Lightened Up Fully Loaded Baked Potato Salad #SundaySupper

Hi Everyone,

This week on #SundaySupper we are making Summer BBQ recipes.  I love summer BBQ recipes, love them.  You serve me anything on a paper plate, some plastics utensils and I’m one happy camper.  Oh and the smell, nothing like the smell of hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken and steak grilling on a charcoal grill.  I love my gas grill, but nothing beats the smell of charcoal.   Last Saturday I went to Stinson Beach and at 9:30 in the morning people were already having their charcoal grills going and all I could smell were hot dogs.   I was craving them like crazy.  99% of the time I am a nice, non-demanding, understanding person, but after smelling hot dogs all day I sent a text to my Husband.  I said get the charcoal grill ready, I want hot dogs for dinner.  He probably just about fell over because I don’t even care for hot dogs, and he LOVES them, but I wanted one and in my text, I said “MAKE IT HAPPEN”.  Don’t mess with a girl and her food.  My Husband called me a little bit later and he said he cleaned the grill and seasoned the grates, all ready for hot dogs.  Now that’s a man after my own heart.  To boot he even went to the store and bought condiments to go with the dogs.  Wow!  I actually didn’t have hot dogs, but I had chicken dogs from Trader Joe’s.  I love them and they are only 60 calories each.  Talk about guilt-free!  I ate two and felt good about it.  But for today’s recipe I didn’t make hot dogs, or anything on the grill, but I did make something that will side perfectly with your grilled goodies and that is my Lightened Up Fully Loaded Baked Potato Salad and yes there is bacon in it!

Honestly, I am not the biggest potato salad person, but my Husband is and I don’t mind having a little bit.  I think it’s because I am not a mayonnaise person.  But this salad actually tastes like a baked potato!  It’s creamy, chunky has little bits of bacon and cheese, all surrounded by sour cream and mayonnaise.  It was delicious!

Let’s talk mayonnaise a second.  As I said, I am not a mayonnaise person, I’m lucky if I consume a tablespoon a year of it, but being the calorie fanatic that I am, I made the biggest mistake ever, I bought fat free mayonnaise.  It’s low calories and no fat, why not!  I would feel better about feeding that to my Husband then the fatty stuff he eats.  Well, one of my Husbands favorite things is cucumbers and tomatoes, cut up and surrounding by a pool of mayonnaise.  Yuck!  I don’t eat it, I have balsamic vinegar on my veggies.  So I made it with fat free mayonnaise for him.  He ate a bite and said ugh, what is this.  I told him mayo, he said, uh uh, is that yogurt?  That’s his answer to everything he doesn’t like, I said it’s mayo.  He said taste it, I tasted it and it was horrible!!!  HORRRIBLE!!!  I felt so bad!  I ruined his favorite salad, plus I wasted the veggies.  I can’t even describe to you the taste.  It was just gross!  I will never, ever make that mistake again.  So in this salad, I smartened up and used real mayonnaise.  But to lightened it up I used fat free sour cream.  It worked like a charm.  A little mayo goes a long way in this salad.  So trust me, don’t get fat free mayo, nasty, nasty.  Now I can’t judge on the light mayo, since I never had that so you must tell me how that one is if you have tried it.

For the potatoes, I had half yukon gold and half red potatoes.  When I got my package from the CSA, I got a mix of potatoes, so the mix went into the salad. I’m not to picky when it comes to potatoes, but sweet ones are my favorite.  I chose not to peel the poatoes in this salad because I was really going for the baked potato taste.  If you don’t like the skin, by all means peel the potatoes.  Oh and speaking of potatoes, don’t eat the ones that are green or have green spots.  That is the toxin solanine, which can make you very sick.  A potato gets solanine because the potato is exposed to light.  The pigment Chlorophyll turns green warning you not to eat it.  Thank goodness for the sign.  One last thing about potatoes, don’t throw the water out that you boil the potatoes in.  Let the water cool and pour it in your garden.  The water is loaded with nutrients and your garden will love you for it, plus it’s good for the environment!  :)

I can’t wait till my next BBQ!  Ok, I am betting today I’ll be firing up the grill, another thing I love on the grill is vegetables!  Yum!!  Uh, oh, I am getting a bunch of grilling ideas!  he he!  Love this time of year!!!!!!!!!!

Be sure to check out what the others are making!  You can get some great recipes and ideas for the 4th of July!  Can’t believe we are almost into July already, where is the time going?  Ugh!

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Toodles,

Jennifer

Hot Off the Grill:

• Best Grilled Pork Chops by Hezzi-D’s Books & Cooks
• Bleu Cheese Burgers by Juanita’s Cocina
• Korean Grilled Flank Steak by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Swedish Blonde Burgers by Eat, Move, Shine
• Hawaiian Hot Dogs by La Cocina De Leslie
• BBQing the Whole Hog, Cuban Style by Webicurean
• Meat Stuffed Jalapenos by The Urban Mrs
• St. Louis Ribs by Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Fish Kebabs with Mint Chutney by Soni’s Food
• Jalapeno Bacon Burgers by Cookin’ Mimi
• Cheddar Cheese Stuffed Bacon Burgers by In the Kitchen with KP
• Curried Pork Sliders with Peanut Sauce & Apple Slaw by Foxes Love Lemons
• Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Breasts by Sustainable Dad
• Ditch Dogs by Daily Dish Recipes
• Bison Kabobs by Noshing With The Nolands

On the Side:

• Spicy Baked Beans by The Messy Baker
• Wisconsin Roasted Corn by Curious Cuisiniere
• German Potato Salad by The Foodie Army Wife
• Grilled Baby Potatoes With Peppers And Onions by Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Sausage Potato Salad by girlichef
• Lightened Up Fully Loaded Baked Potato Salad by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Homemade Mustards by A Stack of Dishes
• Spicy Grilled Corn Salad by Magnolia Days
• Layered California Pasta Salad by The Weekend Gourmet
• Grilled Potato Salad by In Fine Balance
• Spicy Bacon and Corn Salad by Hip Foodie Mom
• Three Corns with Japanese Accents by Ninja Baking
• Cucumber Bruschetta by Healthy. Delicious.
• Grilled Zucchini by Supper for a Steal
• Chicken Spinach & Pasta Salad by Family Foodie

Sweet Tooth:

• Red, White & Blue Parfait by Country Girl in the Village
• Root Beer Float Sandwich Cookies by Chocolate Moosey
• Gluten Free Brownies by Blueberries & Blessings
• Grilled Stone Fruit Parfait by Pescetarian Journal
• Blueberry Sorbet by Shockingly Delicious
• Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Tres Leches Cake by Happy Baking Days
• Beach Cupcakes by The Little Ferraro Kitchen
• Grilled Banana Dessert Bar by Home Cooking Memories
• Berries & Cream Pie by Treats & Trinkets
• Raspberry Lemonade Frozen Yogurt Pops by Runner’s Tales
• More S’mores by Growing Up Gabel
• Blackberry Peach Cobbler by Neighborfood
• Cornbread Cookies by Pies & Plots
• Funfetti Fluff Cheerio Treats by What Smells So Good?
• Pineapple Pudding by Granny’s Down Home Sassy Southern Cooking

In the Cooler:

• Cherry Caipiroska by Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Mint Tea Slushes by Cindy’s Recipes and Writing
• Prickly Pear Margaritas by Ruffles & Truffles

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