Kat's Recipe Box

This used to be my pop pops favorite potato salad and then little brothers. It is best served warm.

4 cups of sliced cooked potatoes
1 – 2 onions
4 or more strips of bacon
½ cup of white vinegar
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. celery seed
Fry bacon until crisp, remove from pan and drain. Mix sugar, salt and vinegar and pour into bacon fat. Break bacon into pieces and add into hot sliced potatoes. Add the onion. Pour in hot fat and vinegar mixture. Sprinkle in celery seed, mix well.

Recently we had the twins 6th birthday party and I was trying to come up with some recipes that I hadn’t made before. G-Ma and G-Pa were grilling sausage and a pork loin and I wanted some type of side that would be barbeque-ish and I came across this spicy corn casserole and thought it would be a perfect addition. There was not much left afterwards so it must have been alright.

4 cans of whole kernel corn, drained
½ cup of butter
1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup of canned evaporated milk
4 tablespoons of flour
4 seeded and chopped jalapeno peppers

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the drained corn into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish and spread the corn evenly over the bottom.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt the butter and cream cheese over medium heat stirring frequently until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the milk and flour and continue cooking until the mixture is smooth and creamy, for about 5 minutes. Stir in the jalapenos.

Pour mixture over corn and mix well. Bake for 30 minute or until edges begin to brown and mixture is bubbly.

Coming from a long line of potato lovers and not being one myself it was always a challenge to find a potato that I actually liked, with the exception of French fries. It is extremely simple to make and you can always jazz it up to fit your tastes. My brother has taken these potatoes with him to an Eagles game for his tailgating breakfast. He put his own spin on it by adding Cajun seasoning…(I think that is what he added. Let me know Tim)

1 small bag of red skinned potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
¼ of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt

Oven 350 degrees

Cut the potatoes into bite size pieces and place in a bowl. Add olive oil, garlic and kosher salt. The amount of salt depends on what you like. Toss together and spread out on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes flipping once halfway thru.

I usually leave the potatoes in until they are well browned and crispy. I have even added fresh chopped rosemary for a change. Warning, your whole house will smell like garlic!

I prefer the kosher salt and use it in all of my cooking but there is no need to go our and buy it if you don’t have a need for it. Regular salt should do.

I found this recipe the other night and decided to give it a try. My son even ate it which is a big surprise as it is a vegetable. I love snap peas and usually include it in my salads and pasta salads but up until this point haven’t found a way to cook them that I liked.

¼ cup of butter
1 large shallot chopped
1 lb. of sugar snap peas
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.

2. Chop shallot and add to melted butter and cook for about 5 minutes or until tender.

3. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil and fill a large bowl with ice water. Once the water is at a boil, drop in snap peas and cook for about 5 minutes and remove and add to ice water to stop the cooking process.

4. Add peas, tarragon and salt to melted butter and shallots and toss gently to coat.

5. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes more stirring frequently until heated through.