It has been another steady stream of busy adventure here. Summer has been doing it's thing with kid's playdates, swimming at the cottage, berry picking and bbq's.  I have been making a selling quilts which I love but it keeps me away from the kitchen. This week I cooked in one day chili, speghetti sauce, taco salad, 2 quiche and chicken pot pie.  I shared a couple of meals with a friend who is a new mom. Today I clean out the fridge and start again.  Today is a beautiful day so probubly BBQ hamburgers tonight.  I am having dental surgery tomorrow so I am thinking about soft cold foods I will be eating for the next 2 week. Any suggestions? I am also having friends over for Canada day celebrations and I want to try pulled pork in the crockpot. I'll let you know how it goes.  I make one great potato salad.  Here is the recipe. The secret is to pour 2 tbsp of vinegar on the cooked potatoes while they are hot.  The potatoes soak it up and gives the salad a ZIP.
Potato Salad
Hard boil 3 eggs, cool, peel and cut up.
6 med potatoes
2 tbsp of vinegar
peel and cook potatoes, add vinegar and put in fridge for an hour to cool.
Chop finely
1/2 large onion
2 stalks of celery
6 pieces of cooked bacon
 Put all together in with potatoes.  You can cut up the potatoes now while they are cool. I find the potatoes with hold together better this way rather than cutting them up before you cook them.
Add 3 tbsp of mayo
chopped dill pickle
2 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of salt
2 squirts of mustard
I add plain yogurt if i have it to make it creamer without adding more mayo
Also I add 1 tbsp of ranch dressing.
This recipe is a lot of work and many of these ingredients can be optional but this is the full knock out potato salad.  We will be having this with our pulled pork for sure. I wonder if I can talk Gary into making it....

It's a hot day.  I can feel the storm coming that will break this muggy weather.  Hopefully it brings lots of rain.  We need it for the fields but also for our well.  I am on water alert week 2. Less dishes, less laundry, less cooking and cleaning.  With this heat it is a great excuse to enjoy my girls in the shade. Today was a morning visit to the park which was on the Napanee river.  I let them go in up to their knees but once the splashing started they were soaked.  We took a naked drive home and they slept all afternoon. I cooked 1 lb of ground beef in a fry pan during their nap.  At 4pm we went out to play in the shade and we did crafts.  It was a very successful day.

At 5:30 we came in for supper.  I made Taco Salad for the first time.  My own recipe.
I made a layered one so I can keep it for supper tomorrow night too and it won't get soggy.
Bottom of a big bowl I chopped half a head of iceburg lettuce.  When I cooked the ground beef at nap time I sprinkled 1 tbsp of chili powder on the meat and stirred it up before I drained the fat off.  Once it was drained I put it in the fridge to cool and keep til supper.
So I layered the ground beef on top of the lettuce. I chopped a ripe avocado on top of ground beef with 1 green pepper and 1 large tomato. I put 3 tbsp of sour cream and 3 tbsp of salsa in the center on top of the veggies.  Then I grated old cheddar cheese on top. It looked so pretty.  I scooped out half into another bowl and mix it together for the girls and I.  Ashley liked it.  I will try it again when Gary comes in and we all sit down for supper.  I bet if I put ranch dressing on it Emily will like it.  Nice cool supper with little mess and effort.