ultimate egg salad

 I've never understood why a good amount of people claim to not like egg salad... except for the smell. You know - the aroma that escapes your container when you open it for lunch? Everyone within a couple feet of you can get a whiff, and they're not always happy about it.
Yet, it just tastes so good!!!

I have two tips for this recipe - and they'll all be separate posts, so bare with the links - but I'll explain the tips here so you don't have to click them if you don't want to.

First, hard boiling eggs! I personally have never had a problem with simply putting eggs in cold water and bringing it to a boil, then timing from that point 10 minutes. After 10 at a boil I take them off the heat drain the water and add cold water, and drain that when it gets warm and add more cold water...
Now here's where it gets tricky: peeling. There are so many tips involving baking soda and blowing the egg out of the shell with your mouth... it's too complicated for a fast lunch. So let your eggs cool completely, in the fridge overnight for tomorrow's lunch. Then in a bowl put your hottest tap water. Submerge an egg, count to 30 - remove. Roll the egg on a paper towel cracking the entire surface and peel. Tada! It works for me... hope it works for you, but please let me know!

Second tip involves everyone's beloved bacon. Whether it's turkey bacon or pork bacon - in this house we cook it in batches. When you want a quick breakfast what always takes the longest? The bacon! Well, unless you're okay with non-perfectly-crispy bacon...
I line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper - then fit as much bacon down on it as I can without overlapping. Then cover the pan with foil and place a smaller cookie sheet on top. Place in oven while off and then turn the oven on to 375 ˚ F. Now the cooking time varies depending on each type of bacon and it's thickness so you'll just have to keep checking it after 20 minutes til it's to your liking. But the effort is well worth it - I promise. I take my bacon out right before it starts crisping up - where it's still a bit floppy. I bag it and stash it in the fridge after it's cooled. Then in the morning when making breakfast for the hubby I heat it up in a pan and it crisps right away and leaves just a little fat behind to cook an egg in for him too.


Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs (hardboiled, peeled, and minced of course)
• 3 Tbsp of your favorite mayo (about 1.5 heaping spoonfuls will be plenty if you use your larger eating spoons to scoop out the mayo, but just eyeball it if you'd like)
• 1 tsp of aioli garlic mustard sauce (trader joe's) OR 1/4 tsp crushed garlic and 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 2-3 small stalks of scallions or chives cut into cute tiny pieces
• 2 slices of your favorite bacon crumbled (optional - but oh-so-yummy!)

photo fridays: hang in there

On our way to the beach while in Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland we saw these guys amongst the hundred others just hanging on tall blades of grass. I wish now that I had gotten a shot of how many more there were surrounding these two but at the time I was focused on getting an artistic shot of the pair. 

  I'll be sharing more Ireland photos as the weeks go by so keep checking in. Everyone talks about the millions of sheep over there - but I wasn't in the right area to see that, even though I wanted to, desperately. I'll have to share a photo of when I finally did see a small flock of sheep on our last day in Ireland! Not at all in a convenient location for taking a photo but of course I had to get a shot.

  Below is a photo from one of our day hikes that took us hours longer than we thought it would - but it had wonderful views along the way, like this one.





"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil
is not in vain in the Lord."             
                                         1 Corinthians 15:58

Treasury Thursdays #1

I try my best to feature those who have featured me in treasuries - also fellow CAST Team members - but if you'd like to be featured and have an idea for the treasury in which you'll be featured - just leave a comment for me. (^__^)

Potatoes Au Gratin

Potatoes Au Gratin... all I can say is yum! This was easy, and delicious - how can you make a box mix again after eating this you ask? You can't! It's that good...

Ingredients:
5-6 potatoes
1 med. onion
2-3 cloves garlic
2 cups cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
5 tsp. butter
salt and pepper to taste

Do you have a mandoline? No not a mandolin instrument, a mandoline veggie slicer... I think they're spelled differently... eh hem - back on topic > you should get one! I got a cheap one and it works great, it was like $10. It'll last me just as long as the $20-$30 ones as long as I take good care of it and it's totally worth the care! Now I can make uniform french fries - out of potatoes or other veggies!

Preheat oven to 400.
Peel and slice your potatoes (unless you're using red skin potatoes or another thin skinned potato - then you can just clean and slice if you'd like).
To keep your potatoes from turning brown while slicing/peeling the others have them submerged in a bowl of water.
Cook the slices of potato over medium high heat, when water starts to boil turn off the heat and drain.
Peel and slice the onion while potatoes are cooking. Also peel and slice/dice/crush (whatever you'd like!) the garlic.

*now, why didn't we finish cooking the potatoes?! Well, we still want them firm and not completely cooked... you'll be putting them in the oven so they'll finish cooking in there!

Butter a baking dish and layer in the potatoes and rings of onions like so >
potatoes, onions, potatoes, onions...

Now for the most important part! The CHEESE SAUCE!
In a small pan melt the butter over medium heat.
Add in milk and heat up - but don't boil.
Once it's hot add in 1 cup of cheddar cheese. (I like using sharp cheddar - you could also use a mixture with some parmesan) Stir often if not constantly until the cheese has melted and mixed in with the milk and butter. Make sure not to let any stick to the bottom of the pan and/or burn.
Now add in salt, pepper, and the garlic.
Turn the heat to simmer and let it blend for about 2 minutes, stirring often.
Pour cheese sauce over the layered potatoes.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake for 45 minutes or until potatoes are just getting soft and cheese is browning.

PDF file for printing out this recipe: Click Here

thrifty tip: repurposing hangers

Repurpose hangers into bag clips! 

It's easy:

Just take a hanger (or many) and saw off the  pincher ends. Make sure to be careful of course, and afterward you can sand down any sharp edges.

If your hanger's pinchers are like the ones pictured to the left - then don't saw off too close to the actual pincher - otherwise it might be hard to use the clip.

Other useful things to do with your hangers:

Use it to hold recipes! Right where you can see them easily - this makes following the recipe so much easier, especially a messy recipe where yours hands shouldn't be picking it up...




OR... if you have those weak metal hangers - the type you get from the dry cleaner's...