Angelnina’s Cottage

Got Potatoes? German Potato Salad!

ABOVE: Taters from my garden

When I was a pre-teen, I used to dig around in the kitchen cabinets looking for something to eat.  Money was always tight, and fancy food in our house was a can of Campbell’s Vegetable Beef Soup.   If we were out of canned and packaged foods, we usually had a bag of potatoes, a box of Saltines, a loaf of white sandwich bread, eggs, and a carton of milk.  Many people would be surprised to know how many meals you can make with those five ingredients.  Throw in some cheese and bacon and you’re going to eat pretty darn well.

If you’re ever hungry for a snack, but you haven’t gone grocery shopping yet, try crumbling some saltines in a large glass and then pour milk on top of your crumbled crackers–eat it with a  spoon.  Flavorful?  No.  Healthy?  Not really.  Filling?  Mostly, yes.

One of the recipes I can remember digging out of my Mother’s only cookbook–”Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook”–is the German Potato Salad recipe.  I remember the first time I made it–I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  Simple ingredients turned into something kind of fancy!

Over the years, I’ve made the salad by following the recipe to a “T”.  I made it again last week, and thought I’d share.  If memory serves me right, as a kid, I had to substitute Spam for bacon.   I don’t recommend using Spam.

I used the updated Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

My good friend Liz gave me this book.

German Potato Salad

Makes 6 to 8 servings

6 medium potatoes (2 lbs)

6 slices thick bacon

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 Tbs all-purpose flour

2 Tbs sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt (less if bacon is extremely salty)

1 tsp celery seed

dash pepper

1 cup water

1/2 cup cider vinegar

2 hard cooked eggs, sliced

In a covered pan cook potatoes in boiling salted water for 25 to 30

minutes or untill tender; drain well. Peel and slice potatoes. In a

large skillet cook bacon until crisp; drain and crumble, reserving

1/4 cup drippings. Cook onion in the reserved drippings until

tender but not brown. Stir in the flour, sugar, salt, celery seed,

and pepper. Add water and vinegar. Cook and stir until thickened

and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes more. Stir in bacon and

potatoes. Cook about 5 minutes or until heated through.  Add hard

cooked eggs: toss lightly to mix.