Potato/Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:
4 large potatoes
4 hard boiled eggs
1/2 bag macaroni noodles (about 6 oz. uncooked)
about 4-5 heaping large spoonfuls of Mayonnaise
onions, very finely chopped
celery (I used about 5 stalks)
carrots, chopped

Directions:
Wash & scrub potatoes. Boil with skins on. Check with a fork to see if done (should slip off fork). Let cool. Then peel & chop. (I left them in pretty big chunks.)

Boil eggs. Let cool. Then slice.

Boil macaroni noodles. Let cool.

In a big bowl, put potatoes, eggs, and macaroni. Add onions, celery, and carrots. Then add mayo one or two spoonfuls at time. Continue to add mayo until everything is moistened. Add salt & pepper to taste.

I actually divided my ingredients into two bowls (so it made two salads) and then combined at the end. I found that to be easier when mixing in the mayo.

This makes great left-overs, but you may have to add more mayo as time goes by because the mayo seems to seep into the potatoes & noodles.

Prep time: This takes some time because you have three things to boil & then allow to cool. If you have enough big pots, and you don't mind your house heating up, you can have everything going at the same time. By the time you're done chopping veggies, the noodles should be done. Anyway, I'd say to plan on at least an hour of preparing this dish. But it's totally worth it!

Source: Adapted from my mom's recipe (see below)

Variations:
My mom's original recipe calls for 10 potatoes, 6 eggs, 3/4 bag noodles, a whole jar of mayo, onions, celery, carrots, and a bag of frozen peas. You're supposed to let the peas thaw before mixing them in. But we don't like peas so I don't add them. Oh, and she seasons with salt, pepper, and celery salt.

Marcos' Rating: 15

Fried Rice

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced meat (ham, bacon, beef, steak)
2 eggs
salt
pepper
soy sauce
oil

Directions:
In frying pan with a little oil, put onions, meat, celery, and carrots. Fry. Add rice. Season with salt, pepper, and soy sauce. When rice is almost done frying, form a hole in the middle of the pan with the rice & veggies surrounding it. Crack 2 eggs & put in center of pan. Stir in the center until scrambled. Then mix eggs with rice.

It served two of us for dinner and there's about 1/2 plate-worth left for someone's lunch tomorrow.

Preparation time: 15 minutes for chopping (you want to make sure the carrots & onions are quite thin) + time to cook rice before frying (I used a rice cooker and then let it cool a bit before frying)

Source: My mom

Variations: I don't put in any diced meat. And my pan is too small so I do half at a time.

Marcos' Rating: 10

I'm saying this is a "no big deal" dish. However, it was nice to have an extra set of hands when I first added the rice so Marcos could season with salt & pepper & soy sauce as I mixed. And then I had him crack the egg for me. But really, you can do it all on your own. It's mostly just chopping & then stirring.

Cheesy Garden Veggie Quesadilla Triangles

Ingredients:
6 Black Bean Burgers (vegetarian), thawed
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup monterey jack cheese
1 cup roasted tomato salsa
16 10-inch flour tortillas
melted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut thawed burgers into 1/4 inch dice.

In a large mixing bowl, combine burger, peppers, cheeses, and salsa. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

Cut each tortilla into a 7-inch triangle.

Place 2 Tbsp of filling in the center of each triangle; fold each corner into the center, overlapping one another.

Brush quesadillas with melted butter and cook in a nonstick pan over medium heat until browned, about 1 minute per side. (This helps to seal the tortilla closed.) Place in the oven for 5 minutes, or until heated through.

Prep Time: At least a half hour

Source: In The Kitchen The Costco Way, 2008, pg 17.

Variations:
I used regular, mild salsa instead of roasted tomato salsa.
I also didn't cut the tortillas, we just folded them up like a burrito or folded them in half like a regular quesadilla.
I also cooked some ground beef to add to the quesadillas because I wasn't sure if Marcos would like the veggie burgers.
I cut up some spring onions to add & also some left-over shredded mozzarella cheese.
And finally, I'm cheap, so instead of buying 3 bags of cheese, I bought a bag of shredded Fiesta Blend cheese (Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero Cheese) and it was yummy!!

Marcos’ rating: 15 (out of 10, haha) I guess you can see that we really liked this recipe!

**There is also a Cilantro lime sour cream dipping sauce to go with this, but we just used Roasted Red Pepper Hummus.

Stuffed Turkey Burgers

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers (drained & rinsed if from a jar)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
ground pepper
whole-wheat hamburger buns

Directions:
Preheat broiler or prepare grill.

Divide turkey into 4 equal sized rounds. Make 2 equal sized patties out of each round, for 8 patties total.

Sprinkle one side of 4 of the patties with 2 Tbsp each of roasted peppers & cheese. Top with remaining patties, working the turkey around the edges to seal the burgers closed.

Sprinkle patties with salt & pepper. Grill or broil until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Serve on the buns. Makes 4 servings.

Prep Time: 10 minutes + time to grill peppers if needed

Source: In The Kitchen The Costco Way, 2008, pg 110

Variations: I couldn't find any roasted peppers in a jar so I just cut up a pepper & grilled it on the stove.

Marcos’ rating: 20!