grandma's potato salad

This is my mother-in-law, the Preacher's mother. She was the sweetest woman, and I could not have asked for a better mother-in-law.

She loved to bake, especially fruit pies. Her pie crust was amazing. It was so flaky and buttery. Sometimes all I wanted was the crust. I could pass up the fruit but not that crust.

Another dish that she would make was potato salad. We all loved her potato salad. If there was a pot-luck dinner scheduled at the church, people would request her salad. It was so creamy and sweet with a little crunch from the bacon.

No one in the family would attempt to make it. It was her salad and only she could make it! She would boil the red potatoes and her eggs. And then see would gather all the other ingredients, place them on the table and there she would sit and make the magic happen. 

After she passed away in 2010, among the hundreds of things we missed about her, we missed her potato salad. The Preacher and I would attempt making it on a few occasions but it never seemed to come out right. 

A couple of weeks ago the weather was beautiful. The day felt like we were finally coming out of winter's chill. The Preacher decided to grill some steaks. I cleaned the patio table, excited to sit out in the spring's sunshine.

The Preacher asked me to fix a salad to go with the steaks and we both knew what we needed to make -- Grandma's potato salad!

I boiled the red potatoes and the eggs and I fried some bacon. I set out the other ingredients: mayo, mustard, celery seeds, salt and pepper, and I chopped some dill pickles. When it was all combined we had a potato salad that was as good as my mother-in-law's! 

We were very excited that we had replicated her recipe and it felt good to honor the Preacher's mother, Joan Smith.

Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe

Last week we invited some friends over for an early Christmas dinner. We knew they would be leaving soon to visit family in Florida, so we wanted to have them over to exchange gifts and to wish them a Merry Christmas.

For Christmas, our son had ordered a set of Le Creuset dishes and pans for the Preacher. We had received the pans just the week before so the Preacher wanted to make something in the casserole dish that came with the set. 

After we made plans with our friends, the Preacher and I began to put together our menu. He wanted to bake a ham with potatoes and carrots. I wanted to make a dessert using the mini cocotte dishes from the set of Le Creuset. Of course, I went to Pinterest to find a recipe.

I found a recipe for a pumpkin dump cake. I love dump cakes. They are so easy to put together. I have been making them for my family through out the years because, besides chocolate chip cookies, they are my son's favorite dessert. So when I came across this recipe I knew I had to make it for our friends.

I thought I would share it here with you. If you are having friends and family over for the holidays, this is an easy quick recipe that I'm sure they will love.

In the original recipe she adds pumpkin spice, but the Preacher does not like pumpkin spice, so I left it out. I also made individual desserts in the mini cocotte dishes, so instead of using a 9 x 13 pan, I used the 4 individual dishes and then finished the rest of the mixture in an 8 x 8 pan. I will list the ingredients and instructions on how I made mine. But please click on the link above to see the original.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin
• 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 c melted butter
• whipped topping

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat the oven to 350F. 
• Grease the bottom of a 9x13 pan (or the bottom of the size of baking pan you choose to use)
• Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, and salt in a bowl, then pour into your pan. Since I was using the cocotte dishes, I used a measuring cup to pour the mixture into the individual dishes, filling them 3/4 full.

• Sprinkle the dry yellow cake mix evenly over the pumpkin mixture. 
• Sprinkle the walnuts over the cake mix. 
• Drizzle the melted butter evenly over everything. (I just cut the butter into pats of butter and laid them right on top of the cake mix and the walnuts.)

• Bake your pumpkin dump cake for 55 minutes  until the top is turning golden brown(if you are baking in individual pans you might want to check on them in about 40 minutes) . Let cool and serve with whipped topping. (We used the heavy cream to make our own whipped topping.)

The dump cake turned out so sweet and moist and crunchy on top. I hope you, your family and friends enjoy the recipe! Let me know how you liked it.

Love from the Preacher and I 

Chocolate Pumpkin Mini-Muffins Recipe

(makes approx 48 mini muffins)

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin

1/2 c mini chocolate chips

2 egg whites

2 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 375.

Grease the insides of your mini muffin liners, otherwise the muffins will stick to the paper. (I used vegetable oil and a small brush for this. I know this is a pain but it does work. If you don't do this your muffins will stick to the paper. I got tired of doing it and the muffins that didn't get oiled did stick.)

In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until a little foamy. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir until well blended. Use a tablespoon to fill prepared baking cups. Bake for about 13 - 15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pans and let cool.

This is a very simple recipe. They didn't look like much when they came out. I guess you could put some icing on them to help their looks but I didn't have time to do this.

I was wondering if you could mash some bananas and use them instead of the pumpkin. Just a thought.

Our church has begun a new ministry called "He Brews" Coffee Ministry. Immediately following church service a table is set up in the back and we have coffee brewed, hot water for tea, and some goodies to eat. This is great time for everyone to stop and fellowship a little after service. Kind of a get-to-know-you time.

We are trying to get people to sign up for the goodies which could be anything from muffins to fruit. I signed up for last Sunday so these muffins are what I took. I heard there was a couple of guys who were popping them in their mouths one right after another. Good to know they were delicious.

If you have a recipe that would be quick but good for our ministry, let me know.