1 head lettuce, washed
1 cup celery, diced
4 eggs, hard cooked and diced
1 – 300 g package frozen peas (not cooked) – I think I use about ¾ of a cup.
½ cup green or red pepper, diced
1 sweet onion, medium size, diced
8 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
2 cups mayonnaise
2 tbsp. sugar
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups croutons

Tear lettuce into small pieces and put in 9 x 12″ dish. Layer the rest in the order given. Add sugar to mayonnaise and mix well. Spread over top as frosting. Top with cheese. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Do not mix. Sprinkle with croutons just before serving. I also waited until just before serving to put the cheese on.

Per 5 lb. of peeled, chopped potatoes:

6 hard-boiled eggs
1 good squirt of mustard
3 very big serving spoons of mayonnaise
Dash of sweet pickle juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Cajun spice to taste

Boil potatoes to fork tenderness, drain and in a large bowl, mash them a little.
Give them a good sprinkle of all three seasonings. Now mash them really well. This is your chance to mix in the seasonings.

Add the mayonnaise and mustard, then stir. Dice eggs into bite-sized or smaller pieces, add and stir again. Taste for salt now. I find it usually needs a bit more salt and bit more Cajun spice. To finish, add 2 big spoonfuls of sweet pickle juice and stir for the last time.

Notes:
My dad never serves his chicken and sausage gumbo without this potato salad. His claim to fame is that he serves the potato salad warm rather than cold. The gumbo is practically done before he starts boiling the potatoes, and he whips it together with the potatoes are still hot.

This might be a good time too to plug our favorite Cajun spice. My kitchen simply isn’t complete without it. Where we’ve found that many brands of Cajun seasoning are way too salty, the Cajunland company seems to get it just right. Our staple is their Cajun seasoning with green onion. Sits right next to the salt and pepper at the table and goes in all my Cajun dishes. One Easter my grandfather mailed me an entire box of it!

Oh, and you have to try this… it’s the very first thing I ever cooked for Mecandes! Tuna fish mixed with mayonnaise on a toasted and buttered bagel, Cajun spice sprinkled over top. He’s never been the same since.

Broccoli Salad
Recipe from Ptelea

5c. broccoli florets
½ c diced red onion
½ c grated cheddar
¼ c sunflower seeds
6 bacon slices, in bits
¼ c raisins

With dressing:
2T sugar
2T red wine vinegar
6T mayonnaise

Combine all salad ingredients in mixing bowl. Stir together dressing in another small bowl. Toss the salad into the dressing and chill.

Notes:
This salad is easy on substitutions and omissions. Last time I used mozzarella instead of cheddar, white onions instead of red, and had to leave out the bacon and raisins completely. Personally, I like to lower the broccoli to about three or four cups and replace what’s missing with shredded raw cabbage. Any way you do it, you are not likely to miss.

So, that begs the question – where do the broccoli *stems* belong? In the compost, the trashcan OR a new dish? For so long, it was one of the first two for me. I had no idea what to do with them. Then a little recipe gave me an idea, and eureka, no waste. Hurray!

Fancy Vegetable Medley
From Whole Foods for the Whole Family

1 c. thinly sliced onions
2 T. butter
2 c. diagonally sliced carrots
4 c. broccoli
1 t. basil
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. salt
dash of pepper

Saute onion in butter in large skillet until tender. Add carrots. Saute 5 minutes. Slice broccoli stems thinly and cut florets 1 inch long. Add broccoli stems to skillet; saute for 2 minutes longer. Add florets to skillet with seasonings. Simmer, covered, for 3 to 5 minutes.

Notes:
My spin on this is to only use the broccoli stem, as the florets have been enjoyed in the above salad. Without the florets, I don’t have to worry about overcooking them and can therefore keep the other vegetables on the fire a little longer. So, I add in 1/2 to one cup of chicken broth with the seasonings.