It's spring & time to try a few new recipes...

I've tried a few new recipes over the last week. There have been a few I've wanted to try for awhile, & a few I've found on the spur of the moment. I'd make all of them again & thought I'd pass them along!

Honey Mustard Potato Salad (www.cuisinediva.net)

ingredients

1 tablespoon salt

1 pound baby red skin potatoes

1 red bell pepper - seeded and chopped

1-2 bunches green onions - sliced

1/3 cup honey mustard dressing (I used O'Charley's)

1 tablespoon stone ground mustard

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 package bacon bits

directions

1. Scrub the potatoes well.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

3. Add the salt to the boiling water.

4. Add the potatoes to the pot of water, and let cook for 15 minutes.

5. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the dressing by whisking together the honey mustard dressing, stone ground mustard and honey in a small bowl.

6. Drain the potatoes in a colander and rinse with cool water.

7. Add the cooked potatoes to a large mixing bowl.

8. Add the bell pepper and green onions.

9. Stir in the honey mustard dressing and bacon bits.

This was a quick & easy potato salad. I didn't have red bell peppers on hand, so I used celery & sweet onion along with the green onion. I also crisped the bacon bits by layering them on a cookie sheet & baking at 350 for about 3-5 minutes. It was perfect to throw together for a weekend lunch!

Italian Sausage Lasagna - with no boil pasta (AllRecipes)

ingredients

• 2 Italian sausage links, casings removed
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 4 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
• 3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

directions

1. Crumble sausage into a small skillet. Add onion and garlic; cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes. Combine the egg, ricotta and parsley.

2. Spread 1/4 cup sauce in an 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Layer the uncooked pasta over sauce (overlap a bit as they will expand when cooking); top with a third of the remaining sauce, a third of the ricotta mixture and 3 tablespoons mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers two-three times.

3. Cover. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

The no-boil pasta was an exciting find for me! (Apparently, it's been around for awhile. I just happened upon it last Sunday in Kroger.) I've never made my own pasta (one day!), & boiling lasagna always leaves me with more broken, un-useable pieces. And it takes longer. This was a perfect solution. I even made it on a week night - after work, when we both had somewhere to go after dinner! A perfect & delicious time-saver.

Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake (Southern Living, March 2011)

(No, not my picture. It's Southern Living's. We ate/gave ours away before I got a picture. And theirs is prettier.)

ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 6 large eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup strawberry glaze
• 1 (6-inch) wooden skewer
• 
  

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add cream cheese, beating until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

2. Gradually add flour to butter mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape bowl as needed. Stir in almond and vanilla extracts. Pour one-third of batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (14-cup) tube pan (about 2 2/3 cups batter). Dollop 8 rounded teaspoonfuls strawberry glaze over batter, and swirl with wooden skewer. Repeat procedure once, and top with remaining third of batter.

3. Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

This was a great cake to make! We thought it was delicious with the strawberry but think it'd be a great plain pound cake without it. The cream cheese makes it rich & moist. I can't wait to make it again when strawberries are in season!