Baked Potato Chips, Onion Soup Mix, Onion Dip, Pasta Salad, Salad dressing

Yesterday we had a barbeque at the In-laws house. Lucky for us, our food assignment was to bring salad and chips. My budget can handle that! I made pasta salad with home-made dressing, Baked potato chips and onion dip.

Baked Potato Chips

6-8 medium Russet Potatoes

1 Tbsp salt

Pam cooking spray (or vegetable oil)

water

Slice potatoes paper thin into a large bowl of cold water. Once potatoes are all sliced, drain water- refill with fresh water and add salt. Allow potatoes to sit for 30 minutes (This helps to remove excess starch from the potatoes). Drain water and arrange potato slices on a greased baking sheet in a single layer. I like to cover mine with foil for easier cleanup. Bake potatoes at 425 for 20 minutes, turning halfway through if desired. Depending on how thin you sliced your potatoes, you'll want to check them halfway through anyway to be sure they don't burn. Remove 'chips' as they become crisp. Some chips will take longer to crisp than others.

Onion Dip

8 oz sour cream (or plain yogurt)

8 oz cottage cheese

1/4 cup onion soup mix*

Combine and stir. Serve with homestyle potato chips.

*Easy Onion Soup Mix

3/4 cup dried minced onion

1/3 cup brown gravy mix

Combine & store in an airtight container.

For the pasta salad, I actually made some spinache pasta. Again, I'm sneaking some greens from the garden on this one, but I can't just let it go to waste! I won't get into the whole noodle making process again on this post- I'll save it for when we eat the Raviolis that I made along with the pasta salad noodles. (The recipe that I used made a LOT of pasta.)

Pasta Salad

1 lb cooked and cooled pasta

1 cucumber, diced

1 zucchini, diced

5 asparagus spears

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 1/2 cup Italian Vinaigrette

1 cup shredded or chopped Mozzarella cheese (optional)

Combine ingredients and toss with salad dressing. Refrigerate overnight if able to combine flavors. Really you can use just about any vegetable that you'd like or have on hand. I like to make sure that I have at least as many vegetables as noodles.

Italian Vinaigrette

1/2 cup red wine vinegar (I used apple cider- it's what I had on hand)

3/4 cup olive or vegetable oil, or a combination

2 Tbsp finely chopped chives (or onion, or green onion. I use chives because I have so many!)

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp dried basil

Combine ingredients in a large jar with a tight lid. Shake well. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

This is what was sent home with us from the barbeque: 2 steaks, 3 pork chops, 4 baked potatoes and 4 rolls. While I would love to eat this all up instead of our own food, I've decided that I'm not going to "cheat" so I will turn it into a few meals for some neighbors.