Best Recipes Evar

Now let me tell you a story. My wife found this recipe a few years back somewhere on the internet and copied it down to a recipe card. I love this potato salad so much I wanted to put it on here so you all could partake of its goodness. So I took that card and had it on my desk at home for a long time, meaning to add it.

Well Labor day comes around and I decide to get it up here. Well guess what, it disappeared. I looked all over for it, even at work on the off chance I took it there. No luck. So it has been a month and still there was no sign of it. I was really sad that I couldn’t find it.

Well the other day my wife sent me a text to check my email and that I would be super happy. So I took a look and low and behold she had found it in her email. She had sent the recipe to a friend so it was in her sent messages folder. GO WIFE!

Now about this potato salad. It’s awesome, really its the best potato salad I have ever had. I’m, not joking. Usually potato salads are kind of bland, and either over egg-y or overly potato-y. This one is perfect, and that is why I was sad that I couldn’t find the recipe. Oh and did I mention it has bacon. Yes I said bacon! Tasty tasty bacon. I could go on forever about bacon, but I won’t I will let you get to making this awesomeness.

Best Potato Salad Ever

Found somewhere on the interwebs.

• 6 hard boiled eggs
• 10 potatoes (boiled)
• 1 C. mayo
• 1/2 C. ranch dressing
• 1/3 C. dill pickle relish (i just slice up pickles and add a bit of juice)
• 2 T. mustard
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1/8 t. paprika
• 1/8 t. celery seed
• 1 lb. chopped cooked bacon (crunchy)
• 1 onion chopped (browned in the bacon grease)

Directions

1. Chop the eggs and potatoes to the sizes you like and put them in a large bowl with the cooked onion and mix.
2. In another bowl mix together mayo, ranch, relish (pickles), mustard, salt, pepper, paprika, and celery seed.
3. Pour the the mayo/ranch/spices mix in with the eggs and potatoes and mix to combine.
4. Right before you serve it mix in the bacon. This will ensure the bacon is still crispy.

How many of you used to, or still eat Hostess Cupcakes? I know I did back in the day. I stopped eating them because I don’t know if I trust what they put into them. So when I saw this on Cooks Country, I just had to make them. These are heaven in chocolatey, creamy form. They are oh so good. You won’t be able to stop at just one, I sure can’t.

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Better than Hostess Cupcakes

Cooks Country
Makes 12 cupcakes.

Cupcakes

• 1 C. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. Salt
• 1/2 C.boiling water
• 1/3 C. cocoa powder
• 1/3 C. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 T. instant espresso (I don’t use this)
• 3/4 C.sugar
• 1/2 C. sour cream
• 1/2 C. vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 t. vanilla extract

Filling

• 3 T. water
• 3/4 t. unflavored gelatin
• 4 T. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter , softened
• Pinch salt
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 C. marshmallow fluff (such as Fluff or Kraft Jet-Puffed Creme)

Glaze

• 1/2 C. semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 T. unsalted butter

Instructions

1. MAKE BATTER Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 12-cup muffin tin. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Whisk water, cocoa, chocolate chips, and espresso in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla and mix until combined. Whisk in flour mixture until incorporated. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out with few dry crumbs attached, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool -cupcakes in tin 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.
2. PREPARE FILLING Combine water and gelatin in large bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds. Stir in butter, vanilla, and salt until combined. Let mixture cool until just warm to touch, about 5 minutes, then whisk in marshmallow creme until smooth; refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Transfer 1/3 cup marshmallow mixture to pastry bag fitted with small plain tip; reserve remaining mixture for filling cupcakes.
3. ASSEMBLE CUPCAKES Microwave chocolate and butter in small bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, about 30 seconds. Cool glaze to room temper-ature, about 10 minutes. Following photos 1 to 3 at left, cut cone from top of each cupcake and fill cupcakes with 1 tablespoon filling each. Replace tops, frost with 2 teaspoons cooled glaze, and let sit 10 minutes. Using pastry bag, pipe curlicues across glazed cupcakes. Serve. (Cupcakes can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.)

Anyone out there like Iron Chef Bobby Flay? I knew there would be a few. I myself enjoy his show Throwdown. If you haven’t seen the show educate yourself. This is where I got this Italian meatballs and marinara recipe.

This recipe is best described as fresh, especially the sauce. The tomatoes, onions, garlic and fresh basil in the sauce make for an unencumbered flavor. Just straight goodness. The meatballs are wonderful too. They go hand in hand.

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Mama Maronis Meatballs

Throwdown with Bobby Flay

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chuck
• 4oz. dried bread crumbs (I use the Italian style – adds a little more flavor)
• 4 large eggs
• 4oz. whole milk
• 6oz. grated Romano Cheese
• 3oz. grated Spanish onion (I use a yellow onion – don’t really know what the difference is.)
• 2oz. finely diced fresh garlic
• 2oz. finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 2oz. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 tsp kosher salt (my addition)

Directions

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.
2. Mix all ingredients thoroughly in large bowl. If mixture seems a little loose add more bread crumbs.
3. Roll meatballs loosely about the size of a golf ball and place on baking sheet. Place into preheated oven for approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Enjoy!

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Mama Maroni’s Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

• 6oz. good olive oil not extra-virgin
• 12 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1 large or 2 medium Spanish onions, finely diced
• 2 (28-ounce) cans imported crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp. white or black pepper, freshly cracked
• 1 large handful julienned fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add oil.
2. Once heated add the finely sliced garlic and onions to the pan. Cook over medium heat until soft and slightly brown.
3. Next add the canned crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper and stir. Allow the sauce to come to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and add the julienned basil.

Serve over noodles with meatballs.

My kids love broccoli. Kind of weird I know, but they do. So when I find a recipe that uses broccoli, I usually try it out. This broccoli beef recipe struck me because of its apparent ease. This recipe is so tasty. My kids eat it up, I eat it up, even the picky neighbor girl ate it up. It’s really that good.

I wanted to make a note that I did update the method or the way it’s made just a little. I found that blanching the broccoli was a hit or miss on doneness. Sometimes it was too done or sometimes it was underdone. It also added to much water sometimes, so I changed the way that it was cooked. For more info on the method I like to use watch this video on how to stir fry. By the way, my family loves that recipe as well.

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Awesome Broccoli Beef

Adapted from Simply Recipes, and a few updates and additions by me.

Main Ingredients

• 1.5 lb. flank, sirloin, or the cheaper london broil, sliced thinly across the grain
• 1.5 lbs. broccoli florets
• 6 T. + 2 t. high-heat cooking oil
• 6 cloves garlic, very finely minced or pressed through garlic press
• 1 T. minced or grated ginger
• 1/4 C. chicken broth

Beef marinade

• 2 t. soy sauce
• 2 t. Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry) or since I don’t ever have wine I used rice wine vinegar
• 1 t. cornstarch
• 1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 t. sea salt
• 2 t. of Sriracha

For the sauce

• 2 T. oyster sauce
• 2 T. hoisin sauce
• 2 t. Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry) or since I don’t ever have wine I used rice wine vinegar
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 1/2 C. chicken broth
• 1 T. cornstarch
• 2 t. of Sriracha

Directions

1. Marinate the beef: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes ( you can let it marinate for longer too while you get the rest of the recipe ready)
2. Prepare the sauce: Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add 2 T. of the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the 1/3 of the beef and immediately
   spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over and cook until nicely browned on both sides and remove to a plate. Repeat this until all beef is cooked.
4. With the beef removed, lower heat to medium-high heat the 2 t. oil until shimmering.
5. Add garlic and ginger and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
6. Add broccoli and stir fry for 1 minute.
7. Pour in 1/4 C. of chicken stock
8. Cover and steam for 2 minutes or until broccoli is tender-crisp, stirring once.
9. Return beef to pan and stir. Push contents to side of pan.
10. Pour sauce in center of pan; cook, for 1 to 2 minutes or until thickened, stir sauce only if needed.
11. Stir beef and broccoli into sauce until coated.
12. Serve over sticky rice, with lots of Sriracha.