Potato Salad

I have only made potato salad a few times, but so far it's always turned out pretty well. I made some over 4th of July weekend, and I thought I'd let you know what I put in it.

about 4 lbs russett potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 c mayonnaise
1/2 c milk (approx)
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
4 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped (I use a pastry blender to cut mine up)
salt & pepper
celery salt
parsley
dill
ground mustard

You could also use red potatoes; they're fantastic and don't even need to be peeled! But this time I used russett... which, yes, need do be peeled.

Cook potatoes in salted, boiling water until tender, but don't cook them as long as you would if you were going to mash them. Drain in a colander and run cold water over them to cool. Cut them into bite-sized pieces; about 1" cubes. Put potatoes in a large bowl and add about 1 c mayo; I used a combination of fat-free and full fat mayo (just what I had on hand). Add red onions, celery, and eggs, and start putting in some of the spices... I can't tell you how much of each. Sprinkle some in; you'll need quite a bit of salt for that many potatoes. The onion & celery give you good flavor but you'll need the parsley, dill, mustard, celery salt, & pepper too.

The consistency will be too thick as it is, plus as it sits in the fridge the potatoes will continue to absorb liquid. So, you'll need to add about 1/2 c of milk to thin it out. Just mix it well, and continue to taste and add more spices as necessary.

I know this isn't much of a "recipe" but at least will give you a starting point for the next time you want to make potato salad!

Macaroni Salad

This is a B* family favorite; served at all the big family occasions. For some reason, the men go crazy for it (more than the women) even at non-family occasions. I brought it a church pot-luck once and several of my friends' husbands asked me for the recipe!

1 pkg salad macaroni (12 oz)
2 cans tuna
6 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
4 heaping T relish
1 pint Miracle Whip
1/2 c milk (as needed)
1 T mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 grated onion (I use less)

Cook & drain pasta; mix it all together. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. The pasta will absorb more of the liquid as it sits so in the morning you'll need to add a little more milk so it isn't too dry. Yummy -- but I need to warn you, it's very stinky!


Recipe courtesy of my Grandma B*

Pasta Salad

• 1 pkg rotini


• 1 bottle italian dressing (small-medium)


• 1 packet of dry ranch dressing mix

• parmesan cheese

vegetables as desired:

• cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved


• broccoli


• sliced black olives


• bell peppers: green are cheapest but yellow & red look pretty!


• zucchini


• red onion, chopped small

Cook pasta; drain & cool a little. Mix ranch packet with about 2/3 of the Italian dressing; toss mixture into the pasta. Add all vegetables, then add as much more Italian dressing as it needs to be moist. It depends on what you prefer, and how big your bottle of dressing is! Last time I used the whole bottle but I had done a little more than one pkg of pasta. Sprinkle on as much parmesan cheese as you like. Not hard to make, and great for luncheons or showers!

Recipe courtesy of my mom