Yours, Mine and Ours- The Potato Salad Version

Since we've been married Jeremiah and I have enjoyed combining the interests/traditions of both of our families.  This New Year's Day we had sauerkraut and sausages because that was what his family always had on New Years growing up.  Meanwhile Jeremiah has learned to enjoy some of the foods my family likes.

When I was growing up my grandmother, "Muddie," made potato salad for all of our family bar-b-ques and fish frys.  I loved it, and I remember many times when I licked the bowl clean.  My junior year of college Muddie was very sick and was confined to her bed most of the time.  When she asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I knew right away what she could make me.  I asked her to write down all of the recipes for the foods she made that I loved...  You know, the stuff that isn't really written down on a recipe card or is maybe scratched on a scrap piece of paper somewhere that no one will ever find.  That Christmas she gave me a box of recipes with handwritten cards that included all of my favorites... potato salad, pie filling, taco meat, stew, meatloaf, chicken and dumplins....  It was a greatest hits version of her cooking repertoire.  Over the years I've been so thankful I asked for those recipes in her handwriting.  She passed away in 2006, but I still cook her recipes and think of her often.  One of the most used cards in that box is the potato salad recipe.

I've taken Muddie's place as the potato salad supplier at family get-togethers ever since.

Muddie's Potato Salad

2 or 3 baking potatoes
3-4 sweet pickles
3-4 Best Maid dill pickles
1 large onion (I like purple)
2-3 ribs of celery (I leave these out)
5-6 boiled eggs

Dressing
1 c Miracle Whip
2-3 T mustard
1 T dill pickle juice
1 T sweet pickle juice

Boil the potatoes until you can puncture them with a fork (about 30 minutes).    Boil the eggs and set aside.  Peel the potatoes and cut into bit sized pieces.  Mix together dressing and pour over potatoes.  Dice pickles, onion, and eggs and add to potato mixture.  Salt and pepper to taste.

When I first met Jeremiah he talked about "Bastian Potato Salad" and how wonderful it was because his mom made it with vinegar.  That sounded pretty good to me, so I decided to ask his mom for the recipe.  She shared it with me.  I excitedly made it trying to impress my boyfriend with all the effort I'd gone to to make something from home.  I followed the recipe his mom gave me and added the vinegar thinking that was what made the real difference for Jeremiah.  I noticed that his mom mentioned in the recipe that you could a little dill relish or onions but she usually didn't add the onions.  At the time it was hard for me to imagine potato salad without the crunch of pickles and onions.  I thought to myself, what harm would it do to add a few onions and pickles?  I mean the real difference is the vinegar, right?  Boy was I wrong.  I don't think Jeremiah recognized it as a recipe from home.  He asked me right away what all the crunchy stuff was.  He was sweet about it, but I don't think he liked it too much at all!

I learned a lesson that day that has come in handy in marital life.  When you are trying to do something nice for someone, don't selfishly add your own little "crunch" so you will enjoy it too. :)  I felt very bad about the incident, but didn't have the courage to try Bastian Potato Salad again for fear of failure a second time.  I mean who wants to hear their husband say, "Sorry babe, you don't make it like mom?"  Yep, me neither.

Well, fast forward to the present.  My precious husband is turning 30 on Sunday.  We are having a family get together to celebrate his birthday.  I had since lost the recipe my sweet mother-in-law shared with me, so I asked her send it to me again.  (Thanks Twila!)  I decided to follow the recipe to a tee.  I successfully made it last night, and received approval today :)

Bastian Potato Salad


Boil potatoes in skins, and lightly salted water, til fork soft.  Drain and cool til can be handled, then peel off peelings.  While still warm, coat diced potatoes with dressing.  Dressing is Hellman's mayo with mustard and cider vinegar - about 3 Tbsp each mustard and vinegar to each cup of mayo - depends on how many potatoes used.  I usually add a few stalks of celery, diced, and some dill pickle relish - or just diced dill pickles - and salt and pepper.  Last add diced, boiled eggs.  Save a boiled egg or two to slice on top for decoration.  After mixing thoroughly, lay saved egg slices across top, then sprinkle with  paprika for looks. The "men" all think it gets better with age - so for Sun noon would want to make it no later than Fri morn.

It will be interesting to see how we combine the potato salad tradition.  Right now, I just make both kinds!  I guess our kids will be potato salad experts!

First comes love, then comes marriage...

In late January Jeremiah and I found out that we are going to be parents!  We are overwhelmed and overjoyed by this blessing.  God's goodness to us is such a blessing, and we are awed that we get to be a mommy and daddy to a new little bundle of joy.  At 8 weeks we had this sonogram picture taken. 

The doctor said he/she looks just like a little gummy bear here.  I thought that was pretty cute since my favorite candy are gummy bears!  It's been a roller coaster of emotions and changes this first few months, but I'm finally feeling a bit better. 

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.  Psalm 136:1

Date Night to Bass Hall

Jeremiah asked me out on a date last weekend and got us Bass Hall tickets.  We'd never been there together and most of my outings there consisted of field trips with stinky first graders.  So, needless to say I was excited about a night on the town.  We started out at my favorite Fort Worth place to eat, Lucile's!

Then on our way downtown we found a great photo op in the parking garage with Bass Hall in the background.

 My handsome husband

On second thought, I guess the huge 3 in the background didn't make for a great photo, but oh well!

We went out on the balcony to get a sight of this beautiful angel.  I love Fort Worth!

I was desperately looking for a young person, ahem, I mean "digital native" to take this picture.  Problem was, a guess not many 20-somethings go see the symphony at Bass Hall.  I settled on a 40-something, and he did a great job!
  

We had amazing balcony seats and this was our view!

The symphony was beautiful, but funny thing: we both decided we already got a good dose of culture by Intermission and headed on home :)

King Ranch Chicken Mac and Cheese

I like to cook something on Sundays that we can divide into Tupperware containers and eat for our lunches throughout the week.  Usually it is something at least quasi-healthy like roast chicken, stew, lasagna, etc.  But this week I was really excited to try a recipe I heard about from my friend and co-teacher, Shanna.  She found it in Southern Living magazine, which I now want a subscription to!  I've heard other friends say that the recipes in the back of their magazine are great... good food, no crazy, something-this-east-Texas-girl-has-never-heard-of ingredients, and relatively easy to make.  Their king ranch chicken macaroni and cheese recipe was not an exception. 

16 oz. package of pasta
2 T butter
1 med onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (Rotel)

1 (8 oz.) package Velveeta, cubed (This is really why I made it.  Any macaroni recipe with Velveeta is definitely going to rock!)

3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c sour cream
1 t chili powder
1/2 t ground cumin
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare pasta according to the directions on box. 

 In a large skillet saute onion, bell pepper and chicken with butter.

 Add other ingredients and stir together.

 Add drained pasta.

 Stir!  Put in a casserole dish and bake in oven for 25 minutes.

So Shanna said in her blog that this should be a "one pot dish" meaning that it should only take one skillet to make it.  Umm, I guess I'm still not a great cook because I can never manage that.  I was too ashamed to take a picture of the kitchen sink when I was done.  It was overflowing with dishes!  But it was worth it.  The macaroni was delicious.  I especially know it's good when Jeremiah has two helpings.  :)

March Madness

I don't watch a lot of college basketball, but I do enjoy March Madness.   It's fun to gather with friends, eat good food, and watch people go crazy cheering for their teams.  I make a bracket, but it's more for fun than anything.  I'm not doing too bad so far this year!

Krista, Raul, and Micaela came over last night to join in the fun.  We watched the Iowa State vs. Kentucky game because Micaela is an Iowa State girl at heart.  Her team hadn't made it to the Tournament in many years, so it was pretty exciting that they got past the first round.

The funny thing about this picture is that Krista wanted to wear ISU's colors to support Micaela's team, which she obviously isn't.  Krista asked Raul before they left home what color Micaela's team was and he knowingly told her blue!  You can see Raul is trying to weasel his way out of the picture and the situation!  We all had a good laugh.

My husband, AKA The Grill Master, made some terrific hamburgers, brats, and hot dogs for us to enjoy.  Unfortunately, this is the "after" picture.  The Macias' also brought real El Paso beans, salsa, and queso.  Obviously we can depend on the Mexicans to bring the really yummy food. :)

Then we topped it all off with homemade chocolate chip cookies and ice cream.  Yummy!

Pleasantly full and relaxed...

...or not.  Sorry ISU lost, Micaela.  There's always next year, right?

Baby Eli's Shower

Yesterday I went to a baby shower for Crystal and Bryce's baby, Eli.  Bryce and Jeremiah were in a small group together for years, and Crystal and I were also in a small group together.  We can't wait to meet the little guy!  The whole shower had a candy/toy theme.  When we came in we filled out a "Match the Candy to the Clue" sheet that had you match common candy bar names with situations/things familiar in pregnancy.

We laughed and enjoyed trying to match the candy names without having one match left over that wouldn't work. Crystal looked great and was feeling good, too.  She is the cutest pregnant woman!

Afterwards all of the Bible study girls got together for a picture.  The funny thing is we couldn't get one where the light was right and everyone had their eyes open!  Oh well!

Laura, Crystal, me, Lauren, Leah, and Rachel

Vegan Outing on Magnolia

It's been a long time since I got to catch up with my friend Leah.  Since she is also a teacher, we decided to take advantage of our Spring Break and "do lunch."  She suggested going to the Spiral Diner on Magnolia in Fort Worth earlier today.  Our friend Chris has suggested it, but I knew it was a vegetarian place.  Needless to say this meat and potatoes girl was a bit hesitant.  The outside of the restaurant was super cute just like most of the little places on Magnolia.

 
On their website Spiral Diner states, "A vegan diet is the healthiest and most humane choice for animals, people, and the planet."  I pretty much think that's a lot of bull (no pun intended), but I love food and was up for an adventure!
 

I decided to go all out and order something truly "vegetarian" instead of taking the easy way out and sipping the safe broccoli and cheese soup.  To truly put the restaurant to the test I ordered the soy bean burger.  I would consider myself an expert on beef burgers, and I was at least 22 before I knew there was any other kind of burger besides beef.  I've never even had a soy burger.  I can count the number of times I've had a turkey burger on one hand.  I've always been a big supporter of the Texas Cattle Raisers Association.

Leah and I munched on some very yummy hummus before getting our meal.  Finally this arrived.  At first I was skeptical, but then very impressed.  It tasted great!  I ate the whole thing and my potato salad side.

 Leah enjoyed her meal, too.  She got the grilled portobello quesadillas.  It was a fun day with you, Leah.  Thanks for expanding my food horizons!

Spiral Diner, I will be back when I need a meat-free meal... or one of those cakes I saw in the window, but probably not with my red meat loving husband.

Softball (and Basketball) Season

I definitely married a sports guy.  Not only does he watch sports, read sports, and breathe sports, he plays sports, too... on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights this spring!  He's in a couple of different basketball leagues and one softball league.  On Tuesday nights for the past few seasons Jeremiah has played on a softball team with a group of friends.  His friend from work, Josh, introduced him to these guys a few years ago, and they've had a great time playing softball on and off since then.  I try to go to the games, but lots of times they are late (I know, lame excuse).  Since it's Spring Break I was able to go to both games last night.  Here's a pic of a single Jeremiah hit (or was about to hit)...

It's kind of blurry because I had to take it with Jeremiah's iphone.  I remembered to bring my camera, but the battery was low, of course!  Never the less, it was still a good action shot.  They lost the first game but won and had a great second game.

Josh's wife, Nicki, and I were the fan section last night.  Here's a picture of us in action.

Macias Wedding

Our great friends Krista and Raul got married at Christ Chapel a couple of weeks ago.  We were fortunate to get to share in their day.  Their wedding was gorgeous, God-honoring, and a perfect mix of their two cultures.

On Friday night we ate yummy bar-b-que at Risky's in the Stockyards for their Rehearsal Dinner.

 On Saturday morning Krista hosted a bridal luncheon for all of her bridesmaids.  She made picture collages at a place setting for each of us and gave each of us a special gift that was related to the "adventures" she's been on with the bridesmaids.  The reason mine is a picture of Jeremiah and me is because she said she's enjoyed the adventure of watching us fall in love.  She's been there since the beginning!

 Getting her into the dress was a bit of a trick but we were up to the challenge!

 Krista's cousin made the precious Mr & Mrs sign to attach to the back of their chairs.  Lauren made the beautiful centerpieces for the tables.  Krista made all of the bridesmaid's bouquets and her own, shown below.  Beautiful!

 She stamped pieces of paper with the verse from Proverbs 3:5, and we wrapped the napkins in them at each place setting.

 Raul LOVES popcorn so they opted to have a "popcorn bar" at their wedding with different mix-ins like M&M's, jalapenos, and lime!  Don't knock it until you've tried it!  The jalapeno and lime popcorn was delicious.

Happy Wedding Day, Krista and Raul!

Incompetent!

As a joke, Jeremiah and I like to blame things on each other.  That's a good habit in marriage, right?  Any time one of us forgets to do something simple like take the trash out of put our shoes away, we blame the other for our own mistake, claiming the other to be "incompetent!"  This fun and healthy habit didn't just start after we were married, though.  A couple of years ago we went to see a John Mayer concert in Dallas with friends.  We were planning to ride the DART train over to Dallas so we could avoid the whole parking mess at the AAC.  We met our friends at the DART station and climbed aboard the train.  My cousin Lauren jokingly asked us, "Do you have your tickets?"  We both nodded our heads and looked at each other thinking the other one grabbed the tickets when in fact neither of us had.  In that moment we realized the tickets were in the car one train stop back.  We jumped off the train and walked the couple of miles back to the car to grab the tickets.  We caught a later train and still made it in plenty of time.

"You were supposed to grab the tickets."  

"No, you were supposed to grab the tickets."

Needless to say, we've had other experiences like this.  An especially memorable one was on our honeymoon.  When the ship docked in Cozumel, we went through the waiting of getting off of the ship.  As we walked down the dock, I wanted someone to take our picture with the ship in the background.  I asked Jeremiah for the camera, but he thought I had it.  Of course.  After running back to the ship and up the corridors back to the room for the camera we had to ask someone to document the moment.

"You have the camera."

"No, you have the camera."

I guess we're both incompetent.

And the trip is.....a Western Caribbean Cruise out of Miami for Two!

Jeremiah surprised me with our honeymoon location.  Yes, that was romantic, but it was partly because I didn't want have any responsibilities for the honeymoon!  After planning all of the wedding festivities, I just wanted to show up with a passport, my swimsuit, and my Real Simple magazine ready for some R&R.

He did a great job planning everything.  The trip was cruise out of Miami to Honduras and Cozumel.  It was the perfect mix of adventure and rest... and good food.  If you know us, you know we like to eat!

 We treated ourselves to Reata (it was our honeymoon, of course!) in the airport before boarding.

 When we boarded the ship in Miami, they gave you a glass of champagne.

 The view of downtown Miami from the ship was beautiful!

 Each night on the cruise we ate in this restaurant, the Metropolitan.  Yummy!

 Jeremiah read a book and a half on the trip, mostly just during the time he was waiting on me to get ready! 

 On the second night our waiter heard we were newlyweds and had a special "Happy Honeymoon" cake prepared for us. 

 In Cozumel, Jeremiah rented us a Jeep to cruise around the island in.  It was so much fun to beach hop.

 A beautiful Gulf of Mexico sunrise on the ship.

 On the last night of the cruise, we celebrate with a bottle of champagne the ship gave us because it was our honeymoon and my favorite candy, gummy bears! 

 The trip was relaxing and fun, but we were ready to be home and in our new house together!  Happy to be at DFW.