As Promised

As promised, below is my potato salad recipe and as an added bonus a chicken recipe. Now I must warn you, I measure nothing when making my potato salad. I have come to the realization that any recipe I call my Mom for is so vague and she measures nothing, therefore I measure nothing. My Mom gets this from her Mom. Don't we all want food that tastes like Mom's?

Potato Salad

roughly 2.5 pounds red potatoes
kosher dill pickles-about 3-4 spears (this depends on how pickly you like things)
3-5 hard boiled eggs sliced (again, depends on how eggy you like things)
mayonnaise
regular mustard
dijon mustard
salt, pepper
dry ranch mix

place whole potatoes in pot of cold water on stove over medium heat
salt potatoes once they reach a boil
boil until fork tender (depends on size of potatoes)
drain and let cool
once cooled, peel the skins off half the potatoes (stole this idea from Levi)
cut potatoes into desired bite size pieces and place in bowl
add mayonnaise - as stated I do not measure, maybe start with 1/2 cup and go from there
add 1-2+ tbsp yellow mustard
and 1+ tbsp dijon mustard
add salt, pepper and about 1 tsp-1/2 tbsp dry ranch mix - to taste
stir everything together
lastly, add the hard boiled eggs and pickles and stir
check and adjust seasonings
refrigerate until cool and again, check and adjust seasonings
**The longer it sets, the better it gets
***Also, if you are wondering why I don't peel the potatoes until after they have boiled ask my Mom. This is how she makes potato salad with russet potatoes so I figured I would do the same with red potatoes.
****You can substitute red potatoes for russet potatoes. Just peel all the skins and dice after the potatoes have been boiled and cooled. However I must say the red potatoes with skins add color, flavor, and nutrition. Give em a try!
Easily serves 4-6

Want the perfect-every-time hard boiled egg? Do this (Rachael Ray tip):
Place eggs in pot of cold water on stove and cover. Once they reach a rolling boil, turn off heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes. Then run eggs over cold water. Perfect every time. This also works great for fresh corn on the cob, but of course don't run the corn over cold water.

I actually have a recipe for this next one. I got it off Food Network's website and adjusted it to my liking.

Yummy Chicken

Couple of tbsp olive oil
recipe calls for 6 bone-in chicken thighs, skinless
**I substituted 1 bone-in breast and 4 bone-in thighs. Use your choice of bone-in chicken pieces
salt and pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine (I only used about 1/3 cup - all I had)
1 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes in thick puree (I use San Marzano-the best!)

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat
Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken, meat side down first, and turning once, about four minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate and reserve.
Add onion and garlic to the pan and saute until tender, roughly 3 minutes. Add the stock and wine and stir, scraping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Turn heat to high and reduce by half, about three minutes. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and add the chicken thighs back in. Cover and cook on medium-low for 40 minutes.

Remove chicken and serve it with rice, buttered noodles, pasta, mashed potatoes, etc. Ladle sauce on top and garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.

So, there you have it. Hope you enjoy. If you try either recipe, let me know what you think.