EASY Roasted Baby Potato Salad with Bacon and Grilled Onion

HI!  Remember me?  I'm the girl who LOVES all things potatoes.  I think the majority of my recipes on this blog have potatoes involved.  They inspire me and I've yet to run out of potato themed recipes.  Here's one I made up for potato salad that can be served warm or cold.  It doesn't involve mayo, but it can if you want to.  I like that version of potato salad too, but I don't think mayo based potato salad goes with everything. This version goes great as a side to hamburgers and hot dogs but also goes great with a nice prime rib or steak.  This recipe also involves bacon...hello, this is me we're talking about.  But you can leave it out if you want a veggie version.

It all starts with this bag of Peewee Potatoes I found at the store.  

See how tiny they are?  Sooooo cute. We're gonna roast them in the oven.

I washed them and then patted them dry with a paper towel.  

You don't have to worry about getting them completely dry. 

Then I poured them into a baking pan and drizzled with olive oil.

Season with black pepper.

I used a bit of kosher salt.

Toss it all around so that they all get a nice coating of the oil, salt and pepper.

Pop it in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.  You could boil them but they won't have that nice roasted flavor.  I've also baked potatoes in a crock pot before and that would work just fine here too.  If you're using a crock pot, follow all the same steps but instead of the baking pan, pour them into a crock pot and turn on low for 4 hours (don't forget to coat with oil and season with salt and pepper).

While your Peewees are roasting, I fry up some bacon.  You could skip the bacon...but I'm not going to.  I like to fry the bacon until it's crispy.  I like crispy bacon.  A lot.  

In the same pan that I used for frying the bacon, I pour out the bacon fat.  I leave about a tablespoon or so and saute one small chopped onion.  Yes.  In the bacon fat.  

I add a little bit of seasoning salt and pepper for flavor.  I'm a big believer in seasoning as I cook.

Saute on medium low until your onions are nice and caramelized.

By now, your Peewee potatoes are probably done, so pull them out of the oven.  They look like this.  MMMMMMMM!

Throw your warm onions and potatoes into a large bowl so they can become friends.

I like my potato salad to be more on the tangy side.  Since we're adding crumbled bacon, I like to add a vinegar based dressing to add a hint of acid to help balance the nice, fatty bacon.  I love this kind of dressing, but you can add any kind of Italian dressing.  I add about a tablespoon.

I also like my potato salad to be just a bit creamy, so I add a tablespoon of Caesar dressing.  You could use ranch or even blue cheese or nothing other than the Italian dressing if you wanted.  

Yum....creamy.

I toss it all together.

Crumble your bacon and toss so they can become friends with the potatoes and onions too.

This can be served warm with a nice steak or piece of prime rib.  It even works served cold at a good ole burger or hot dog. 

Don't be afraid to experiment with these potatoes.  They are also great roasted, cut in half and topped with a bit of sour cream and chives and BACON for a simple appetizer.   Throw them in soups.  You could even mash them up, but I like to highlight their little, perfect bite sized shape. 

Enjoy!

Tuna Noodle Casserole/Pasta

I just realized that this really isn't a casserole....or maybe it is?  If you bake it, I guess it could be called a casserole.  But I think it's really more like a pasta.

Whichever the case, this post is dedicated to my nieces.  They ADORE this dish and I ADORE  them so here goes...

Bug and Bean, this is for you gals!

I get a lot of credit/blame for introducing my nieces to not so healthy cuisine...shrugs.  My sister has always been really great about making sure they ate healthy.  Everything she fed them was organic and non-GMO, non-processed and no trans fats.  I worried for awhile when niece #1 insisted she only liked egg whites and hated the yolks (gasp!), but then I had a slight glimmer of hope when as a toddler, she ate butter like it was cheese at restaurants.  We resolved the egg white/egg yolk issue when I made her Hollandaise sauce (which is basically egg yolk and butter) and she loved it.  Whew, what a relief.  

I remember once when my niece #1 was little, I was babysitting and I made her a sandwich.  She took a bite, stopped, pointed at it and asked, "Eemo.  What's this?" (My nieces call me Eemo.  It means Aunt in Korean...of course for a while I was Mo-mo and then Elmo, but we got that straightened out.  Truth be old, I do miss them calling me Mo-mo.)

"It's a sandwich."

No.  What's THIS?"

Then I noticed she was pointing at the mayo.  

"It's mayonnaise."

"What's that? I've never had it before."

Uh oh. Crap.  I did it again. 

I'm also responsible for making them this dish for the first time EVER and of course, they LOVED it.  

All you need is:

1 pound of any kind of pasta (macaroni, rigatoni, rotelli spaghetti, egg noodles, seriously any kind).

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

1 can of tuna (I like tuna packed in water NOT oil)

cheddar cheese (shredded works best)

1 bag of frozen peas 

salt and pepper

Some people like to boil the pasta and mix all ingredients and bake it all in a casserole dish.  You can even top it with crushed potato chips or a butter and ritz cracker topping.  Me?  I like to do the least amount of dishes as possible, so I do this all in one pot.  Hence, Tuna Noodle Pasta (but I still call in casserole so clearly, I'm confused too).

In a large pot, bring water to a boil.  Cook your pasta until tender.  You can literally use ANY kind of pasta you have on hand.  The traditional way calls for egg noodles, but we're in no way traditional here so use whatever kind of pasta makes you happy.  

I used rigatoni this time...

bubble. bubble. bubble.

Just before I drain the pasta, I add the frozen peas right into the pot.  PLEASE PLEASE don't use canned peas.  Peas! Peas! Canned are just awful.  They are mushy and a weird color...unless you like that.  And if you do, sorry.  No judgement.  I used the whole 12 ounce bag.  I like peas.  You can use as much or as little as you want. It takes less than a minute for the peas to defrost.  Ding. Done.  You don't have to use peas if you don't want to.  Not everybody likes peas.

You can use frozen broccoli if you'd like.  Once I used broccoli because I didn't have any peas.  It's delicious that way too.  Niece #2 pitched a fit, but I think it was because 1) It's not what she's used to 2) She didn't like broccoli at the time and 3) She was just 4 years old.  

Then I drain all the pasta and peas into a colander.  It can sit in your sink for a bit while you move on.

I grab 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and add that into the pot with one can of drained tuna.  You don't have to use name brand here.  The Ralph's brand Cream of Mushroom works just fine too.  You can add a large family sized can if you'd like your pasta to be creamier.  Or even just a bit of milk.  Up to you.

Add 1 can of tuna  into the cream of mushroom soup.  I like to crush up the pieces of tuna, but you can leave them in chunks if you like them that way.

Add as much shredded cheddar cheese as you want and turn the heat on to medium low.

Stir until soup is hot and cheese is melted.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Then add your pasta and peas back into the pot, stir up and turn the heat off.

That's it!  It's done.  One pot.  Boom.

If you're paying attention this dish is also a close cousin to Chicken Rice and Broccoli Casserole and to Crack Casserole !!!!!

Btw, I text the above pic to my niece #1 and she text back, "Oh my Lord.  Is that tuna noodle casserole? !"  

I love you, Bean and Bug!!

Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole/Crack Casserole's Cousin

Have you met Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole?  It's the slighty less trashy distant cousin of Crack Casserole.  In fact, the base of this dish is exactly the same as the recipe for the hashbrown casserole that my friends and colleagues have affectionally nicknamed "Crack Casserole."  If you're interested in meeting Crack Casserole click here.

All you needs for this dish:

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

sour cream

cheddar cheese (or any cheese you'd like to use)

left over white or brown rice

1 12oz. bag of frozen broccoli (you can use more or even fresh)

cooked chicken (I used rotisserie for this version, you can also use grilled or boiled)

seasoning salt

black pepper

This started out as a way to try and get the Indian guy in my life to eat broccoli....I think I succeeded, but I may have sacrificed the benefits of broccoli buy drowning it in , eh, well frankly speaking, FAT.  BUT, the good news is, you can bump up the broccoli and not use as much cheese or sour cream or mushroom soup.  You don't even have to use rice....I start out making this dish with the intent to not add rice, but then I think about how much I like the rice in this dish so I always end up putting it in.  I tell myself that using brown rice makes it not as bad.  

Begin by pouring 1 12oz bag of frozen broccoli in a bowl.  I don't even defrost it.  Usually I use 2 bags because I like broccoli, but then the Indian gives me this "look" as we're eating it so sometimes I concede and just use one.  You can also feel free to use chopped fresh broccoli.  Just remember that you will need to bake for longer to cook the broccoli.  If using fresh, raw broccoli and you prefer your broccoli more al dente, then you don't have to bake for longer.  Okay?  Moving on.

I chose to use shredded rotisserie chicken that I had purchased at Costco.  You can use grilled chicken or even boiled chicken.  I've also just used chopped chicken and it also tastes good with ham.  This dish is super forgiving so you can feel free to change things around.

I added my shredded, rotisserie chicken into the bowl.  I used about 2 cups here.  

Again, as much or as little as you want works just fine!

I added about 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese.  I find using shredded cheese is easier.  

You could just cube it if you only have block form.  

I added seasoning salt and black pepper.

I grabbed one can of cream of mushroom soup.  I just used the generic brand.  It was cheaper. It works.

Then I added about 1/2 a cup of sour cream.

I added already cooked brown rice that I had in my fridge.  I added about a cup to 2 cups.  If you don't have cold rice, you can cook a fresh batch, but let it cool before adding it into your casserole.  I don't know why but when using freshly cooked rice, the rice gets more mushy in the casserole than if you use cold, cooked rice.  I think it's because hot fresh rice is pretty moist so cooking it in the mixture of soup and sour cream makes it bloat easier than with cold rice.

If using feshly cooked rice, and you just don't have the time or patience to wait for the rice to cool down, you can just bake the casserole without rice and spoon the cooked casserole OVER fresh rice.   You can also eat this over pasta if you wanted.

That works too.

I grab a small glass casserole dish.  This is a 9x13 sized pan.  I like to use glass or ceramic.  

Spread your casserole filling evenly into the pan and bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes.  You just need to let the cheese and soups get hold and melted.  You could even do 400 for 20 minutes if you're in a rush.

You could also make this and add it uncooked into a ziplock bag or tupperware and freeze for later.

I like to serve it with a nice simple salad. 

Serves 4-6 people depending on what sides you're serving with it.  

But I won't judge you if you just eat this by itself. Technically, it's vegetable, protein and starch all in one!

Elote/Sweet Corn Mexican Style/Easy!!

Sometimes, I take it for granted how lucky I am to live and eat in Los Angeles.  I have access to so much cultural wealth, that it never occurs to me that there are those who have never experienced the simple, sweet , street corn elote.  I can literally walk out on the street in front of where I work in Ktown/Pico Union and find an elote vendor within a minute.

Case in point, my nieces live in the OC and in their area they aren't really likely to walk out and see a street vendor selling sweet white corn slathered in delicious butter, mayo and Parmesan cheese.  The first time I bought this for them at a swap meet, I realized they had NEVER had this before.  And my heart hurt a little for them.  

But good news!  You can make this at home!  

You have some choices.  You can either eat it on the cob or cut the corn off the cob and eat in a bowl with a spoon.  I like both ways, but in this post, I'm going to show you how to make one serving to eat at home off the cob and in a bowl.

I plastic wrap one ear of WHITE corn.  You can do it with yellow corn, but trust me...it won't be as good or sweet as with white corn.  You can also steam the corn, but I'm going to show you how to make one single snack serving using a microwave.

I nuked it on high for 3 minutes.

Carefully unwrap it.  It is HOT!  Cut the kernels off the cob using a sharp knife.

Add all your corn into a bowl and add black pepper, paprika, half a tablespoon of mayo or sour cream...or both.  No judgement.  You can even add a bit of real butter....mmmm. butter....

Sprinkle as much or as little Parmesan cheese in.

Squeeze in some lemon juice.

Mix it up and spoon it into your face while the corn is warm.  That's it!

I really love to eat this as a side to enchiladas.  You could make a really large batch and use it as a side dish.

If you want to eat it ON the cob, just slather all your ingredients onto a hot ear of corn and chow down.