Granny's Bacon Potato Salad

5 lbs. Idaho potatoes
1 lb. bacon
Approximately 2 cups mayonnaise (We use Duke's!!!)
2-3 Tablespoons white vinegar
2-3 Tablespoons milk
salt and pepper, to taste

Scrub the potatoes. In large Dutch oven, cover potatoes with water and let your grown-up helper bring to a boil. Boil 15 - 20 minutes and turn off to cool. (My Granny does hers the night before, turns them off and lets them cool overnight, so they peel easily in the morning.) Peel potatoes and cube them with help from your grown-up helper. Place them in a large, roomy bowl for mixing.

Meanwhile, have your grown-up helper fry bacon until crisp. Crumble the cooked bacon. Save a small amount of the crumbled bacon to sprinkle on top.

In a smaller bowl mix mayonnaise, white vinegar, milk, most of the crumbled bacon, and salt and pepper, to taste. Pour mayonnaise mixture over the cubed potatoes and fold in gently. If the potato salad is too dry, fold in a little more thinned mayonnaise. If it looks too wet, it will absorb some of the mayonnaise mixture while sitting.

Sprinkle on some paprika and the remaining bacon crumbles. Enjoy!

Soups & Salads

Hope you enjoyed this special 1 hour edition of Cooking with Mommy. First up - Soups & Salads! Kids, we hope you enjoy making these yummy dishes with your grown-up helpers. Let us know what you think!!! =)

French Onion Soup
3 small onions, diced
1/2 stick butter
2 cans beef broth
1 can chicken broth
1/2 c. cooking sherry
1 pkt. onion soup mix
1 loaf french bread
1 pkt. (12 slices) provolone cheese

Saute onions in butter for 3-5 minutes, or until transluscent. Add beef and chicken broths, cooking sherry, and onion soup mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 3/4 cup soup in crock-style bowl or ramekin. Slice french bread into 1 inch slices. Lay provolone slice on bread. Place 6-8 bowls on cookie sheet or stone cooking sheet. Bake for 7-8 minutes until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

4 large Yukon Gold Potatoes
8 slices bacon
2 cans chicken broth
2 cups milk
16 oz. Velveeta cheese
8 oz. sour cream
3 green onion stalks

Microwave potatoes for approximately 10 minutes. Allow potatoes to cool. Microwave bacon for 1 minute per slice. (I microwave 4 slices at a time for 4 minutes.) Remove bacon from plate and pat dry with paper towel. Crumble bacon. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut into cubes, approximately 1/2 inch to 1 inch in size.

Slice green onions into thin slices. Cut Velveeta into small cubes for easier melting.

Heat chicken broth, milk, and Velveeta in pot, stirring frequently. Once cheese has melted completely, add potatoes, bacon, sour cream, and green onions. Stir until fully incorporated. Simmer another 10- 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and serve.

Mandarin Chicken Salad

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 c. orange juice
1 tsp. Asian seasoning (recommended: Emeril's Asian Essence)
Romaine lettuce hearts, chopped or torn
1 can Mandarin oranges
1 can water chesnuts
3 stalks green onions, sliced
Sliced almonds, to taste
Chow Mein noodles, to taste
Asian dressing

Marinate chicken breasts in orange juice and Asian seasoning for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Grill chicken breasts over medium heat 6-8 minutes per side, or until cooked through. (If using cutlets, chicken may grill a little more quickly.) Let chicken rest for 5 to 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, slice chicken in thin slices.

To assemble salad, put chopped or torn lettuce in a bowl. Top with remaining ingredients and chicken. It's yummy!!!

Our Radio Debut

Today marked our radio debut on BlogTalkRadio.com. Kaiya was at my side as my trusty co-host, and I found that there are definitely some kinks to work out. We can cover A LOT in 30 minutes. I guess we'll have to find more content & create specialized segments, or cut the show back to 15 minutes. My vote is for more content, but I know I can find a million kitchen related things to talk about! Did I mention my favorite place in the world is in the kitchen with my kids? (I like my hubby in there, too! He's a terrific cook!)

As promised, the featured recipe on today's show, Twice Baked Potatoes Delight is listed below.


Twice Baked Potatoes Delight














5 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened (8oz.)
3 T. ranch seasoning (or a 1 oz. pkt.)
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese, plus extra for topping
1 T. bacon bits

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake potatoes in microwave on HIGH for 16 minutes. Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients, being sure to incorporate fully.

After potatoes have cooled enough to handle safely, cut slice down center of the potato, stopping halfway through the potato. Gently spoon potato out of the potato skin, being careful not to tear the skin. Set the potato skins to the side, to be used later. Using a potato masher, mix the potato into the cream cheese mixture.

Spoon the potato/cream cheese mixture into the potato "pocket" created by the potato skin. There will be a lot of filling, so be generous. Place filled potatoes on a baking sheet, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese 5 minutes before cook time is finished.

Next week's radio show is all about desserts. Join us for this tasty show! I can't wait. Chocolate, anyone?!?!