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Creamy, Tangy Potato Salad with Eggs, Recipe

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  Potato salad is a great addition to almost any lunch or dinner meal. Purchasing potato salad from the deli can be very convenient, but making it at home can be oh, so worth it! The main problem I have with potato salad purchased at the grocery store is that the potato cubes usually are far too firm. Sometimes they are downright crunchy! Who enjoys eating crunchy potato salad? Well, not I, I can tell you that much! Perhaps the potatoes are kept firm to keep them from losing their shape and turn to mush rather than salad, which I can understand and appreciate. Personally, I still think that flavor and tender potatoes is more important than shape, though I too, try to avoid making mush out of my salads. My potatoes do loose their shape a little bit when stirred, but not enough to cause a problem. Instead, we often find ourselves taking second helpings of this potato salad, because it tastes so good and the texture is right. It is creamy and moist, a great addition to the meal served. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! I adapted this potato salad recipe from the recipe that my mother-in-law used for her family during my husband’s childhood, and still uses today. I have made […] Read more »

Saving Money by Making Your Own Liquid Foam Soap Refill

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    Foam soap dispensers are fun to use, but refills can be pricey; especially if you consider how cheap it is to make your own refills. That’s right, not only can you refill the inexpensive plastic bottles from Dial, Soft Soap, and other brands, but you can quickly and easily make your own and save a lot of money. In addition, you can color the refill to match your decor, if you so choose! It doesn’t take a crafty, creative, domestic person to do it. It is easier than making pancake batter from a box! First off, I’ll explain what the advantage is to using foam rather than regular liquid hand soap: When you use foam, you use much less soap to get the same job done. Regular dispensers usually give you more soap per pump than you really need, while the foam uses diluted soap to give you fun foam to wash with. This is especially nice for families with young kids, as little hands need very little soap, yet a regular dispenser gives much more than needed, even for adult hands. Using foam saves you money right from the get-go, then in addition, you can save more money by making it yourself. It is also fun to use, also an advantage when you try to instill in kids that they need to wash after bathroom visits. When making my own foam soap refill, I start by purchasing […] Read more »

Romaine Cashew Cranberry Salad, Recipe

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    This is a salad recipe that I adapted from a salad served at a function where the catering company Urban Mill Cafe was used. Everyone seemed to love this salad (and the rest of their food, too!), and I thought I might be able to recreate it fairly easily. So, while eating, I made a mental note of the ingredients I saw, then later wrote it down. The ingredients were: Romaine lettuce, cashews, cheese, dried cranberries, and green apple, with a poppy seed dressing on the side. Kraft’s Raspberry Vinaigrette is a good substitute, though it is a different flavor from poppy seed dressing. Until I got a hold of their website information, I wasn’t sure which cheese they had used in their salad; it was a shredded, white cheese, more flavorful than mozzarella. I tried Monterey Jack, and loved it. It turns out they used Swiss cheese, but I think any of these are good. I’m sure provolone would also work well. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! Making the salad is really quite straight forward. Just a couple of things to point out: For cashews, choose raw, unsalted cashews, then roast them. It is very easy to do.   I’ve seen roasting recipes that say to roast at 350°, but I roasted […] Read more »

Planning Your Vegetable Garden When Leaving for Vacation

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    To keep a vegetable garden thriving during an extended vacation away from home can seem like a daunting task. Summer of 2011 was going to be a challenge; I realized that as soon as we started planning our much longed-for vacation to Norway, the country of my birth. Not only would we be leaving the country, unable to care for our garden, but we were going to be away for 3 1/2 weeks, as we were to leave on July 10, and not return until the beginning of August! That’s a long time to be away from a garden, and it meant we would be gone during a time that many vegetables would be ready to harvest, or need upkeep. In addition, it seems weeds are at an all-time high in July, not to mention dry spells and hot weather to make for high watering requirements. It was a tricky decision to make, as to whether I should attempt a garden at all that summer. The choice was between having no garden at all, even though we would be home almost the entire season, or to do very heavy planning and go for it, realizing that we still might be in for a lot of problems and failed crops. I decided on the latter, figuring that even if only some plants made it and produced, it would be worth it. I wanted to give it a try, at […] Read more »

Traditional Norwegian Food: Confectionery Cake / Bar Recipe

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      This gourmet Confectionery Cake is made from a traditional Norwegian recipe, and is probably served in Sweden as well since IKEA sells their own version of the same cake. In Norway, this almond cake recipe goes by several different names, though “Suksesskake” (Success Cake) and “Konfektkake” (Confectionery Cake) are the two names I am the most familiar with. It is typically served during Christmas, weddings, on the Norwegian Independence Day (May 17th), or other special occasions. The base, made mostly from ground almonds, is naturally gluten free and is chewy and dense with somewhat of a crunch to it. It is not soft and fluffy like other cakes. Really, it is more like a dessert bar than a cake, but cake is still what Norwegians call this heavenly dessert. This dessert is topped with a delicious butter-egg yolk frosting, which is bright yellow and very flavorful. (Don’t let the yellow color trick you; there is no lemon or citrus flavoring added.) If you are looking for something extra, something exclusive, a dessert different from ordinary cakes and desserts, this is it! You won’t have to worry about whether someone else brought the same thing to the party when you bring this wonderful cake! If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! IKEA carries a […] Read more »