Guacamole

Well... how can I post a salsa recipe without guacamole! Silly girl... So I went back to one of my first blog posts and dug it up. Of course, there's a story...

My sister, who lives in Arizona, makes the best guacamole I’ve ever tasted. I've been eating it for years. All this time I thought she used sour cream and Mexican cheese, but during my last visit to Arizona she made it. To my surprise, she doesn't use either one of those ingredients! It's still the best ever, and it's just one of those things... the girl has it down!

Now, I hope this doesn't disappoint you, but what follows isn't her recipe. She really doesn't have one. Figures. So this is mine. It's very good, really! 

Guacamole

3 avocados
1T. lime juice or more to taste
½ C. red onion, diced
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1 minced garlic clove
2T. cilantro, chopped
½ t. cumin
½ t. salt
Pepper to taste

Mix ingredients together and serve. I keep it fresh by placing plastic wrap directly on top of the guacamole, pushing down so it's air tight, and placing it the in refrigerator.

Tomato Salsa

We went to my favorite Mexican restaurant last night. I just can't get enough of that cuisine. The beans and rice, the corn tortillas, the sauces and salsa. Ahh yes... the salsa. I could eat salsa everyday. It has an addictive quality. I like making it too!

I've posted this recipe before and I decided to post it again, not just because I love it, but because my daughter was looking for a "favorite recipe" to give to a friend at a wedding shower. Cute idea, right? Everyone brings their favorite recipe to go into a cookbook for the bride. As my daughter brought the recipe card in to the kitchen she went right to my salsa recipe. I love that girl.

The truth is everyone LOVES this recipe. Whenever I make it, it's gone fast! It's an adaptation on a recipe given to me by my sister-in-law. I tweaked it to suit our tastes and I hope it suits yours. Enjoy this easy and delicious salsa!

Tomato Salsa

Easy
15 minutes

1 - 28oz. can Dei Fratelli Seasoned Diced Tomatoes
1 T. cilantro, chopped finely
½ small red onion, chopped finely (approximately ¾ C.)
½ - 1 whole jalapeno pepper, seeded, deveined and chopped finely
1 t. of fresh lime juice
¼ - ½ teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

Drain the can of diced tomatoes. Add all of the ingredients together in a bowl and mix well. Refrigerate for at least ½ hour. Serve with chips.

I know I haven't been blogging, but there's a reason. One you can all relate to... stress!

Work had been crazy and I felt like I wasn't doing anything well. I had been in the middle of reading a book (for about a month), my house was screaming "CLEAN ME" as I walked through every room, the weeds wouldn't stop growing (no matter how I looked at them) and I wasn't cooking. I was a mess.

Still, there are those beautiful moments that happen in the middle of all the chaos, and you just can't ignore them. In this case, it was on Mother's Day. Everyone (including the dog) let me sleep late. I laid in bed and read all morning. My girls came home. They cleaned the house, shopped and cooked dinner. What a gift. They probably won't understand what that meant to me until they're a little older, but I know the gift will be returned to them one day.

So, when I saw what they were making for dinner I decided to help out, just a little. I had the ingredients to make a pico de gallo that would fit in nicely with the dinner the girls had planned. So I made it.

I really love adding pico de gallo to a Mexican menu. In fact, I think it's a great condiment most any time. It's also called salsa fresca. It's a fresh, uncooked condiment made from chopped tomato, onion and chilis.  Other ingredients are often added, such as lime juice and fresh cilantro. My recipe is well liked and very versatile. You can easily build onto it and I hope you do.

Also, I know it's seriously late in the year, but Happy Mother's Day ladies!

Pico de Gallo

3 plum tomatoes, about 1 3/4 - 2  cups
3/4 cup diced red onion
1 tablespoon diced jalapenos, seeded and de-veined
1/2 cup cilantro
Salt and pepper

Directions

In a bowl combine all ingredients. Cover and chill until ready to almost ready to serve. Let it sit out for about 30 minutes if you can. Serve.

Note: The pic is not mine.

Spicy Black Bean & Corn Chili

If you like hot... you'll like this! And it's quick and easy! I posted this recipe a long time ago and on Saturday I decided to make it a part of our Superbowl celebration. When I brought the recipe up to jot down the ingredients I re-read the comments and found one from my sister Kathy. She and her family love this chili, but she only uses 1 cup of corn when she makes it. So this time I took her advice on the corn and changed a couple other ingredients. As usual, my sister was right and now I love it even more.


Spicy Black Bean & Corn Chili

Serves 6
Easy
30 - 40 minutes

1/2 onion, chopped (1/2 C.)
1 stalk of celery, chopped
2 T. olive oil
1 large clove of garlic, diced
2 - 10 oz. cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 - 14.5 oz. can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
2 - 15 oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 C. frozen corn
1 C. water
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1/2 t. cumin
cilantro

In a stockpot, saute onion and celery in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for about 2 minutes more. Add the rest of the ingredients minus the cilantro. Simmer on low heat for 20 - 30 minutes more. With a potato masher, mash the mixture a little breaking up the beans. Serve with a garnish of cilantro.

Note:  I used Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies and Muir Glen Fire Roasted Organic Crushed Tomatoes when I make this.

Black Bean Dip

Here's a healthy appetizer for the coming New Year festivities! Happy New Year everyone!!


Black Bean Dip

1 clove of garlic
1 15oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 T. diced green chiles
2 t. fresh lime juice
1/4 C. salsa
1 T. rough chop cilantro
2 green onions, white and some green chopped

corn chips or veggies for dipping

Process the garlic in a food processor until minced. Put the remaining ingredients, except for the green onions, in the food processor and process until smooth. Stir in the green onions in serve with chips and/or veggies.

Farewell Fresh Tomatoes

Recently, my husband turned another year older. We decided it was a great excuse to have a party and invite our neighborhood friends. We are lucky to live in a subdivision filled with really great people and getting together is always a lot of fun! I decided to make it a “Strolling Cocktail Hour” with lots of bite size appetizers so people could easily mingle (although everyone stayed in the kitchen).

That night, the only appetizer I could eat without veering off my diet too wildly were the gazpacho shooters. These were itty-bitty martini glasses filled with gazpacho and each had a shrimp floating on top. The soup was really good and I ate a bowl of it during the evening (without the shrimp of course, but if I'm going to be honest, I did try other foods that night that were not on my diet, oops again). Anyway, the recipe called for olive oil, and as I tasted the gazpacho I wondered if its flavor really benefited from the addition of the oil.

So, as the tomatoes make their final curtain call for the season, I decided to come up with a recipe. A recipe that excluded oil and that I could be proud to serve to company. This is a solid start. The flavor is great, and you won’t miss the oil. My family likes it, I love it and I hope you will too.

Note: This is really good garnished with diced ripe avocado, but cilantro is great as well. If you like your gazpacho spicy, add ½ - 1 small, seeded and diced jalapeno!

Gazpacho

4 ripe tomatoes
2 C tomato juice
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
½ C red onion, chopped
½ C red pepper, chopped
¼ C cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. cider vinegar (I use Bragg's)
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. kosher salt
¼ t. pepper
Avocado for garnish

Bring a large pot full of water to a boil. Make an X with a knife on the bottom of each tomato. Drop the tomatoes into boiling water for about 15 – 30 seconds. Remove and put them into an ice bath until cool. Pat dry, peel, core, seed and chop. In a large mixing bowl put the tomatoes, tomato juice, cucumber, red onion, red pepper, cilantro, garlic, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Put half of the mixture into a blender and puree for 30 seconds. Pour back into the bowl with the remaining mixture. Mix well, cover and chill for at least 1 hour, best overnight. Garnish with avocado, cilantro or both.

Mexican Night - A Meatless Meal My Family Likes!

Everyone loves this salsa. When I make it, it doesn’t last long. This is an adaptation on a recipe given to me by my sister-in-law. I tweaked it to suit our tastes. I hope it suits yours. Enjoy this easy and delicious salsa!

Tomato Salsa

Easy
15 minutes

1 - 28oz. can Dei Fratelli Seasoned Diced Tomatoes
1 T. cilantro, chopped finely
½ small red onion, chopped finely (approximately ¾ C.)
½ - 1 whole jalapeno pepper, seeded, deveined and chopped finely
1 t. of fresh lime juice
¼ - ½ teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

Drain the can of diced tomatoes. Add all of the ingredients together in a bowl and mix well. Refrigerate for at least ½ hour. I serve this salsa with Tostitos Baked Tortilla Chips to keep it quick and simple.



My sister, who lives in Arizona, makes the best guacamole I’ve ever tasted. However, she uses sour cream and a Mexican cheese...no wonder its so good. This is my recipe. I can’t eat much of it, I’m trying to lower my cholesterol, but my family really enjoys it!

Guacamole

3 avocados
1T. lime juice
½ C. red onion, diced
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1 minced garlic clove
2T. cilantro, chopped
½ t. cumin
½ t. salt
Pepper to taste

Mix ingredients together and serve. I keep this fresh by placing plastic wrap directly on top of the guacamole, pushing down so it's air tight, and placing it the in refrigerator.



I have a confession. I love the bean burritos from Taco Bell, but I know I shouldn't eat them. So this recipe is about being able to eat a bean burrito that tastes like Taco Bell’s without the guilt.

Bean Burritos

Makes 6-10 depending on the size of the tortillas
Easy
15 minutes

2 - 16oz. cans of refried beans, fat free
½ C. diced red onion
Salsa
Tortillas – corn or whole wheat

In a non-stick skillet warm the beans and onions over low heat. Warm the tortillas, between paper towels, in the microwave for 30 - 50 seconds. Fill one side of the tortilla with the bean mixture and add one tablespoon of salsa the length of the tortilla. Wrap it up. If you need it warmer, place it in the microwave for 15 – 30 seconds.