It's the beginning of May and that means it's time for another blog swap via the Secret Recipe Club!

This month I was assigned to Amanda who writes the blog Dancing Veggies.  Amanda is a 20-something vegetarian whose blog focuses on vegetarian recipes that are quick, easy and whose ingredients are easy to find in any market. But the one that caught my eye while browsing her recipe index was her mom's recipe for potato salad.

Picnic and BBQ season is almost upon us!! (Hard to believe since the weather around here is still refusing to cooperate with the calendar this year!)  Here in NE Ohio, a good potato or macaroni salad (or both!) is a must at late spring/summer gatherings.  Given a choice, I will choose potato salad over pasta salad every single time.

Amanda's mom's recipe is simple, yet delicious.  The "secret" in the salad is the addition of pickle juice.  Yup, the juice out of the jar of your favorite pickle variety.  For my salad, I used my favorite brand of bread and butter pickles and the juice they were packed in.  For extra pickle pizazz I also added some chopped bread and butter pickle chips too!

I subbed in some baby redskin potatoes for the white potatoes called for in the original recipe (because that is what I had in my pantry) and I cooked my potatoes the way I always do for potato salad...IN THE MICROWAVE!

Cooking potatoes in the microwave  helps keep them from overcooking and getting to mushy.  If you are lucky like me and have a fresh vegetable option on your sensor microwave, there is absolutely no guesswork involved in nuking up perfectly cooked potatoes! If you don't have this option on your microwave...I'm sorry.  You must make sure you have it on your next model.  You will love it, I promise!  Of course, you can still boil and drain the potatoes if you don't have a way to cook them in the microwave...but for me...the microwave is the ONLY way to go!

Amanda's mom sure does know a thing or two about potato salad because this one is delicious!!  A true tribute to her mom...and quite fitting too, since Mother's Day is this upcoming weekend!

Mom's Potato Salad

By Renee's Kitchen Adventures
Published 05/05/2014

Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs. baby redskin potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
• 2 large hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
• 2 TBSP yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup reduced fat olive oil mayonnaise
• 1-2 TBSP. pickle juice from the jar of your favorite pickle brand
• 1/4 cup chopped pickles
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp. sweet paprika, plus more for garnish if desired

Instructions

1. Cook potatoes until fork tender in the microwave or in water on stove top. Drain.
2. While potatoes are cooking, in a large bowl, combine the mustard, mayo, and pickle juice with a whisk.
3. Add the warm, cooked potatoes to the mayo-mustard mixture. Add in the chopped egg, onion, and chopped pickle. Gently stir to coat everything in the mayo mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add in 1 tsp. paprika and stir. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight to combine flavors and allow salad to cool completely.
4. Serve cold and garnish with more paprika, if desired.

Yield: approx. 4 cups/ 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 20 mins.
Total time: 30 mins.

Adapted from Dancing With Veggies 

Servings - 8  Serving Size - 1/8th of recipe  Points Plus per Serving - 4 Points+
Calories - 163.7,   Total Fat - 4.2g,   Carb. - 27.2g,   Protein - 4.3g,   Fiber - 2.6g

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