Mom’s Old Fashioned Potato Salad

Every summer I look forward to my mom’s potato salad. 

She got the recipe from the best man in my parents’ wedding (well, his wife, actually).  It’s been a family favorite as long as I can remember. 

Mom’s Old Fashioned Potato Salad – From the Braunwarths

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 T sugar
• 1 1/2 T vinegar
• 1 T mustard
• 1 tsp. salt & pepper (more or less, to taste)
• 3 T mayo (we use olive oil mayo)
• 3 T whipping cream
• 1/2 C chopped onion
• 1/2 C chopped celery
• 1/2 C chopped red or green bell pepper
• 2-3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 4 C diced potatoes
• 3-4 sprigs of chives, chopped

Directions

Begin by peeling and dicing potatoes, until you have about 4 C.  Cubed potatoes or sliced potatoes (about 1/4-1/2 inch thick) cut into quarters work well.  We’ve been using the Yukon Yellow Gold potatoes recently and they have been very tasty in this potato salad.  Boil the potatoes in well-salted water until tender.  Drain.  Cool. 

Meanwhile, finely chop the onion, celery and red bell pepper until you have about 1/2 C of each.  If you are like me and need to eat “cooked” veggies, blanch the veggies in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, and then chill in ice water.  Drain and pat dry.  Then, add the veggies to a large refrigerator safe, covered bowl.  If you don’t need to cook the veggies, than just add them immediately to the bowl. 

Combine the 1 1/2 T sugar and vinegar in a smaller bowl.  Stir well.  Add in 1 T mustard, 3 T mayo and 3 T cream. 

Peel and chop the egg.  To make the salad healthier, use three eggs – but only use the egg whites from each egg. 

When potatoes are cooled, add them to the bowl with the veggies.  Stir well. 

Pour the vinegar sauce over the top.  Stir well. 

Stir in the chopped hard boiled eggs and chives. 

Season with salt & pepper. 

Enjoy!

**Note: If you don’t like celery, omit and use all bell peppers.  If you don’t like bell peppers, omit and use all celery! 

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Creamy Rice Casserole

During the countdown to 2013 I found some recipes that I couldn’t wait to try.  This recipe was one of those. 

Delicious and creamy, and made healthier to boot.  The original recipe is 254 calories and 12 grams of fat.  With just a few tweaks, we ended up at 178 calories and 5.3 grams of fat. 

First tweak: substitute cottage cheese & milk for sour cream, or use Greek Yogurt.  Just as creamy, quite delicious. 

Second tweak: reduced the amount of cheese by switching to extra sharp cheddar (went from 2 C down to 1/2 C), and reduced the amount of Parmesan, by using it on the top of the dish rather than mixed in.  Still get that cheesy flavor and can use much less cheese. 

I ended up using my rice cooker to prepare much of the dish and then baked it as directed so all the creaminess blended together. 

Creamy Rice Casserole  - Adapted from What’s Cookin’ with the Johnstons

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 C uncooked brown rice
• 3 1/2 C chicken stock, divided
• 16 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 2 T minced onion
• 2 stalks of celery, sliced
• 1 C diced, cooked chicken (or turkey)
• 1/2 C cottage cheese, or Greek yogurt
• 1/4 C milk
• 1/4 C Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 C extra sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

Place the 1 1/2 C uncooked brown rice and 3 C chicken stock into your rice cooker.  Cook for about 10 minutes. 

Add in 2 stalks of sliced celery (about 1 C).

Mix in mushrooms (these can be fresh, sautéed or canned). 

Add in diced cooked chicken or turkey, cover and cook until rice is done. 

Meanwhile, take 1/4 C milk and 1/2 C cottage cheese and blend them together. 

Add in 1/2 C chicken broth and blend well.  **Alternatively, you can use 1/2 C Greek Yogurt with 1/2 C chicken stock. 

When the rice is ready, stir in the cheese/stock mixture. 

Pour the entire rice mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 glass baking dish. 

Top with Parmesan cheese.  Then, bake at 375 for 20 minutes. 

Sprinkle 1/2 C cheese over the top. 

Bake for an additional 5 minutes, until cheese is melted. 

Serve warm. 

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Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup (homemade noodles)

This whole week we’re focusing on chicken recipes – we started yesterday with a whole chicken.  After the chicken, toss the carcass and some celery, carrots, onion and seasoning into the crockpot and make broth overnight.  See directions here.

Using your overnight broth (directions here), skim the fat by either chilling the broth for a little while, or using a fat separator. 

Return the broth to the crockpot and get ready for a delicious soup! 

Allow the soup to simmer all day in the crockpot and then prepare some homemade noodles (see below) 30 minutes before serving.  Boil them up and add them to your soup for some good, old fashioned chicken noodle soup. 

Serve with a side salad and bread and you have chicken recipe #2. 

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 3 C sliced carrots
• 1 C sliced celery
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 8 C chicken broth
• 1 C brown rice, uncooked
• 1/2 C soaked lentils 
• 1/2 C barley (quick cook)
• 1-1/2 C shredded cooked chicken (leftover from your chicken)
• Poultry seasoning, McCormick’s Grill Mates (chicken seasoning), to taste
• 1/2 C flour
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Begin by taking the meat that you deboned from the chicken after your dinner and after you made broth.  You’ll want to use the little shreds of chicken (from wings, neck, legs, etc) for the soup and save the bigger breast pieces for your later meals. 

Place the chicken pieces and broth into the crockpot.  Add in sliced carrots and celery.  Season liberally with salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and our personal favorite McCormick’s Chicken seasoning.

Add in 2 handfuls of brown rice, 1/2 C soaked lentils, and cover, cooking on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4.   One hour before serving, add 1/2 C quick cook barley.  Turn to high and cook until barley is done. 

Meanwhile, prepare the pasta.  To do so, mix the flour with with salt and pepper.

Mix in the lightly scrambled egg. 

In the end you’ll have a semi-crumbly mixture.

Roll the dough out until it is about 1/4 inch thick.  Using a pizza cutter, slice through the noodle dough making 1/4-inch thick noodle pieces. Slice them short, until they are about 2 inches in length. 

Toss them into a pot of salted boiling water and let them boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain. 

Add to your soup and serve.   

Mmm!

Join us tomorrow for a yummy crockpot casserole! 

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Mushroom & Wild Rice Soup

The ingredients in this soup seem almost too simple, as in – I thought the recipe might be missing something.

I took one taste while the soup was simmering, and quickly realized that was certainly not the case. 

This soup is one of our new favorites. 

If you haven’t cooked with wild rice before, do me a favor – do not buy a wild rice blend.  Buy the real deal.  Either a cracked or non-cracked variety will do, but go with a pure variety. 

Wild rice has a semi-sweet and nutty taste and in this soup, it’s incredible. 

It’s a nutritional powerhouse too – high in protein, fiber, iron, potassium, B vitamins, manganese & zinc.  Give this soup a try, I’m sure you will enjoy it.

Mushroom & Wild Rice Soup – From A Thought for Food

Ingredients

• 2 ribs of celery, sliced
• 3 C sliced carrots
• 2 T minced onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 16 oz. baby bella mushrooms
• 6 C chicken broth
• 2 C water
• 1 1/2 C cooked wild rice
• salt & pepper to taste
• Parsley, for garnish

Directions

Begin by placing your sliced celery and carrots into a large stockpot along with 6 C chicken broth and 2 C water.  Bring the veggies to a boil.  Cover and boil away for 15 minutes. 

Add in the mushrooms, onion and garlic.  Simmer your soup for an additional 10 minutes. 

Add in 1 1/2 C cooked wild rice. 

Season with salt and pepper. 

Heat until wild rice is warm and ladle up.  Garnish with parsley. 

Serve warm with crusty bread. 

Enjoy!

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Winter Minestrone

The colder the weather, the heartier the soup.  Or, the more soups pinned on Pinterest.  And, apparently it’s been pretty cold in southern CA….

Soups are associated with cold weather. 

Except when I traveled to Ecuador.

We ate soup when it was warmer than 85 degrees; for this girl living near 45 degrees latitude, that was a strange thing. 

Since summer is still months away, I’ll enjoy my soup. 

It’s hearty, tasty and easy to put together.  There are 6 veggies in this soup along with yummy broth and delicious herbs.  It was fantastic served with olive oil garlic bread.   

When it’s 85, I’ll take a bowl of ice cream instead. 

Winter Minestrone – Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients

• 2 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 T minced onion
• 2 C sliced carrots
• 1 C sliced celery
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 tsp. thyme
• 1/2 tsp. basil
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 C diced tomatoes (either fresh or canned)
• 6 C chicken stock
• 2 C water
• 1 (15 oz) can Pinto beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 C cooked pasta (small shape preferred)
• 1-2 C broken or chopped spinach leaves
• 1/4 C white cooking wine
• 2-4 T Parmesan cheese
• Crusty French Bread + garlic + olive oil

Directions

In a large stockpot, sauté diced carrots and celery in a few drops of olive oil until veggies are fragrant and slightly tender.  Add in the minced onion and garlic cloves.  Toss in the diced sweet potatoes and season with 1/4 tsp. thyme, 1/2 tsp. basil and salt and pepper. 

Add 2 C diced tomatoes, 6 C chicken stock and 2 C water.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes until veggies are mostly tender. 

Meanwhile, cook a 1/2 C pasta according to package directions.  This should yield about 1 C prepared pasta.  Rinse and drain and set aside. 

To the soup, add in 1 can pinto beans that have been rinsed and drained.  Stir well and simmer the soup for an additional 5-7 minutes. 

Add in the cooked pasta along with 1/4 C white cooking wine and spinach.   

Stir well. 

Stir in pre-cooked, crumbled bacon.  If you don’t like bacon, leave it out, the soup has enough flavor… although the bacon does tie the flavors together nicely. 

Remove the soup from the heat and stir in Parmesan cheese, allowing the heat from the soup to melt the cheese. 

Meanwhile, slice some French bread.  Spray each slice with olive oil and season with minced garlic.  Toast under a broiler or in a toaster oven on the toast feature for 3-5 minutes until lightly browned and warm.  Watch the toast carefully so as not to burn!

 

Serve the soup with the garlic toast. 

Enjoy!

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