A simple "Tater Salad" with a few tips!

My kids love potato salad...they can eat up 10 lbs of salad in a day...I never get any left overs, no matter how much I make.

This post is for them...Make your own!....... Just kidding. This post came about when I realized that I don't think my kids know how to even peel a potato..I mean PEEL a potato with a knife like my childhood days. My Mom bought potatoes in 50lb sacks because she had 5 growing kids to feed and a tight budget. Seems like she made a pan or two of 'taters every night for dinner, and there were never any leftovers....EVER. I must have peeled a quad-jillion potatoes in my childhood! LOL

I started on a mission to find an easy way for my kids to make their own 'tater salad...(what a mom, huh?).
I found this great video on 'skinning' taters a fast and easy way and boy has it simplified my tater salad days!

Do you remember MaryAnn of Gilligans Island fame? (Dawn Wells) It seems that she must be a spokesperson for the Idaho Spud Growers and she made this video on how to peel taters without really peeling...and it works like a charm. I can boil and "peel" 10 lbs of potatoes for a salad in no time now.

Be sure to start with a BIG bowl for easy stirring! Good luck!

Tip #1:




Note: : Boil your potatoes until they are cooked...she says 15 minutes, but mine usually take longer depending on the size. Gently poke  them with a fork or knife to test.

Yummmy taters. Cool before slicing for the salad. I try to cook mine the day before and cover and refrigerate overnight.

 Tip #2: How to boil an egg so they peel easily...just like the 'taters!

Add eggs to a pan of water...water should cover the eggs.
Bring to a boil and boil for 7 minutes.
Take off and let set about 3 minutes.
(I am lazy and usually boil 10 minutes and then get on with it)
Add eggs to ice water and then peel. The peel will literally slide off!

I found this tip after peeling a dozen eggs and by the time I got done peeling the darn things...there wasn't much left, so I went and googled the PROPER way to boil an egg so it would peel easily. There are lots of versions of this, but seems the cold ice water at the end is the trick!



Tip #3:  Use an egg slicer for quick and easy slicing.  Cut it one way and then rotate the egg and cut the other way..Viola!

Cut your dill pickles and stir everything together! I tried a food processor for cutting up my pickles, but I like chunks, so stuck with the old fashioned knife slicing here.

Add  mayonnaise (I use Best Foods Light) , mustard, salt and pepper. Stir this all together and then stir into the potato, eggs and pickle mixture. I don't like soupy salad, so I always start with less mayo and then add as needed.

Okay, now you will probably all ask for measurements, but I am not too much on that with this recipe.

A rough estimate would be 5 lbs,russet potatoes, 1 dozen eggs or so, 4 large dill  pickles, and about 1 to 2 cups of mayo and a big squirt of mustard would make you a great salad...with NO leftovers at my house.


Hope you enjoy! Happy 4th of July to you all!