Mom's Picnic Macaroni Salad

Good evening!  You didn't think I'd forget, did you?

Here's #3 in my Mother's Day Week series:  Mom's Favorite Recipes.  One of my Mom's favorite foods is what I call, Loaded Macaroni Salad!  You've heard of Loaded Baked Potato Soup?  Well, this is the picnic salad equivalent!

Here's how Mom makes her macaroni salad:

Boil 1/2 lb. salad macaroni, drain and rinse in cold water. 

Add:

• 6 chopped, hard-boiled eggs
• 4 diced green onions
• 8 chopped sweet pickles 
• 1 cup black olives, sliced 
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese 
• salt, pepper, onion powder, mayo and mustard to taste.

Easy, right?  Thanks Mom!

It's a week of Mom's Favorite Recipes.  Here are more in the series:  

Bulk Taco Seasoning
Perfectly Fried Chicken

Hunt for the Devil’s Dragon by Marianne Hering and Wayne Thomas Batson -- Book Review

A few months ago, I read a review on another blog for a new children's book series put out by Tyndale House, The Imagination Station.  I was so excited to see a series similar to The Magic Tree House series that incorporated Biblical principles with the time-travel, historical stories my kids love.  I immediately made a note to look for the books for Christmas presents.

How thrilled I was to see that Tyndale House was offering one for review last month! Woo Hoo!  I jumped right on it.  I was sent a complimentary copy of Hunt for the Devil's Dragon.  Thanks, Tyndale House.

Book Description from Tyndale House:  "If you’re brave, follow cousins Beth and Patrick to Libya in the 13th century. The town of Silene is being terrorized by a vicious animal that is eating livestock. The townspeople believe it’s a dragon sent by the devil. In order to appease the beast, the people believe they must offer a human sacrifice—a young girl named Sabra. When Beth tries to help Sabra escape, she too is tied up as an offering for the dragon. Meanwhile, Patrick and a new friend named Hazi join Georgius, a Roman knight who is serving in Africa to keep peace. Georgius decides to find the dragon and kill it. Georgius’s plans go awry when Beth and Sabra beg him not to kill the dragon. The girls know the true secret of Silene—the dragon isn’t its worst enemy."

So far, my 13, 11 and 8 year olds have read it and my 10 year old is reading it now.  All of them have drawn parallels between these and the Magic Tree House books.  From the green themes on the covers, to the boy and girl adventurers, to the time-travelling elevator, the kids are getting the elements they loved in MTH, along with a dose of Biblical wisdom and good character modeling.

In fact, my kids say they like this series even better than MTH.  My 12 year old son said he liked it better because the books were longer and that the main character shows love, even to his enemies, and gives glory to God throughout the book.  He, along with my 13 year old daughter, were already fans of Wayne Thomas Batson's The Door Within series, so they enjoyed reading more from him.

My 13 year old daughter said she enjoyed the "facts and fun" in the back of the book and really liked reading the biographical information.  All three of the kids who've finished it also made the connection between the story of Georgius and the legend of King George and the Dragon, a story they've all read in our homeschool.

Since they all loved this one so much, I'm excited to find more in this awesome series.

Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.  All opinions are honest and are my own.

Perfectly Fried Chicken for the Homemaking Party

Welcome to the Homemaking Party!  Today I'm continuing my Mother's Day Week series, honoring my mom by sharing her 7 top recipes.

My mom has always made the best fried chicken ever and I've never been able to mimic it---until now.  

The key to Mom's great fried chicken is to dredge the chicken in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper, sear it on both sides in oil, and then turn the heat down lower, put the lid on, and let it slowly fry until it's perfectly golden.  It's an art, I tell you, but I think I've got it down.

Thanks Mom!

It's a week of Mom's Favorite Recipes.  Here's the first in the series:  Bulk Taco Seasoning.

Now for the linkup.  Please remember to return the favor by adding my button or a text link to your post.  Have a great weekend!




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