Yum, yum! ***EDITED***

*****EDITED:  Sorry I forgot to add cooking instructions for the fudge. See below.*******

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. I've been having a good cooking week. Since I hadn't felt well for a while we ate more conveniently. :-) Carryout pizza one night, sandwiches and salad another. Alhamdulillah I've been able to pick up the slack again, much to my family's delight.

Here are 2 recipes I wanted to share just because they go over so well. This one is for my "loaded potato salad". I can not eat regular potato salad anymore. I got the recipe from my big sister and our entire family adores it! Now A loves it too. Score!

Oh the yummy goodness!!!

OK so this isn't really difficult just a bit time consuming because you have to boil your potatoes. I used a mix of red, white, and blue (yep blue!) baby potatoes this last time to save on peeling them but I really prefer it without the skins. Healthier and easier with but taste better without.

3 pounds potatoes, cut into small dice
3 eggs (boiled or boil with potatoes)
1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped
1/2 pound turkey bacon, finely chopped and cooked til crisp
1/2 cup mayo (more or less to taste)
2 tbsp mustard (more or less to personal taste)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I use cheddar)
salt and pepper to taste
fresh or dried parsley for color

Peel, cut and boil your potatoes. If you cut them into smaller pieces it takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Boil your eggs with the potatoes if you don't have some already in the fridge. You can also leave them out if you like. I cook my bacon in the microwave; it take about 5 minutes and when it is cooled you have to crumble it back up because they tend to stick together. Mix the onion, mayo, mustard, salt and pepper and parsley while potatoes are cooking. Refrigerate and let flavors blend.

Drain potatoes. I always put some ice in the colander and drain with cold water so they will cool quickly. Or you can spread them out on a pan to cool. Do not put them in your mayo mixture until cooled or it will make your mayo melt. Yuck!

When bacon and potatoes are cool, mix in the mayo mixture and add your cheese. This is decadently yummy and goes great with sandwiches, burgers, or any grilled food. Enjoy!

I also decided to make a dessert the other night. We had grilled chicken salad which is pretty light so I decided to make a rich dessert. I found a recipe in my Food Network cooking magazine for easy nutty fudge.

Close up, you can see the nuts and coconut

This is ridiculously easy and verrrry rich. I cut it into 1" squares, no joke. It makes an 8"x8" pan and is too much for our family! It keeps well in the fridge alhamdulillah but I might share some with neighbors.

1 twelve ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli which was only 10 oz; it was plenty chocolately)
1 fourteen ounce can or sweetened condensed milk NOT evaporated milk!!!
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 cups nuts (I used walnuts, use what you have/prefer)

Mix chocolate and sweetened condensed milk in a bowl and microwave for 3-5 minutes, being careful to stir it and not burn it! Remove and add the nuts/coconut and vanilla. Press into an 8"x8" pan; best if lined with buttered wax paper. Refrigerate til firm.

I actually used about a cup of nuts and then added a half cup of sweetened, dried coconut. These tasted quite a bit like an almond joy candy bar. I cannot stress enough that these are really rich; please cut in small pieces. You'll thank me for it. :-)

Let me know if you make either of these and if you made any changes. Maybe it's something I never thought of!

Ma salaama....