Meals with Rusty: Grandpa’s Party Potatoes

In Iowa you can’t have a potato dish cooked in a baking dish unless the word “party” is in the title. This fantastically rich recipe comes from the voluminous card files of Rusty Banker.  Ingredients 8-9 cups peeled and diced potatoes (boiled in salted water) 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp milk 3/4 tsp salt 1/4 [...]

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Fruity Pico de Gallo

On the ride home I listened to The Splendid Table podcast and they were talking about a place in Tuscon that serves a fruity Pico de Gallo. That recipe had coconut in it and chile powder. I couldn’t find one just like it. But this one comes pretty close. It serves 8 to 10. Ingredients [...]

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I Swear There Were Apples in my Apple Pie…Apple Pie.

My mom made this years ago. My brother and I scarfed it down like it was the real deal. Mom just sat there with the biggest smirk on her face. She didn’t reveal the secret until we all were done eating the last pieces. Ingedients 1 1/4 cup sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1 1/2 tsp [...]

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Honey-Vanilla Lemonade

Makes one gallon! Wahoo! I put this in the “grilled” category mostly because it seems like a great drink to keep you company while you wait for the meat to finish on the grill on a hot summer day. Ingredients 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup honey 2 cups water, plus more as needed 1 vanilla [...]

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Avocado and Grape Tomato Salsa with Greens and Cucumber Salad

Two great looking side dishes. From the pictures these scream cookout on a hot day. They look refreshing and light. Avocado and Grape Tomato Salsa Makes 2 cups 1 avocado, peeled, seeded and diced 1 cup grape tomatoes, slice in half 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped 1/4 cup chopped red onion, diced finely 3 Tbsp tomatillo [...]

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Dirty Cuban Portobello Caps

After the last meat-fest recipe I had to add a veggie recipe. Plus with the Portobello mushrooms it is like eating something meaty.   This makes 4 caps. Ingredients 1 cup leftover rice 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans 1/3 cup pimento 1 Tbsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp cumin 1 Tbsp [...]

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Bacon Fruit Cups

Forget the fruit. I want to fill these with BBQ and ranch dressing. Maybe some tater tots and cheese? Biscuit chunks and sausage gravy? Maybe some chopped crab or shrimp with cream cheese and some scallions and a little garlic salt? Lipitor and Bran? Ingredients: 2 lbs Bacon (long skinny pieces are better than short [...]

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Beet Hummus

I’m trying to like beets. Really I’m trying. INGREDIENTS 1/2 pound beets (about 4 medium-sized beets), scrubbed clean, cooked, peeled, and cubed* 2 Tbsp tahini sesame seed paste 5 Tbsp lemon juice 1 small clove garlic, chopped 1 Tbsp ground cummin 1 Tbsp lemon zest (zest from approx. 2 lemons) Generous pinch of sea salt [...]

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Sweet Tea Times Three

It seems like the fast food places are bringing back sweet tea…at least they are up North. Still it doesn’t hold up to some of the tea I tasted growing up in Missouri. Plus I remember a lady at a food pantry in North Carolina that served up the best tea in the world on [...]

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Sugar Cookie Bars

This recipe is a tad different in that it combines both ingredients and directions at the same time.  So give it a glance before you start to make sure that you have everything. These remind me a lot of sprinkle donuts. If it has sprinkles it has to be good. Fluff: 2 sticks butter 2 [...]

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