Roasted Potato Salad with Mustard Dressing

3 pounds small red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 slices bacon
2 cups diced Vidalia or other sweet onion (about 2 medium)
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons mead vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; toss to coat. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring once. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl.

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan; set bacon aside. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook 15 minutes or until golden brown and caramelized, stirring frequently. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds. Add onion mixture and crumbled bacon to potatoes; toss gently. Let stand 15 minutes.

Combine mustard, mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add mustard mixture and parsley to potato mixture; toss gently.

Serve slightly warm or chilled. Tastes even better the next day!

Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream

1/2 cup sugar
Dash salt
1 cup whole milk
1 egg, beaten
1 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine sugar, salt and milk in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until mixture almost boils. Reduce heat to low.

Gradually stir about 1/2 cup of hot milk into the beaten egg. Add egg mixture to remaining hot mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Combine whipping cream, vanilla and chilled mixture, stirring with a wire whisk to combine.

Chill and add to your ice cream maker as per instructions.

Banana Bread

2 cups flour (all purpose or whole wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup soft butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed banana (LOTS of banana, that's why it's so moist. Its about 6-8 regular sized bananas, over ripe)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly grease a loaf pan ( I never grease my pan, I use a stoneware pan).
In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
In separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended.
Stir banana mixture into flour mixture just to moisten.
Pour batter into loaf pan.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 70 -75 minutes (a long time because its so moist!) until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack.

Quick and Easy Pizza Sauce

28oz can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
3 tsp dried oregano
3 tsp dried basil
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder.

Bring all ingredients to a boil. Allow to simmer about 10 minutes. If desired, break up tomato pieces with an immersion blender. Use or freeze as desired.

Roasted Zucchini and Tortellini Salad

This is a recipe that my friend made for us once and when I tried to replicate it I discovered that I did it totally wrong :P But what I ended up with I kind of like so I went with it!

Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano
1 tbsp grainy Dijon Mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Salad:
6 small zucchini
1 lb fresh cheese-stuffed tortellini
1/3 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (drained)
6 oz Feta cheese, cut into small cubes

1. Combine oil, red wine and balsamic vinegars, oregano, mustard and garlic in a bowl; season with salt and pepper.

2. Quarter each zucchini and cut into bite sized chunks. Place in a roasting dish and toss with 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until soft.

3. Meanwhile cook tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender. Drain well.

4. Combine tortellini, roasted zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, and cheese in a large bowl; pour remaining vinaigrette over and toss. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Also yummy when served at room temperature.

Black Bean & Corn Salad

2 cups cooked black beans
2 cups corn (I use defrosted frozen nibblets)
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 jalepeno, seeded and minced finely
Zest of one lime
Juice of 2 limes
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp cumin
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and cubed.
Fresh chopped cilantro (optional)

Combine all ingredients except avocado, tomatoes and cilantro. Allow to marinate at room temperature for a few hours. Add avocado, tomatoes, and cilantro right before serving. Can also be made and served immediately but I like to give the flavours a little time to meld.