Savory Baked Apples?!?! NO WAY!

I assure you, these are not the baked apples you may remember from your childhood. And it may sound totally wacky to you, but trust me, this makes a delicious dinner, or lovely side dish to a hearty baked chicken. I'm all about testing new waters (as I'm sure you are aware, if you've read any of my other postings, right?) so it didn't even faze me when mom suggested I try to make this one for us. It was soooo good to me, but she and my sister, Holly, weren't nearly as impressed as I was. Apparently, it really does matter what apples you buy, and just how you put it all together.. whatever, learning experience! hehe I can just see your faces out there wondering how on earth this combo of ingredients will work together to create something edible, but I promise it does, and it's soooooo worth it! Try it once, and you'll be hooked! (don't worry, I'm giving you all the pointers Holly and mom gave me to do it right! hehe)

Savory Baked Apples

1 small Fuji or Gala apple per person, halved and cored (with melon baller, if you have one)
nickel size dollop yellow mustard for each half apple
1/8 tsp thyme per half apple
non-stick spray for pan
9X13 pan for baking


spray non-stick spray in pan, place apples cut side up in pan and squirt mustard on each one. spread around all of open part of apple with back of teaspoon. sprinkle with thyme and bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until apples are slumped.

That's it! Easy breezy and yummy! I hope you really do enjoy, because this is the right way to do it! lol Let me know what you think, please!

Potato Salad with a Twist!

So I took a week off.. sorry about that. But I've been cooking and now I'm here to share some of my conquests with you once again! Potato salad is something that mom craves a lot, so I found some good looking taters on sale and bought a whole bag! I had every intention of just making plain ol' salad, but we got to thinking, and this is what we came up with! Try it if it sounds good to you and let me know what you think.. and if it doesn't sound good to you, you should make it anyway.. it's summertime! There is no better time for tater salad, people!!! ;)

Potato Salad

4 servings

4 medium russet potatoes

2 tbsp mayo

1 tbsp yellow mustard

1 tbsp Dijon (or other spicy) mustard

1 green onion

2 hand fulls raisins

salt/pepper/garlic to taste

2-4 hard boiled eggs (optional, and depending on how much egg you like)

boil potatoes until desired tenderness. remove from water and add eggs to that water and bring back to boil. once at rolling boil, cover, turn off heat and let sit for twenty minutes. I promise, they will be perfectly boiled! while eggs are cooking, peal potatoes if you like, but we prefer with skins on! dice into bite size pieces and add to bowl. add mayo, mustards and seasonings. add diced green onion and raisins and stir together. once eggs have cooled, peel, dice and add to mixture. i recommend making at least an hour ahead of serving time (or possibly even over night) so that all flavors have time to meld together and raisins plump back up from the bit of dressing this makes.

P.S. We served with toasted tuna sandwiches for a super light summer dinner and it was fantastic! Enjoy and make it e-Sally!