Food: Using leftover Roasted Potatoes for Potato Salad

Using up leftovers ... like I mentioned on my Facebook fan page, there's more to life than fabrics & threads :).

I will admit- unless it has to do with actual baking (ie cakes, breads, cookies) we don't measure that often... its more like a dash of this, a handful of that.  I should mention by the way, my Italian/Scottish husband is an excellent cook and his "gravy" (spaghetti sauce) is phenomenal.  He learned well from his mom and grandmothers.


We cook alot in our house.  Especially on the grill and last night one of the side dishes was roasted yukon gold potatoes accompanied with red bell peppers, sweet onions, garlic, olive oil, and a variety of spices (parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, oregano, & basil). Its particularly humid tonight so I've taken the leftovers & added mayonaise, dijon mustard, dill, chopped celery, grated carrots- easy homemade Potato Salad :)
 
Now, I realize its easy to buy pre-made potato salad but we like "really" knowing what we are feeding our family plus its an easy way to "disguise" a leftover as something new.
 
Back track to the roasted potatoes:
 
This easily serves 8 as a side dish or 4 with left overs for the potato salad
2lbs yukon gold potatoes, washed & cut to bit size cubes
1 medium onion
4 cloves of garlic 
parsley (roughly 3 TBSP dried)
Thyme ( 2 TBSP dried)
Oregano (2 tsp dried)
Basil (2 TBSP dried)
Rosemary (optional- 1 TBSP dried, or 2 TBSP fresh)
1/2 cup Virgin Olive Oil
 
We roast ours on the charcoal grill- stir frequently to avoid sticking for approximatley 45 minutes.
 
For the potato salad
Take the left over roasted potatoes and add the following:
1 stalk celery- cleaned & diced
1 medium carrot, peeled & grated
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup mayonaise (more for a creamier texture, less for a drier version)
dijon mustard 2 TBSP
Dill 1 tsp (dried)
Optional addition would be to add 2-3 hard boiled eggs, chopped or grated
 
This is a picture of mine
 

Fast Food VS Home Cooked

Its been awhile (okay, a month) since I've posted on here but this is something that's been on my mind alot lately.  Without a doubt, I have a "large" family, 5 kids is nearly 3 times the "average" for the USA so while this may not work out to the same savings for every family, it definitely makes sense for us $$ wise but health wise too.

Let me preface this with the fact that my kids love the idea of fast food-- french fries, the toy, etc.  And, I will readily admit, I love Big Macs & french fries.  BUT these days, fast food has increasingly become more expensive than eating at home.  Not to mention how "bad" it really is-- the calories, the fat, the sugar, and all of the "ingredients" that make it taste so good.

We are a family of 7 (2 adults 5 kids) so eating at Mc D's, the King, etc. costs us about $45 by the time you factor in 4 kids meals (roughly $3.50 ea), 3 adult meals (about $6.50 each) plus a couple of extra burgers/sandwiches ($4.00/each).- afterall, my husband and oldest son (who is now 15)  can eat :)
So for us to eat at Mc D's--
$41.50 + 1.72 tax = $43.22 TOTAL  (not to mention the gas to drive to & back)

The comparison?  NY Steaks, a veggie, salad, garlic bread, & milk
$17.85 Steaks (3 large steaks is enough for all of us believe it or not)
     2.25 frozen veggie- 16 oz. white corn or green beans (pop in the microwave to cook)
     3.41 a loaf of pre-made garlic bread (reheat in the oven)
     1.62 1 head of organic romaine lettuce (salad)
     1.42 cherry tomatoes (salad)
        .75 shaved Pecorino Romano cheese (salad) + olive oil & balsamic vinegar dressing (homemade of course)
     2.00 1/2 gallon of milk
      4.00 charcoal for the grill plus the incidental electricity/water
$ 33.30 + 1.39 tax = $34.69 TOTAL

I could substitute the milk for Soda (soda pop) and it would probably add a $1.  Still, for nearly $10.00 LESS, my family gets a higher quality dinner at home, not to mention that its healthier.  I know that $35 for dinner isn't cheap by any means... so down the road, I'll post one that's even more budget friendly.

My reasoning for posting this isn't that I'm going "anti- fast food".  Its moreover a realization that eating at home is not only better for your family's health, but also the bank account.

Ah... and if I could, I've recently added a few things for Juniors/Womens.... take a peek!


With that thought... here are a few of my favorite finds from fellow Etsy sellers!