Macaroni Salad with Cheddar Cheese and Green Bell Pepper
Macaroni Salad
What can be more American than macaroni and cheese, I thought? So it was a simple stretch to make a great picnic side dish Macaroni salad with cheddar cheese and diced bell pepper. Simple easy to make and will feed lots and lots of hungry BBQer’s.
Ingredients for Macaroni Salad:
1 lb. elbow macaroni cooked and cooled
4 cups sour cream
2 cup mayonnaise
3 tbs red wine vinegar
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 bell pepper finely diced
salt & pepper to taste
Directions for Macaroni Salad:
Cook the macaroni and drain and let cool slightly.
In a large mixing bowl add the sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, cheese,bell pepper & salt & pepper. Add the slightly warm macaroni and mix completely. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. If making far in advance you may have to add a little bit of whole milk to keep it moist, as the sauce will be absorbed by the macaroni. Add the milk a little at a time until the macaroni is moist but not really wet as too much milk will dilute the sauce too much.
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Another great summertime side, warm potato salad. A great side dish at any time, for that matter.
Ingredients for Warm Potato Salad
2 -3 pounds waxy potatoes ( small red skin work well)
3 slices of bacon (diced)
1 onion diced
¼ cup white wine
¼ cup chicken stock
1 tbs Dijon mustard
3 – 4 tbs vegetable oil
2 tbs red wine vinegar
salt & pepper
chopped parsley for topping
Directions for Warm Potato Salad
Boil the potatoes until a fork pierced into them goes in easily. Drain and place back in pot on stove for a few moments to dry the potatoes. Slice thinly.
In a measuring cup or small bowl place the white wine, chicken stock,mustard,vegetable oil, and vinegar, salt & pepper and stir to mix.
In a large sauté pan ( I like to use a flat bottomed 12″ wok pan with handle) place the bacon and on medium high heat cook until most of the fat is rendered. Once there is sufficient fat in the pan add the onion and cook until softened. Turn heat down to medium low and add the stock mixture and stir to combine. Once combined add in the potatoes and stir gently. Place in serving bowl sprinkle a little parsley on top and serve warm.
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The 4th of July is coming up very soon. Memories of picnics, BBQ’s , fireworks and lazy hazy days. No matter what you decide to serve as a main entree potato salad goes with them all. Easy to make at home, there really isn’t a reason to buy the store bought stuff.
There are many different styles and flavors of potato salad. First up is a simple and tasty one.
Ingredients for Potato Salad:
Potatoes ( waxy work best-Yukon Gold or red skinned etc.)
mayonnaise
sour cream
finely diced white onion
finely diced clerey
celery salt
pepper
A good BBQ Sauce (I like Kraft Hickory)
parsley
The amounts of this recipe are totally dependent on how many people your making it for, and how many other side dishes your going to be serving.
A general rule of thumb is 4 to 8 ounces of a side dish per person , if you intend to offer a number of different salads at a BBQ ( macaroni, cole slaw, 3 beans , lettuce based) then you can figure on the smaller amounts. So a 5 pound bag of potato should be enough for 10 – 20 people.
The amounts that follow are for about three pounds of potatoes. The more you make you can increase the amount of sauce to fit your tastes.
For three pounds of potatoes I use
1 cup each of Mayonnaise and Sour Cream (if sauce seems too stiff add more sour cream).
1 medium onion finely diced
1 or 2 stalks of celery finely diced
1 – 2 Tbs of a good BBQ Sauce
½ tsp celery salt
1-2 tsp fresh ground pepper
Peel potatoes and cut into equally sized pieces ( this will insure all the potatoes are cooked evenly) and boil, smaller potatoes won’t need to be cut. For a rustic salad you can leave the skins on. Once they are cooked remove from the hot water and cool in a covered bowl in the refrigerator for a few hours. Once cool slice thinly or dice or cut to any shape you desire. Mix all the other ingredients together and gently combine with the cut potatoes. To serve place in bowl and sprinkle lightly with chopped parsley. Best made the day before so the flavors can all incorporate.
You can add additional ingredients to suit your tastes. Examples are hard boiled eggs ( see our deviled egg recipe for instructions on how to hard boil), chopped red or green bell pepper, scallions, add a bite with a little red wine vinegar mixed with the potatoes while they are still warm, pickles and capers, chives etc. The choices are endless start with the basic recipe and then add extras to make it your own.
For larger amounts of potatoes increase the sauce.
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