Macaroni Salad

Do you need a quick and delicious salad for tomorrow's Memorial Day BBQ?

Frog Prince requested his mom's macaroni salad; he listed off the ingredients and I set to work. While the traditional macaroni salad has celery, we used green pepper in its place and I loved that switch.

This salad is easily made in 30 minutes and keeps well in the refrigerator. You might find that you'll need to add a bit more mayo the next day because the noodles will absorb the mayo as the salad sits - but the flavors mix wonderfully!

Macaroni Salad

14.5 oz box of macaroni (we used Ronzoni Smart Taste)
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 C baby carrots, sliced
1 T minced onion
4 oz. frozen peas
1 C mayo (we used mayo made with olive oil)
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 T cider vinegar
paprika
parsley
sea salt
black pepper

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions; be sure not to over cook the pasta so that the noodles become overly soft.

Add the frozen peas in the last minute of cooking. Then, drain.

While the pasta is cooking, chop up the veggies.

Allow the pasta and peas to cool down and then place in a large bowl.  As the pasta cools down, stir every few minutes to prevent the noodles from clumping together as they dry.

Add the chopped up veggies.

Stir to combine.

Add the minced onion, and stir these veggies in too. Alternatively, you can use fresh onion here.

Stir together the mayo, sugar, dry mustard, and cider vinegar until smooth and creamy.

Pour the mayo mixture over the pasta.  Do this in small batches.  Add a little, stir it in well and repeat.  This way, the creamy sauce gets all over the pasta and you can stir it in well.

Stir in the mayo mixture until the pasta and veggies are coated.

Then, season, to taste with parsley, paprika, salt and pepper.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.  If desired, you can also add tuna fish or chicken (either canned or grilled chicken breast).

Enjoy!

Linked to: Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Tasty Tuesday, This Week's Craving, URS(2). 

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

If you are looking to put some of that rhubarb in your garden to good use, make this jam right away!

DIY Cooking Creme

I have to admit, when I first saw the new cooking creme's on the market, I laughed.  I thought - why on earth do we need this product in our cooking?!  Can't we just make this on our own?  

So, that is what I set out to do.  I haven't tried the store bought variety, so I have no idea if this even comes close to the cooking creme sold for $3-$4, but we loved it.

Honey Mustard Stir Fry

There are just some nights when Frog Prince and I crave a plate full of veggies.  Does that ever happen to you?  

Great.  I knew we were strange.  

We wanted a stir fry of sorts, but didn't have anything good to marinade the veggies with as we were out of soy sauce and every non-cream based sauce recipe calls for, you guessed it, soy sauce.  

Urg.  

So, we went with what we had.  

Frog Prince mixed up a spicier version of the sauce -- mustard, honey, water, cornstarch, pepper... lots and lots of pepper.  

I went with a more dainty and less sweat-producing sauce of simple mustard and honey.  

Drizzled over the sauteed veggies and served with brown rice, it was a delicious {and quick} dinner.  

Honey Mustard Stir Fry - Finding Joy in My Kitchen

1 medium bell pepper (we used half yellow, half orange)

1 large handful of sweet pea pods

1 (14oz) bag of frozen veggies (cauli, broccoli and carrots)

1 T olive oil

2 T spicy brown mustard

2 T honey

Begin by chopping the veggies and sauteeing them in olive oil for about 5 minutes.  

While the veggies cook away, combine the mustard and the honey in a small bowl.  

Mix until blended and then set aside.  

When the veggies are crisp-tender, or done to your liking, serve them atop a bed of brown rice.

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Drizzle the honey mustard sauce over the top of the veggies.  

Then, enjoy your plate full of veggies.

Mmm.

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Mouthwatering Mondays.

Cherry BBQ Pork Ribs

One of the stipulations of our home purchase (and me getting to do all sorts of fun things in our kitchen) was that Frog Prince would be able to have a grill.

We watched and waited for an excellent end-of-the-summer sale on the model we wanted, and ended up getting an even better deal than we imagined!  Frog Prince couldn't wait to try it out.

Frog Prince chose ribs and cherry BBQ sauce for his first meal made on the grill.  

It was a good choice if you ask me :)

Cherry BBQ Pork Ribs - Finding Joy in My Kitchen

1 rack of pork ribs
1/2-3/4 C cherry BBQ sauce

Preheat the grill to about 350 degrees.

Then, place the ribs onto the grill and slowly cook them for 1 1/2 hours, turning 2-3 times during the cooking process.

 Check to make sure the internal temperature of the ribs has reached the safe level.

10 minutes before serving brush on the cherry BBQ sauce -- and reduce the heat on the grill at this point so the BBQ sauce doesn't burn.

Serve warm... with lots of napkins and extra cherry BBQ sauce!

Enjoy!

Cherry BBQ Sauce

Frog Prince and I have a slight addiction to cherries.

So crazy about them, in fact, we've developed a deep enjoyment of ...

Cherry BBQ Sauce.

Our favorite sauce comes from Brownwood Farms -- oh.my.goodness.

The problem is... we go through it too quickly --
We enjoy it on meats of all kinds, and even on sandwiches in our lunches.

So we tried our hand at making our own cherry BBQ sauce.

Now, I must say it's not a dead match with our beloved cherry BBQ sauce, but we greatly enjoyed it.  Especially on grilled pork ribs!!

Cherry BBQ Sauce - Finding Joy in My Kitchen
{Print Recipe}

1 C ketchup (or 3/4 C tomato paste)
1/3 C cider vinegar
3 T brown sugar {or honey}
4 T molasses
4 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tsp. garlic powder)
1/2 -1 tsp. sea salt
16oz {frozen or fresh} cherries
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. mustard powder

Begin by combining the tomato paste (or ketchup), vinegar, brown sugar, molasses, garlic, salt, onion and mustard powder.  Stir until combined.

Then, add in cherries.  You can either add these whole {you'll puree the sauce later}, or chop them first to avoid having to puree the sauce later.

Simmer the sauce for 1-2 hours, or until flavors are well blended.  The longer you cook it (even beyond 2 hours), the better blended the flavors will be.

Then, cool enough to handle the sauce.

Pour into a blender (or use an immersion blender if you have one), and blend until pureed.

Store in airtight containers in the fridge until ready to use.

Enjoy!

This dish is linked to:
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday

Ingredient Spotlight

Quick Spaghetti Sauce

While I love our crockpot spaghetti sauce, it does require a bit of planning ahead.  I tried a new recipe from Stop Short with a secret ingredient ... and this recipe is ready in just a matter of minutes :)

Quick Spaghetti Sauce - Adapted from Stop Short
{Print Recipe}

1 large can diced tomatoes
1 large can crushed tomatoes (or tomato paste)
1/2 onion, diced
1 T sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 lb. ground beef/turkey (optional)

Brown the ground turkey {and onion} in a large skillet over medium heat until done.

Drain the grease.

Then, stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste and seasoning.

Add in sugar and then simmer until warmed.

Then, stir in the special ingredient: cinnamon.

Serve over spaghetti noodles, or use in your favorite recipe.

Enjoy!

Linked to: Tasty Tuesday