Macaroni Salad

Evidently my dad is SUUPPPPER picky when it comes to macaroni salad. So when my mom and I were going over the Father's Day menu she made sure I was making it with the right ingredients only!!


1. You need a whole box of macaroni salad noodles ( I was a little thrown these macaroni noodles looked nothing like the ones that come in the Mac N Cheese box) boiling as directed and set aside.

2. Add into the macaroni, 2 celery stalks chopped up, and 1 10oz (1 ¼cups) sweet relish. (The sweet relish was the first requested ingredient!) And mix!

3. Next mix in the wet ingredients. 16 oz. (2 cups) miracle whip, 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup sugar. I put in a little salt and pepper too! Refrigerate and serve! (Miracle Whip was the second key ingredient!)

4. Ta-da! This was the next day so it wasn't as creamy, but still very good!! My dad LOVED it!

♥ Here is the celery in the garden! Don't mind the grass growing in with the veggies, just a little mishap while "fertilizing"! Heh! ♥

Cumin-Crusted Salmon

Coming back to the states has particularly tough just trying to find time for EVERYTHING. Even blogging has been on the back burner lately. There was a time when I was so excited to cook anything that was new and blog-able.So this recipe was requested from my husband, a recipe I made quite a long time ago when I was just starting experiment with flavors and recipes. He really liked it and while it seems kinda fancy, its pretty easy (only because its entirely fool-proof Ive found out!).

1. Mix in a small bowl the spices to rub on the salmon. You will need 1 ½ tablespoons of cumin, 2 teaspoons paprika, S & P, if you want it spicy add in some red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper!

 

2. Pat the spices onto salmon fillets. Place in a pan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and cook for 5-6 mins then flip and cook other side. While that's cooking continue to step 3...

3. For the salad dressing mix in a small bowl 3-4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons of reserved mandarin orange juice (I didn't know what reserved meant so I just juiced the kind of orange I had on hand), 1 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, then a dash of S&P, cumin, and paprika.

4. For the salad I used spinach lettuce, kidney beans (the recipe calls for black, but I love kidney beans on salads!), orange slices, and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds. You can really creative here or just add in regular salad faves like carrots, cucumber, blue cheese, etc! Then place your salmon on top and devour this delicious hearty salad!

♥ This salad took me forever to find the original recipe because I just printed a bunch online and of course having a little one it got spilled on, drooled on, lost, or thrown out in the chaos! But now I have it here to remember! Check out the actual recipe here for ingredient list! ♥

Summer Potato Salad

With the summer vacation having just ended, and Riley starting his first year in school as a Kindergartner, we are still taking full advantage of these warm summer days we get together as a family! What better way to enjoy our son going into Kindergarten than a recipe from Ina Garten?! Although, I'm pretty sure this recipe did not come in my most recent edition of Food Network Magazine, you can find it online here.

1. You need a large pot, then put in 1lb of potatoes (she uses small white potatoes, I used what I had on hand), then cover with water and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15mins. These steps seemed like a lot of work, but the potatoes were absolutely perfect, I'm forgetting my quick and easy ways that usually lead to a mashed potato salad disaster!

2. Once the potatoes are barely pierce-able with a knife remove from water and drain in a colander. Put the potatoes in the colander back into the pot (not on the heat) and cover with a dish towel so they can steam until doneness about 15 more minutes. While you're waiting you can start the next steps.

3. In a small bowl measure out 1 cup mayo, ¼ cup of buttermilk, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard (I did not have either of these so I used 2 tablespoons brown mustard) and   1 teaspoon salt & pepper.

4. Whisk together until completely blended. This will be your dressing for the salad.

5. Remove the colander and chop your potatoes into bite sized pieces. Add in ½ cup chopped celery and ½ cup chopped red onion (if you don't my recipes by now, we don't eat raw onion, we barely eat almost-burnt-grilled-onions, so I swapped them here for dill pickles for the same crunch factor). Top with the dressing and mix!

♥ Along side my husband's famous turkey burgers this was a perfect Sunday lunch with my family! ♥

Momma's Cauliflower Salad Recipe

Just like the way my Mom makes it! A summer time classic!

 

 

1. Wash and cut a head of cauliflower into big chunks. Break the big chunks (or cut them!) to separate each tiny floret.

2. (By far, best smelling step!) Cook the bacon!

3. Cube the cheese, then cut in half, for little rectangles.

4. Add cauliflower, bacon, and cheese.

 

5. Add one cup mayonaise.

6. Half a cup of sugar. (add more if you like it sweeter!)

7. Mix it! (Ok. You dont have to use your hands...but its just so much funer than way!)

8. Chill in fridge and serve!

♥ Variation: My mom adds bell pepper to her recipe, but since I was a kid I picked them out. And now I can just omit them from my version ♥