Lulu's Recipe Box

Red, White and Blue Cheese Potato Salad

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone is enjoying a great day with family or friends. TC and I had a nice afternoon at the pool, had an early dinner and will walk down to watch the Narberth fireworks tonight. It's just the two of us this holiday since all of our friends are gone for the summer and our families are back in Iowa. Since we can't join our families for BBQ picnics today :(, I decided to make the day as close as possible to what we would experience at home. BBQ grilled chicken, blue cheese potato salad, corn on the cob and a berry trifle which I'll post after this. I am not a fan of regular potato salad, but I can't get enough of this one! The blue cheese makes this version delicious! 

Ingredients:

Serves 10

3 lbs. red-skinned unpeeled potatoes (about 10-12)

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

3/4 tsp. garlic salt, divided

1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 cup salad dressing (Miracle Whip or Mayo)

2 T. buttermilk (or you can substitute 2 T. milk and a splash of vinegar)

4 oz. Maytag blue cheese (any other brand will do too)

Directions:

Cook potatoes with the skin on until tender; drain. Let potatoes cool and then cut into 3/4 inch pieces. The skin should still be on the potatoes although some falls off as you are cooking or cutting the potatoes. Combine potatoes, 1/2 tsp. garlic salt and the pepper. Toss gently to combine. In a separate small bowl, combine the salad dressing, buttermilk, crumbled blue cheese and remaining 1/4 tsp. garlic salt. Add the mixture to the potatoes, toss gently to coat. Cover and chill at least two hours. The blue cheese taste will be more defined once it is cold. Yogurt may be substituted for salad dressing.

Feta Pasta Salad

I'm back from vacation in Grand Cayman and it was AMAZING! I have never been to a place where the ocean water is so clear you can see right through it and the sand is completely white and smooth. I have more to tell and show about Cayman later on today, but for now I wanted to share a pasta salad recipe that I made down in Cayman. We stayed in a condo so it was nice to be able to cook some of the nights rather than eating out every meal. It has been a family favorite for several years now and I love everything about it, especially the feta cheese and the tangy dressing! Yum! It would be a great salad to make for 4th of July celebrations this weekend! It's colorful in its presentation and very tasty! I will probably make it several times this summer because I love to eat it for lunches too. It's very filling with the pasta and all of the vegetables. I'll be back with pictures and stories of Cayman later! Hope you are having a good Monday. I'm having a hard time getting back to reality after ten days on the beach! 

Ingredients:

10-12 oz. corkscrew/rotelle pasta- cook till tender and rinse with cold water

1 red bell pepper

1 bunch scallions, chopped

10 cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 cup black olives, pitted, cut in half

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

2 T. fresh parsley, chopped

2 T. fresh basil, minced

Dressing:

1 envelope Good Seasons Italian dressing mix- make according to directions on package with vinegar, olive oil and water

Also add to the above:

2 T. water

1 T. Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly black ground pepper

1/4 lemon- juices from (you could also you lemon juice from the bottle)

1 tsp. sugar

4 leaves fresh basil, minced

Combine all dressing ingredients and shake well- I use my dressing bottle but you could use a small tupperware container 

Combine all ingredients, add salad dressing and toss lightly. Store in refrigerator in covered container. Serves 10. 

Ginger Steak Salad

Sorry for the absence of recipes lately, but after having the stomach flu for about a week and then TC having it for another week, we haven't been doing much eating, let alone cooking. It felt good to be back in the kitchen and have an appetite again! This ginger steak salad was quite tasty. I didn't think TC would be a fan of the distinct flavors but he enjoyed it too. Must have been the extra steak I put on his salad! :)Both the dressing and the marinade for the steak had so many wonderful flavors; soy sauce, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, and a little jalapeno. A perfect mixture of sweet, savory and a little spice from the jalepeno. You can skip the jalapeno if you don't like the heat. It was a light meal, great for lunch or dinner!

Steak Marinade:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry
2 minced garlic cloves
2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 rib-eye, strip, or sirloin steak

2 tablespoons olive oil for cooking the steak

Salad Dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 generous tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced (optional)

8 ounces salad greens: baby lettuces, endive, radicchio, etc.

Directions:

Combine steak marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Mix and place steak into bag. Marinate for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Combine salad dressing ingredients. Slice green onion.

When steak is finished marinating, add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a hot skillet. Cook steak about 1 1/2 minutes per side, or until medium rare (we cooked it a little bit longer because it was too pink for me). Remove from skillet and keep on a plate, allowing to cool slightly.

Toss salad greens in 3/4 of the salad dressing. Place steak on cutting board and slice thinly, then pour juices from the plate over the top. Mound tossed salad on a platter (I arranged it on individual plates), then place sliced steak on top of salad. Pour remaining salad dressing over the top.

Sprinkle green onions over the salad, and add cherry tomatoes if you like.

**Recipe from Pioneer Woman

In Good Company

One of our favorite things to do on the weekend is to have dinner with Sara and Tim and play their new Guitar Hero Rock Band. Rock Band is addicting and so fun! Sara always cooks wonderful meals for us at their house, but tonight it was our turn to host them. I cooked some of my favorite dishes that I think you will enjoy making too! They are very simple, tasty recipes!

Mandarin Salad

Ingredients:                                                                        Dressing ingredients:
1/2 c. sliced almonds                                                            1/2 tsp. salt
3 T. sugar                                                                            dash of pepper
1/2 head iceberg lettuce                                                       1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 head Romaine lettuce                                                     1 T. chopped parsley (can use a little dry)
2 whole green onions, chopped                                              2 T. sugar
11 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained                                   2 T. vinegar

In a small heavy pan over medium heat, cook almonds and sugar, stirring constantly until almonds are coated and sugar dissolved. Watch very carefully as they will burn easily. Cool and store in container. Mix all dressing ingredients and chill. Mix lettuces and onion. Just before serving add almonds and oranges. Toss with dressing. Yields 4-6 servings.

Party Potatoes

Ingredients:
2 lb. bag hash browns, thawed (can use shredded or small cubes, I prefer cubes)
3/4 c. margarine (1/2 c. with potatoes, 1/4 c. with corn flakes)
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 c. mild Cheddar cheese (shredded)
2 T. dry minced onion
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 1/2 c. corn flakes

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan. Crush the cornflakes by hand. Melt 1/2 c. margarine and 1/4 c. margarine separately. Combine the 1/4 c. margarine with the crushed corn flakes. Combine the 1/2 c. margarine with the hash browns and all other ingredients except for the corn flake mixture. Top the potatoes with the corn flake mixture. Bake 1 hour or until hot and bubbly on top.

***For four people, I cut this recipe in half.

Mom's Pork Tenderloin
 

This recipe is for a 2 lb. pork tenderloin or approximately that. Would probably serve 6-8 people.

Cut a clove of garlic into two pieces and use to rub the meat.

Rub the pork tenderloin with the following mixture of spices:
2 tsp. ground sage
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. marjoram leaves

Tie the two strips of meat with cooking twine to keep the two pieces together. I just used some string that I had on hand and it worked fine. My mom grills this meat until the temperature reaches about 150 degrees. I had to improvise because we don't have a grill, so I browned it on all sides in a large frying pan with oil. Then I put it in a 350 degree oven and baked it until the temperature reaches around 150 or until it is not too pink. It was so tender and just as good as grilling it. Let sit 5 minutes before cutting.