Creamy Potato Salad, Including Instant Pot Instructions

I love potato salad.  It is one of those side dishes that creates the meal for me.  When I contemplate dinner and potato salad jumps into my head, I immediately begin putting a meal together just so that I can have potato salad.  I have tried several store bought and deli style salads, but none compare to the homemade recipe I have from my Mom (thanks Mom!).
This recipe is creamy with a slight bit of tang. It has a variety of textures, including smooth and crunchy.  It is a perfect balance! And, you can eat it with all sorts of wonderful spring-type meals.  It goes with hamburgers, shredded meat sandwiches, BBQ chicken (BBQ anything for that matter). It pairs well with corn on the cob and fresh green salads.  It is almost the perfect side! And it's pretty easy to make.  This is my Mom's recipe that she's passed onto me.  Love, love, love it!

Creamy Potato Salad

6-8 large potatoes, unpeeled
1/2 green pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 large onion, diced
4-6 hard-boiled eggs, diced

Dressing
6 serving spoons Miracle Whip or Mayo
1 Tbs yellow mustard
2 Tbs vinegar
1 Tbs sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Paprika


Place the potatoes into a cooking pot and cover potatoes completely with water.  Add 1 tsp salt and let boil.  Water should be almost boiled away before you remove the potatoes. They should be soft when poked with a fork. Set them aside to cool.

At the same time, in another pot, hardboil your eggs. Have an ice-cold water bath ready and let them boil for 10 minutes.  When they are done, place them directly into the ice-bath to cool (this prevents greening of the yolks).

Meanwhile, mix the dressing: miracle whip (I use Trader Joe's mayonnaise, which is a bit sweeter than other mayo's), mustard, vinegar, and sugar.

Peel the skins off the potatoes and dice them into 1inch (bite-size) pieces. Do the same with the eggs. Pour them into a large bowl along with the vegetables and mix together.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Then, add the dressing and mix together. Once everything is incorporated, smooth the top and sprinkle Paprika on.

*Instant Pot Instructions:

Peel and chop the potatoes into 1 inch chunks. Pour 1 1/2 cups water into the instant pot, and pour the potatoes in. Place 3-4 eggs on top of the potatoes and close the instant pot. Make sure the pressure release is closed. Set pressure cook to manual, high pressure for 4 minutes. When it's finished, allow it to naturally release for 4-5 minutes and then quick release the pressure. Be careful of the steam when doing so. Remove the eggs and place them in a prepared ice bath to cool. Pour the potatoes into a strainer to drain excess water.

Pull the eggs out of the ice bath and peel them. Remove the yolks into a separate bowl, and chop the egg whites. Using a fork, mash up the egg yolks. Add the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, and sugar. Whisk together until smooth.

Pour the potatoes, egg whites, onion, pepper, and celery into a large serving bowl. Add the dressing and mix together. Add salt and pepper to taste, and finally garnish with paprika.

Side Note: This recipe was originally adapted for a large family (8-10) and for pot luck/picnic functions, so it is large.  For my smaller family (4-6), I have minimized the recipe a bit by splitting it in half and it works great!

Baby Girl R2 Quilt

Seems like quite a silly name for a quilt, but we don't know the name of the new arrival yet, and they already have a first child, so I had to throw a 2 in there.  The quilt itself is quite different from the last one, though. I was happy with how this one turned out. I still look at it and think of things I could have done differently, but it's all good.

I started with the light pink star fabric purchased at the local Quilt Show and then picked out the white, aqua, and dark pink at the LQS Quilters Market. I knew I wanted to make pinwheels, but I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them.

I kind of wish I had kept the dark pinks in the corners and the lighter colors in the center, but oh well.  Can't change it now. I do like the colors together, though; very light and happy for a new baby.

On the back, I used fleece.  It's a nice lightweight fabric that's fuzzy and soft.  It's perfect for a spring/summer baby down here in the desert. For the quilting, I was trying to create a windblown, wave type of pattern with some FMQ. I was pretty happy with how it turned out.  Like the wind is blowing the pinwheels.

I am sending it off this weekend! Hope she likes it, and the baby likes it, too! I am linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts today for the Finished Friday.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

WIP-Hidden Garden

I feel so accomplished! Last week I was able to get a baby quilt finished for a friend who's expecting, and I finished my Origami-Night Vision quilt. I am finally at a point where I can move on to new projects, and of course that list is never ending.

I pulled out some fabric that I have had now for about 2 years, just waiting for me to do something with it. I got it at the local Quilt Show and it's time I use it. I have done so many triangles lately, I really needed a change of pace, so this quilt is going to be super straight-foward with a focus on the floral pattern fabric.  I want to showcase that piece; it's just such an awesome pattern.

Admittedly, I am not sure yet how I am going to lay it all out. I wanted to put them on point, but we'll see. I also thought about doing an X-O type of thing; again, we'll see.  So many possibilities! I am just enjoying the colors and fabric right now.

I also thought about introducing another color, like a butter-cream kind of color. I am worried if I only use these three fabrics, it will be too much.  Maybe break it up with some white and butter sashing? I'm going to finish the squares and then lay some options out; see how it looks.

I am linking up with Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday! Thanks for checking out WIP for the week!