New Fashioned Potato Salad

This is a maiden voyage for me with blogging. I'm sure this initial post is going to look quite silly and amateur to just about everyone. But give me a minute, and I will get it together. My friend, Susan, will be rolling on the floor over this, but I'm trying. Anyway, on to this recipe.

Don't those store bought containers of potato salad just leave you a little cold? Tons of mayo and no personality??  Kick up your potato salad a notch this holiday weekend and try this recipe. Finely chopped colorful vegetables give this great flavor.  I used my food processor to achieve the really small chop for the vegetables. If you don't have a processor, just chop away by hand. The overall   result should be uniformly small pieces of vegetables resembling confetti that you will mix into the salad. No one wants to chomp into a huge piece of jalapeno or onion. 


Start with:
3 to 4 lb. of potatoes
1/2 of a red onion
1 small jalapeno, seeded
1 medium carrot
1 medium stalk of celery
1 clove of garlic
1/2 cup of fresh parsley
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1/3 cup of sour cream
1 1/2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt (such as Emeril's Essence)
Freshly ground black pepper and extra salt to taste


Boil the potatoes whole with the skin on until firm tender, adding a generous amount of salt to the boiling water. Drain and allow to cool until you can handle them.


Place the onion, jalapeno, carrot, celery, garlic and parsley in your food processor and process until they are chopped very small. Place in a large mixing bowl.


Mix the mayo, sour cream, mustard and seasonings together.


When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skins. This is a whole lot easier to do after they're cooked. Cut them into edible sized pieces. You should have about six or seven cups of potatoes. Dump these into the large bowl with the vegetables and toss gently to mix. Pour the dressing over the warm potatoes and vegetables and gently mix again. Check for seasonings. Cover and chill.


Enjoy everybody. Have a safe and relaxing holiday weekend. And don't give up and buy that store bought stuff, EVER! 


If you like this recipe, please let me know by leaving a comment for me, and thanks for stopping by. I need encouragement to go on! And from time to time, I will bother you about my cookbook Singingirl Cooks! which is proudly for sale and full of recipes, pictures and stories just like this. Ask me about it.

Couscous Salad Greek Style

I've been having a bit of trouble typing lately because of some nasty hand surgery. So, I'm tapping this out with one hand just to get it posted in time for the holiday weekend. Make this instead of the expected potato or macaroni salad, and you'll be happy you did. Delicious flavors combine to make this an un-mayonnaisy (I know that is not a word....), better-for-you salad, and a terrific accompaniment to anything you're serving.

COUSCOUS SALAD GREEK STYLE

1 1/2 cups of water

1 cup uncooked couscous

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, well drained

1 cup diced peeled cucumber

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/3 cup black olives, sliced or halved

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 15 oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained

1/4 cup water

3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbs. olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil. Stir in couscous and oregano. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for about five minutes or so. Fluff with a fork and then combine with the next six ingredients. Set aside while you make the dressing with the water, lemon juice, oil and seasonings.  Mix well with a fork or whisk. Pour dressing over the couscous and toss to coat well. Chill and serve. Garnish with some slivered lemon peel and a shake of oregano.