Michelle's Old Fashioned Potato Salad

Around here we are very picky about our potato salad.  I have been making it the same way for years and have had quite a few people ask for the recipe.  So I had to actually write it down while I was making it the last time because it was always a kind of throw together recipe, but is now an actual recipe.  I hope you'll give it a try and let me know how you like it :)

Here's what you need:

4 pounds of red potatoes, skin on, washed well and cubed into 1-1/5" pieces

1 cup Best Foods Mayonnaise

1/4 cup Miracle Whip

1 Tbs. cider vinegar

1-2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper, more if needed

3 celery stalks, diced

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced

1/3 cup sweet pickle relish

2-3 hard boiled eggs, cold and chopped

Wash and cube all the potatoes and place in a large stockpot.  Cover with cold water and heat on high.

When the water comes to a low simmer (barely bubbling) set timer for 15 minutes. Stir a couple of times during cooking. Potatoes are done when they are knife tender but NOT mushy. They do not need to boil at a full rolling boil, just a low simmer.  The time depends on how many potatoes you use and the size of the pot but it shouldn't take more than about 20 minutes once it has begun simmering.

When potatoes are tender (but no mushy) drain and place in a large bowl.  Set aside.

In a small bowl mix the mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, and cider vinegar. Pour over the potatoes and mix gently.

 

Chop the celery and onions and add to potatoes along with the relish; stir gently.

Add salt and pepper and stir.  Taste to see if it needs more S&P.

Chop the eggs and add to the salad and stir to incorporate.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, overnight is best.  You can add more mayo if needed after it has chilled.

Goes great with Barbecue, sandwiches or all by itself :)

Serves 8 - 10 depending on how well they all like it :)

Enjoy!

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Michelle's Old Fashioned Potato Salad 

You can find me each week linking up to these wonderful blogs.

Chewy Coconut Lime Cookies

I'm sure I've mentioned before my love for all things lime.  And I'm also sure I've mentioned my love for all things  coconut.  Well you can imagine my dreamy eyed stare when I came across this recipe over at My Happy Place blog.  As you can imagine I had to try these immediately.  I adapted the recipe slightly to fit my tastes and made the most delicious Chewy Coconut Lime Cookies EVER!  A big Thank you to Sophie for sharing such a wonderful recipe.  I hope you give them a try and let me know what you think.  Be sure to stop by My Happy Place and check out all the wonderful recipes Sophie has posted  :)

Here's what you need:

2-3/4 cup flour, all purpose

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1-1/2 cup sugar

1 lg. egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

zest of 3 large limes, approximately 2 - 3 Tablespoons

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice, approximately 3 large limes

1 cup coconut, I use sweetened

1/2 cup sugar, for rolling the cookies in

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

In a bowl mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter and  1-1/2 cups sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

 

Add egg, vanilla, lime juice, and lime zest and mix until incorporated.

 

Add coconut and mix until incorporated. 

 

Next add the flour and mix until incorporated. 

 

Place 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl and drop cookies, using a medium cookie scoop, into sugar and coat completely then place 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.

 

Cool cookies on baking sheet for 2- 3 minutes then remove to cooling rack or paper towels to cool completely.

Mmmmmm, Chewy Coconut Cookies with a hint of lime and a light sugar coating.

Enjoy!

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Chewy Coconut Lime Cookies 

Recipe adapted from:  My Happy Place

You can find me linking up each with to these wonderful blogs.

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken

Last night I tried a new crock pot recipe that my family went crazy over!  It was super simple and the most delicious barbecue chicken ever!  I got this recipe from Stick a fork in it blog and adapted it slightly.  This chicken will now be in my regular dinner rotation and would be super easy to make for a crowd too.  You can eat it whole, bone-in or boneless, and it would be great shredded as a sandwich.

Here's what you need:
4-6 pieces chicken breast, defrosted. I use boneless/skinless from Costco so they are huge.
1 bottle BBQ sauce, I used Kraft original (18 oz.)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder

Mix all ingredients except the chicken in a bowl until combined.

Place chicken in crock pot and pour the sauce over the top.  Stir until all chicken is covered.

 

Place lid on crock pot and turn on to high.  Set for 4 hours and walk away.  

Yum!  This was the best barbecue chicken we've had!  

Serves 4 - 6, depending on the size of the chicken

Enjoy!

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Crock Pot BBQ Chicken 

Creative Thursday Link Party No. 10

Hello Blogging friends and welcome to Creative Thursday Link Party No. 10

I hope everyone has had a wonderful week so far!  Well, the sunshine and heat have finally decided to show up and we’ve had a few hot days here in Elk Grove.  So we’ll be getting the boat and wakeboards out soon.  Congrats to all the Graduates whether they graduated from Pre-School, Kindergarten, Middle School, High School, or College!  I know it is a grand accomplishment and we are proud of you!

I have been busily typing up a bunch of recipes to have at the ready and have made some very delicious dishes I can’t wait to share with you.  Several are from fellow bloggers, always a plus in my book :)

Well enough about me; what have you all been working on this past week?  Probably Father’s Day stuff, unlike me (shhhhh) and hopefully I’ll get some last minute ideas!

I want to thank everyone who links up each week cause you guys are amazing!  I truly appreciate all the time everyone takes each week to come here and party.

I can't wait to see what you all have been doing this week, but before we get this party started let me show you your most viewed (1-3) and my favorite features (4-7) from last week (in no particular order)

1.  Milky Way Cookies from Cooking Morning Noon and Night Yum!  These look delish and super soft!
2.  Pina Colada Pie from DJ's Sugar Shack Who doesn't love coconut and pineapple?  I sure do!
3.  Maria Tote from Happy In Red a beautifully vibrant tote bag.
4.  Color blocking with flowers from Cookie Crumbs and Sawdust which turns a pretty bouquet of flowers into an amazing arrangement of beautiful flowers.
5.  DIY Decoupage Collage Plate from Scissors and Spoons Marie transformed this plate into a beautiful design by hand drawing a tree then using many different cut outs to fill in the tree and surrounding area.
6.  Photo coaster tutorial from Meremade a wonderful tutorial takes you through the process of making handmade coasters with pictures of love ones.
7.  Movie Night popcorn roundup from Recipes We Love a collection of the yummiest popcorn recipes around. Great for any movie night.

Congrats to all who were featured ~ Don't forget to grab a button from the sidebar
Now on to the party!

**  I am making one change to this weeks party ~ I'm changing the rotation so that the newest post will be at the top so that everyone gets a chance to be number one :)

My First Giveaway - My Memories Suite

WooHoo!!

I am so excited to be doing my very first Giveaway!

My Memories has asked me to GIVEAWAY one FREE copy of their awesome 

My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software to one lucky winner!

For me, this was super exciting software to receive because as much as I love to scrapbook I rarely find the time anymore.  I made the below pages in less time then it would have taken me traditionally.  I love the fact that you can not only change the papers but all the accents as well.  

Here are the pages I created just for fun.

A day in the snow

A day in the snow was a fun time snowboarding with family.

I used a background paper pre-designed with two openings and added my pictures right from my computer.  I then added the cute snowflakes and I love being able to layer them with the pictures so it actually looks like they are part of the paper design.  Next I added my title and date to the page and Voila ~ Beautiful digital scrapbook page complete.

The family camping trip

This was such a fun page to create because the pages are so cute!  I loaded the pre-designed page and added my pictures and ended up with a fabulous camping scrap book page.

This software is easy enough for anyone to use.

Now on to the giveaway!

Here are the 8 ways to win your free copy of My Memories  Digital Scrapbook software

REMEMBER ~ LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY

1.  Head over to My Memories and check out their site!  Come back here and leave me a comment letting me know which paper pack is your favorite!

2.  "Like" My Memories on Facebook ~ leave me a separate comment letting me know you did.

3. "Like" Michelle's Tasty Creations on Facebook then leave me a separate comment letting me know you did.

4.  Follow My Memories on Twitter and leave me a separate comment letting me know you did.

5.  Follow Michelle's Tasty Creations blog and leave me a separate comment letting me know you did.

6.  Share this giveaway on Facebook and leave me a separate comment letting me know you did.

7. Share this giveaway on Twitter and leave me a separate comment letting me know you did.

Please include a verifiable link to each forum (FB or Twitter or Blog) you share this on.

8.  BONUS ~ You will receive 5 extra entries if you complete all 7 of the above mentioned entries and leave me a separate comment to let me know you completed all 7 and that you would like the bonus entries.

*  If you already "Like" My memories or Michelle's Tasty Creations or are already following please still leave the comments so you get credit entries for them.  

Please include an email address in the entries so I can get in touch with the winner!  If you don't feel comfortable leaving it in a comment email it to me at crazy4baskts@gmail.com.

This giveaway will close on June 17, 2012 at Midnight PST.  The winner will be chosen on the 18th through random.org and will have 48 hours to claim the prize.  If the price goes unclaimed after 48 hours, I will redraw through random.org again.

Don't want to wait for the giveaway?  I totally understand.  When I find something new that I want, I want it now!  Well I have great news for you.  I have a Promo Code that you can use Anytime!

Go Here:

 My Memories digital scrapbooking software 

Add the My Memories Suite to your cart:

$39.95

Enter the Michelle's Tasty Creations discount code: STMMMS20275

You will receive $10.00 off your product for a grand total of:

$29.95

****PLUS****

You will also receive a $10.00 coupon to use in the My Memories store online!

The software is loaded quickly to your computer.  No waiting for a CD.


~Good Luck~
Don't forget to check back on June 18th for the winner!


Disclosure:  Even though I received a copy of this software to try and review I was not monetarily compensated for this review.  The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Taco Snack Mix

When I saw this recipe over on Shugary Sweets blog last week I knew I would be making it soon.  It is a super easy and totally tasty treat to have on hand now that the kiddos are out of school.  I don't know about your kids but mine go through snacks like locust through the crops.  Especially when they are BORED!  Now I have a snack I can prepare in a jiff and know what they are eating.  Give it a try, I'm sure your kids (even the big ones) will love it too.

Here's what you need:
4 cups Chex cereal, any flavor, I used corn
4 cups oyster crackers
4 cups cheese crackers, I used reduced fat Cheese-Its
4 cups mini pretzel twists, I only had pretzel sticks on hand when I made this
2/3 cup canola oil
2 taco seasoning packets, I use Taco Bell taco seasoning

In a double bagged large grocery brown paper bag pour all the crackers and pretzels

 

Give it a good shake to mix up the crackers.  Add the taco seasoning, I use Taco Bell taco seasoning.

 

Close the bag up by folding over the top a couple of times then give it a shake to distribute the taco seasoning.

 

Pour in the oil and fold the bag closed at least twice) again and shake, shake, shake....shake, shake, shake....shake your baggie, shake your baggie....Okay so I got a little carried away, don't judge!

Anywho, shake the bag a bunch of times until all the crackers are well coated. 

This is what happens when you don't fold the bag down twice!  It came flying out of the bag and Harley was only too happy to clean up my mess :)

 

Take a peek, this is before letting it sit for a while.  Let the mix sit in the bag on a baking sheet for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours to absorb all the oil and seasonings.  I just set mine on the dining room table and walked away for a few hours.

 

This is after is sits for a while. Mmmmmm Super tasty homemade Taco Snack Mix.

Now it's your turn to make some.

Enjoy!

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Taco Snack Mix

Recipe adapted from Shugary Sweets

You can find me each week linking up to these wonderful blogs

Strawberry Lemonade Cake

I keep seeing variations of this one cake all around blogland and it looks and sounds DELICIOUS!  It's a Strawberry Lemonade Cake!  I actually printed this recipe from Easybaked blog and used it sort of as a guide as I made this cake recipe my own. Easybaked is a wonderful blog and you should definitely stop by and check it out. Super Yummy recipes everywhere!

Here's what you need:
1 box strawberry cake mix, plus the eggs, water, and oil to make the cake
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup butter, unsalted, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 packet (0.23 oz.) lemonade Kool-Aid drink mix, this is really tart frosting so you might want to use only half to start and then add the rest until you get the flavor you like

Pre-heat oven as directed on back of cake mix box; probably 350 degrees.
Spray a 9 x 13" baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a medium bowl mix the cake mix, eggs, oil, and water as directed on box and beat for 2 minutes.

 

Pour into a 9 x 13" baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

 

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or as directed on the box.  Remove from oven and cool completely.

In a medium bowl beat the cream cheese, butter, and lemonade packet (this is tart frosting so you might want to use only half the lemonade packet to start and then add the rest until you get the flavor you like) until smooth.

 

Add the powdered sugar and starting on low mix until incorporated then turn to medium and beat until completely smooth.

Pour the frosting on the cake and frost the whole thing corner to corner, YUM!

 

Now cut yourself a slice and sit down with a large glass of milk or ice water and enjoy this super delicious, tart and tangy, moist cake.  Mmmmm

Serves - 1 - 9 x 13

Enjoy!

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Strawberry Lemonade Cake  

You can find me each week linking up to these wonderful blogs