The Weekday Chef – Page 8 – Featuring Chef Pattie

Christmas Parties

My Friend Linda had a party the other night at her lovely home. I couldn’t help myself. I had to take some pictures of her decorating magic.

Pretty kitchen centerpieces on the beautiful granite island.

My friend Linda, the hostess of the baby shower/Christmas party.

I loved the blooming amaryllis plant and some of her other crystal Christmas plates and platters.

The kitchen is so open and has great features. She changes out the decorative plates for each season. In the summer time it has navy and white and silver touches. For Christmas time she has red and white and silver. I loved all of her polka dot embellishments, candles and ribbons.

Christmas china was displayed in the pretty built in hutch in the kitchen….

The starfish is a really pretty addition to the baubles and ornaments in red and silver….

Pretty kitchen cabinetry and tiles looked so fresh in black and white and silver.

I have a cake plate just like this one below that I never use. It just sits in my china cabinet. Now I’m going to pull it out and make something cute with it! I feel so inspired right now! (let’s see how I do on the weekend when I actually have time to work on the decor….)

Cake plate with silver and red and white ornaments looked adorable!

What a pretty bunch of baubles! I bet anybody could make a glass jar look pretty. But these are really artistic.

So simple yet so beautiful…..silver and red…..

She was giving a shower for a friend at church who had adopted a cute little Asian baby boy. He is really adorable. They hadn’t arrived while I shot photos or I’d have a cute picture of them both!!

The theme of the shower had Asian-inspired foods like Chinese Chicken Salad, egg rolls, and homemade fortune cookies with the little boy’s name tucked inside them. These fortune cookies dipped in chocolate were made by another talented friend, Aimee Ferre of Olive Branch Design. Check out her latest design website called A Garnished Life. She is also a master of design. The little Asian panda bear cookies and candies were so cute as embellishments to the food table. Everything just sparkled and was set off by red polka dotted linens. And I bet she uses them at Valentines Day too!

My latest purchase; a pretty pointsettia table runner covered with red sequins….I couldn’t resist when I saw it at Home Goods for $15.00. Gotta love a bargain! Woot!

I just bought a new red runner with sequins on it from Home Goods. (One of my fav stores for decor!) I needed it to go on my formal dining room table with some creme colored placemats with little red cardinal birds and holly berries. But as you can see I haven’t done anything with it yet. I got a few cool light bulbs too and I just need to figure out what to do with them….hmmm…

I have a whole setting of these Snowmen plates from Kohls. My favorite color is red, you can tell.

And I found this snowmen plate and cookie jar set that perfectly match my Christmas China from Kohls. But I got them from the thrift store for a $1 buck each! What a find! OK, back to the party!

There was a really pretty punch bowl with yummy punch in it as well as this decorated water dispenser with limes and cranberries. So creative!

Pretty Silver punch bowl with a yummy slushy drink inside! Mmmm….My daughter bought me one of these last year. I loved it. Maybe I’ll get it out and use it this year. (gotta have a party!)

These polka dotted candles were my very favorites. I didn’t get a good picture of them but they were so pretty lit up with the little glittery, red gems sprinkled close by.

On either side of the fireplace Linda had her nutcracker collection. I have another friend Laurie Rainey who collects nutcrackers too. She has more than 100 of them. She also lives down the street. We should all go talk nutcrackers sometime over lunch! lol. My collection is much smaller than either of these gals. But I do appreciate a cute collection!!

I wish I had taken some close ups of the darling tree. There were tiny square photos of all her grandchildren on the tree amidst silver and red baubles, pinecones, silvery glittered branches and snowflakes. It had a Diet Coke ornament on it too!! (I like this lady even more now!). So cute!! The gifts were all baby shower gifts. Christina, guest of honor, got like 10 times this amount. I snapped these shots before the party started.

I LOVED the little missionary set of nutcrackers on the top right shelf. Super cute! I’d never seen missionary nutcrackers anywhere before! Gotta get a cute set like that! I loved the polka dotted ribbons and bows. It added a touch of whimsy to a beautifully decorated tree.

This was her music room. I loved this room. Enough said there. Just stunning.

Front entry hall with a giant wreath displayed where her big family picture usually hangs. Gorgeous!

I loved this black cabinet that reminded me of an old player piano we used to have. It houses more pretty Christmas figurines and decor.

Loved this Santa and his funny quote. Do you think if I had one it would guilt me into avoiding those Christmas candies and cookies? I think not……but it’s worth a try! (sounds of snickering)

This was my favorite fun thing she had in her kitchen. It is a candy station for when her grandchildren come over to visit. There were little scoops in each candy bin and a little container of Christmas bags to fill with our candy choices that she offered each of us before we left. Super cute. She changes out the candy to different kinds for each season. I popped a giant lime bubble gum ball in my mouth on the way out. Yum.

It was a wonderful party. Thanks for opening your beautiful home to us all to ooohhh and ahhh over all of your pretty things. And we all are so happy for Christina and her new little guy.

Lemon Garlic Pasta with Turkey

I have been wanting to make a yummy pasta dish for a few days with my leftovers from Turkey day. How about some lemon garlic cream sauce to go on thin spaghetti pasta? Doesn’t that sound soooooo yummy?

I had purchased some cream (never go to the grocery store hungry) on my last shopping trip, thinking I’d look for some recipes that sounded good. I perused about 6 of them using lemons, and then I experimented.

Lemon-garlic pasta with white turkey breast.

I liked how this turned out. If I made it again I would maybe add some cayenne pepper or a few red pepper flakes for some heat. But it was tasty, as it was. Here are the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cube real butter
1 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 garlic cloves crushed
1 Tablespoon flour (for thickening the sauce)
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon parsley flakes for garnish
1/3-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup chicken stock
2 T. lemon juice
turkey chunks
thin spaghetti pasta

DIRECTIONS
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. While pasta is cooking cut up the turkey.

2. Put butter and garlic in a fry pan, mince up and saute. Add chicken stock, lemon and flour and mix up. Then add cream and spices. Add diced turkey to the sauce and coat for a few minutes. Add Parmesan cheese and parsley last. Add salt and pepper to taste. If it seems too runny, let it set for 10 minutes and the pasta will absorb the sauce. Serve with some crusty bread and a spinach salad with berries and pecans.

I added a spinach salad with red onion, mushrooms, sliced almonds, blackberries, and raspberry vinaigrette. It was a delicious side dish to the lemon-garlic pasta.

Here is a chart to help if you run out of garlic cloves and have to substitute minced garlic in a jar or garlic salt. You can also make this recipe with shrimp. Just simmer the shrimp in the sauce for about 3 minutes per side till it turns pink on the edges. Enjoy!

GARLIC EQUIVALENCIES

1 small clove garlic = 1/2 to 1 teaspoon minced

1 medium-size clove garlic = 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons minced

1 large clove garlic = 2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons minced

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder = 1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic = 2 medium cloves

Crispy Onion Rings

Crispy and Delicious Onion Rings!

I had a friend who made that green bean casserole using homemade onion rings for the topping yesterday. She was cursing the recipe maker because of all the work it was to make the homemade cream of mushroom soup, and the homemade onion rings too. But it got me craving an onion ring. And right on the tail of stuffing and gravy? Oh this is a bad craving. I’m going to walk the track right now!

Crispy Onion Ring buttermilk and egg batter….

I truly love these sweet Vidalia Onion Rings. And the batter is easy enough. But I’d dust the onion slices first with flour, then the egg batter, then with the flour mixture third. That way you have a nice, rich breading to fry them up with.

Crispy Onion Ring Batter….

Flour Mixture:
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoons Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper,
a shake of garlic salt. Mix up.

Buttermilk “wet” mixture:
1 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 egg
1 Vidalia Onion sliced thick lengthwise

DIRECTIONS:

1 Vidalia Onion (sliced thick for onion rings) Dust with flour mixture, then buttermilk mixture, then flour mixture again. Let sit for a minute in the flour mixture. Then drop in hot oil on the frying pan for about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Put on a paper towel.

Use 1/2 Greek yogurt and 1/2 buttermilk ranch dressing mixed in a bowl for dipping sauce. Yummy!

The SWEET VIDALIA onions make the very best ONION RINGS! Yumm….. BUT you can’t make these very often. Just like French Fries, you have to really pace yourselves. I hardly ever order fries anymore. I just love other food too much!

Here we are dipping and dusting, dipping and dusting….

Then I would put it into a small deep fryer, or fry pan with hot oil.

We used to have a Fry Daddy or Fry Baby. Those would work for your onions. Frying pans are just fine too. Anyway fry those babies up and then lay on paper towels to dry them off a bit.

Onion rings are just foolproof and delicious and easy.

My hubs snapped this pic of me as we were both chowing down on these yummy onion rings. See my
greasy fingers? Yeah, you can’t make these too often if you don’t want to have a heart attack!

My dip is easy; ranch dressing mixed with greek yogurt. It cuts down on the fat a little. You can also slice tiny bits of cucumber into the dip. That makes it taste really fresh and delicious. These are really easy to make up if you have unexpected company too! Who doesn’t have an onion or two lying around?

They really taste fantastic. They are easy. Just slice, dip and fry, eat and enjoy. Sometimes you just need a little comfort food, now dontcha?

Cranberry Cilantro Salsa for Turkey Sandwiches

CRANBERRY CILANTRO SALSA….great for a Holiday Party!

Cranberry Salsa on Cream Cheese Dip

This is the most delicious dip for a party or family get together! It is made with fresh cranberries and cilantro with a little jalapeno, lemon juice, sugar and cumin. It is so easy but so tasty. If I make it I will hang out by this dip the ENTIRE night! It is embarrasing when I find something I love I just can’t stop eating it! That’s my downfall! FOOD! go figure…..

Oh YUMMY is this stuff heavenly! I could stand here and eat it all day! I really like it with Wheat Thins because chips fall apart when you try to push them into the cream cheese….it may be better with soft whipped cream cheese…but it wouldn’t look as pretty on the plate…..

Cranberry Salsa Dip with Cream Cheese

INGREDIENTS:
12 ounces or about 3 cups fresh cranberries chopped in blender or chopper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded, cored, and finely diced (cut it in half if you don’t like some HEAT)
3/4 cup sugar (you can add a whole cup but it is very syrupy and sweet…I’d knock it down to 3/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 (8 ounces each) packages cream cheese, light or regular, softened
Wheat Thin Crackers, for serving or Tortilla Chips

Chop about 3/4 cup at a time in your blender on “pulse”…or use a food processor for speed….

You can freeze fresh cranberries in the bag to use all year…did you know that? Yeah,
the cranberry salsa keeps in the freezer too….so I put half of it away in a tupperware for another party!

It looks like a lot of cilantro when you are done…so you could go less on it if you wanted….
The sugar is really sweet….It would taste okay to use less if you are watching sugar intake….

My hubs bought the jalapeno and it was large so I only used about half of it
and saved the other half for chili I’ll make later in the week (turkey chili with leftovers from Turkey day)….if you don’t like the heat use 1/3 of a jalapeno instead of 1/2.

I didn’t have a lemon so I used lime juice….It was okay but I think lemon tastes better…
but lime will do in a pinch for sure!

DIRECTIONS:
Pick over the cranberries looking for smashed or bruised ones. Then use your blender for the cranberries or a food processor and finely chop about 3/4 of a cup at a time. Put into a bowl and add the sugar. Then chop the cilantro, jalapeno and add them in and mix up. Then add cumin, lemon juice and salt and mix. Transfer the mixture to a covered bowl or tupperware and refrigerate for 2 hours so cranberries lose their tartness!

It’s good on a fresh turkey sandwich too…hmmm…….I think I’ll have to get on that!!

When you are ready to serve, put the block of cream cheese on a really pretty plate. Top with the cranberry mixture. Surround the plate with wheat thins crackers. So very Yummy

It’s a great Thanksgiving or Christmas dip or relish. And not only because it is red and green, but it always tastes fresh and tart and sweet for a fun party or for anytime!

Hosting Thanksgiving Parties and Get Togethers

The 2nd Grade Teachers at my school were in charge of hosting a Fun Friday get together. We decided to decorate Turkey Day style.

Here are some of the yummy dishes we made. These potatoes were DIVINE!

The secret ingredient in the twice baked potatoes is cream! And of course the bacon makes everything betta!

Chinese Chicken Salad with dried cranberries and mandarin oranges. I added some slivered almonds too. Yum.

Corn pudding. I’d never tried this before but it was good! Kind of sweet and savory at the same time. I found a recipe at Taste of Home HERE that got a 4.9 rating! It would be a fun, new recipe to try! I loved it!

I made some cute Thanksgiving cupcakes too…Scarecrows and Turkey Cupcakes with Orange Slice Candy hats and Lemonhead heads and Candycorn feathers and beaks.

I also found these fall colored Reese’s Pieces candies that added a yummy touch to these Peanut Butter Cookies. They looked pretty on my fall brown crockery platter.

Another one of the teachers made these delectable chocolate turkey cupcakes. Yummo!

And these pecan tartlets were to die for. I ate two of them! They are like a tiny pecan pie! I found a similar recipe at All Recipes.com, HERE. It’s my favorite cooking website because everything is rated by like thousands of home cooks. You KNOW it’s gonna be good.

Had to have something healthy too! Everything tasted really great.

Another yummy thing we had was Cranberry Sprite! It’s NEW and Superbly YUMMY! Try it this holiday!

I am planning my menu for Thanksgiving Day too. I’m going to do my favs but add some of those pecan tartlets and some Sweet Potato Casserole too.

Little Pinecone Turkey Placecards….check out my previous blog post for the tutorial Here at Weekday Chef.

Besides making some excellent memories with your kids and family this year doing some fun crafts like Gingerbread houses, Little turkeys out of pine cones (above… my granddaughter is modeling them as hair bows lol) or making sugar Christmas cookies or breads….we play Pin the Hat on the Turkey.

What side dishes do you plan to go along with your turkey and stuffing?

Side dishes….besides your obligatory potatoes, gravy and stuffing, WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER FAVORITES?

WELL….And besides all of the wonderful pies we all make….My daughter-in-law Cait made these cute mini apple pies….So cute….what else do you love on Thanksgiving Day???!

My favorite salad is one my mom always made…..fresh cranberry….Check out the recipe HERE at Weekday Chef. The fun thing about it is my siblings all make this one too. You make family traditions with all of your side dishes, did you KNOW THAT? Yeah. It’s true!

My son Devin made this spinach salad….doesn’t it look yummy? So pretty too! It is seriously one of my very favorite side salads to any meal….with spinach, candied pecans, avocado, strawberries and a sweet raspberry vineagrette.

My niece Becky made this to die for sweet potato casserole…I found a recipe for it at All Recipes.com HERE. …it is really yummy and tastes almost llike a dessert it’s so good!

One that I have always made is the French’s Fried Onions Green Bean Casserole with Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup in it. You just Have to have some green bean casserole! The recipe is on the back of the French’s Onion Can.

And of course you can’t forget the homemade rolls and real salted butter. I love to have some really good raspberry jam to go with it.

Here is the link at Patties Place. I have lots of Thanksgiving decor I’ve taken pics of. It’s my other blog. Try a new side dish this Thanksgiving you haven’t tried before. And have fun at YOUR get together this fall holiday!

Pine Cone Turkey Placecard Tutorial

PINE CONE TURKEY TUTORIAL HERE!

Here’s a picture of our Thanksgiving placecards this year. These adorable PINECONE TURKEYS are really easy to make. Add some PLACECARDS and some knock knock turkey jokes and you can crack your family up!

Thanksgiving Decorating – Entry Hall Table and basket of pumpkins….

PINE CONE TURKEY TUTORIAL!!!

THANKSGIVING TABLE DECOR

You will need:
6 rainbow colors of chenille stems
a pine cone,
one brown pom pom,
an orange fat/skinny chenille stem (shaped like a snowman nose)
wiggly eyes
Wrap the chenille stems around the bottom circumference of the pine cone and twist once so you have the 2 end parts sticking out like a V. Then twist those 2 together at the ends to make one teardrop shaped loop, or like a bunny’s ear. Do this again with a different color. Make all the loops on one side of the pine cone so they look like a turkey’s feathers. I make sure the pine cone can sit level on a table too.

I start with red and do orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, the order of the rainbow. Then take a glue gun and add a brown pom pom for the head on the other side of all these cute feathers. Add 2 googly eyes purchased from Hobby Lobby or Walmart. Lastly, add a snipped off piece of the orange fat chenille stem. They end up looking like a carrot but are perfect for a turkey ” beak”.

My Thanksgiving Decor in the entryway….gotta love some 3 foot tall pilgrims!

Lastly I went online and found these adorable placecard tags. I printed off 8 of them for my own Thanksgiving guests at my table. They come in pumpkin orange and kind of a sage green. I laminated them so I could reuse them next year. (If you don’t have lamination then just use a roll of clear, fat, book tape or something similar to protect them. Then use a dry erase marker for putting the family names. You can wipe it off after dinner and reuse the little turkey cards. HERE is the link for the free and printable turkey cards.

PINE CONE TURKEY CRAFT and PLACECARD TUTORIAL

KIDDIE TABLE THANKSGIVING DECORATIONS

I made a little table for my granddaughters to sit at and used little plates and cups for them and a cute little tablecloth. I think they loved being at their own little table. They really LOVED their little turkey placecards!

PINE CONE TURKEY TUTORIAL AND CUTE THANKSGIVING TABLE DECOR….

I’ll have to think of something cute toput on the tables for Christmas! Maybe some little pinecone snowmen! I’ve got TONS of pinecones out in our front yard under our trees. Hmmm… another repurposing crafty project…

We always play a game on Thanksgiving…sometimes Apples to Apples, Sometimes Loaded Questions or Wits and Wagers…and sometimes good old PIN THE PILGRM HAT ON THE TURKEY!

I purchased these kiddie melamine plates at Target for the upcoming Christmas holiday dinner. And they had placemats and bowls to match at Target. I love that store. I could easily make a simple snowman tablecloth if I want to matchy-match. That might be easier than placemats since my kiddie table is kinda tiny. I’ll have to see what kind of fabric they have at Hobby Lobby tomorrow.

Cute Target Kid’s Plates and tableware for Christmas! I have lots of snowmen decor to go with this too!

Pottery Barn Kids had some DARLING ‘ELF ON THE SHELF’ plates and cups and decorations for holiday tables. Kids would love those. It sure is fun to browse the beautiful store and enjoy their great decorations. Just trekking down to Trolley Square in Salt Lake is always a fun adventure anyways.

CUTE CHRISTMAS KIDDIE TABLE FOR DINNER….TARGET HAS SUCH CLEVER TABLEWARE!

I’m working on these 3 fun Christmas Jars to decorate my Kitchen Counter! How do you like them?

I loved hanging out with Megan and Marisa. Notice their cute turkey shirts my daughter made for Thanksgiving? So cute!!

Fall Fun Jars and Decorating

I love decorating for fall. It’s my favorite time of the year. I love the fall colors in linens and table runners, scrapbook paper and silk flowers and leaves and amber glassware. Here are some of my favorite things this fall.

Love this Cookie Jar at Easy Peasy Chic’s blog. I have done the same thing with just
scrapbook paper and a ribbon tied on top. It’s so easy!
I save what I’ve designed for next year on all my holidays
too, just in a binder with page protectors.

At Yeringtonflowers they did a cute Fall table decoration grouping. Just simple mason jars
filled with pinecones, acorns and candy corn!
Easy Peasy!

Elle Interiors had the idea to use green apples in a glass trifle bowl to decorate.
I love the “green apple” colored candle too!

Front-porch-ideas-and-more had this cute idea!
Use gold metallic spray paint on real pumpkins for a
dash of sparkle. I think I’ll try that for my
fireplace area this year.
How cool is THAT look? it’s cool alright….

It’s a blog party did a simple but beautiful fall
mantle that looks easy to copy…
I love the leaves, pods and acorns
strung along in an easy twine garland too.

Antsi-pants has this FREE printable subway art. CUTE!

What is it about Fall colors that are just so appealing? I made a copy up for my home as well as my classroom!

Pure Style Home did another fall fruits in glass idea that I loved.
I’m going to be looking for some of these glass domes.
I think they are cool and you could use them for every season.

HEREis another beautiful wreath I’d love to make .

Well, and who could resist just a plain old pile of pumpkins and some straw hay bales or an old cornstalk.
And if that’s not enough, how about a cute grandkid in the mix? Yeah….she makes my day.
Love her. Happy decorating. Gotta love a little
“punkin” like this one…..:D Happy Fall Ya’ll!

Soft Breadsticks

These breadsticks are super easy and go great with any kind of pasta dish. I’m going to be using these on some pasta shells I got at the Dollar Store today along with some other great Thanksgiving deals.

Solar Powered dancing pilgrims and turkeys!

Look at how cute these little pilgrims and turkeys are! They are solar powered! They dance if you just place them under a lamp. My little grandkids are going to love them! I’ll have to put them on the kiddie table. I wish I could have found more of the turkeys. They are the cutest the way they bob up and down.

Cheesy Breadsticks with Parmesan and garlic. mmmmm…….Make some to go with your favorite Italian dish!

I’m making a pasta shells with sauce dish today for dinner and these breadsticks will go great with them. I kind of rushed in shaping them because I really didn’t care (it’s just the hubs and I and he will eat anything I cook! :D) so don’t judge me. lol. They taste really good, I promise!

Soft Breadsticks

1 1/2 C warm water
2 T sugar
1 T yeast
1/2 t salt
3 1/2- 4 C flour
1/4 Cup butter

optional
1/4 Cup fresh Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top

a few shakes Johnny’s Seasoning Salt

This recipe will make about 20-24 seven-inch breadsticks.

1. Mix the water, sugar and yeast together in a measuring cup or in the bottom of your mixer. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

2. Add the salt and the flour a little at a time till mixed. Beat for 5 minutes with Mixmaster dough hook. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

I got a new beater this week at Kohls with a 30% off coupon! This was $10 off!

3. Place on greased cookie sheets in 6 inch rolls or use a pizza cutter to cut them into strips. Use silicone brush to lightly brush melted butter on top of each bread stick.

I poured melted butter and then fresh Parmesan and a few shakes of Johnny’s seasoning salt.

I just use a pizza cutter and do strips of breadsticks. I don’t really care that they are lopsided or whatever. I was just doing them for the hubs and I so who cares. For company I’d make them the same lengths and thickness so they would look uniform.

You could also use just Garlic Salt instead or just leave it at Parmesan cheese and butter.

4.Lightly sprinkle Johnny’s Season salt and parmesan cheese on each bread stick. Let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 10 – 12 minutes. When they are golden take them out. Yum. You will LOVE THEM!

Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks! These are fast, easy and sooooo YUMMY! Try them!

Potato Salad with Crumbled Bacon

I only have 7 ingredients for my creamy potato salad. And I NEVER put pickles or onions in mine. That’s just wrong!

Weekday Chef’s Creamy Potato Salad with Bacon!

This is one of my kids’ favorite things that I make for BBQ dinners….great for fall picnics too.

My 7 ingredients are: Potatoes, eggs, bacon, celery, mustard, mayo, and Salad Supreme Seasoning. These 7 yummy things makes a great potato salad. But don’t eat it that often because it is very high in calories and the egg yolks aren’t so good for your arteries. But it’s great for a special event.

I like to use either red, new potatoes, or Yukon Gold potatoes. Both just seem creamier to me.

And of course bacon makes everything a little bit better, now doesn’t it?

If I use the red, new potatoes, I don’t peel off the skins, ever. But sometimes I do with the Yukon Gold, if I’m not feeling too lazy. (or if I can get the hubs to peel potatoes for me I’ll do it every time!) haha.

Potato Salad Ingredients List:
13 to 15 small and medium potatoes cut up into bite size chunks so it fills a big salad bowl
7 eggs (boiled with the potatoes, then chopped up)
1 1/4 cups of good quality mayo (Best Foods or Hellmans)
3 Tablespoons regular French’s Mustard
4-5 pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled
3-4 stalks of celery finely sliced (I like that bit of crunch)
5-7 shakes (to taste) of Salad Seasoning (about 2 teaspoons)

Seasoning salt and pepper if you need more flavor. Mix the cooled potatoes in with all the other ingredients and add seasonings. Top with a few shakes of parsley flakes. Refrigerate before serving.

It’s hard to find this stuff sometimes, but it MAKES every single salad better, pasta, potato, spinach…I use it a LOT!

The best potatoes to use are these red, new potatoes. Just leave the skins on!

Yukon Gold also make great potato salads…leave skins on or peel as you please…I peeled mine for this salad.

It’s a great side dish. And it tastes even better the next day when all the seasonings have melded together as leftovers!

THE WEEKDAY CHEF

Football Tailgate Party Snacks

Well, we have the Sunday Night Football going on at my house, and it is going STRONG! My daughter and her husband both have fantasy football teams too. It’s another year of my favorite fall sports.

Are YOU going to ROOT for my team?

This little girl does….Go BYU! GO, FIGHT, WIN!

Over the loudspeaker Friday morning at school our principal played the BYU fight song instead of the school song. It was so funny because it took me a few minutes to realize what song was happening. I thought at first it must be a mistake….. it was pretty funny. There are football rivalries that run high in my community!

So in honor of the rivalry game today, I made my husband some football pancakes for breakfast to go along with his sausage and eggs. Cute right?

HERE is a cute Football Player Printout. that gave me the idea for these cute football outfits the kids made.

I loved this cute football player out of felt. But it could just as easily be construction paper. Here are some of the ones we did last year. The paper legs were just out of newsprint. The kids pictures are inside the helmets. And of course, they did their favorite team’s jerseys and cheer outfits and then wrote about their favorite teams. But HERE are some of my favorite football snack recipes. Gotta love a good pig in a blanket right?

I made this brie cheese baked in a puff pastry last year during the Super Bowl…it’s so easy and yummy!
The recipe is on the Puff Pastry website as well as a video How To Do Puff Pastry.

And you can’t beat a Texas Caviar dip (black bean and corn salsa) . Recipes is HERE.

What is YOUR favorite football team? Cougars? Utes?

Lots of BYU BLUE represented for sure! Rise and Shout the Cougars are OUT!

Make Your Own Wraps are always a great Party Food Option, especially for those health conscious sports fans….and guys always love any kind of mini sandwich on hogie breads. Or you can make them on white dinner rolls.

Or make a homemade pizza or two are always appreciated…YUMM……check it out HERE.

Pizzas are always great for a Football Party Snack. You can’t go wrong! Make your own in your little cast iron fry pans!

The girls had a “pom pom” added to their outfits…..

The boys had a football added to their outfits…… I know, I’m not very PC am I?

Gotta Love some Football chocolate cookies, now don’t ya? Get a tablecloth from the dollar store or a party store. I got a bunch of stuff after the Super Bowl last year on clearance, so I’m set!

Ya just gotta love those “cleats” now dontcha?

A free printable of the FOOTBALL subway art is below. It’s cute at the house for a football party, and it is cute on a bulletin board too! HERE is a Football Printable Football helmet printables football helmet printables HERE

I hope the Utes don’t blow us away! I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Cute Football Player color and cut-out activity great for little kiddos….

One more thing I found that I thought would be a fun thing to do for my grandkids to keep them busy during the games coming up. They love to color and cut out things like paper dolls. So how about a paper football player? Maybe in team colors! Making Friends.com has the download.

Football Subway Art

Martha Stewart had a few “Football Snacks” that looked kinda delicious to serve at your Football Tailgate Party too ! Check them out at Martha Stewart’s website. I love little smokies in a piggy blanket! Yummy. Have fun with the football fanatics at your house!