The Adventures of Joshua and Hannah: May 2012

Homemade Cookout Potato Salad

I'm not a mayonnaise person.. Let me say that again, I am NOT a mayonnaise person. At all. In fact, the thought of it is revolting. BUT- this recipe is really good. I love it and most everyone else seems to love it, too!

Homemade Cookout Potato Salad

3.5 lbs red potatoes cut into 1in pieces

8oz sour cream

1/2 cup mayo

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup chopped green onions

Boil the potato pieces for 10 minutes or until a fork can easily slip into the pieces.

Drain and lay them out onto a cookie sheet to cool while you get the sour cream mixture prep'd.

Mix mayo, sour cream, onion powder, garlic powder, sprinkle of salt and a pinch of pepper in a bowl. Mix in green onions.

Crumble and smoosh 1/3 of the potato bites and then hand mix them into a large bowl with the rest of the potato pieces. Toss in the large bowl with the mayo mixture. Allow to set in refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.

Verdict: I really like this potato salad. My mother always had mustard in hers and had the potatoes all mashed but I really like the chunky potato pieces and (dare I say it?!) the fact that there isn't any mustard!

Gooey Caramel Brownies

I found a recipe for these on Pinterest....and decided to change it up a bit.

Gooey Caramel Brownies

1- 18.25oz box brownie mix

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (more if you are a choco-holic)

1-14oz bag of caramel candies (I used half a bag of these from Hammond's Candy Factory. Except I used just regular caramel instead of the Mitchell Sweets.)

2/3 cup evaporated milk separated

3/4 cup butter melted

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, stir together the brownie mix, melted butter and 1/3 cup evaporated milk. Pour and press (depending on how wet your mix is) half the batter into a greased 9x13in pan reserving the rest of the batter. Bake for 10 minutes in preheated oven.

Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan, combine caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth and set aside.

Remove first half of the brownie mix from the oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. pour caramel mixture evenly over the chips and Crumble (or pour) the remaining dough over the caramel layer and return to the oven to bake for an additional 15-18 minutes.

Cool in refrigerator to set the caramel before cutting into bars.

Verdict: These were super tasty and even got the thumbs up from a friend of mine's little boy. THAT means it's good! The taste of these was amazing. The only problem I had was the altitude. It messes with everything I bake and this was no exception. It didn't make it quite as fluffy and brownie-like. Instead, it was sticky but I'm not complaining...it was so good!

Seventy

We have a sweet new addition in our family. He's been with us since Dec 23rd, but I haven't gotten a chance to introduce him here...properly :)
His name is Sirius. Sirius Black!

He's 8 months old and black except for a couple little stray white hairs. He's spoiled rotten and is my little partner-in-crime. He sleeps above my head at night and usually likes to wake me up early to be pet and loved on even though I'm exhausted and just want to sleep! He's a minx, but I adore him.

We are moved and almost completely settled in our house on post. There are a few more things we'd like to get taken care of, but as of right now, I'm fully content with this! Joshua really likes his job here in Colorado and I'm really liking the way things are going for now so it's a good thing. In March, I got a chance to visit one of my best friends who lives in DC. It was a super awesome trip and I am dying to go back. When I got home from said March trip, I showed Joshua all my pictures and he was hooked....completely! We are going back in June! I can't wait.
Here's a couple from my trip in March. It was such a good time and I got to experience things that I never thought I would!