Greek Potato Salad

We've been on a Greek-flavor kick ever since I made the Greek Chicken and Pasta back in May. I never really thought of myself as a Greek-inspired food lover, but I think I am! This potato salad definitely has some awesome flavors. Many of the comments on the Taste of Home website suggest substituting feta for mozzarella cheese. I personally enjoyed the mozza more, but you could do your preference!

We, once again, do not have a grill, so I steamed all of the vegetables on a large skillet instead. And I cooked the potatoes to almost done, and then I steamed the rest of the vegetables too! The one mistake I would say I did was not cutting the veggies small enough. Make them as close to bite-size as you can to fit the most in your mouth at one time! Yum! Overall rating: 3.5/5--we just need to perfect it!

Greek Potato Salad

Total Time: 45 Minutes

Servings: 16

• 3 pounds small red potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 large sweet yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 large sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 medium red onion, halved and sliced
• 1 medium cucumber, chopped
• 1-1/4 cups grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
• 3/4 cup Greek vinaigrette
• 1/2 cup halved Greek olives
• 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Drizzle potatoes with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Grill potatoes, covered, over medium heat for 20-25 minutes or until tender.

Place in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients; toss to coat. Serve salad warm or cold.

Asian Grilled Chicken Drummies

Sorry for the delay in posting. I've just been lazy, and truthfully, not in the mood. I'm still cooking and am going to post everything I've done the last couple weeks. I almost always forget to look at the recipe the night before I'm going to make it. I did that on this recipe and didn't realize it was a marinade. I did the bare minimum time frame, which turned out fine, but truthfully I think it would be better a little longer marinating.

We aren't allowed to use a charcoal grill at our apartment complex and we don't have a gas grill, so we often times compromise when it comes to grill recipes. I usually use the broiler or a griddle. This time I used the broiler. It would've turned out fine, but we got distracted and we definitely burned the chicken a bit. The not burnt portions were pretty good though!

Overall, we would give this a 3.5/5. It was good, but needs a little bit of work/we need to try it again. This time either on the grill, or making sure it doesn't burn! I did also substitute the chicken wings for drummies, but if I was going to make this for a large group, I would do the drummies.

Adapated from Pillsbury's 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Recipe book.

Asian Grilled Chicken Drummies

• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1 tablespoon Thai red curry sauce
• 24 chicken wing drummettes (about 2 1/2 pounds); or 3 pounds chicken wings
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped salted dry-roasted peanuts

In resealable food-storage plastic bag, mix teriyaki sauce and curry sauce. Add chicken; seal bag. Shake to cool chicken evenly with sauce mixture. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Heat gas or charcoal grill. Remove drummettes from marinade; discard marinade. Place drummettes on grill over medium heat. Cover grill; cook 20-25 minutes until chicken is golden brown on outside and no longer pink in center.

Place drummettes on serving platter. Sprinkle with cilantro and peanuts.

Home-Style Sausage and Potato Skillet

Good, down-home, meat and potatoes! Adapted from Pillsbury Fast & Healthy Cookbook.

Photo Courtesy of Pillsbury

Home-Style Sausage and Potato Skillet
Serves 4
Total Time: 30 Minutes

• 3/4 pound bulk light turkey and pork sausage
• 1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 pounds red potatoes (about 12 medium), unpeeled, very thinly sliced
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Heat nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until no longer pink. Drain pan, and remove sausage to plate and set aside.

Add onions; cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Gently stir in cooked sausage and remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover tightly and cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, just until potatoes are tender.

Remove from heat; gently stir mixture. Let stand covered 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend and light sauce to form.

The Verdict

3.5/5. We liked this very much, but there need to be additions to make this great! Garlic and mushrooms would definitely add to this dish. On the Pillsbury website, another posted mentioned adding cayenne pepper instead of paprika, which might work too. We're also thinking of seasoning with teriyaki next time. 

The meat the potato ratio also needs to be adjusted. There was almost too much potato to the amount of meat. I would make them equal parts in the future.

Maryland Fried Chicken

A recipe for fried chicken that gets simmered in milk! Does anyone know how to get real good breading with homemade crusts? I always seem to have issues with it...this is adapted from Better Homes & Garden.

Photo Courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens

Maryland Fried Chicken
Total Time: 75 Minutes
Serves 6

• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup finely crushed saltine crackers (28 crackers)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 1/2 to 3 pounds meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 cup milk

In a small bowl combine the egg and the 3 tablespoons milk. In a shallow bowl combine crushed crackers, thyme, paprika and pepper. Dip chicken pieces, one at a time, in egg mixture; roll in cracker mixture.

In a large skillet brown chicken in hot oil over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, turning occasionally. Drain well.

Add the 1 cup milk to skillet. Heat just to boiling. Reduce heat to medium low; partially cover skillet. Cook for 35 minutes. Uncover; cook about 10 minutes more or until chicken is no longer pink. Serve chicken.

The Verdict

2/5 stars. This was very bland. I don't know if it is because I didn't get enough of the breading on or what. I always seem to have issues with that. I might try it again, but not totally sure....let me know your thoughts if you try it!