Strawberry Topped Brownies

Are you scared of sweetened condensed milk? If so run far, far away. And hand me your brownie before you scamper off.

The brownie itself is nothing special. It is made with a brownie mix - any box will do. Add one more egg than it calls for to make it a little extra cakey. You can make them in a pan or in cupcake papers. This time I made regular cupcakes and mini cupcakes because I wanted less messy individual servings.

Then. Get. Ready. To. Be. Delighted. The frosting is what makes these brownies delicious. It is sweet and tangy and shouldn't be eaten by the spoonful, although it is tempting. Someone please come hide all my spoons because they are just BEGGING me to get a heap of this sticky sweet ambrosia and eat the rest of the bowl.

Brownie Topping

1 Can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 C cold water

1 pkg instant pudding (vanilla, white chocolate, or cheesecake)

4 oz whipped topping, thawed

1 pint fresh strawberries

Mix the sweetened condensed milk and cold water, then beat in the pudding. Chill for 5 minutes and add the whipped topping. Spread on cooled brownies and top with sliced strawberries. Serve within a couple of hours. The strawberries start to get icky after too long.

Mmmm...tempting dessert or tantalizing husband.....delicious dessert or deliciously sweet hubby....can I have both?

Potato Salad with No Mustard

Mustard. It is such a divisive condiment. The person in my household who is in favor of mustard (Kevin) tends to be the one who makes the potato salad so it usually contains mustard. When Kevin volunteered to bring kabobs to a dinner party last weekend, and then decided to make some potato salad to go with it, I was ready to eat first so I wouldn't be hungry when I declined half the dinner. But then he found a mustard-less potato salad recipe and harmony was restored to our fridge.

This recipe is absolutely the bestestest potato salad I have ever had. That isn't saying too much because it is the first potato salad I have ever liked, but it is a tasty side dish. Even Kevin liked it better than the yellow version.

Potato Salad

1 1/2 pounds red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and peeled
2 large eggs, hard-boiled, peeled, and chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped green onion (scallions)
2/3 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon sour cream, optional
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Boil a large pot of water and put the peeled potatoes in it. Cook until they are almost soft, then drain and cool. They should be a little more firm than you would like them since they will cook a little more while they cool. While waiting for the potatoes to cool mix the rest of the ingredients together, leaving out the eggs. When everything is mixed, chop the cooled potatoes and eggs and mix until coated. The more you mix the more the potatoes and eggs crumble, so stir as little as possible.