Monday, September 6, 2010

Homemade Potato Salad & Granola Bars

I made my first ever batch of Homemade Potato Salad last night. It is SO good! I was nervous about how it'd turn out, having never even made mashed potatoes, but Nick and I were pleasantly surprised with how good it tastes with some good nutritious ingredients in it! We plan to make chicken brats tonight and have this as a side - YUM! I combined a couple of recipes I found online and hit the jackpot.

Main Ingredients:
4-5 medium potatoes, cooked
1 cup diced celery
4 hard boiled eggs; reserve 2 egg yolks for the dressing and dice the remaining eggs and whites
1 cup diced onion

Ingredients I used for the dressing:
2 egg yolks
3/4 C plain, low fat or Greek yogurt (I used Greek and it's great!)
3 T mayo (I didn't plan to use this, but I was apprehensive and added it for the consistency... next time I think I'll use more yogurt/mustard so I don't have to use mayo)
2 tsp olive oil
1-2 T mustard
1/4 tsp salt
Ground Pepper
1/2 tsp Dill
1 tsp Parsley

Instructions:
Prepare dressing by mashing yolks with fork and adding oil, mustard, and spices. Gently mix dressing with main ingredients - I added the diced eggs last to be more gentle with them.

To me, this is like creamy mashed potatoes (but BETTER!) with some soft potato cubes, crunchy celery and onions and the egg offers a balanced, hearty taste and the spices add to the amazing summery taste. It just may be one of the best (if not the best) potato salads I've tried. If you have a different healthy version, let me know! I'd love to try it out.

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Homemade Granola Bars
I made our good ol' granola bars this morning; they're great for us as a snack (or dessert!).

Ingredients:
2 Cups Oats
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup Ground Flax Seed
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/2 Cup Honey (add this last, after everything is mixed well)

Add-Ins: You can experiment with other add-ins; these are our go-to ingredients:
1/3 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips
1/3 Cup Coconut
1/3 Cup Sliced Almonds


I had a dark chocolate bar that I chopped up to use rather then chocolate chips.


My ingredients layered nicely...


Mix all ingredients well


Then add the honey; you'll get a rich, golden color and it will start to stick together better.


Smooth out in a 9 x 13 pan; I usually use wax paper to push the ingredients together and become more bar-like.


Bake in a greased pan at 325 degrees for 18 - 20 minutes.
The finished product will become more golden and firm as it bakes. Enjoy!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

These recipes look tremendous and I'll bet taste even better!!! :o) Love, Dad

Unknown said...

Thanks for the recipe, Marissa. I've been looking for a good, simple granola bar recipe. Can't wait to try it!
Love the bathroom decor!

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