It’s been a tough few weeks.
In no particular order: We went on vacation, during which I got sick and spent time with the in-laws, which was weird in a way I really can’t go into on this blog. Our daughter moved out. Our beloved dog, Dexter, died unexpectedly. An intern moved in.
And I have yet to make it to Weight Watchers.
Today we picked up Dexter’s ashes from the vet hospital where he died. I had this weird reaction of deeply sobbing one minute to being OK the next. It seems surreal to have this bag full of stuff that was once my dog.
We went for ice cream. Cause that’s what we do when we have difficult emotions.
I needed to spend a little time in my kitchen. That almost always makes me feel better. I can cook, finish the laundry, play my iPod, watch the World Cup. All in my kitchen. It’s my favorite room in the house.
I put a nice dry rub on some boneless pork ribs and then I finally got to make tater salad.
This is not as fattening as it could be, but it’s not light either.
But it’s damn tasty, if I do say so myself.
This is all the basic ingredients. Redskin potatoes. Reduced fat sour cream (NEVER get the fat free version because it tastes like butt cheese. At least, it’s what I imagine butt cheese would taste like.) Garlic powder (not salt, big difference) green onions and shredded cheese (not the least bit butt-cheesy-tasting.)
And bacon bits. I forgot to add the bacon bits to this photo. Buy real bacon bits. Those fake crunchy ones are gross. Like chewing on little pieces of mulch.
If you can fry or bake your own bacon, all the better. I didn’t have time for that. Or bacon. But I had real bacon bits.
Where were we? Oh yes. Tater salad.
I use redskins because I like them and because they are small and easy to cut into bite size pieces. I used a pound in this recipe. They were really small ones and sliced them into sixths. Then I boiled them until tender. If it were not thirteen hundred degrees outside today, I might have baked them instead. But my oven hardly ever sees action in the summer.
After the taters were boiled tender, I drained them and let them cool. Once they were room temperature, I whipped up about a cup of the sour cream with about a cup of cheese, about a quarter cup of scallions (green onion tops) and a whole bag of Kraft Real Bacon Bits. That got poured over the taters and tossed until all the taters were coated. Then I added the garlic powder and stirred again.
You’ll notice I used the word “about” a lot in this recipe. That’s because I eye-balled it and didn’t measure a thing. Your results may vary. Just mix it until it tastes good. Want more cheese? Add more. More bacon? Of course. Don’t like bacon? Leave it out, but I don’t understand you at all. This is seriously good stuff.
And oh-so-very-easy. If anyone is reading this blog that is not a cook, you can make this. Really. It’s simple and it will be a hit at summer cookouts. Really.
That tater salad looks great! I might make that tonight, thanks for putting a different spin on a boring recipe.
Difficult times call for cooking and eating ice cream. Picking up the the hound’s remains is never easy. The last time we had to do this, I didn’t even take my sunglasses off and the girl at the desk was crying too…
WW will be there. Small steps in the meantime for healing. Heck, you used light sour cream afterall.
Suzy, this tater salad is da bomb. It’s a hit everywhere I take it. People even forget I’m there.
Weight loss in the wake of a so much personal upheaval is difficult, but I am also really good at excuses. Virtually an expert.
I am crying less these days and remembering Dexter for all the fun he was. That’s a huge step for me. He was too good of a dog to remember with tears.