Creamy Potato Salad

There are lots of variations available for the picnic classic, potato salad. One could use sweet or dill pickles, mayonnaise or salad dressing, regular or Dijon mustard, yellow or green onions.

But really, you use what you have on hand and add enough mayonnaise or salad dressing to suit your preference of texture.

I had a little help for this recipe from my mom and from the cookbook “Mama Dip’s Kitchen” by Mildred Council which I loaned from the Grant County Library. Council suggests using new potatoes, which have no sprouting and which are about the same size for even cooking - she also adds pimentos.

2 ½ lbs. potatoes, about 10 medium sized, washed and unpeeled
1 tsp. salt
1 C. sweet pickle relish
3/4-1 C. mayonnaise
2 Tsp. prepared mustard
½ C. celery, chopped
½ C. onion, chopped
3 hard boiled eggs, grated

Place the washed, unpeeled potatoes in a large pot and pour in just enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring water to a boil and simmer about 35 minutes, or until tender. Drain off hot water and pour in cold water. When cool enough to handle peel the potatoes, dice them and place in a large bowl.

Mix the other ingredients in a separate bowl and stir into the potatoes. Serves 10-12.

Angel’s tip: You can keep your potato salad cool at a picnic by filling a large bowl half full of ice and placing the potato-salad bowl on top of that.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

My sister-in-law Rozanne Mullin of John Day tried a serving of this salad at a graduation party in La Grande. She liked it so much, she asked for the recipe and served it at a recent family gathering where I tried it and loved it. We should rename it “Strawberry Mountain Salad” after the nearby mountains.

For a speedier way to make this salad, see Rozanne's "Quick Tip" below. Thanks for the great recipe Rozanne!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Dressing:
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
½ C. white sugar
½ C. olive oil
1/4 C. white vinegar
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. onion, minced

Blend and chill for one hour.

Salad:
10 oz. fresh spinach
1 qt. strawberries, sliced
1/4 C. blanched slivered almonds

Pour dressing over salad and toss, and refrigerate 10-15 minutes. Before serving sprinkle with 1/4 C. blanched slivered almonds.

Rozanne’s Quick Tip: Use about 3/4 C. store-bought poppy-seed dressing, just add sesame seeds, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and the minced onion and stir.

Just like Cinnabon

I’ve tried several cinnamon roll recipes, and this one seems better than most. I found this one online (see link below) and modified it with some of my own tips. I made them again yesterday and my children sold them at a bake sale - they sold like hotcakes!

Making cinnamon rolls does take some time, but if you like to bake, you probably have most of the ingredients on hand, so they are a fairly low-cost treat, and what a yummy treat they are!

Rolls:
1¼ oz. pkg. yeast
1 C. warm milk
½ C. granulated sugar
1/3 C. melted butter
1 t. salt
2 eggs
4 C. all-purpose flour
1 C. of half and half, to brush on rolls (see Angel’s tips below)

Filling:
1 C. packed brown sugar
2½ Tbsp. cinnamon
1/3 C. butter
½-1  C. walnuts, optional
½-1 C. raisins, optional

Icing:
7 Tbsp. butter, softened
1½ C. confectioners sugar
¼ C. (2 oz.) cream cheese
½ tsp. real vanilla extract (or almond extract, which I prefer and use)
1/8 tsp. salt, optional

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
1. Dissolve yeast in milk.
2. Mix in sugar, butter, salt, eggs, flour. Mix well.
3. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough about 3-5 minutes and shape into a ball. Cover; let rise 1 hour.
4. Roll dough into a 21" x 16" wide rectangle. Spread melted butter over dough with a large spoon then sprinkle with filling (see filling directions below).
5. Roll the long side up. Pinch the ends.
6. Cut with knife, or use string or dental floss to cut 1-inch wide rolls by sliding the string under the log roll, lift up on either side of the roll, cross the string and pull apart, making sixteen. For fewer, bigger rolls, cut them wider.
7. Grease (butter) your preferred baking pan (I like mine to be all squished up next to the other)- I generally use an 11"x 15" pan. Then place rolls in pan and into oven. Let the rolls rise for 30 minutes.
8. Bake until the rolls are slightly browned and not doughy, 20-25 minutes. This will vary according to your oven. Just don't overbake.
9. Cool for 1-2 minutes then top with icing.


Filling:
While dough is rising, prepare the filling and the icing.
1. Soften butter, so that it is spreadable.
2.  After dough has been rolled out to a rectangle, spread the softened butter all over.
3.  Sprinkle brown sugar over entire buttered rectangle.
4.  Now sprinkle the cinnamon evenly over that.


Icing:
Cream with an electric mixer, or with a spoon. Spread on hot rolls.


Angel’s tips: I like brushing half and half over the rolls just before they go into the oven and just as they come out of the oven.


 To prevent overbrowning, I cover the cinnamon rolls with tin foil during the last 5-10 minutes of baking.

Also, I have another recipe that calls for chilling the cut rolls on the pan for 2-24 hours before baking, then bringing them to room temperature for 30 minutes. I haven’t tried this method yet, but I’m sure it gives the dough a nice quality. I know that chilling pizza dough gives it a nice chewy texture, so I’m sure this works similarly with cinnamon rolls.

Link to online Cinnabon recipe