I don’t know if our ‘cool family’ score went up over the past year, or people heard I make a pretty awesome pepper salad, but we’ve been invited to more potlucks this summer, than all the past 15 years combined!

Every dinner social we go to have the same rule:

Bring a salad or dessert to share.

The old me chose to make a dessert every time.  After all, desserts are usually cheaper to make, and I loved having an excuse to bake.  The new me however, chooses salads every time.  I love having something healthy at a potluck to eat, in the event everyone else chooses dessert, and there are no salads on the table at all.  Plus, I can sample other people’s desserts, without having the temptation at home, and half of the dish is gone before we arrive.

Last night was another potluck social.  Saturday night, we got home so late from Moab, that I didn’t want to go to the store for ingredients to make a salad.  However, you know what we always have: Potatoes.  It has been awhile since I’ve used my Classic Potato Salad Recipe, and besides, what’s more American than a potato salad to share with our foreign visitors, in whose honor the potluck was held.

First, we started by peeling and chopping 10 potatoes.

Apparently, there is a right and a wrong way to chop pototoes, and my dear husband can’t stand to watch me to do it “the wrong way”.  So, he took over to school me in the cutting department.  To make the potato pieces more uniform, you first cut the potatoes lengthwise:

Then, take your strips and cut them crosswise

We also had some peppers (we always have peppers), so we added them to our potato salad too!

and as we were cutting up the yellow pepper, we found this strange green growth inside it:

Our final recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

• 10 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 bell peppers, one red, one yellow, and one orange, chopped
• 3 stalks celery chopped
• 6 hard boiled eggs
• 1 cup homemade mayo, nayonaise, or veganaise
• 1 TBL mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. In a large pot of boiling water, immerse all chopped potatoes. Boil on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, or just until potatoes begin to soften.
2. Drain cooked potatoes and let cool.
3. Chop all other veggies, and place in a large bowl with the cooled potatoes.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the dressing.
5. Pour dressing on top of veggies and toss to coat. Chill until ready to eat, at least 4-5 hours.

Aren’t these girls adorable?

And, guess what? Tomorrow we are headed to another potluck! It’s a holiday in Utah (July 24th) so, you know… more parties

More in the Healthy Potluck Series:

• Potluck Party Pepper Salad
• Poppyseed Salad
• Big Fruit Salad