you learn something new everyday.

Saute a bit of fresh garlic with some olive oil in the bottom of a big soup pot.  Let it sizzle for just a few minutes, then add:

• 3 cups of water
• 2 cans diced tomaotes - juice and all
• 1 can each, drained & rinsed: garbanzo beans, black beans, cannelloni beans
• variety of spices to taste: chili powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, pepper, salt, dashes of Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl whisk together 3/4 cups of water with 1 small can of tomato paste and then pour into the chili.
I let the chili simmer for about 15 minutes while the cornbread muffins cooked away.  Gotta love Jiffy cornbread muffins - can't beat the .79 for enough mix to make 6 tasty muffins. 

Overall, this meal clocked in not too shabby - rib sticking enough for David, with lots of healthy proteins - and tons for leftovers!