Hello all, I hope this wonderful weather is treating you all well. Everyone is getting into the spirit of planting their gardens and having barbecues its hard not to follow suit. With all the smells and looks of Summer just getting closer and closer, everyone is ready to complain again about how hot it is. Granted we have it pretty easy here in Maine compared to the south in the Summer. However we are used to 30 below temps not 110 in the shade. So this brings me to my recipe today. My husband loves potatoes and it has caused me to open my imagination to different tator recipes. This one isn't one of those imaginative I should of thought of that myself moments. Its just potato salad very basic and very fuss free. I know everyone from their grandmother's grandmother has a recipe they all consider fabulous. I however would not feel like I have accomplished anything in the kitchen if I haven't made a tator salad too.
My husband loved it but more importantly my youngest daughter ate 3 servings of it. For her this is good, she could make Gordon Ramsey cry and reconsider his career of choice. So I m not going to so much talk about it as I will just list the ingredients for it and you can do with it as you wish.
Ingredients:
4-8 Russet potatoes peeled and diced, depending on how much tator salad you want
3 diced green onions
2 eggs
2 stalks of celery diced
2 carrots diced
1 tablespoon of onion powder
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of celery seed
handful of minced parsley
1/4 cup of mustard of your choice I used sweet and spicy Raye's mustard
1/2 -1 cup of mayo of your choice
5 diced dill pickles
Instructions:
After you peel and dice your potatoes put them in a pot of cold salted water, I usually add a palmful to the water . If you use hot water it will start to cook the potatoes and it will leave them mushy. The salt will flavor the tators as they cook and it will add another layer of flavor to your salad. When the potatoes come up to a boil lower the heat and add your eggs so you can cook them with the potatoes. After about 10 minutes the eggs and potatoes should be done. You want the potatoes firm but cooked and the eggs to be hard boiled. Drain the potatoes and cool them in the fridge. While your potatoes are cooling, its a good time to prep all your veggies and mix up the dressing. Add your cooled potatoes to the dressing, eggs, and veggies and mix them all up. I like to mash my potatoes a little bit to add a little bit of texture through out. From here you want to chill the salad until your ready to serve it. Go ahead and give it a taste before you serve it just to make sure all the seasonings are right if it needs a little bit more of something add it in. When you have your seasonings just where you want them, add a little paprika for color and serve it up.
This is my Bailey approved Potato Salad, when Bailey likes it I know its got to be good!
Live laugh and love all.
Hi everyone, so today I am going to talk to you about summertime tips and tricks that you can do at home to make life a bit easier and less time consuming, also a little less taxing on the budget. Im from New England born and raised, it doesn't get too hot but comfortable to do an array of activities. The last thing anyone wants to do is to be strapped to a stove all summer long. Granted I love to cook but that is not all I love to do. So with all being said here are some tips for you to manage less time cooking and a lot more time being with friends and family and perhaps taking that unexpected trip to a park for some much needed hiking.
Tip #1
Do not sweat the small stuff, what I mean by that is if a recipe seems to be a bit complicated do not do it or change it around so it will be less time consuming to make. Think of recipes as a suggestion than a bible verse.
Tip #2
Use rainy cold days as your cooking day. I mean exactly that, where I am from we have rainy and cold days. I understand that our friends and family in the south do not have cold days however they do have central air. So my suggestion is crank up the central air and cook up all proteins that you can use through out the week or month. Things like beans and meats take more time to cook stock up on freezer bags for the things you will save for the month and use your storage containers for things to make through out the week.
Tip # 3
Try to limit your time in the grocery store by doing one big grocery haul a month. I know for some that is hard to do but believe me it will save you time. Instead of going once a week where impulse buys are awaiting you, when you go once a month most if not all the ingredients you need will be at your finger tips.
Tip # 4
Learn to make your own take out food. So you really love the salads from the store down the road but you never bothered try to make it yourself. This is an opportunity to save money and time. With salads all you have to do is look at the salad and figure out what they put in it and make it at home. It will save you time and money that you can use to put in your gas tank.
Tip # 5
Enjoy and relax its summer, if you keep it simple and learn to make things at home instead of getting take out you will be all the better for it. Utilize your rainy days and maybe some of your evenings too.
Tip # 6
Stock up on ready to eat fruits and veggies. These little take and go items are packed with nutrition and when you buy them in season they are less expensive. They are quick for salads, kabobs or just a quick snack on the go.
I hope you find these tips helpful. Adjust them to fit your lifestyle again these tips are not set in stone and I am sure some of you have your own summer tips. Whatever the case may be nothing is more important than those you love and those that love you. Live, laugh and love all !
Hello everyone, so tomorrow is Easter I hope you all are prepared. For those of us with small children Easter can be a very busy time for us. How many of you forgot to get Easter baskets after getting all the goodies? Ummm guilty over here ! Hey at this rate I am lucky I remember my kids's names let alone baskets and such. And let's not get started on all the things you need at the grocery store. Because I do so much cooking I try to make things as simple as possible on holidays. Yes everyone I am the naughty one that has been known to make stove top stuffing on Thanksgiving, used canned yams for Christmas and bought the bright red cherry jarred glaze for Easter. Now I know how to make these items without the store's help but why cant these days be a little break for myself as well? I ask of you where is the mercy on us mom who try to get a little help from the store when keeping holiday's traditional? Yeah that was a mouthful, case in point its a lot to remember. So with all of that being said I will admit it I forgot my red store bought cherry glaze this year. So I am going to take through a series of different glazes that I am toying with for tomorrow. These are just some ideas I have floating around in my head and if it helps some of you out tomorrow this blog has done some multi tasking all on its own. So here are some brain storms for glazes.
Brainstorm Idea #1
Brown sugar glaze.
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
salt to taste
Mix ingredients into a bowl and rub all over the ham. Bake covered until last 30 minutes of cooking and then uncover. The sugar will be all gooey and yummy and the heat from the cayenne and salt will give it a sweet and spicy flavor.
FYI you may need to add more depending on how big your ham is.
Brainstorm Idea #2
Mustard Glaze
1/2 cup of raye's mustard sweet and spicy
(if you do not have raye's mustard near you, go to their website or just use a sweet and spicy mustard you know and love)
1 teaspoon of minced onion
Mix ingredients together and rub all over the ham. Bake as you would normally bake your ham.
(www.rayesmustard.com) Hey I grew up in the same town might as well give em some free advertisement.
FYI you may need to add more depending on how big your ham is.
Brainstorm Idea #3
Maple Glaze
1/2 cup of your favorite maple syrup, the good stuff guys come on its Easter dont be cheap
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flake
Mix ingredients together rub all over ham and bake.
FYI you may need to add more depending on how big your ham is.
Finally the last brainstorm
Brainstorm #4
Lemon Simple syrup Glaze
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
In a small sauce pan add the water to the sugar heat on low heat. Continually stir just until the sugar is dissolved into the water and it thickens. It will create a syrup. From here juice a myer lemon or a reg. lemon and add the zest. That is the color of the outside of the lemon. Do not add any part of the white peeling it will be bitter. Give the simple syrup a stir and let cool to room temp. Pour it over your ham and let it bake.
Which ever glaze you choose to use I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. Live, laugh and love all Godbless.
Hi everyone, sorry this post is coming late in the day. We had some errands to run and a child to pick up from pre school. One of our things we needed to do was go to the grocery store. My husband hates that I go with him because we always come back with way more than we think we need at the time. I also have a small tendency to browse and let's just say my husband would rather get what we need and leave. I like looking at new products and checking out labels and just take in the whole shopping experience. Ok so my perk about shopping might a bit bigger than I lead you to believe. However I just love to shop weather it be for groceries or window shopping, I think in a past life I was a personal shopper. Although I am getting way ahead of myself because as you know another thing I like to do is cook. So with that being said I am going to tell you all what we are having for dinner tonight as some of you may have guessed, we are having Italian sandwiches. Now depending on where you are in this fine country of ours depends on what you call these gems of goodness. Some parts of the country call them gyros, others subs but I promise you if you go to any deli counter in the state of Maine and order an Italian sandwich this is what you will get. A large or small sub roll with veggies meat and cheese, now if you dont like meat then get a veggie Italian. Ok so here are the ingredients that I am sure most of you are familiar with. Oh and one more thing aside from eating these I am in the know about these because I used to make them for a living, a lot of them as a matter of fact. Ok Now here comes the ingredients enjoy !
Ingredients:
Sub rolls large or small doesn't matter mostly whatever you want and 1 per person
1 whole bell pepper sliced the long way (no chopping unless that is just how you roll)
1 whole tomato or more depending on how many sandwiches you are making count on about 4 half slices per sandwich
1 small to medium onion finely diced
1 large can of black olives or if you want to be all fanciful use calamata olives instead
1 jar of dill pickle chips (not potato chips)
extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to taste
Ham you will need approx. 2 slices per person
Cheese 1 slice per person just cut it in half to make it fit on the bun
Instructions:
First you start off with your sub rolls sliced down the center of the bun. Next you will want to do your prep so start with your bell pepper. Remove the stem by cutting around it or slicing the top off. Clean out the seeds, and the white rind. Cut the whole pepper in half and then make skinny slices down the length of the pepper or you can just chop it its fine too. Next slicing your tomato you just want to cut it half and slice down the length of the tomato. Your going for a half moon look, or you can slice it how you want to. Dice your onions and put all your veggies in separate piles. Paper plates works wonderful in keeping everything in its own home. So grab your sub roll add your ham and cheese or whatever meat you prefer. (If you are keeping this veggie go ahead and add lettuce, mushroom and maybe cucumber too). Next add your tomatoes, green pepper, onions and black olive. Top off with pickles, salt, pepper and oil and your done and so is dinner.
I know some of you make these all the time so I am not telling you something you didnt already know but this is for the people out there who want to learn how to make these at home without getting take out all the time. Yes I am talking to you Mr I know my deli person better than my mother, we know who you are lol. In all seriousness though I hope you enjoy these and sorry I dont have a picture of them,,,, I havent made them yet its only 1 15 in the afternoon, I said these were for dinner. Well until I see you all next time live laugh and love.
Ok since you asked I found a generic picture of what the end product will look like, I know twist my arm folks..
Ok its not exact but it has the same ingredients, you get the picture.
Hello everyone I hope your day has started off well. Here in New England we are having above average temps and its really bringing out the spring and summer feelings with everyone. So in light of our wonderful weather I came up with this salad dressing. Now I am not sure if other people have a recipe similar, which they probably do because a lot of people love the dressing that kfc uses on their coleslaw. This dressing is inspired by that, its not low cal or fat free but fat free isnt always good for you. Fat free can be a fake health food even low cal can be. Ok let's save that for another day because we all could talk about that and make a new blog post about it lol.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of mayo ( the real stuff and no miracle whip it will ruin the taste)
1/4 cup of white vinegar
3 tablespoons of sugar or for all you fake sugar people use that
1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper
1/2 cup of milk add more if you want a thinner dressing
Instructions:
In a bowl add in the mayo and then the rest of the ingredients. Mix it all up with a fork until its all combined. You might need to taste it to see if you need more vinegar or sugar. Chill for about an hour and you can use this on a salad, a dip for veggies or even on coleslaw. Last weekend it was very nice out and we had a picnic, I used it to make turkey salad sandwiches. Even my youngest liked it and she is my picky one. However you make this dressing at least make it because you wont be sorry that you did. Until next time everyone Live,laugh and love
Hello everyone, I know its been a while since my last blog post. I am going to be better about posting a blog everyday. I also make you tube videos once a week, some of you already follow me over there. So this recipe is on the lasagna I made Friday night. My husband and kids loved it and that says a lot since my oldest one cannot stand lasagna but she loved this one. Before I get going with the recipe though, I want to first say to be expecting a new post from me every day and be looking for this recipe in video form. I was going to try to get my blog recipes and the recipes I do on you tube the same but its not working out that way. So anyway here is the recipe and I hope you like it. As a side note to this I shared some with some of my neighbors and one Erika said " it was the best lasagna she has ever had." Erika's husband Jim said " I couldnt put it down." Then Matthew a grandson of my neighbor Cheryl's said " that lasagna was awesome." So now I am sharing it with you all.
Ingredients:
1 8oz container of ricotta cheese
1 large onion
1 bell pepper
1 pound of ground beef or ground meat of your choosing
Half pound of sweet Italian sausage ( with or without casings, you will be cutting off the casings anyway.)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce or 32 ounces of homemade
1 can of diced tomatoes or 15 ounces of homemade
1 egg
Half cup of Parmesan cheese grated or chopped to your preference
32 oz of water
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 pound of oven ready lasagna noodles
half of a cup of any shredded cheese you like
2 to 3 cloves of fresh garlic
tablespoon of onion powder
tablespoon of garlic powder
tablespoon of Italian seasoning
Instructions:
Before you begin anything you want to grab a large casserole dish and spray it with cooking spray. Then you want to go ahead and heat up a large pot and add in your extra virgin olive oil. Add in your onion, garlic and bell pepper chopped. Then add in the ground beef and sausage ( with the casings removed.) Saute until the beef and sausage are brown and drain if you use a higher fat beef and sausage. I buy extra lean so I save myself that step. From here add in your dried seasonings, and then the sauce and tomatoes with the water. I usually just fill my spaghetti sauce jar up with water and dump it in the pot, it gets all the rest of the sauce stuck to the jar. Heat the sauce to a simmer. While you are waiting for your sauce to come up to a simmer, start grating or chopping your Parmesan cheese. Then mix the ricotta cheese with the egg and add about half of the Parmesan cheese. From here take a ladle of the sauce and put it on the bottom of the casserole dish, it will prevent the noodles from burning. Then layer the noodles in a single layer and you can either put the sauce down or the ricotta down. I usually put the sauce on top of the first layer of noodle then on the next layer add the ricotta mixture. Keep layering until all your sauce and ricotta is gone. Sprinkle the top with the rest of the Parmesan cheese and the shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about a half hour then finish baking uncovered for another half hour. Let it cool for about 15 minutes at the least at most 30 minutes, that is if you can wait that long lol.
Side note:
I prefer to use homemade sauces and my own tomatoes however I was out of fresh tomatoes. Either way it turned out very well and it makes a lot but freezes nicely. Until tomorrow everyone live, laugh and love.
Heather
Hello everyone, I know its been some time since I have put up a blog and I am sorry for that. I have been busy making my cooking recipes on YouTube and now I have to work on bringing some of those recipes over here and vise versa. Everything will be sync in the way of my blog and my cooking channel. At any rate I wanted to discuss some things with you all if I may. First I would to explain why I even started to document my recipes that I make for my family. My grandmother died when she was 59 years old, she was born with angina heart disease and unfortunately this took her life at a very young age. My aunt, uncles and mother were heart broken as you can imagine. My mother was a teen mom and we are not talking teen mom's of today's where its popularized and glamorized by the media and tv. My mother had it rough and from the moment she knew I was growing in her belly she did everything she could do to do right by me. No one had to tell her that she had to give up her teen aged years she just did. No one had to tell her that she had to still graduate from high school, she just did. Through all of that my grandmother was there for her, instead of turning her back on her like some do. My grandmother was instrumental in my mother being able to graduate from high school and to work full time without hardly missing a day. My grandmother watched me while my mom was working her fingers to the bone to provide for me. It was during these times with my grandmother that I learned to cook and learned to be creative with food even if its just for fun. It was those times I learned a lot of life and how to truly love your family when that is all you have to give. When my grandmother died it was like losing my best friend, I was 15 years old and I have to tell you twenty years later it still hurts.
So onto the reason for why I even document my recipes. My grandmother never did anything by a recipe unless it was something new she wanted to try, everything all the family meals and measurements of things came from her mind. So when she died a lot of the meals she made and how to make them died with her. My mother mentioned how she wished Grammy would have wrote some of them down. That is when the light bulb went off in my head and in my heart. I could take all the meals that the kids like and write down how to make it and the ingredients so they will always have them. I started to blog about them because I wanted to share what I made with my friends and family. Then it turned into other people being interested in them as well. I never thought in a million years that this would inspire others to be creative in their kitchens. When I decided to make videos on my cooking, I did it because my girls will some day be able to watch these back and see me cooking for them as if I never stopped. This is what I can leave to my girls that will be theirs one day when I am no longer on this earth. So you see the things I cook I do it out of the love for my children and my family. I hope what I do inspires you too. It doesn't matter what it is even if everyone hates what you made, at least they tried it and experienced the love you put behind it. Live, Laugh and love
My Grandmother
