Tag: Sour Cream

Salads, Side Dishes

Recipe—Red, White, & Blue Potato Salad

Diva di Cucina

Hello grilling season! It is great to have you back in my life! (And all of you amazing followers too!) Nothing says summer like lazy days with friends, sun shining on your skin, hot grilled meat, and some tasty side salads! 

With 4th of July just around the corner it feels like the perfect time to share one of my favorite summer side dish recipes with y’all. This Red White and Blue Potato salad is packed with all my favorite flavors and by favorite flavors, I mean bacon and blue cheese. 

This salad is an amazing complement to any bbq dish, but we especially love it with a nice steak and some red wine. Just something about the way all those flavors come together is top notch. *chef’s kiss*

Note: I like to set aside some of the bacon, blue cheese crumbles, and green onions to garnish the top of the salad with.

INGREDIENTS
3 lbs baby red potatoes, chopped into 3/4” cubes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp dill
1/2 tsp salt  
1/4 tsp ground mustard 
1/2 tsp onion powder  
8 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
3/4 c blue cheese
1/2 c green onion, sliced

STEPS

  • Place the chopped potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. 
  • Bring to a boil and cook for approximately 12–15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and tender.
  • Drain the potatoes and transfer them into a large bowl and allow to cool for 30 minutes. 
  • In a medium bowl mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, dill, salt, ground mustard, and onion powder. 
  • Add the bacon, blue cheese, and green onion to the bowl with the potatoes. 
  • Pour the dressing over the top of the potatoes and other ingredients and stir to combine.
  • Cover and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. 

Here are some other amazing summer side dishes to try out!

Classic Macaroni Salad
Classic Macaroni Salad
Italian Pasta Salad
Italian Pasta Salad
Potato Salad
Potato Salad
Salads, Side Dishes

Recipe—Creamy Dill Red Potato Salad

Diva di Cucina

Summer is upon us! Well not quite, but we are so close! I can literally smell it! The smell of grilled meat has infiltrated the warm evening air in my subdivision and I am itching for a good ol’ fashioned cookout.

One thing I absolutely love about summer BBQs are all the cold salads. Macaroni salads, potato salads, mmmmmmm… mmmm… mmmm! (I really should not write these posts when I am hungry because right now, I am salivating just thinking back to this potato salad.)

I have a go to potato salad that is loaded with bacon, olives, bell peppers, onions, and so much more and it is amazing, but sometimes I am looking to mix it up with something a little more simple and lighter. 

The red potatoes really come out fluffy and then the super creamy dressing is a little tangy from the vinegar and sour cream and then you have this delicious dill flavor. So simple and so lite. Perfect for these warm summer days!

INGREDIENTS
8 large red potatoes, diced
1 c sour cream
1 c mayonnaise
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp dill
salt and pepper
4 green onions, chopped

STEPS

  • Add 1–2 tablespoon of salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil.
  • Add the diced potatoes and boil for 10–14 minutes or until fork tender.
  • While the potatoes are boiling whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, dill, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
  • When the potatoes are done cooking drain them in a colander and transfer to a large bowl.
  • Add most of the green onions (saving a handful for garnish) and dressing and toss to coat. 
  • Garnish with the leftover green onions and a little bit of the dill.
  • Cover with a lid or saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. The longer it rests, the better the flavors.

If you like this recipe, then I highly recommend you check out these other awesome salads that make for great additions to your BBQ menu!

Italian Pasta Salad

Italian Pasta Salad

Classic Macaroni Salad

Classic Macaroni Salad

Orzo Pesto Pasta

Orzo Pesto Pasta

Sweet Treats

Recipe—Strawberry Cream Crumb Bars

Diva di Cucina

Recipe—Strawberry Cream Crumb Bars

It’s summertime and I have strawberries on my mind! I could eat strawberry anything but these Strawberry Cream Crumb Bars are really something else. Growing up I loved loved LOVED those strawberry shortcake frozen dessert bars that have the crumbly shortbread coating on the outside. Anyone else ever have those? This simple recipe is those embodied in a dessert bar. Crumbly buttery cookie exterior with a sweet and creamy center. These are a perfect summer treat that everyone will love!

Note: These are delicious with any flavor of pie filling so feel free to use your favorite! These cut great with a pizza cutter when cooled. 

INGREDIENTS
1 c brown sugar
3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c butter, melted
1 c sour cream
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c strawberry pie filling

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 375º.
  • Line a 9” x 13” baking dish with foil and spray with some nonstick cooking spray.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the brown sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  • Drizzle the melted butter over the dry ingredients and stir to combine. (The dough should be crumbly.)
  • Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the crumbly dough for the topping and press the remaining dough edge to edge into the bottom of the foil lined baking dish.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until evenly combined.
  • Spread the cream filling over the crust.
  • Place dollops of the strawberry pie filling over the cream.
  • Using a spoon, gently swirl the pie filling and the cream together making sure not to over mix.
  • Sprinkle the remaining dough crumbs over the top evenly.
  • Bake for 25–30 minutes or until the tops begin to brown and the center is set.
  • Allow the bars to cool completely in the baking dish.
  • Once the bars have cooled, lift the bars by the foil out of the baking dish, transfer to a cutting board, and cut into squares.
  • Store the bars in the fridge until ready to serve.
Sweet Treats

Recipe—Mini Key Lime Pies

Diva di Cucina

I have never eaten nor have I ever made key lime pie. However, I always think it looks beautiful and absolutely delicious! You may recall in one of my last posts that I mentioned for Easter I went with a tea party theme and did small bites. I wanted something very festive so I decided to finally wing it and do something totally different. I ended up with the cutest and most delectable little key lime pies. They were amazing! They were perfectly tart and had just the right amount of creaminess. And they were just so cute! If you follow my lead and get the premade crusts and whip cream this recipe takes no longer than 3 minutes to make and 15 minutes to bake. Who doesn’t have time for that? With summer warming up this really is the perfect refreshing dessert to enjoy on a warm day.

Note: I opted to make mini pies but you can just as easily make one big pie with this recipe. Adjust the baking time to 23–25 minutes.

INGREDIENTS
12 mini graham cracker pie crusts (I found Keebler ones in the baking aisle)
4 egg yolks
3/4 c key lime juice
zest from one lime
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c sour cream
whipped cream
1 lime sliced and then cut into quarters (optional)

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • In a medium bowl combine the egg yolks, lime juice, zest, condensed milk, and sour cream and whisk until well smooth.
  • Place the pie crusts on a large baking sheet and top off each with the filling.
  • Bake pies for 18–20 minutes and allow to cool before moving to the refrigerator.
  • Chill the pies in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving.
  • When ready to serve top each pie with a dollop of whip cream and a little slice of lime.
  • Enjoy! (And good luck eating just one!)
Salads

Recipe—Potato Salad

Diva di Cucina

The weather is warming up which means one thing—BBQs! No BBQ is complete without a big bowl of potato salad. It’s just un-American! Whenever we have a BBQ and my friend Casey asks what she can bring I say potato salad.  I don’t know what it is that she does, but it is amazing! By far the best ever! While I don’t have her recipe I have tried endlessly to recreate it. I think this batch is my closest ever! It turned out so good. I ended up using equal parts sour cream and mayonnaise and it was just the right balance of creaminess, not overly oily like some of the store bought ones. And I added bacon. Bacon makes everything good. Next time you are looking for a classic American side dish give this recipe a try.

Note: This salad can be made 24 hours in advance and kept in the fridge until ready to serve. 

INGREDIENTS
5–6 large potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2” pieces (I like to leave the skin on a couple of potatoes)
3/4 c mayonnaise
3/4 c sour cream
2 tbsp mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp celery seed
4 hardboiled eggs, chopped
red bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2.25 oz can sliced black olives
paprika

STEPS

  • Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
  • Add the diced potatoes and cook for 7–10 minutes or until fork tender.
  • While the potatoes are boiling mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, salt, pepper, and celery seed.
  • When the potatoes are done cooking drain them in a colander and transfer to a large bowl.
  • Add the hardboiled eggs, bell pepper, celery, green onions, bacon, and olives. (I like to save some of the green onions, bacon, and olives to add to the top of the salad for garnish.)
  • Pour the dressing over the veggies and toss to coat.
  • Sprinkle with some paprika and garnish with the green onions, bacon, and olives if you saved any.
  • Cover with a lid or saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Side Dishes

Recipe—Mexican Grilled Corn on the Cob

Diva di Cucina

When planning out dinner menus I find it challenging to come up with Mexican side dishes beyond the typical beans and rice. And besides, when I am watching my carbs beans and rice just don’t work for me. I stumbled upon a recipe for Mexican grilled corn on Pinterest a few months back and have been meaning to try it. Boy am I happy I did! It was delicious! And by delicious I mean, the best corn on the cob I have ever eaten. While I normally just cover my ear of corn with butter and salt this was a welcomed change. The sour cream gave the corn a nice creaminess and the flavors of the smoky chili powder and zest of lime really fired up my taste buds. Sour cream has less than a third of the calories that butter does, so this corn not only tasted awesome, but it is also way healthy! Low calorie, low carb, and tastes amazing! Win, win, and win!

Note: If you want to try this recipe but don’t feel like firing up the grill, you can boil the corn. To boil corn, place the shucked corncobs in a large pot of boiling water and cover it. Cook for 4–6 minutes. Remove the corn from the water with tongs and continue seasoning by following the last 3 steps.

INGREDIENTS
4 ears of corn
1/2 c sour cream
chili powder
salt
pepper
4 lime wedges

STEPS

  • Cut of both ends of the corn so that the cob is exposed on one end and most of the stalk cut gone from the other, leaving the husk on.
  • Fill your sink or a large pot with water.
  • Soak the corn in the water for 15 minutes. (This allows some water to get inside so that the corn steams while on the hot grill, and also makes the husks wet so that they don’t catch fire.)
  • While the corn is soaking, preheat the grille to 350º.
  • Remove the corn from the water and shake off most of the moisture.
  • Cook the corn over direct heat for 15–20 minutes, making sure to turn every 5 minutes.
  • Remove the corn from the grille.
  • Carefully shuck the corn, remove all of the husks and corn silk. (I use an oven mitt to grasp one end to keep from burning my hands.)
  • Using your fingers or a butter knife spread a thin layer of sour cream all over the entire cob.
  • Sprinkle the corncob with the chili powder, salt, and pepper.
  • Spritz with fresh squeezed limejuice.
  • Devour!

Recipe adapted from Ezra Pound Cake.