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Using what we have . . .

New salad recipe tried.  A white bean salad with garden cherry tomatoes and some chopped Red Russian kale.  There are many recipes for this type of recipe. I believe we added garden parsley and some feta cheese.  I am using our chive infused vinegars for many dressings as well.  I honestly cannot recall which recipe we actually used, but  there are many Mediterranean seasoned recipes online for this.


New salad recipe tried.  I did not use every single ingredient, but pretty close.  We loved this just as I made it too, but next time we may just try adding avocado to it.  I used organic quinoa, our homegrown cucumbers, basil and green onions, local sweet corn, and the dressing was made with my home canned Blueberry-Basil Vinegar (instead of the sherry vinegar the recipe called for).  I sprinkled extra sunflower seeds on top of our salads, and we really liked it.  I also used one clove of freshly minced garlic in the dressing.

The recipe is online with The Salad Whisperer - Cucumber Corn and Quinoa Salad with basil.

I would take this salad to a potluck.  I added the basil just before I served it.


New sausage breakfast casserole we tried.  Why?  Well, I had a bag of frozen (diced) potatoes in the freezer, that was purchased for a family gathering.  It never got used for whatever reasons, and aside from giving it away, it had to be used.  I liked the fact that the recipe called for 8 eggs vs. 12 eggs.  I used my homemade seasoned salt for this recipe.

It's called "Best Breakfast Casserole Recipe with Sausage" and it's online with The Food Charlatan.

I adapted organic ingredients, like the butter, half and half etc.  I used bell peppers from the garden, as well as two Anaheim peppers form the garden.  Although loaded with the frozen potatoes as the base, which we are not used to, it was very good!  It can be made the day before, and it reheats nicely.  My husband said, it would be "really good with homemade sausage gravy poured over the top."

I would take this casserole to a breakfast potluck.


The storms knocked down all 3 of the plums that were growing on the new tree we planted this year.  You can see how small they were, but we tried them, and boy are they delicious.  The green bell pepper is from the garden, but the storms did some damage to the plants there too.  

Using what we have . . .  ©  August 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart



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Comments

Anne in the kitchen said…
I am a big fan of using what you have on hand. TO me a recipe is just a suggestion anyway.
The salad and casserole both sound delicious.
August 16, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Betsy said…
Those salads all look yummy, but that breakfast casserole. Delicious. I have always loved sausage and egg casseroles. I think it's because we made them for lots of ladies breakfasts, Easter breakfast at church, etc. Good memories with other people.
Blessings and hugs,
Betsy
August 17, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Pioneer Woman at Heart said…
Anne in the kitchen, I agree on recipes being suggestions. I love mixing things up.
August 17, 2026 at 6:42 AM
Pioneer Woman at Heart said…
Betsy, all was pretty good, but yes, that breakfast casserole was so good. Many recipes call for the shredded, but I only had the diced potatoes. The recipe said to add melted butter and mix, then bake the potatoes first. It was hard to mix melted butter into frozen potatoes, but it worked out nicely, and the potatoes worked out well (vs. shredded).
August 17, 2026 at 6:44 AM
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