Death by potato salad

Can you say “hydrangea”?  This is a monstrous bouquet that my husband made for me for my little rug hooking gathering last night…..I love it!  He’s the best!

I tried a new recipe out on the girls last night. 

“Loaded Baked Potato Salad” from Rachel Ray…..of course I had to do a little tweaking…..it should be called “Death by Potato Salad”…..take a look at the ingredients to see why.

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2  pounds baking potatoes  
• 1 pounds bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 pints sour cream (I used French Onion Dip)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2  pound cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Pierce the potatoes with a fork; brush with oil. Bake until tender, 1 hour. Let cool, then cut into bite-size pieces. (I cooked mine in the microwave to keep the house cool….it’s been in the 90’s here)

2. In a skillet, cook the bacon until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain. (I used pre-cooked bacon…..it was on sale….an entire package of pre-cooked bacon)

3. In a large bowl, combine the butter and sour cream; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the potatoes, bacon, scallions and cheese. Serve at room temperature.

4. Okay, my note….if you heat this up in the microwave it is like HEAVEN in your mouth!

We had tortilla crusted tilapia for our main course….if you live in town you can get it in the seafood department at Price Cutters on East Battlefield.

Of course, what is a little celebrating of life without a good cocktail!  I made “Maui Sippers”

“Maui Sipper”

We had “doubles”….here is the recipe for a double.

Fill a tall glass with ice.

Add 2 shots Midori

1 shot Malibu Rum

1 shot Grand Marnier

Fill up to top with pineapple juice.

Enjoy!

By then we were ready to do a little hooking…..of course by this time I’ve sat my camera down somewhere and totally forgot about picture taking and was just enjoying the camaraderie of good friends.

Sheri of Shabby Sheep, eBay Renee and blogless Sandy were all here. Sheri is still working on an antique rug that she was working on at the boathouse HERE and Renee is working on the crow rug that she was working on at the lake HERE.  Sandy is working on a motorcycle seat cover…..I SOOO needed to get a picture of that…..maybe next time I’ll be a little more organized.  As for me, still plugging away on the “Garden Rug Series”. I’m working on a leaf with some really cool wool that I got from Sandy.

After we had hooked for a bit we had a little more room for dessert…..homemade blueberry cheesecake ice cream and cupcakes with chocolate chip cookie dough inside!

Recipe for the cupcakes HERE (my tip….use “slice and bake” cookie dough to make these super easy!)

What a fun night!