The Best Salsa Ever

I found this recipe at thismommycooks.blogspot.com

I was starting to give up on making my own salsa.  I don't like chunky style salsa,  I like a blended consistency.  This recipe is exactly what I like and I loved it so much I won't buy the store brand again unless i have to.  Try this recipe you will love it. 

  

INGREDIENTS:

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (I used mild in this recipe)
1/4 cup Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, (I seeded it and chopped it. I also bought the biggest jalapeño i could find and it wasn't spicy
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 cup Cilantro
1/2 whole Lime Juice

Note: this is a very large batch. I recommend using a 12-cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.


PRINTABLE RECIPE

Combine Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you'd like---I did about 10 to 15 pulses. Then add the can of whole tomatoes and process until blended. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

It is recommended to refrigerate salsa for at least an hour, but I didn't do this and it still tasted great. This salsa has kept very well in my fridge for a couple of weeks.

YUMMMM

These are the tomatoes and rotel I used.

white onion, 1/2 a lime, 1 garlic clove and cilantro.

I forgot to take a picture of my jumbo Jalapeño.

I didn't think this salsa was spicy. My son would of liked it spicier.

You could add another jalapeño or get rotel hot flavor. 

This is how much it makes plus a large bowl that we ate after I made it. 

Ragu Sauce

This is a recipe for homemade Ragu or sauce for pasta or lasagna. Prepare to have 4 hours available, because the longer it cooks the better it tastes. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbls Olive oil

1 lbs ground sirloin

1 lbs sweet italian sausage

3 cans (28 oz each) of crushed tomatoes with basil

1 cup red wine (I used 1 cup chicken stock because I don't drink wine)

salt and peper to taste 

fresh basil if you want to add at the end of cooking time for fresh flavor

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Get a really big pot that is tall and fry the onions in olive oil until soft.

add the garlic half way cooking just so the garlic doesn't get burned.

Add the beef and italian sausage to the onions.  Take your time to brown the meat, this will take some time but getting them brown and cooked down gives it flavor. Add salt and Pepper as the beef cooks. I use lots of pepper, not so much salt. You can add more at the end for flavor. 

Add the 3 cans of crushed tomatoes and the 1 cup wine/or chicken broth to the browned meat.

Cook the sauce for 2-3 hours.  I think I cooked mine for 3-3 1/2 hours and it was thick consistency. 

Add torn fresh basil and salt and pepper to taste. 

Now it is ready to use in any noodle dish. I made lasagna with mine. Picture below.

It is also really easy to freeze in small batches. Just put them in plastic containers, label and freeze. 

Lasagna

Mexican Stuffed Shells

            I found this recipe from thewaytohisheart.wordpress.com. I thought it was different than the Italian 

stuffed shells and I wanted something new and different.  

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. ground beef
1 package taco seasoning 4 oz. cream cheese (I forgot to put this in mine and it was still delicious)14-16 jumbo pasta shells
1.5 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce (Picture below)
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup monterey jack cheese
3 green onions (optional, I didn't use these)

shredded lettuce

diced tomato

Sour cream


PRINTABLE RECIPE

Fry the hamburger and add the taco seasoning and follow the directions on the package.  When well combined, add the 4 oz of cream cheese and stir until well mixed. (I forgot the cream cheese)

boil and drain the noodles. Don't cook them all the way, they will finish cooking in the oven.

Put The salsa on the bottom of the pan, I use Tostito's Restaurant style found in the chip isle. 

Stuff the shells with the meat and put on top of the salsa in the pan.

This is the type of taco sauce I use.  You can get mild or hot if you would like.

Cover the shells with the taco sauce.

Put the cheese on top of the shells and bake 350 degrees covered with tin foil for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes. 

Top with shredded lettuce, sour cream, diced tomatoes and green onions. 

Pretzels, Rolos and M&M Treats

These are all over the internet with different colors of M&M's or different variations to this recipe.  They are easy and fun to have everyone help with putting these together.

INGREDIENTS

pretzels

1 bag Rolos

M&M's any kind you want

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees

Put the pretzels on a pan covered with tin foil. Unwrap the Rolos and put them on top of the pretzel.

Bake for 5 minutes or just until the Rolos start to melt.  If they get too melted they will slip off the pretzel and you will have a mess.

When they are melted, take them out of the oven and put a M&M on top of each and press down just a little bit.

Let them cool for 30 minutes. 

Enjoy!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Baked Chicken Penne

I found this recipe on the internet and changed up some of the ingredients and left out some.  The recipe called for 1 cup of mushrooms.  I love mushrooms but my daughter does not like them and she wouldn't eat it if it had them in it.  So I took them out of the recipe.  If you love mushrooms fry them with the chicken.

  

INGREDIENTS

1 lbs uncooked Penne pasta

1 lbs chicken breast cut up in chunks

salt and pepper to season chicken

1 tsp olive oil

6 TBS butter

1/2 cup  plus 2 Tbls of flour

5 cloves minced garlic

6 cups 2% milk

1 cup fire roasted diced tomatoes from a can with juice drained

8 oz italian blend of cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

PRINTABLE RECIPE

 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

salt and pepper the chicken and fry it in a pan with the olive oil until no longer pink. Take out of the pan and set aside.

 As you are frying the chicken, boil the 1 lbs of Penne in salty water until al dente and drain and set aside.

In the same pan you cooked the chicken, melt the 6 Tbls of butter

When melted, add the garlic for 1-2 minutes.

Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add the 6 cups of milk slowly, whisking the flour into it so it doesn't get lumpy.

 Spray a very large pan or divide it in two pans.

I used a 15 1/2 x 11 deep pan.

Mix the liquid, chicken and penne together and dump it into the pan.

 Bake 400 degrees for 50 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Oreo Cookie Cup Cakes

I found this recipe at www.tasteandtellblog.com and they looked so good I had to make them.  I do have to say, I am not a big fan of cup cakes with frosting, but these made it to my recipe box.  It is fun having the oreo cookie inside the cup cake. 

makes about 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix

1 stick of butter, melted

1 cup water

3 eggs

24 Oreos

                                                     

Filling

You can cut this recipe in half.  I didn't use all of it and had a lot left over. 

13 oz jar Marshmallow Creme

1 stick of salted butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons heavy cream

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

                                                         

Frosting

cut the frosting down in half if you don't like a lot of frosting on your cup cakes, it makes a load of frosting.  I didn't use all mine. 

4 sticks salted butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

8 cups powdered sugar 

15 Oreos, crushed

                                                             

To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line muffin tins with liners. Place an Oreo in the bottom of each liner.

Combine the cake mix, butter, water and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed for one minute. Increase the speed to high and beat for one minute. Fill the liners 2/3 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched.

To make the filling: Beat the Marshmallow Creme, butter, vanilla and heavy cream on medium until it is smooth. Add the powdered sugar slowly, then increase the speed and beat for a minute. Refrigerate the filling until ready to use.

To make the frosting: Beat the butter, cream and vanilla in the bowl of a mixer until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Once the powdered sugar is mixed in, beat for 2 minutes on medium-high. Fold in the crushed Oreos.

To assemble: Once the cupcakes are cool, cut a small hole in the center of the cupcake. Fill the centers with the marshmallow filling. (You can do this by spooning it in or by using a pastry bag and piping it in.)

Generously frost or pipe the frosting on the cupcakes. 

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin with Coleslaw & Flour Tortilla

I got this pork recipe from www.candcmarriagefactory.com.  It was so easy to make.  I didn't want to eat it by itself with a side of vegetables like the recipe showed.  So I decide to make coleslaw and flour tortilla  to make it kinda like an Asian Taco. Try it you will really like it.  It is easy to make the pork and easy to make the coleslaw.  If you don't want to fuss with the home made flour tortillas then buy them.  You can do whatever you want. 

BALSAMIC GLAZED PORK LOIN

 First of all I cut the pork to fit the crockpot and put the dry rub on the pork.  Turn it on high and crockpot for 3 hours.

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)

1 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup water

Mix all the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl and rub on pork.

Put the 1/2 cup water in the crockpot and add the pork.  Turn on high for 3 hours.

 I then drained the pork of the water in the crockpot and shredded the pork.

I made the glaze and poured it over the pork, mixed it up and put the temperature to keep warm.  I later made another batch of the glaze to drizzle over the pork when it was on the tortilla because it is so good. You could probably use it in an asian salad too with romaine lettuce, almonds and chow mien noodles. Yum.

 Glaze

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Mix all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 2 minutes until thick. Pour over pork. It is ready to eat once you get the coleslaw and flour tortillas made. 

COLESLAW

The coleslaw is really simple and easy to make.  I really like vinegary sweet simple coleslaw.  If you have your favorite coleslaw recipe then go ahead and use yours.  I make the copycat KFC coleslaw a lot to eat as a side and I use this simple coleslaw recipe to put on my BBQ sandwiches. So you make the choice. 

I use a head of cabbage.  You could buy coleslaw pre cut in the package if you want.  Cabbage is so much cheaper. But to save time buy the bag.

I shred it up with a knife.

To make the dressing, like I said, i like vinegary sweet and simple coleslaw for a sandwich. You can add carrots and purple cabbage if you want.

2/3 cup Mayonaise Helmans please

2 tablespoons white sugar

3 tablespoons white vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  I mix the coleslaw in batches as we eat it.  I don't pour a giant bowl of cabbage and dressing together and have it get mushy in the refrigerator.  I like it crispy on the sandwich.  You can mix it up 5-10 minutes before you are going to eat it.  That is what a lot of BBQ places do. 

FLOUR TORTILLAS

 I got this flour tortilla recipe from thepioneerwoman.com.  

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2-1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/2 cup Lard Or Vegetable Shortening

2 Tablespoons (additional) Lard Or Vegetable Shortening

1 cup Hot Water

Combine flour, baking powder and salt to a food processor. Stir together.

Add the lard or shortening (use 1/2 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons), pulse until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Put mixture into a large bowl and slowly pour in hot water, stirring to bring mixture together. Lightly knead dough 30 to 40 times, or until it becomes a cohesive ball of dough and is less sticky. Cover with a tea towel and allow dough to rest for at least an hour.

Roll into ping pong size balls, place on a tray, cover with a tea towel, and allow to rest for another 20 to 30 minutes.

When you're ready to make the tortillas, heat a dark or cast iron griddle to medium/medium-high heat. One by one, roll out balls of dough until very, very thin. Throw tortillas (one by one) onto the griddle. Cook on each side for 20 to 30 seconds, removing while tortillas are still soft but slightly brown in spots. Remove and stack tortillas, and cover with a towel to keep warm. Serve immediately or allow to cool before storing tortillas in a container. To warm, nuke tortillas in the microwave, or wrap in foil and warm in the oven

 This is what the dough looks like when it is ready to rest with a towel over it.

 I roll out my tortillas so thin you can see through them. I don't like them too thick. When they cook they bubble up and seem thicker. 

 Don't over cook them or they will be too crispy to fold.  

 You can make these a day ahead of time and store in a zip lock bag.  Just re heat in the microwave.

This is the finished Asian Taco as my son calls it.  Try it, you will really like it. Enjoy.