Amazing Potato Salad

This receipe can compete with Karen's famous potato salad. I found a recipe called "How to Make The Best Potato Salad Recipe" and personalized it.  I need to give www.aspicyperspective.com a shout out for inspiring this!  Give it a try y'all.  -Claire

Ingredients:

• 5 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 2 cups Duke's mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Mt. Olive sweet pickle relish
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped Harris Teeter brand Bread & Butter pickles
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon stoneground mustard
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon celery seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (+ some for garnish)
• 4 large hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 cup sweet onion, diced (I soaked in water for awhile to tone it down a little)
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill (for garnish, might stir some in next time)
• Salt and pepper 

Instructions:

1. Wash the potatoes and then cut the potatoes into quarters and place them in a large stockpot.  Fill the pot with cold water until it is 1 inch over the top of the potatoes.  Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add 1 tablespoon salt and cook the potatoes for 13-15 minutes, until fork tender.
2. Meanwhile, mix the mayonnaise, relish and pickles including juices, mustards, vinegar, celery seeds, paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste.  Stir until smooth.  Then chop the eggs, celery, onions, and dill.
3. Once the potatoes are very tender, drain in a large colander.  DO NOT RINSE! Cool slightly.  Remove the loose peels and chop the potatoes into chunks, and embrace that you'll have soft and crumbly parts too.  Gently mix in the dressing, then stir in the eggs, celery, onions, and maybe dill (I saved dill for garnish to make sure I didn't overwhelm the recipe with it.) Add salt and pepper as needed.  Garnish with fresh dill and paprika.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Keeps for up to a week!

Smoked Meatballs

This recipe was inspired by Ina Garten's "Real Meatballs and Spaghetti" recipe but the hubster and I have improved on it, in our humble opinion. :-) -Claire (& David)

Ingredients:

2 pounds of meatloaf mix (ground veal, pork and beef)

4 slices of bread, crumbled

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 large egg, beaten

basil, oregano, garlic powder to taste

Mix all ingredients together and roll into 2-inch meatballs. (I use a tablespoon scoop to make them sized evenly.) Sprinkle with favorite seasoning (We used Holy Voodoo)

Cook in your smoker at 300-350 degrees for about 30 minutes with your preferred wood chips.

Place in favorite sauce and simmer a little while.  (I have made sauce from scratch but lately have used Classico Organic Tomato, Herbs & Spices)

Serve with your favorite pasta.

Sausage Balls

 Sausage balls have been a family favorite to enjoy, especially around the Christmas holidays!  This version is really, really good!  -Claire

Ingredients

• 16 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese (ideally you would buy a block and shred it yourself rather than purchasing pre-shredded
• 1 pound Jimmy Deans hot sausage
• 1 box (11 oz.) Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit Mix
• 1 t. garlic powder
• black pepper to taste

Set aside the seasoning packet that comes with the Biscuit Mix, and mix all of the other ingredients together.  The sausage will need to come to room temperature before mixing.

Make balls using a 1 Tablespoon sized scoop.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  I like to use a large Stoneware Bar Pan with parchment paper on it. 

Mix the seasoning packet with butter, per package instructions.  Brush butter mixture on sausage balls after they are cooked while they are still hot.

Chicken Lombardy

This recipe is easy enough for a weeknight meal and amazing enough for a special occasion!  It's really, really, good! (I found this online somewhere and the author was Meaghan @ 4 Sons R Us)

Ingredients:

• 8 oz pkg sliced baby bella mushrooms (if you really like mushrooms, add more!)
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup Marsala wine
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tbsp corn starch + 1 tbsp water
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced

(I use 1 chicken breast for every 2 people and I really like mushrooms so I use an entire 8 oz package to go with 2 servings but that may not be for everyone!  I also like to serve this over whole wheat pasta, so I like to use more of the chicken broth and marsala wine to ensure enough moisture to go with the pasta.)

Instructions:

1. Cut each chicken breast evenly in half, lengthwise.  One at a time, place a piece of chicken in between 2 sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap, wax paper or parchment paper.  Using the flat side of a meat mallet, flatten the breast out to a 1/4" thickness.  Repeat for all pieces of the chicken..
2. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skilled over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms and approx. 5 minutes until tender.  Remove to a waiting bowl.
3. Add the flour to a flat plate.  Dredge each piece of chicken in it, making sure there's an even coat.
4. In the same skillet you cooked the mushrooms in, melt two tablespoons of the remaining butter.  Add 2 pieces of chicken and up the heat to medium high.  Let the chicken cook until nicely browned on one side, flip and repeat.  Transfer the browned breasts to a waiting plate.
5. Add another tablespoon of butter to the skillet, and brown another 2 breasts.  Repeat the steps until all the chicken is browned, and all transferred to the waiting plate.
6. Stir the broth and wine into the drippings in the skillet, whisking to deglaze the pan and get up all those yummy brown bits.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened slightly.
7. In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and water to make a slurry.  Whisk this into the skillet sauce, and let is simmer another 1-2 minutes-until nicely thickened.  Remove the skillet from heat, and set aside.
8. Transfer the chicken breasts to a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish, overlapping a bit if necessary to fit them all.  Spread the sautéed mushrooms evenly out over top.
9. Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken.  Then sprinkle the cheeses evenly, followed by the sliced green onions.
10. Bake the prepared chicken at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and slightly golden brown.  Remove the dish from the oven, and serve immediately.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

Delicious pizza I made on a whim!

Ingredients:

• Pizza crust (I used store-bought for convenience but home-made would be better)

• Pesto

• Chopped onion

• Chopped bacon (I used turkey)

• Fresh mozzarella

• Chicken tenderloins (cut into bite sized pieces)

• Everything bagel seasoning

• Preheat oven to 425°

Directions:

• Chop onion and sauté in olive oil

• Sauté chicken in olive oil and season with Everything Bagel

• Cook bacon in the microwave until crispy. Cut in pieces with kitchen sheers

• Spread pesto evenly over pizza crust

• In the following order, add the onion, chicken, bacon and chunks of fresh mozzarella to the crust

• Bake for 20-25 min (or until crispy)

Chicken, Artichoke, Rice and Green Bean Casserole

I wanted to prepare something easy and healthy using ingredients I had on hand and pulled this together and it was so good!  This will be in the regular rotation!  -Claire

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2" cubes

1 can green beans, drained

1 jar (6.5 oz.) marinated artichokes, drained and coarsely chopped

1 cup uncooked Wild Rice Blend (I used Harris Teeter's HT Traders that contains american basmati white rice, wild rice, brown and red rice)

2 cups water 

1 cup Healthy Cream of Mushroom Soup (plus 1 can water)

1/4 c. Shredded Parmesan cheese

Onion powder, Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Put 1 cup rice and 2 cups water in a saucepan, cover and bring to a boil for about 2 minutes.

Pour rice in a 9" x 13" pan 

Sprinkle green beans and artichokes over the rice

Mix can of soup with 1 can water and pour over the mixture

Add cubed chicken

Sprinkle lightly with onion powder, salt and pepper

Cover the baking pan tightly with foil to keep the moisture in and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove foil, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and return to oven uncovered for 15 minutes.

That's it!  Yummm!

I might add some mushrooms and sliced water chestnuts next time. :-)

Crockpot Fajitas

These fajitas are delicious! You should try ‘em.

Ingredients (10 servings):

1 red bell pepper (sliced)

1 green bell pepper (sliced)

1 yellow bell pepper (sliced)

1 yellow onion (sliced)

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut in half)

2-3 tablespoons taco seasoning 

4 garlic cloves (diced)

1 lime

10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles (drained)

For Serving:

tortillas of choice (I prefer corn)

sour cream (optional)

guacamole/avocado (optional)

cheese (optional)

Instructions:

1. Add half of peppers and onions to crockpot

2. Layer the chicken and coat both sides with taco seasoning 

3. Top with garlic, the juice from 1 lime, and drained tomatoes 

4. Add remaining peppers and onions, any remaining lime juice and cover 

5. Cook on high for 3-4 hours 

6. Remove chicken and shred it up. Combine again and cook on low for 10 minutes to allow chicken to marinade in juice 

7. Steam tortillas with damp paper towel in microwave and strain fajita mixture as you serve (it’s pretty juicy)

8. Add any desired toppings and eat up!