Easy Potato Salad

My last post focused on making pasta salad. As you can see, I am not ready to give up the warm days of summer yet. In fact, it is "Indian Summer" in the South, so it's still perfectly acceptable to eat different forms of cold salads. We don't ban salad after Labor Day like we ban wearing white shoes.

I want to share my recipe for potato salad. Like the pasta salad in the last post, it only tastes better with a little time in the refrigerator. It's tasty with pork tenderloin, grilled chicken, or hamburgers.

Easy Potato Salad

Ingredients:
5-7 potatoes or 3-4 baking potatoes (I like to use red potatoes and sometimes skip the peeling)
mayonnaise (I use a combination of whole-fat Duke's mayonnaise and Kraft reduced fat with olive oil)
mustard
real bacon bits or 2 strips of bacon cooked crisp and diced
Potato Topping flavoring packet (found in the produce section of the grocery store)
sea salt
pepper
diced onion (optional)

Peel, cut into medium-sized cubes or chunks, and boil the potatoes in enough water to cover them until just tender. As they are boiling, add some sea salt. Be sure not to overcook or they will become mushy when you try to stir in the seasonings.

Drain the potatoes and rinse with cool water. Put them in a large bowl and add a few squirts of mustard and about 3/4 cup mayonnaise. You will have to stir and see if that makes the right consistency, adding mustard or mayonnaise as needed. The end result will not be soupy in any way, but each potato cube should be covered with mayo and mustard. Next sprinkle on Potato Topping, bacon bits, sea salt and pepper to taste, and diced onion (optional). It's hard to guess how much you'll need - like a good cook, you'll need to taste test along the way to get it just right for your family.

Store in the refrigerator for a few hours or up to 48 hours. What a great side dish to make ahead of the other meal preparation events.

Viva la Indian Summer!

TCB