Loaded Potato Salad

Summer is coming to an end. I'm so sad. I will miss the BBQ's in our backyard with friends. I will miss my kids having picnics on the lawn. I will miss picking weeds (yes, I said that). I will just miss everything about summer!!

So, for your last couple BBQ's of the season try a new and different potato salad recipe. This potato salad is for people who don't like potato salad. (that's me.) Of course, it's also for anyone who wants to try something new. This is my family's favorite potato salad. More like a loaded baked potato. Yummy!

2 pounds of red potatoes, cleaned and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 pound of bacon, cooked and crumbled
5 green onions, cleaned and chopped
1 stalk celery, cleaned and finely chopped
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until tender (not mushy), drain and then place in fridge to cool. Meanwhile cook your bacon (I do mine in the microwave, so much less messy) and crumble.

Add mayo and sour cream in a large mixing bowl. Combine the chopped green onions, celery, bacon, salt and pepper. Add the mayo/sour cream mixture to your potatoes. (it's ok if they aren't completely cooled yet). Taste and adjust your seasoning if needed. Place in the fridge for a couple hours so all your flavors come together before serving.

Enjoy! I hope your family likes it as much as we do!

*Salt can make or break any potato dish. So, if it doesn't taste quite right it probably needs more salt. To little and your flavor falls flat. So keep tasting and adjust. Just remember you can always add more salt but you can't take it out.

Adrienne

Bacon Baked Potatoes

I found this recipe on Pinterest a couple months ago and I haven't made a regular baked potato since. It's so easy and my family loves bacon so it's a major hit around here.

Preheat oven to 400
Put a little bit of cooking oil in a baking dish just to cover the bottom
Peel your potatoes
Cut a slit in the raw potato about every 1/2 inch or so. Don't cut all the way through the potato.
Cut raw bacon in pieces a little wider than the potato
Cram the bacon into each slit. (sometimes it's a little hard to get the bacon in so I use a knife to push the bacon in.)
Bake until they are fork soft!
(Just a little note: they take longer baking than regular baked potatoes, so plan for that little extra time)

All done!!
These 4 potatoes took just over an hour to cook

I like to put a slice of Colby Jack cheese on each potato right after I take them out of the oven. Top them with butter, sour cream, salt and pepper (or whatever you like on your baked potato!)

-Adrienne