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

Disney's Monterey Clam Chowder

This very tasty recipe comes from participating in the November Aussie/NZ recipe swap. TasteTester is the chef and she comes from Florida. She says she got this recipe from the "Disney Magazine." The Pacfic Wharf Cafe in Disneyland makes this chowder and this is one of their most requested recipes.

My kids ate all of their dinner last night. I am wondering if it was because the word "Disney" was in the title of the recipe! I did make a couple changes like increasing the veggies and adding additional flavor.

Disney's Monterey Clam Chowder
5 TBSP butter
5 TBSP flour
2 TBSP vegetable oil
3 cups red potatoes, cubed
3/4 cup diced onion
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup celery
1 cup clam juice
1 pint chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup chopped clam (next time I will use 2 cans drained, minced clams)
1/2 TBSP dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch white pepper
3/4 tsp tabasco sauce (I will decrease this next time. It does give a kick.)

Melt butter in a saucepan and add flour to make a roux. I added part of the chicken stock to this. Stir often and set aside.
In a large pot, heat the oil. Saute the potatoes, onion peppers and celery over medium heat until the potatoes are just barely tender. Add cream, clams thyme, salt, pepper, tabasco sauce and roux. Whisk well to blend.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer - stirring often. Add more seasoning to taste. I added some garlic salt and celery salt.
We had this with homemade french bread for a very satisfying meal.

Homecanning Potatoes

The instructions for canning potatoes, white-cubed or whole comes from the United States Department of Agriculture Extension Service. Just in case you are wondering....

For today's canning activities we are using these potatoes DH and I dug out from our potato barrells we did. This would explain the over-abundance of dirt.

First we need to wash the dirt off.
These are the bigger ones. We will use these for canning today.
These are the smaller ones. I will save them for dinner tonight probably.

Next we need two pots of water. The yellow one on the right is filled about 1/2 full. This will be the boiling water we need for cooking our potatoes. The smaller pot on the left will be the fresh hot water needed for canning the potatoes.
Then I will find the biggest bowl I have. I filled it 1/2 full of lukewarm water. Then I added about 1 TBSP or so of salt. This is so the potatoes don't turn brown on me.
Now the fun begins. We (I mean I) get to peel all the potatoes.
Then I cut them into 1/2 inch cubes.
Place in the bowl of salt water you just made.

Keep peeling and cubing until your sink is empty of potatoes and this bowl is full.
Drain the potatoes from the salt water solution.
Add the drained potatoes to the very large pot of boiling water. Cook 2 minutes in boiling water and drain again.
Here we are draining the just cooked potatoes.
The potatoes are now done draining.

Fill your jars leaving 1 inch headspace.
All these potatoes gave me 4 quarts and 4 pints.
Add 1 tsp of salt per quart jar and 1/2 tsp salt per pint.
Now we can use the hot water we filled earlier.
Add hot fresh water to your jarred potatoes.

Again - leave 1 inch headspace.
Using a handy tool similar to this - retrieve your lids from the simmering hot water.
Screw the bands on your jars.
Begin filling the pressure canner. Make sure you have about 2 inches or so of water in your pressure canner.
All the jars fit into one canner. Because there are two different sizes of jars - I have to use the time for the quarts. It won't hurt the pints to process for an extra 5 minutes.

I am using a dial-gauge pressure canner today. For my altitude of 17 feet I will process this batch for 40 minutes at 11 lb PSI.

*Note - if I only had pints I would do 35 minutes at 11 lb

Quarts are 40 minutes at 11 lb.

*Weighted pressure canners need the following:

Pints 35 minutes at 10 lb

Quarts 40 minutes at 10 lb.

**Again - please check with your local extension office for altitude/processing times. My time I used today is adjusted for my altitude.

My canner has vented for the required 7 minutes. I am now adding the weight.
My jars have now processed 40 minutes, the canner had time to cool down and I can now remove my jars.
Using something similar to these jar tongs - carefully remove your jars to a folded bath towel or similar item to cool down.
We are done for now. Later today I will take the rings off the jars and wash jars and rings in hot soapy water and air dry before storing away.
**Uses for canned potatoes....

Stews, soups, casseroles, chowders - maybe even mashing! I think they would be useful for potato salads too. The possibilities? There are many.