Essay on Potato Salad

Everybody knows the recipe for a potato salad, right? Mayo, mustard for the base and then relish, cheddar cheese, potatoes and eggs. The seasonings are paprika, salt and pepper.  Potato salad is such a basic recipe but it's also one that hits the spot in summer.  Here are a few of my thoughts on how to make yours better.

The secret to potato salad is layering! My mother says it is an equal ratio of eggs to potatoes, but I found that was too many eggs. I'm saying 1 egg to 1 and a half potatoes.  So you start with your base. Add mayo and mustard until you get a nice light yellow color. Add 1 and 1/2 potatoes, diced into bite sized pieces. Dice a boiled egg.

Sprinkle salt, pepper and paprika over this layer. (This is the key!)
Spoon a dollop of sweet pickle relish.
Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
Do not stir, and repeat layers three or four times.

Mix together carefully. This stuff is soft and you need to be gentle.

Now for the top, sprinkle additional cheese and give it good going over with your paprika and salt and pepper.  I have found this to make a huge difference in the flavor.  I think probably most potato salads are under salted and the salad loses its flavor.

Also, letting it set in the fridge helps a lot. Potato salad needs to be cold and it helps the flavors meld together if it spends some time in the fridge. See if it helps your recipe. I made some last week and felt like I had oversalted it, guess what? Tasted just fine! You know how potatoes soak up salt, so go for it.

Zucchini Bread

Cream:

1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 cups sugar
3 eggs

Add:

1 tsp. salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
A sprinkling of nutmeg
A sprinkling of cloves
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups shredded zucchini

Mix and then add:

3 cups flour
a handful of chocolate chips
1 cup coconut (optional)

Bake at 325 for 45 -55 minutes. Use toothpick method to see that is cooked completely.

I hesitate to put this on the blog. Doesn't everyone have a recipe for zucchini bread? It's so easy and such a great way to use your summer vegetables. This one saves you a bit of fat by using only a half a cup of oil. My kids won't eat the coconut, so I do have to make it without it, fairly often. I think it sweetens it up quite a bit though. I have to have chocolate chips. Then I feel like I'm eating dessert.

Simple Chicken Stew

Soup Base:
4 cups water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1/3 cup Shirley J Universal Sauce
2 Tablespoons Shirley J chicken bullion,
1 Tablespoon Shirley J Pizza Spice
Sprinkling of fresh ground pepper

Wisk this together then add vegetables:
Potatoes
Carrots
Celery
Onion, diced
2 cups cooked canned chicken

Place in a crock pot on high until you see bubbling then turn down to low for the rest of the day.

I use canned chicken just because it is easier to throw in. I usually put it in at the end so it doesn't become too soft while cooking. You could also use raw, but I would brown it first. Raw chicken would need to be in your slow cooker all day with the rest of your soup. This is a mild but tasty soup that young kids will enjoy.  I love Shirley J products but I'm sure you could use what you have on hand.

Shirley J products can be found in a number of stores.  Click here to see the Shirley J store directory.