All posts by Amy Jajliardo

Sitting on the Sides

Potato Salad

3 Comments

I cannot believe I haven’t already posted this recipe.  Everyone calls it “Amy’s Potato Salad” but really I just tweaked what was already a GREAT recipe.  So, I’m copying and pasting the Hellman’s Mayonnaise recipe (found here) and then I’ll add my “tweaks” so you, too, can enjoy “Amy’s Potato Salad”  😛

Hellmann’s the Original Potato Salad

Ingredients

    • 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks ( 5 to 6 medium)
    • 1 cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise
    • 2 tablespoons vinegar
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
    • 1 cup thinly sliced celery
    • 1/2 cup chopped onion
    • 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

Directions

  1. In 4-quart saucepot, cover potatoes with water; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain and cool slightly.
  2. In large bowl, combine Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, sugar and pepper. Add potatoes, celery, onion and eggs and toss gently.
  3. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

And now for the “Amy Tweaks”
To the above, also mix in:

1/2 to 1 cup chopped green olives
1 1/2 Tbs dill weed
a couple dashes of Tabasco (we prefer smokey habenero)

My very creative Mother-in-Law also likes to toss in torn up nasturtium flowers (yes, they’ve edible, kind of a peppery taste) when they’re in season.  You could garnish the top with whole nasturtium flowers as well!

Dinner time!, Kids Favorites, Super Soups, The Noon Hour

President’s Potato Soup

3 Comments

This is Laura Bush’s Irish potato soup recipe.  It’s a favorite of my family, but in the beginning, I enticed them a bit by calling it President’s Potato Soup….I mean who wouldn’t want to eat like the president of the United States (okay, don’t answer that!!!).  It is very simple, fairly quick, and delicious!!  Oh, AND CHEAP!

6 potatoes peeled and cubed (I had a few red potatoes that I threw in this evening, and I just left their skins on them)
1 Tbs oil (I omit this with my directions….see below)
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup onion (actually, I chopped up 2 whole onions and threw them in there….onions are good for you!)
1 12oz can evaporated milk (or 1 1/2 cups of milk)
1/2 cup butter (or margarine, if you must, but…..don’t!)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (whatever!  do the salt and pepper to taste!)

Mrs. Bush’s directions: Place potatoes in a stockpot with enough water to cover.  Boil until tender, about 10 minutes.  Drain and set aside.
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add celery and onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add potatoes.  Stir in evaporated milk, butter, salt and pepper.  Heat until just below boiling.  Serve immediately.

My directions (cuz you know how I am about following a recipe precisely!) Melt butter in large pot, add onions and celery and cook until translucent.  Add potatoes and just enough water to barely cover everything.  Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender (10-20 min).  Add milk, salt and pepper.  Heat until it’s hot enough.  Serve (no immediately about it…..they will come running!)

Dinner time!, Super Soups

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

8 Comments

This is another favorite Olive Garden soup.  It is also pretty simple.  I used swiss chard instead of kale, but everything else was the same.  SO good!!

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

  • Author: CopyKat Recipes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Italian sausage
  • 2 large russet baking potatoes sliced in half and then in 1/4 inch slices
  • 1 large chopped onion
  • 1/2 can Oscar Meyer Real Bacon Bits (these are less fatty than real bacon)
  • 2 cloves garlic,  minced
  • 2 cups chopped kale or Swiss chard
  • 2 14.5 ounce cans chicken broth
  • 1 quart water
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Cook sausage in a 300-degree oven for approximately 1/2 hour; drain on paper towels and cut into slices.  (okay, um, I actually fried the sausages as directed on the package, and went from there)

Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, and garlic in a pot and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done. Add sausage, bacon, salt, and pepper to taste and simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn to low heat; add kale, cream, and water (optional).  Heat thoroughly and serve.

Dinner time!, Super Soups

Olive Garden’s Italian Sausage Soup

3 Comments

Found this on the Olive Garden recipe page this evening when I was looking for a soup recipe using sausage.  Considering my SuperHero is Italian, I figured he might like it (he did)  He even took a picture and told me I should post it.  Pretty quick and simple soup. I am putting the actual recipe here, and in italics, the changes I made (for what we had on hand).

italian sausage soup

1 lb sweet Italian sausage, ground
1 cup white rice
1 cup chopped tomatoes in puree (1-10 ¾ oz can)  (I used a can of tomato sauce)
1/2 lb chopped frozen spinach (1-10 oz box), thawed and drained
6 cups beef broth (used water and bouillon)
1/4 tsp black pepper, ground
Pecorino Romano cheese, for garnish (used a Parmesan Romano blend)

  • Cook ground sausage in a soup pot and break the meat up with a fork as it cooks. Add in rice, beef broth, tomatoes and black pepper and bring to a simmer.
  • Simmer 12-15 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in chopped spinach and let simmer for a few minutes.
  • Ladle soup into soup bowls and garnish with freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
Dinner time!, Kids Favorites, Smart Substitutes

Eggs Pierre

10 Comments

image

Okay, this is how much I truly love my SuperHero:

  1. That I even make this stuff (which, BTW, I confess to calling “Pukes Pierre)  I will admit, though, that since adapting the recipe a bit, it is starting to grow on me and I now will eat it when I make it (yeah, I used to eat sandwiches while everyone else had this)
  2. I am putting this on MY food blog after I’ve spent years berating it.  SuperHero just called me to ask for my food blog address for a co-worker, because she wants this recipe (yep, you read it right, this is for you Jauna!)

I actually used to tell my MIL that I was sure she just made it up as NOBODY had ever heard of it before.  It’s one of those “comfort foods” I think, for hubby, but I have discovered that he is the only Jajliardo “child” that is still getting served this stuff.  With the changes I’ve made, it is tastier and looks a whole lot less “vomitrocious” (yes, I said that!)  The sauce makes about 6 or 7 servings, and you just make as much sausage, eggs and toast as you want.

Pierre Sauce (make this first as it needs to simmer about 15 min.  You could also cook up the sausage at this time and then keep it warming in the oven on the lowest temperature)

1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup sesame oil (yes, use sesame oil, the flavors better AND it gives it better color than….well, than you know what)
5 Tbsp flour
3 cups chicken broth (or 3 cups water + 3 chicken bouillon cubes)
1/4 cup tomato juice
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste (not too  much salt!  there’s already saltiness to it)

Heat the oil in a sauce pan, add garlic and briefly cook it.  Add flour, mix well and heat until it get bubbly.  Add the remaining ingredients and cook over medium low heat for about 15 min. (don’t let it boil)

You can use either sausage in either the breakfast links or patties, cook them as directed on the package.

While the sauce is simmering (and the sausages are cooked), fry up some eggs with a little salt and pepper (however many you want) and cook your toast.  Place the toast on your plate, top with an egg, some sausages and then ladle the sauce over it all.

I would LOVE to have your comments on this!

Bread, Glorious Bread

Italian French Bread

2 Comments 
I came up with this recipe in honor of our family as my 
SuperHero has Italian in him and I have French Canadian in me.  
Wonderfully flavorful French bread!

(bread machine recipe) Makes 1 ½ pound loaf

1 ½ cup warm water
3 ½ cups unbleached white flour
1 ½ Tbs Italian seasoning
2 Tbs Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs gluten
1 Tbs dough enhancer
1 ½ tsp salt
2 tsp active dry yeast

Place ingredients in bread pan and select dough setting and start. When
dough cycle ends, set a timer and allow the bread to rise another hour.
Open the machine and punch the dough down and let it rise again (still in
the bread machine) for another hour. Turn out onto lightly floured
surface and shape into a smooth round ball, then flatten it with your hands. Place
a clean kitchen towel (NOT terry cloth) in a round wicker basket
that’s at least twice the size of the dough. Dust the towel liberally
with flour. Place the dough in the center of basket, set basket in a
warm place and let dough rise, uncovered, about 45 min. until doubled in
size. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Gently turn dough out of basket upside down
onto a greased baking sheet. (I bake it directly on the stones in my
oven, so I flour the top, put my metal pizza paddle on it and flip it all
over so I can easily slide the bread onto the stone) With a very sharp knife,
carefully slash the top of the dough in a # pattern. Place a small pan on the
floor or bottom shelf of the oven. Add at least
1 cup boiling water to the pan (I just put a cup of water in before I
start preheating the oven). Place dough in oven and bake for 20 min.
Remove from oven and place on cake rack to cool 1 hour before slicing.
To preserve the crisp crust, do not store in plastic wrap or bag.
Bread can be loosely covered or left out for up to two days before it
dries out completely
(really! I’ve tried and that’s true…though it rarely lasts that long!)

Dinner time!, Super Soups

Lasagna Soup

2 Comments

This is a fairly quick soup to make as it involves a boxed lasagna mix.  WONDERFULLY tasty, the whole family enjoys it!  This recipe is from Family Dinners by Shari Meyer (a wonderful handmade cookbook my friend Kim shared with me!)

1 lb ground beef
1/2 c chopped onion
1 package (7 3/4 oz) lasagna dinner mix*
5 c water
1 14-oz can undrained tomatoes
2 Tbs Parmesan cheese
1 zucchini, chopped

In a Dutch oven, cook the beef and onion until it browns.  Drain.  Add the lasagna sauce mix, water, tomatoes, and Parmesan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 min.  Add the lasagna noodles and zucchini.  Cover and simmer 10 min or more until noodles are tender.  Serve immediately.

10 servings

*I couldn’t find this size Lasagna mix, which comes with a seasoning packet.  Instead I used the larger HomeStyle Lasagna which comes with canned meat sauce.  I leave off the tomatoes to compensate.

Dinner time!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

5 Comments

Oh me, oh my!!!  A friend pinned (on Pinterest) a delicious looking recipe for sweet and sour chicken.  When I clicked the link, I discovered another wonderful food blog!  I thought my SuperHero wasn’t a fan of fried rice (the recipe that accompanies the sweet and sour chicken) but was surprised to hear that he does like it, so next time I’m just going to make the chicken and fried rice.  Tonight we had plain rice and mixed vegetables with the chicken.  Now, since I already said this was found on another wonderful food blog, rather than typing it out, I’m going to send you (via a link) over there because she also posted some wonderful pictures to help you with the process (I didn’t, making my chicken a much longer process…..don’t ask…..just do as she says.  And now, off you go to Life as a Lofthouse

Enjoy!

Well, Aren't You Sweet?!

Sigrid’s Carrot Cake

4 Comments

So, LAST Thursday was my SuperHero husband’s birthday, but I was so miserably sick we didn’t do anything!  But I made up for it today, and made him a carrot cake…his favorite! (seriously, that’s what our wedding cake was because his Mom knows how much he loves it!)  This is a yummy recipe that I’ve doubled and made for catering events. 

This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  Lots of yummy recipes (and tons of pictures!) there.  Go check it out!

FOR CAKE:
2 cups Sugar
1 cup Vegetable Oil
4 whole Eggs
2 cups All-purpose Flour
½ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
2 cups Grated Carrots
For Icing
1 stick Regular Butter, Softened
1 package (8 Oz) Cream Cheese
1 pound Powdered Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 cup Pecans, Chopped Finely

Preheat oven to 350F

Mix together the sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl. In another bowl sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to first mixture and combine. Then add carrots and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured (Baker’s Joyed) pan (bundt, sheet cake, 9 x 13 pyrex) and bake at 350F until done, 25 (sheet cake) to 50 (Bundt pan) minutes, depending on the pan you use.

Cool completely.

Icing:

In larger bowl, cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and vanilla and blend, then mix in the nuts. Spread on cooled carrot cake.