Picnic Party Potato Salad

This is by far the best potato salad I have ever had. I think the secret is the Italian Dressing. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law Sheri Zaugg. I don't know where she got the recipe from. It's pretty much a staple at any Zaugg family gathering. I only get to have it when we visit their house or if I make it to take somewhere like a potluck or funeral, etc. Russell and the boys are not fans of potato salad period and I can't eat the whole batch myself.

Picnic Party Potato Salad
5 lbs potatoes - red OR russett, diced, skins can be left on
1 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup mustard
3 tsp salt
2 cups sliced celery
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced for the salad
5 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced for the top
1/2 cup dill pickle relish
paprika for garnish

Cook potatoes until tender. Drain. Put into large bowl. Add onions and Italian dessing. Toss to coat. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Combine mayo, mustard and salt in small bowl; pour over potatoes; toss to coat. Add celery, the 4 diced eggs and relish. Gently mix. Place the 5 sliced hard boiled eggs on top of the salad. Sprinkle with paprika.
Serves: 10-12

Honey Wheat Bread

My friend posted the recipe on facebook. She got it from recipezaar. The chef who gets the credit is Karen. The recipe is #32607. She calls it Wholesome Homemade Honey Whole Wheat Bread - but it can't be whole wheat as it uses white flour as well. So...for my blog purposes I am changing the name because I can. This makes a light "wheat" bread. I thought the molasses might be overpowering - but the overall flavor of the bread is yummy!

Honey Wheat Bread

3 TBSP yeast

4 cups hot water

2 TBSP gluten

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 cup honey

2 tsp salt

3 cups whole wheat flour

Combine these ingredients in mixer. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes. This is called "sponging." You want to do this for wheat bread recipes that you make. After the sponging is done...

Add:

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

3 more cups whole wheat flour

4 cups white flour, more may be needed

Knead until smooth and elastic. I left my dough a bit on the sticky side as I didn't want to add too much white flour. Place in a greased bowl and turn once. Let rise about 40 minutes or until double. The dough wasn't sticky when it was time to shape into loaves.

Shape dough into 4 loaf pans. Make sure your bread pans are greased. Let rise another 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Chocolate Coconut Bars

This is part of the collection of recipes I chose for the April 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My team mate is Chickee from Sydney, Australia. She calls these Chocolate Rough Slice and her grandma used to make these. Russell says this is something he could actually get fat off of. That says a lot! If you like coconut - you will like this. These remind me of those Brachs@ Coconut Triple Layer candies - the ones that are pink, white and brown. I love those!

Chocolate Coconut Bars
Base:
2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup coconut
2 cups flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp salt

Mix all base ingredients and press into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool slightly.

Topping:
2 TBSP butter or margarine
2 TBSP baking cocoa
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups coconut
1 tsp vanilla
**Optional throw in ingredients: chopped walnuts OR pecan pieces OR sliced almonds

While base is cooking melt all topping ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat. Cool. Spread over base. Cut when cold.

If you eat one of these...
You will probably need a glass of milk to go with it....

French Bread #2

I know there is a french bread recipe posted here already. This is a different one (hence #2) that we like equally well! This is from one of my neighbors - Amy Saunders - when we lived in Wymount Student Housing at BYU.

French Bread #2
2 TBSP yeast
2 TBSP sugar
2 cups hot water
4 TBSP vegetable oil
1 TBSP salt
6 cups white flour

Stir yeast and sugar into 2 cups hot water. Let stand for 5 minutes to dissolve. Add oil and salt. Stir well. Add 2 cups flour and beat thoroughly. Add remaining flour until a smooth, elastic dough is achieved - not sticky. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until double in bulk. About 1 hour. Punch down and knead for a few seconds. Shape by rolling and stretching into 2 long 15 inch loaves and place on a greased cookie sheet lightly sprayed with vegetable spray. You cal also omit the vegetable spray and sprinkle with cornmeal if desired. Cover and let rise again until double. About 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 35-45 minutes.

White Texas Sheet Cake

A few years ago my mom put together a cookbook on my maternal side of the family called Generations of Good Cooks. This is one of the recipes she entered. We really like it and hope you do to.

White Texas Sheet Cake
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

In a large saucepan, bring butter and water to a boil. Remove from the heat; stir in remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour into a greased 15x10x1 inch pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until cake is golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes and frost.

Frosting:
Combine 1/2 cup butter or margarine and 1/4 cup milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp almond OR vanilla extract. Mix well. Add 1 cup chopped walnuts if desired. Spread over warm cake.

*I didn't add nuts this time - I wanted sprinkles.

Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy

I don't have a picture for this tasty meal! It was a huge hit with the family though. I got this recipe years ago from a Taste of Home magazine.

Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy

1 egg
1 can (1o 1/2 oz) condensed French onion soup, undiluted, divided
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 TBSP flour
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
hot cooked noodles or rice

In a large bowl beat egg. Stir in 1/3 cup soup, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Add beef. Mix gently. Shape into 6 oval patties. Brown in a skillet over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside. Discard drippings.

In small bowl combine flour and water until smooth. Add ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and remaining soup.

Add patties back to skillet. Add sauce mixture. Cook and stir gently for a couple minutes. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve patties and gravy over noodles or rice.

Sauteed Mushrooms

This is an Australian recipe from my team mate UmmBinat for April. Russell and I loved these! Well - we like mushrooms just about any way we can get them. These were no exception!

Sauteed Mushrooms
1/2 cube butter or margarine
3/4 tsp olive or vegetable oil
3/4 tsp balsamic or apple cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/16 tsp dried oregano
8 oz crimini button mushrooms, sliced or white mushrooms, sliced

Melt butter with oil in a frying pan over medium - low heat. Add remaining ingredients. Saute for 20-30 minutes or until tender.

Rice with Onion

UmmBinat was my team mate with this tasty recipe for the April 2010 recipe swap. She is from Canada. She modified this recipe from The Complete Middle East Cookbook by Tess Mallos. I modified it even more as we don't have basmati rice. This recipe is also called Mashkoul. Russell really enjoyed this rice as it is not sticky. A big plus for him!

Rice with Onion

2 cups long grain white rice

cold water

1 TBSP salt

1 large onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a large pot. Add rice and salt and return water to a boil. Stir occasionally to keep grains separate. Boil for 8 minutes. Strain in a large sieve. (I used my ricer that I use to make applesauce since the holes are super tiny. Didn't want to lose the rice!)

Heat butter in a heavy pan. Add onion. Fry gently until transparent. Increase heat and fry until crisp and light colored. Careful though - they will cook quickly!

Grease a 9x13 baking pan. Add 1/2 the onion and the strained rice. With a fork mix well. Sprinke remaining onion over rice mixture. Sprinkle rice with water if necessary. I did as the rice wasn't quite finished cooking. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Parmesan Crumbed Chicken

This recipe is part of my choices for the April 2010 recipe swap on recipezaar. My team mate for the recipe is Kiwi Kathy from Whangarei, New Zealand! This is fairly quick to assemble - provided you don't have to wait for the chicken to thaw. I think next time I make this though I will add some salt and pepper to the bread crumb mixture.

Parmesan Crumbed Chicken
6 chicken breasts, trimmed and flattened
2 1/4 cups dry breadcrumbs
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1 TBSP dry parsley
3/4 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup vegetable or olive oil

Combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and parsley. Add in some salt and pepper if desired.
Place yogurt in a medium bowl. Dip chicken in yogurt then coat in crumbs. Place on plate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 15 minutes. Brown chicken in oil over medium heat turning once. Transfer to a baking dish sprayed with vegetable spray. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Rolls

These were a huge hit at our house. This is from my team mate Chickee from Sydney Australia. She got the recipe from a German website.

Rolls
3 cups flour
2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 oz butter or margarine
2 cups milk
2 TBSP extra milk
poppy seeds or sesame seeds

Combine flour salt and yeast in a bowl or mixer. Add soft butter and knead well. Add just enough lukewarm milk that a smooth dough results. I used all the milk and ended up adding some extra flour. Knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky.
Divide into 12 equal pieces and form balls. Put on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.
Slash the rolls once lengthwise with sharp knife. Brush on cold water and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds.
Bake at 450 degrees for about 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Sourdough Starter and Sourdough Pancakes

Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Pancakes

Sourdough Starter

I got this recipe from UnknownChef86 on recipezaar. I have been searching for years for how to make starter and was excited for the information she gave me. I had some at one point many years ago but eventually I forgot about it and it went bad.

1 1/2 tsp yeast

4 cups flour

1 TBSP sugar

3 cups cold water

Stir the yeast into the flour til well mixed. In a medium bowl - whisk the flour yeast mixture and sugar into the water until thoroughly combined. Store in a glass or plastic container. Allow room for fermentation. It will bubble up. Cover top with cheesecloth or towel to allow for ventilation. Stir down occasionally with a wooden or plastic spoon. NEVER use metal utensils or containers. It will react with your starter in a bad way. Refresh the batter at least once a week with 1/2 cup cold water and 3/4 cup flour. If necessary - you can refresh it every three days.

Sourdough Pancakes

This recipe actually belongs to my Grandma Dysart. It's really hard to make without starter so was happy to be making this once again!

3 cups flour

2 cups cold water

2 eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 TBSP hot water

Combine 1 cup sourdough starter with 2 cups cold water and mix well. (Remember - no metal for mixing or bowls.) Slowly add in the 3 cups flour - mix well. It should be the same consistency as the original starter. (Consistency should be like pancake batter.) Cover and set aside overnight. Take out approximately 1 cup starter for next use. (I put this 1 cup starter back in the jar with the above starter recipe and stir it in.) Keep refrigerated.

Beat together eggs, sugar, salt and oil. Add to remaining sourdough "starter." Dilute the baking powder and baking soda in 1 TBSP HOT water. Add to batter just before you are ready to cook. Mix very well, cook pancakes on a griddle and serve.

This makes a lot of pancakes even for our family. We usually have about 6 or so leftover. The kids like to use the leftovers - spread with jam and rolled up.