Four for 40

No blog last night, peeps, but I was absolutely in the kitchen, prepping for my parents' 40th anniversary shin-dig at the boy's house today.

First - kudos to my parents for being married for 40 years! As my father so nicely pointed out, "we are one of the few who have made it this long." Romance is obviously not dead.

Next - although we are not the largest of families, we do love our grub. And, since I love to cook and bake, and am not particularly good at editing myself, I tend to over-do it on certain occasions. Dear readers, you will continue to see this inability to pare down my selections unfold as we have more holidays and family gatherings throughout the year. I guess this also corresponds with my overwhelming bounty of recipe selections.

Anyway, for the 40th anniversary cookout (six adults, four kids - only one of which is in elementary school, btw) - I made four items. Not all of them are necessarily healthy, but so it goes. I am not going to list out all of the recipes for each one, because that will result in a super-long post. And one thing I can edit is writing.

Selection One
Lo Mein Noodle Salad
Source: Betty Crocker Potlucks & Barbecues, June/July 2009

Note: I used to love those little cookbooks that line grocery aisle - the paperback ones. I probably have 30. Most of them are not healthy recipes, so you won't see me pull too many from there nor do I buy them anymore, but they do have great potluck/company/apps/dessert choices when I am not as concerned with the whole clean eating factor.

Reviews:
My family loves this recipe - especially my father. It is very fast and easy. It includes lo mein noodles, a peanut butter sauce, edamame, green onions and red peppers. I've made it many, many times and it is always a winner. Delish.

Lo Mein Noodle Salad

Selection Two
Creamy Potato Salad Made Over
Source: Kraft Food & Family, Summer 2006

Reviews:
Again - very easy to prepare. The whole point of this recipe is to make potato salad less fattening - it is only 150 cals/serving (3/4 c), vs. the traditional (approx) 340 cals. I doubled the recipe because 1 lb of red potatoes (as it calls for) just didn't seem like enough. But, I think doubling the dressing (mayo, zesty Italian dressing, Dijon mustard) made it a little too creamy for my taste. My family really liked it - my mother loved the dressing, and my SIL enjoyed the hard boiled eggs.

Creamy Potato Salad

Selection Three
Lemon Crumb Cake
Source: Duncan Hines Baking with Love, 1999 (another one of those grocery-aisle booklets)

Reviews:
Peeps, I do not like lemon desserts. Blech. However, my father and SIL both love it, so I went with it. Very fast and easy to prepare, although the "crumb" topping didn't really turn out very crumby and kind of sunk to the bottom. My SIL noted that it was not too lemony, in a good way (i.e., doesn't make your mouth curdle?).


Lemon Crumb Cake, sans crumbs

Selection Four
Deep-Chocolate Angel Food Cake
Source: Weight Watchers, Jan/Feb 2010

Reviews:
I made a chocolate angel food cake especially for my mom, who loves angel food cake and chocolate. I didn't necessarily select this recipe because it was healthy or less calories, but because it sounded good. It was kind of a pain in the butt to make, to be honest. It calls for grated chocolate, which I did by hand. Really? However, I was surprised at how cleanly it came out of the bundt pan and how well it turned out. Very light, and my mother really liked it (after mentioning she knew what a pain this was to prepare).

Sideways picture for deep-chocolate cake