Classic Potato Salad

BEST OF THE TASTY CHEAPSKATE

Potato salad season is upon us. Want a really good one? Yes. Yes, you do.

Have a great Memorial Day!

Potato Salad
Adapted from The New Best Recipe
Serves: 5-8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes plus you'll need time for the potatoes and boiled eggs to cool before assembly.
Cost: $3.30
(potatoes: 2.00, eggs: .60, mayo: .05, pickles: .50, other stuff: .15)

3 lb red potatoes (I left the skins on)
6 Tbsp red wine vinegar (you can use any, but the red wine flavor does make a difference)
salt and pepper
6 hard-boiled eggs, diced
dash onion powder (or 2 Tbsp minced red onion if you peeps aren't averse to pieces of onion)
1 C dill pickles, chopped small
3/4 C mayonnaise
3 tsp mustard (Dijon is nice, but not essential)
2 Tbsp parsley leaves or dill

Boil potatoes. (I left mine whole, let them cool, and then cut them, but you can just chop and boil if you wish). Hard boil eggs (Put in cool water, bring to boil, boil 10 minutes.)

Drain potatoes (and cut into 1/2 inch pieces if not already cut). Let cool until just warm and add vinegar and 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Gently toss. I put mine in a bowl with a lid and flipped it over a time or two. (Note: Best Recipe claims that the slightly warm--not hot--potatoes will absorb the flavors better than cold potatoes. I admit that I let mine cool completely before reading this tip. The potatoes still absorbed quite a bit of flavor and were good, but I trust the Best Recipefolks, so try it with the barely warm potatoes). 

Let cool completely in refrigerator (20-30 minutes). Once cool add remaining ingredients and gently toss. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Berry, Pecan, and Greens Salad with Caramel Vinaigrette

Who needs champagne?

Did you read that part about caramel vinaigrette? Yeah, I thought it sounded weird too. But it totally works. More than works. It is delicious. The fruit, the greens, a sharp cheese. It's the perfect salad for a perfect new year. It's healthy. Just a tiny bit indulgent. And lately berries have been on sale everywhere (why? I don't understand myself... At Meijer today blackberries were $.77, twice as many blueberries were $.99.)

You can eat this as a meal if you're on a New Year's diet, but if you'd like to make it more of a filling meal, you can add chicken.

Berry and Greens Salad with Caramel Vinaigrette
serves 6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cost: $6.60 (that's $1.10/serving!)
blackberries: 1.00, blueberries: 1.00, raspberries: 1.00, greens: 1.00, caramel sauce: 1.00, pecans: 1.00, cheddar: .50 vinegar: .10

4-6 C greens
1 handful blackberries
1 handful blueberries
1 handful of raspberries
1 C pecans
1/4-1/2 C crumbly cheese--we used a very sharp cheddar; a feta would also work
3/4 C caramel sauce (store bought or homemade)
sugar (for candying the pecans)
1/4 C apple cider vinegar
optional add-ins: caramelized onions, chicken

First, prep the dressing. If you're making homemade caramel, you'll have to do that. Otherwise, take your caramel sauce and whisk it together with your vinegar. Done.

Now throw your pecans into a skillet with about 1/4 C sugar, turn up the heat to medium or just above that. Stir occasionally and cook until the sugar is melting and adhering to the pecans. Remove them and place them on some parchment paper to let cool.

Assemble your salad--greens, berries, crumbly sharp cheddar, then the cooled pecans. Dress with the dressing. And you're done.

Note: If you wanted to skip the candying of the pecans, you totally can. I did once and this salad was still amazing.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

My Three Favorite Green Leafy Salads or Dressings

I guess it is January and all. I keep buying greens at any rate. Which is a good thing except when they jut stare at you from their little bag/clamshell and you wonder what on earth to do with them.

Rainbow Salad: This one's pretty. Also diverse.

Tree House Salad: This one's easy. And a little sweet/crunchy. I'm going to have to say that it's my favorite simple salad because you basically just need romaine, nuts, and goat cheese. It feels super sophisticated and fairly healthy and balanced without having 700 ingredients.

Orange Dressing: My favorite viniagrette.

Lentil Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing

This is the type of salad your mother would be so proud to hear you are eating. (Unless, of course, your mother is the type of woman who believes dinner should come from a can or a box in which case she'll feel you've gone all hippie on her.) Unfortunately, it is often the type of salad that gets passed right over at the church/work potluck as people head towards the pan of potatoes and cheese. It's like one of those foods that has a "nice personality." I mean, it does have two varieties of earth-toned beans in it. It is wholesome and not flashy. And yet it is absolutely not boring or yucky (when frankly, there are many many pans of potatoes and cheese in this world that are both those things). The thing about foods (and most likely people too) with a nice personality is that they often have so much more--a burst of tangy feta you weren't expecting, the brightness of the lemon zest and fresh cilantro, the unusual yet satisfying bite of the tahini. This salad--it just does more than the sometimes-flatness of its flashier, saucier potluck competitors. You should give it a try. (Note: I have NOT ever taken this to a potluck of any variety. I will have to try it to see if it gives those pans of potatoes a run for their money after all.)

The other perfect-for-summer thing about it is that it can be eaten cold or at room temperature. In this way, it's ideal for picnics or work lunches or sweltering summer evenings. 

Also, it's super cheap and perfectly filling. 

Lentil Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing
adapted from Smells Like Brownies
serves 4
prep time: 30 minutes
Cost: $2.35 or about $.60/serving (and it can easily fill you up for lunch)
lentils: .20, chick peas: .70, garlic: .05, olive oil: .10, lemon: .30, tahini: .20, feta: .50, other stuff: .10, onion: .20

To cook lentils:
scant cup dry lentils (I used brown; green would work too and be a bit prettier)
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 fresh sage sprigs
5 Tbsp olive oil
2 C water

For dressing:
1 tsp coriander
3/4 tsp cumin
1 clove garlic
sea salt
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp water

Other stuff:
1 Tbsp lemon juice
pinch salt
1 small red onion (mine was quite small--I don't like the onion to overpower everything else; use only 1/2 if you worry about this)
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 C feta crumbles
15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp lemon zest

Combine lentils, 2 cloves of garlic, sage, and 2 Tbsp olive oil in a small pot with 2 C water. Cook over medium heat. Let water come to simmer, then turn to low and cook until lentils tender. This will take about 25 minutes. Take pan off heat and drain. Discard the sage and garlic.

As your lentils cook, make the salad dressing. 

Combine coriander and cumin in a small pan and toast until fragrant (this brings out the flavor of the herbs, but can be skipped if you're in a rush).

Mash 1 clove of garlic with 1 tsp sea salt until it forms a paste. Combine garlic paste, toasted spices, 3 Tbsp lemon juice, tahini, and 2 Tbsp water. Mix well.

Put onions in a bowl or on a serving platter. Add 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp olive oil, and a pinch or two of salt. Toss this well and crumble in your feta.

Now assemble it all: Add your chickpeas to your lentils. Add lemon zest and another shake of salt (or up to another 1/2-1 tsp salt). Toss this with your onions. Then add the dressing. Taste for seasonings and salt.

Garnish with cilantro or parsley (cilantro is definitely my favorite).

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Rainbow Salad

This salad is super fun and super crunchy (both literally and figuratively). It is super pretty and super yummy. It is super healthy and super raw. It is, in a word, super. (In case you missed that.)

Also, it makes a rainbow. Well, sort of. I mean as much as any salad could make a rainbow. There are the dark red cherries or cranberries, the orange-ish red apples, the yellow sunflower seeds, the green edamame, the blue kale (yes, it is missing in this picture--I ate all my kale and had to sub in some lettuce), and of course the purple cabbage. Some of those colors may be a wee bit of a stretch, I admit, but still--throw them all into a bowl and I'll be darned if it doesn't feel like you're eating a rainbow.

Also, even though this salad is super healthy, it doesn't feel at all spartan; it feels indulgent. I love that in a salad.

And price? The bulk of this salad is made up of super cheap foods--cabbage, apples, kale. These pretties can all usually be found for under $1/pound. I'd never bought edamame before and was surprised that it wasn't a bank-breaker either (you can find it in the frozen foods section--my package was $1). And the more expensive cranberries and sunflower seeds--those you just need a bit of.

This salad recipe came with its own dressing, which was delicious. It will be posted below. However, I found myself using the Treehouse dressing (which is dumb easy) on it as well and I think most simple/sweetish dressings would rock it.

Rainbow Salad
adapted from The Spicy RD
Makes a whole bunch (I did not make this whole recipe--I halved it; it probably makes 12-14 servings)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cost: $7.00 (or about $.50/serving)
cabbage: 2.00, kale: 1.00, berries: .75, edamame: .50, sunflower seeds: .50, apples: 1.00, olive oil: .75, other stuff: .50

Dressing:

3/4 C olive oil
1/4 C balsamic or apple cider vinegar (I used apple cider)
1 Tbsp maple syrup (the real stuff)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp salt

Combine in tight-lidded jar or mini-blender. Blend/mix until emulsified (oil and vinegar combined). Let it sit for flavors to meld if you've got the time. Otherwise, you're still good.

Salad:

Note: I give these as a guideline only. I noticed after making this a few times that I liked my salad a little cabbage heavy, and that I could easily just throw in a little of this and a little of that and it was awesome.

2-3 C chopped kale
3 C chopped purple cabbage
3/4 C dried berries (I used cranberries that are tart)
1/2 C shelled edamame, thawed
1/2 C raw sunflower seeds (roasted work too, but I love raw seeds)
2 C apples (a tart one is nice; I used pink lady; Granny Smith would be good too)

Toss ingredients together. Add salad dressing.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Tree House Salad

This month for Secret Recipe I had Lea Ann with the blog Cooking on the Ranch. Her blog was just absolutely beautiful. It is one of my favorite blogs that I've found through Secret Recipe Club. I mean the pictures alone were enough to make you want to eat every single thing. Usually for SRC one recipe just jumps out at me and I want to make it. This time, I seriously couldn't decide what to make. I pinned a bunch of recipes and bought ingredients for the lemon zucchini bread. But then fate sort of decided for me that I would not be making that because we lost our power several nights ago and haven't gotten it back (yup, typing this up with a little help from our generator, which can't power our whole oven). So no lemon zucchini bread for me on Mother's Day (can I get a boo hoo...). But don't worry, I got this delicious salad instead.

Truly I love me a good salad almost as much as I love me a good sweet bread (yeah, almost). This one was one of the many recipes I'd had pinned. And it did not disappoint. It was crunchy with a little sweet from the dressing and some creamy from the cheese. A little of this with a fire pit hamburger for Mother's Day and I can be just as spoiled as I would have if we had full power. (P.S. Power came back on tonight--Happy Mother's Day to me; it meant I made these burgers indoors. Because fire pits are great and all, but so is getting dinner on without having to wait 2 hours for perfect fire/coals.) No more cooking (or rather mixing up salad dressing) by candlelight.

Thanks Lea Ann for such a beautiful blog and wonderful salad.

Tree House Salad
from Cooking on the Ranch
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cost: $6.15 (yes, that's a lot, but this makes quite a bit of salad--I halved it)
oil: .50, vinegar: .10, sugar: .05, lettuce: 1.25, blue cheese: .25, walnuts: 2.50, hearts of palm: 1.50

1/2 C peanut oil
1/4 C rice vinegar
3 Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
2 heads lettuce (one romaine and one leafy)
1/4 C crumbled blue cheese (I used goat because even though I thought I had blue, I didn't)
1 C toasted walnuts (ours were un-toasted due to our little no oven issue)
1 can hearts of palm, drained and cut into rounds

Combine first 5 ingredients (through salt and pepper) into a dressing. Do this by putting them all into a jar and shaking it like crazy or blending it in a little mini blender or food processor or getting out a whisk and going to town.

Toast your walnuts if you wish. Combine lettuce, blue cheese, walnuts, and hearts of palm. Dress with the dressing and enjoy.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

An InLinkz Link-up

Hot Honey Vinaigrette

This month for Secret Recipe Club, I had Suzanne from Thru the Bugs on My Windshield (which is an awesome blog title, don't you think). Suzanne used to be the moderator of my Secret Recipe Club group and she was always super helpful, so I was happy to get her this month.

In the spring I always get a hankering for salad. (And ice cream.) But let's pretend for today that I only have good impulses--nice salady impulses. I did, after all, recently purchase a spring mix, a tub of arugula, and a bag of spinach at the grocery store (and Breyer's ice cream). And I'll be darned if I didn't need something great to top it off with (dressing for the salads and Magic Shell for the ice cream, thank you very much). I was especially wanting something good for the arugula. I've been fixing to jump on the arugula bandwagon for a while. If you, like me, are a little behind the times in your greens--arugula is a slightly bitter, peppery green. Now I don't know about you, but when I hear bitter green, I tend to think of those garden greens that have shot up in your garden and are nasty and bitter. Yeah, those are gross (they are also the type of lettuce I'm most skilled at growing in the garden--arg). But arugula is not that kind of bitter. It's got a bite and a peppery taste, but it's not like those nasty bitter greens at all. It's more intentional in flavor--like a green with a strong personality. I found that I really liked it (hello, bandwagon, sorry I'm always so late jumping on). But for a green with a strong personality, I wanted a dressing with a strong personality. Suzanne's vinaigrette was just the thing: a little mustard, a little chile, a little honey. It totally worked. She used it for a Napa cabbage slaw, but it totally rocked my arugula. 

Happy Spring!

Hot Honey Vinaigrette

adapted from Thru the Bugs on My Windshield

Makes about a cup

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cost: $.70

vinegar: .20, olive oil: .30, honey: .10, other stuff (totally estimating here, sorry): .10

Note: Because this uses olive oil, it will sort of harden/set up in the fridge. Thus, you'll want to take it out of the fridge a half hour or so before use so it can "relax." If you find that planning ahead far enough to allow your food to relax is stressful, (hello, dinner in two minutes), run it under some hot water for a minute and that should do the trick. 

1/4 C rice wine vinegar

1/2 C olive oil (extra virgin)

2 Tbsp honey (or agave for a vegan dressing)

1/2 tsp chile powder (Suzanne used green; I used red)

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp salt (I used a tiny bit more)

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder (I used a bit less)

1/4 tsp onion powder

Add ingredients into a shake proof jar and shake your little heart out until the ingredients combine and seem to slightly thicken (emulsify). 

Or, if you'd like to spare your arm muscles, you can put it in a mini blender or mini food processor and blend/process. (I've done mine both ways.)

You can also put everything into a bowl and whisk, then slowly pour your oil in, whisking as you go. I've never done this since I have a terrible syndrome called "lazy arm"; otherwise known as "person of weak moral fiber syndrome." But don't worry, I'm working through it. 

No matter the method used to combine your dressing, if you have leftover dressing you want to use the next day, you'll likely have to re-shake it (so you may have to seek some treatment for your "super lazy arm" syndrome or perhaps just enlist the help of husband or hapless child).  

PRINTABLE RECIPE

An InLinkz Link-up

Bacon Balsamic Salad

It's easy to get stuck in a salad rut--you know that rut where a salad has to be something with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber (and usually a good dose of ranch dressing, right)--the kind of thing you get before your meal at a chain restaurant. The problem with salad ruts is that soon enough they turn into salad famines because that type of salad just becomes so painfully boring to eat day in and day out.

This salad rocked my little salady world. It's the best thing I've had in a while. I made it to eat with some Julia Child chicken, and with all due respect to the mighty Julia and her decidedly delicious chicken, this salad just stole the show. It's all I wanted to eat. And the next day too. If we hadn't run out of bacon and lettuce, I would have had more today. Oh--and Kip loved it too. And he's a man. Nuf said.

Okay not quite enough said. I should tell you that this is a warm salad. Does that scare you? It scared me too, but just have faith because it's amazing. You can cook the lettuce on the grill (it just gets a quick char, not a long cooking) or do it on a hot skillet like I did. It's not cooked till wilting; just enough to warm it and make the flavors meld.

This salad is easy, satisfying, and uses just a few simple ingredients (like, you noticed it's half a head of romaine right--don't let that scare you). Also, it's cheap. Ah--wonderful salad.

The only tricky thing about it is that it's really best served right away and with family dinners timing can be tricky because, you know, family dinners involve families and families don't always consent to your timing. Yeah. But it's still worth it. More than worth it. And even if it has to wait a few minutes, it's still a delight.

Bacon Balsamic Salad
adapted from Jane's Adventures in Dinner
Serves 2
Cost: $1.35
romaine: .75, bacon: .25, Parmesan: .15, balsamic: .20

Note: You want your romaine to be a nice tight head. Usually it is, but every once in a while it's a little leafy. This is still good with a leafier head, but better with a tighter head.

1 head romaine lettuce, cut in half with the bottom part kept on so it holds together
olive oil
pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Parmesan (a couple tablespoons probably)
lemon juice
balsamic glaze (see instructions below)

Bring romaine to room temperature. So get it out when you begin cooking stuff for the rest of your meal. (You don't have to do this, but it really does help; otherwise, you have a warm-on-the-outside-slightly-cool-on-the-inside salad--it's still good, but not as good.) Cut romaine head in half longways--keeping the bottom part so it holds together.

Drizzle olive oil on the heads and smear it all around. Add some minced garlic to each half. Sprinkle with pepper. Now let it sit while you make your dinner (if having more for dinner--this could easily be a light meal itself).

While it sits, cook your bacon. Drain it and crumble it.

To make balsamic glaze: Take your favorite balsamic vinegar, pour it in a pan, and cook it on high until it reduces to about half--it will thicken (especially if it cools a bit) and because a little syrupy.

When you're ready to have dinner, you're going to cook your lettuce. Heat a skillet till it's hot. Put your half heads of lettuce on it and cook each side for only about 30 seconds--they sizzle and possibly brown just the tiniest smidge on the edges.

Take the lettuce off the heat, sprinkle with lemon juice (don't forget; this is awesome). Then add bacon bits, Parmesan, and top with the balsamic glaze (which looked a little scary to me, but was so good I slathered it on my main course as well and decided I wanted to eat it on all foods from henceforth and forever--just wait--you'll see).

Eat while warm. Good, isn't it? Told you.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Broccoli Salad (Gluten-free, Dairy-free)

It's another Secret Recipe Club post.

This month I got Angela's Kitchen, which features gluten-free and dairy-free cooking. I myself could probably gnaw on gluten all day, but I have a friend with Celiac's, which means I do have an appreciation of the challenge of finding gluten-free foods and the joy in finding ones that taste good. Angela's blog is packed. Also, she does all kinds of cool things, like educated restaurants about gluten-free/dairy-free options for their menus.

I went for something veggie-based because I was nervous about unusual types of flour and also because I love broccoli salad and have been meaning to get one up on this blog, oh, forever. Some of you may know that raw broccoli just isn't my thing. Oh, sure, I can get it down, but it's not love. Broccoli salad, however, I adore. (I guess that's what happens when you add some fat and sugar to your unloved veggies; I didn't say this salad was an act of strong moral character, okay. I only said it tasted good.)

Broccoli Salad
adapted from Angela's Kitchen
makes 6 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cost: $3.00
broccoli: 1.50, raisins: .25, walnuts: .50, bacon: .50, other stuff: .25)

Note on nuts: Angela uses sunflower seeds, but I didn't have enough; The sunflower seeds would be perfect for a nut-free salad, but if nuts aren't an issue I bet you could sub a variety of different nuts in this salad

5 C broccoli florets
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C walnuts
1/3-1/2 C cooked, crumbled bacon
2 Tbsp finely minced red onion (since Kip hates onions, I left this in a separate bowl to be added according to taste (And, yes, he is obscenely spoiled.))
3/4 C mayo (you're going to need gluten-free and dairy-free if that's what you need)
1-2 Tbsp cider vinegar (I've also used balsalmic to good effect and I'm betting lemon juice would kick butt too)
2-4 Tbsp sugar (original recipe called for 4, but I scaled it back to 3 and maybe could have scaled it back a bit more)

Cook your bacon. While it's cooking, make your dressing. Combine mayo, vinegar, and sugar. Whisk. I recommend starting with 1 Tbsp vinegar and 2 Tbsp sugar and then having a taste and adjusting it according to your needs for sweet and sour.

Cut your broccoli into bite sized (or smaller) pieces. Crumble bacon and add it. Add nuts and raisins.

Drizzle dressing on and then add salt and pepper to taste (I found I liked it without either).

Chill and then eat eat eat.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Classic Egg Salad (Only Better)

(Yeah, you can see a little of that blue/green dye leaked on to the eggs. Don't you just love Easter traditions?)

When I was growing up, we took our extra eggs and rolled them down a hill to see whose shell would come off first. I recall it being a race of some sort, although I don't remember if the winner was the first egg down the hill or the first egg to lose its shell or the last egg to lose its shell. At any rate, it was loads of fun. In fact, cheapskate or not, I count it as a great way to use up those Easter eggs because it was such a squeal-with-delight Easter activity.

However, I recognize that there are those among you who would rather not roll their eggs down the hill or perhaps have so very many eggs that you can roll your egg and eat it too. In this case, let me recommend these egg salad sandwiches.

Which isn't a recommendation I give lightly. You see, I don't really care for egg salad sandwiches. Every year on Easter or the day after we whip up a batch. Every year they look pretty good. And every year I take a bite or two and call it good.

This year, I decided to do something radical. I decided to consult a cookbook. And sure enough, there on page 122 of my Best Recipes (Cook's Illustrated) Cookbook was a recipe for egg salad. It didn't look too earth shattering, but then I had nothing to lose so I made it.

They recommended cutting (as opposed to mashing with a fork) the eggs. I actually didn't think I'd like it since I'm a greater lover of mayonnaise than of hard boiled eggs, but I decided to exercise a bit of faith. It called for mayo, onion, a little bit of lemon juice, celery and parsley. I subbed onion powder for the onion and left out the celery, knowing that those ingredients would deter the only reliable egg salad eater in the family.

And when it was done? Oh me, oh my. It was GREAT. I still don't know quite why it was so great. I think I have the larger bits of egg to thank (apparently, egg paste and I just aren't on good terms; who knew) and the lemon, which adds a something something I never would have thought to add on my own (even though recently I read that egg and lemon were really good bedfellows; I wasn't quite a believer, but now...).

So even if you aren't an egg salad aficionado, you might want to give this just one more try. If you're not planning to hurtle some defenseless eggs down a hill, you've got nothing left to lose.

Classic Egg Salad
adapted from The Best Recipe Cookbook
Prep time: 5 minutes if eggs already cooked
Cost: $.90
eggs: .60 (more like .30 around here lately), mayo: .20, other stuff: .10

6 hard-boiled eggs
1/4 C mayonnaise
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp Dijon mustard (regular will do too)
small dash onion powder (probably 1/8 tsp)
1/4 tsp salt
pepper
1-2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped small
1 Tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped small

Hard boil eggs if you haven't. (Bring to hard boil, cover, turn off heat, and let sit for 10 minutes.)

Remove shell from eggs. I recommend giving the top and bottom a good bonk on the counter and then rolling the middles back and forth. Then peel starting at the end with the air pocket. This usually makes it easier for me to get those eggs out.

Dice eggs into 1/2-inch bits. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine.

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