Grandma Della’s Potato Salad

This is a delicious potato salad. I really don't like potato salads usually but I love this one because the flavor is so great. In the summer time, my favorite meal involves this salad, BBQ chicken with homemade BBQ sauce, homemade biscuits and homemade strawberry jam. You just can't get a better summer meal.

Combine in saucepan and heat to boiling:

2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. Dry mustard

Beat in bowl:
1 egg
2 tbsp flour 

Add small amount of hot mix to egg mix and keep adding until hot and incorporated, then add all to hot mixture and cook over low heat until thickened. Cool in fridge. 

Add 1-2 tbsp or so of turmeric, salt and pepper to taste, and combine vinegar sauce with equal parts mayo to make dressing. I usually start with about ½ cup of each and keep adding whichever it needs until it’s a little tangy but not overpowering.

Pour over cooked potatoes, hard boiled eggs, celery, pepper, relish, onion and anything else that sounds good.

*I usually just make a half recipe of the vinegar sauce because I typically only use half in a very large recipe (about 12 potatoes & 12 eggs).

I’m a little weird when it comes to potato salad. I don’t like crunchy things in it so I only do the sauce with potatoes and eggs. It’s delicious but if you’re more adventurous, add the additional ingredients.

Curried Cauliflower-Ginger Soup

My 3 year old and 20 month old ate their big bowls full of this soup without stopping and without being asked a single time to "take a bite".  That says a lot!  :)  I wouldn't say this is absolutely delicious, but it is pretty good.  Definently do add a chunk of butter to each bowel - it calms the sharpness of flavor from the spices.  (It isn't "hot" spicey).

Curried Cauliflower-Ginger Soup


Serves 4 – 6 as a starter to a meal
Ingredients:
1 medium onion – chopped
1 small stalk celery – sliced
1 whole medium sized cauliflower – chopped in large chunks
1” piece ginger – peeled and minced
4 cups homemade chicken stock or water, or a combination
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon turmeric
unrefined sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Good quality butter for serving
Chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)
Preparation:
In a small dish, stir together the cumin, coriander, turmeric and garam masala. Set aside. Place onion, celery, ginger, and liquid in a medium soup pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 7-8 minutes. Meanwhile heat a small skillet over a medium flame. Add the spice mix and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula to keep it moving over the heat. When it becomes fragrant and barely darker in color remove from the heat and add to the soup, along with the cauliflower. Cover, raise the heat again to boiling, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the stove.
Puree soup until smooth, and ladle into serving bowls, accompanied with a dollop of fresh butter and some chopped cilantro if you like.

I served this with fried battered fish and steamed sweet potato chunks.  The kids cleaned their plates! 

Recipie from here: http://www.candida-cure-recipes.com/homemade-vegetable-soup-recipes.html

French Dip Roast

My whole family loved this, including my 1 and 4 year old daughters! I think they like the dipping element.

from Patti Boston, out of the Fix-it and Forget-it Cookbook

1 large onion, sliced (fine without it for onion-haters)
3 lb. beef bottom roast (fat trimmed, if desired)
1/2 cup dry white wine, or water
1 pkg. dry au jus gravy mix
2 cups beef broth

1. Place onion, if using, in slow cooker. Add roast.
2. Combine wine and gravy mix. Pour over roast.
3. Add enough broth to cover roast.
4. Cover, cook on high 5-6 hours, or low 10-12 hours.
5. Remove meat from liquid. Let stand 5 min. before slicing thinly across the grain. Serve on Kaiser or French rolls with au jus on the side.

Chocolate Peanut-butter Cookies

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I've been craving a combination of chocolate peanut-butter. One night while I was craving this combo, I searched on allrecipes.com (my favorite place to look for ingredient based recipes) and came across this recipe called "Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies." I made them and thought they were as good as everyone else thought. Try them for yourself!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter just until moistened. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Drop by tablespoonfuls on to lightly greased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Wheat Bread

Wheat Bread (Home-Style Yeast Bread)

From Tracey Walter 

This is a very tasty bread recipe. It's not dry like many homemade breads turn out. It lasts a few days and still tastes good. I love eating it fresh and hot but it makes great toast and sandwiches as well. 

• 3 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast (6 ¾ tsp)
• 2 cups warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 Cups Wheat Flour
• 5 ½-6 cups bread flour

Directions

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, butter, salt, eggs and 4 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down; turn onto a floured surface. Divide into thirds. Shape into loaves and place in three greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 3 loaves (16 slices each).