Potato Salad

It's Saturday Side Dish featuring Potato Salad.

My mother-in-law was noted for two things that she could cook well—potato salad and macaroni and cheese. The potato salad came from her mother. And now that both have passed on, I carry on the tradition. This potato salad is a lot of work. What potato salad isn’t really? Maybe the kind you pick up at the grocery store, but yuck.

I told you about the story when my uncle made me try my aunt’s potato salad. It’s in the first post about Crock Pot Chicken if you’re interested.

My husband thinks this potato salad is the best ever and had me submit it in the local newspaper when they ran a contest. We didn’t win. But here’s the step-by-step directions I turned in. I’m thinking they thought it was too much trouble to make and just skipped it. Maybe they were looking for easy and good. The recipes that won didn’t impress me any, but then I could’ve been a tad on the jealous side. My hubby was disappointed. I clipped out the other recipes and plan to make them, maybe... some day.

Grandma Della Primeau’s Potato Salad
12-15 servings

5 pounds red potatoes
4 stalks celery, diced small
1 tablespoon celery seed
2 small onions, diced small
½ cup sugar
1 ½ - 2 cups Miracle Whip salad dressing
½ pound bacon, diced
3 tablespoons mustard
2 tablespoons sugar
¾ - 1 cup cider vinegar
Salt and pepper
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
paprika

Boil potatoes with skin in salted water until done. Let cool completely. (Easier if you boil potatoes the day before and cool in refrigerator. Potatoes are easier to peel and slice.)

Peel and slice (do not chunk) potatoes and place in large bowl.

Mix with celery, celery seed, onion, ½ cup sugar and Miracle Whip (start with 1 ½ cups of Miracle Whip) until coated nicely. After the other ingredients [the cooked sauce] are added, then determine if more Miracle Whip is needed. Set aside.

In medium/large skillet, sauté diced bacon until near crisp.

Do not drain grease.

Add 3 TBS mustard and 2 TBS sugar until blended and looks glazy.

Add ¾ c to 1 cup cider vinegar, stirring constantly until well blended.

Pour bacon mixture into the potatoes and fold until well blended.

Add more Miracle Whip if needed and salt and pepper according taste.

Garnish top of potato salad with slices of hard boiled egg and sprinkle with paprika.

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The last time I made this, I added a few hard boiled eggs chopped up into the potato salad. I also used 1 pound of bacon. I think the original recipe called for ¼ pound bacon and we changed it to ½ pound, but one pound is yummier.

Ingredients:
see above

Rating & Type: NSE/P

Beef Potato Casserole

A lot of these recipes I’m posting are for the benefit of my adult children who have asked me to share some dishes they remember from their childhood. This particular one came to mind that I used to make quite a bit. As a single parent, I was into easy, economical and something all three of them would eat.

I was late getting the casserole in the oven, so when my husband came home early from work, I told him I was a tad bit behind with dinner. He wanted to know what we were having.

“Beef Potato Casserole.” It doesn’t matter what I tell that man we are having, he’s happy to eat it. I love that about him.

“I don’t think I’ve ever made this dish for you, have I?” He didn’t recall. Wow, that means I haven’t made this dish in 13 years. I told him I used to make it all the time for the kids.

“Must be a poor man’s dish then.”

“Well, yeah, probably.” But sometimes the poor man dishes are some of the tastiest. By the way my hubby gobbled it up, I’d say I’m right.

He’d say, “You’re always right.”

I don’t try to be, but when it comes to stuff the two of us discuss, it turns out I really am always right. I seriously don’t get it though. But do get on this dish and have some poor man’s food and tell me what you think.

Peel about 4 or 5 potatoes and cube.

Add a pound of raw ground beef and mix with potatoes.

Make a cream sauce and pour on top of the ground beef and potatoes.

Top with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half.

Ingredients:
Beef
Potatoes
Cheese
Cream Sauce

Rating & Type: FE/F

Sauerkraut and Polish Sausage

Sauerkraut and Polish sausage is a German dish yet it’s written right there—Polish sausage. Why is it a German dish if it’s Polish? I decided to look it up and I realized Poland was right next to Germany. Being neighbors, maybe the Germans brought the sauerkraut and the Polish brought the sausage and they put the two together. Well, this sure isn’t a smart blog, it’s a food blog. I don’t claim to be smart, just that I can cook, for the most part.

This dish I threw in the crockpot because I knew I wouldn’t be home at dinner hour and I normally make this with mashed potatoes instead of adding the potatoes in the crockpot. Mashed potatoes are so much better, but hey, we can’t do it all, all the time, can we?

No. So quit trying.

My suggestion if you’re going to throw the potatoes in the crock with the kraut and sausage is to add some additional water or cut your potatoes up in smaller hunks rather than quartered. Potatoes won’t be done even when cooking all day on low in kraut juice. Trust me. They were edible, but when you’re mouth is watering for some good ole German kraut and sausage, hard potatoes ruin it.



Rating & Type: EE/P or B