America!

It's been a little while since I've had any adventures in cooking. I went to a sweet BBQ last night, and while I left the heavy lifting in the cooking department to the grill masters, I did whip out a couple recipes to contribute in the area of sides. One of 'em was something new that I tried out, and apparently it was pretty tasty cause it got destroyed. Managed to get only like two bites of it myself cause I didn't realize it was going over so well. Luckily I took a little off the top for myself before I headed over there, so I'm set.

Show me potato salad! (w/ bacon):

~3 lbs red potatoes*
~3/4 cup sour cream*
~2/3 cup mayonnaise*
~1 tsp salt
~1 tsp mustard
~1/2 tsp garlic powder
~1/4 tsp black pepper
~5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
~1/4 cup chopped green onions*
~1/4 cup chopped green pepper
~1 cup chopped apple*

Cut potatoes into cubes; place in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool to room temperature. In a large bowl combine all ingredients (be sure to fold in sour cream and mayonnaise thoroughly). Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

*Kinda fudging on some of the measurements here. I put in the amount of potatoes that I had, and then based some of the rest on how it looks and feels.

Penultimate baked beans:

~30 oz pork & beans
~~1 garlic clove, minced
~1 pkg onion soup mix
~1/2 cup water
~1/2 cup BBQ sauce
~1/2 cup brown sugar
~2 tbsp mustard
~1/2 lb mostly cooked bacon

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients except bacon together and spread in a 9×13 dish. Top with cooked bacon. Cover with aluminum foil and bake covered for 30 mins, then uncovered for 15 mins.

This is the one that everyone killed, even though I didn't follow the recipe completely (hence the "penultimate" as opposed to the be all and end all of beans. As is, I apparently took the championship in the "best side" category. I wonder what would happen if I'd put everything in there? Probably could have taken over the world, or at least a few other BBQs. Personally I thought this maybe wouldn't mind baking for a little longer without the cover, but what do I know? Thought about throwing in just a hint of vegetables too, for variety, but I'll save the experimentation for when it's not my first time.