Egg Salad with a twist

I don't often make egg salad, but when I do, I always wonder why I don't make it more often! It's not a secret that I like things "hot" or spicy. So when I set out to make egg salad, I wanted to kick it up a little bit and this is the great result.

This recipe is only using 4 eggs which made 2 sandwiches, so bump up your ingredients if you need more than 2 sandwiches.

4 boiled eggs
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 tsp dill weed
1 tsp wasabi or horseradish
1 tsp sugar
A small splash of lemon juice (maybe 1/2 tsp)
Salt & pepper to taste

Mash your boiled eggs together and then add all of your other ingredients.


This amount of wasabi (or horseradish) is not overpowering, but you do notice it. For myself, I would add another teaspoon of Wasabi.

Tater Tot Hotdish with Cheese

OK, who doesn't like a good ol' tater tot hot dish? Such an easy meal that everyone enjoys. And the leftovers are great too.

1 bag frozen tater tots
1.5 pounds hamburger
1 can of whole kernel corn
2 cans of cream of - - - soup*
1/2 an onion, chopped
1.5 cups grated mozzarella cheese**

*You can use any kind of cream soup that you want. I usually use cream of mushroom and cream of celery, but cream of broccoli or cream of chicken works fine too.

**You can use any kind of cheese you want; I just like the flavor of the Mozzarella for this dish. You can even omit the cheese if you wish.

Preheat oven to 450.

Brown your hamburger and onion together, then drain the hamburger. Mix the corn and soup, along with your hamburger in a 9X13 casserole dish and spread out evenly. Top with cheese and then top with tater tots, making sure the tots aren't over-lapping.




I am never happy with mushy tater tots. So I always add 10 minutes baking time to whatever the instructions on the bag calls for. When that cooking time is done, turn your oven to broil and leave the casserole for another 5 minutes.

Pea Salad

I'd never been crazy about Pea Salad, however At Scott's Bar & Grill in Edmonds, WA they have a great Pea Salad that I decided to try and duplicate several years ago. I make this salad several times a year, including for pot lucks and I've had a number of people tell me it is better than Scott's. As egotistical as it sounds, I have to agree.



1 bag frozen peas (about 16 oz.) I use petite peas whenever possible
1/2 C mayonnaise
2 Tbsp bottled Ranch salad dressing
1 Tbsp dill weed
5-6 slices of bacon, cooked & crumbled
1/4 red onion, chopped*
1/4 can Smokehouse Almonds (or 1 packet that is about 1.5 oz.)**

*You can use any kind of onion you want, but I specifically always use a red onion for this salad because I like the flavor it adds.

**I like to buy the cans of Smokehouse (Diamond brand) almonds when they are on sale. If they aren't on sale I buy one single serving packet, which is about enough. Although if I have the can, I will end up using a few more almonds this way. Whatever doesn't make its way into the salad, becomes a good snack for any other time.

I find it best to take the peas out of the freezer about half an hour ahead of assembling the salad. It gives them a chance to thaw a bit and then you don't have crunchy peas.

Prepare your bacon and cut or break into small pieces, then chop your onions, also into small pieces. Mix the mayo and Ranch in a mixing bowl and then add all of your other ingredients. Done.

I have had so many compliments on this salad, including "I don't even like pea salad, but I love this!"



Pictured here with some home-canned "King Corn" and Creamy Citrus Chicken.

Dilly Baby potatoes

I love baby red or white potatoes. Or the mini fingerling potatoes I get at Trader Joe's now and then. Like today. And it is so easy to turn them into a nice, easy little side dish. This recipe is for one net bag of potatoes. (Maybe 30 real small potatoes.)



Clean your potatoes but leave the skin on. Boil them in a pot of salted water until you can poke them easily with a fork, but don't let them get mushy.

Drain the water off, and return to the stove, on low heat. Then add the following ingredients:

4 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. garlic salt
OR 1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. dill weed
1 tsp. rosemary, optional

I don't always use the rosemary, but it adds a really nice flavor.

Stir until the butter is melted, and then serve. So simple, and so tasty.

Meatloaf with a Kick

My Aunt Pearl makes a great meatloaf and this is mostly her recipe. I added the horseradish and/or wasabi, and added a little more Worcestershire and more crackers than she calls for. Otherwise, this is her recipe and is found in our family cookbook.

Meatloaf is a great comfort food, and a great way to use some 'cheap' hamburger. OK, no hamburger is cheap, but I'm talking about the kind that has a higher fat content, therefore it is cheaper.

In order to keep the grease out of your meatloaf, put a couple slices of bread in the bottom of the loaf pan to soak it up. Just be sure not to plate any of the greasy bread when you serve up the meatloaf. Although, by the time it has finished baking, the bread takes on a bit of a crust, so it wouldn't be horrible if you accidentally dished it up too. I just don't recommend it.


Here is what you will need:

2 lbs of hamburger
1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed
1/4 of an onion, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 C milk
1 egg
About 6 shakes Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp horseradish or wasabi sauce

Place the slices of bread in the bottom of the loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 400.

Mix all other ingredients with your hands to get it all well mixed together. Pat down into loaf pan; it will completely fill the pan. If it overflows the pan a little, when you place it in the oven put a baking sheet under it to catch any possible dribbles. (You only need to crush the crackers, as if you're putting them into a bowl of soup. Coarse pieces, not tiny pieces.)



Ready to go into the oven. Bake at 400 for one hour.



Just out of the oven.

No Bake Cookies (aka Dog Dumps)

OK, I'm sorry. I don't know, for sure, where that name came from, but I do know when we were kids we would ask Mom to make Dog Dumps. This is what we ended up with.

This recipe is SO simple. Rick gets after me for saying that about many things that I make, saying, "It might be so simple for you, but not for everyone." I know, that's true, only because I have experience from so many years of cooking, which includes lots of trial and error. However, this truly is such a simple recipe that even your children will do a great job with it.

Here's what you will need:

2 cups granulated sugar
4 Tbsp cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups oatmeal

In a heavy saucepan, add your sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Bring to a boil and remove from heat after just one minute.

Immediately add your peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal and stir until mixed thoroughly. Drop by spoonfuls* onto waxed paper. (In the picture you will see that I dropped them onto aluminum foil. That's because I discovered too late that I was out of waxed paper.) Let them cool completely.





*I like to use an ice cream scoop because you get nice, uniform scoops and because the scoop mechanism removes all of the mixture in one scoop, instead of having to coax it out with a spoon or your fingers. I use an ice cream scoop for every kind of cookie I make.

This recipe makes 32 cookies. They are caramel colored even though there is cocoa in them.

Don't let the silly name fool you - these are yummy!




Here's a clean up tip: As soon as you have scooped out all of the cookies, place your pan in the sink and fill with water to soak. If you don't, it becomes much more challenging to get that glue-like mixture out of the pan after it hardens.




Uh-oh! Caught with my hand in the cookie jar!

Potato Patties

In a previous post I talked about making "extra" mashed potatoes so that I could make potato patties with the leftovers. It makes a great breakfast item, or a side dish with your supper.

Mashed potatoes
1 C (or so) Panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. butter
Salt & pepper to taste

Place the Panko on a plate. Take a hand full of your leftover mashed potatoes and flatten out, similar to the method you would use to make a hamburger pattie. Make it about the size of your palm or a little bigger. You want it to be manageable to handle, because it will be crumbly or a little hard to turn in your skillet if the pattie is too big.

Roll the pattie in the Panko, pressing down gently to push the crumbs into the potato. The Panko will help hold it together, but it will also give it a slight crunch, which I like.

Melt your butter in the skillet over medium or medium-low heat and place the patties in the skillet. Unless your patties are too thick, it should only take about 3 minutes per side to come to a nice golden brown. Sprinkle with salt & pepper as they are browning.



Pictured here with chicken and citrus cream sauce, and a green salad.