Salsa, ole!

One of the girls at work had her husband make salsa to bring in to a party. I couldn't stop eating it, it was so good. I asked her how they made it and she gave me the basic ingredients. While mine did not come out the same, it's still pretty darn good! I dont really have measurements because I had to keep adding stuff as I went along.

Ingredients:

• 4 roma tomatos
• 1 small onion
• 2 dried hot peppers
• cilantro-chopped
• Adobo
• about 1T Red wine vinegar
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 drops of Daves Insanity hot sauce

Directions:

• Roast the tomatoes at 350 for about 20-30 minutes. I put a little olive oil on them.
• take the hot peppers and place them in a bowl, cover with water and microwave about 30 seconds. Set aside.
• Put the roasted tomatoes, diced tomatoes, cilantro, vinegar, lime juice, and adobo into a food processor. Mix it all up in there.
• Chop up the onion and mix in with the rest.
• Add the hot sauce if desired.
  

Avocado Feta Salsa

I was making Easter dinner this year and wanted to try a new appetizer. Well I saw this recipe randomly and decided to try it. It's really good, but next time I might put a little less feta.

Ingredients:

• 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 ripe avocado - peeled, pitted and chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced (I put like 4-5)
  
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley (omitted)
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (omitted)
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
• 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• chopped cilantro- a bunch of it....

Directions:

• In a bowl, gently stir together tomatoes, avocados, onion, and garlic. Mix in parsley and oregano (Cilantro). Gently stir in olive oil and vinegar. Then stir in feta. Cover, and chill for 2 to 6 hours.

Parmesean crusted Tilapia

Jake and I went to BJ's today and bought some tilapia. I have never had tilapia before but heard it was a more mild fish. Well, Jake is out tonight with his friends so I decided to try and make this for myself. WOW! This is really good, he is missing out. I am definitely going to have to make this again. Now, I didnt really follow all the ingredients and measurements...so bear with me.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
  
• 1/4 cup butter, softened (I used I can't believe its not butter spray)
  
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise (used reduced fat mayo)
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil (I used Dill instead)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon celery salt (I used regular salt)
  
• 2 pounds tilapia fillets (I used 2 filets...)
  
• Panko flakes
• a dash of Cayanne pepper
• a dash of paprika
• 2 cloves minced garlic
  

Directions:

• Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
• In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil(dill), pepper, onion powder and celery salt(regular salt), also add in the panko, cayenne, garlic and paprika. Mix well and set aside.
• Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Golden Pork Chops

I had pork chops I needed to use and wanted to do something different with them. I got this recipe from my favorite place, allrecipes.com. While the pork was "ok"...I dont think I'd make this again.

Ingredients:

• 6 pork chops
• 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed golden mushroom soup (I used 1 can golden and one can cream of mushroom)
• a little bit of white wine

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Rinse pork chops, pat dry and place them in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• In a separate small bowl, combine the onion, mushrooms and soup (and wine). Mix together well and sponn over the chops.
• Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake for 15 more minutes. (Note: Time could be less or more depending on the thickness of the chops.) Pork chops are done when their internal temperature has reached 160 degrees.
  

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

My mom had been asking me to try this recipe for a while. Yesterday she asked if Jake and I wanted to come over because she was having my cousin and her husband over. I said I would and that I'd make the cookies finally. YUM!! These are really good...but make sure you have a nice tall glass of milk to go with them. They are chocolatey!

Ingredients:

• 4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• In the microwave or in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup of the chocolate chips, and the butter stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
  
• In a large bowl, whip eggs and sugar until thick and pale, about 2 minutes.
  
• Stir in the vanilla and the chocolate mixture until well mixed.
  
• Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually stir into the chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining 1 cup chocolate chips.
  
• Cover dough and chill for at least an hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Roll chilled dough into 1 inch balls. (the dough is very sticky. I used 2 spoons to pull it out an plop it on the pan) Place on ungreased cookie sheets so they are 2 inches apart.
• Bake for 9 to 11 minutes in the preheated oven. (mine cooked about 12-14 minutes) Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

**Note: When baking cookies, I like to place a cookie sheet on the lower oven rack under the rack where the cookies will go. This helps prevent burning the bottoms of your cookies.

Cornish Hens

Well, I was going to try a new recipe but didn't have all the ingredients or the time, so I went with my tried and true whole chicken recipe. The hens have a very slight different taste than a chicken. I don't really have measurements on this one b/c I just throw stuff on it.

Ingredients:

• 2 cornish hens
• dried dill
• lemon pepper
• salt
• pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• dried rosemary
• 3-4 medium sized red potatoes
• butter spray or EVOO
• 1 small onion
• water
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
  
• Place hens in a glass baking dish (I used a 13x9 pyrex)
• spray with spray butter or sprinkle with EVOO
• sprinkle on all herbs/spices. I use a lot of dill because it's my favorite
• put garlic slices on hens
  
• cut up potatoes into small pieces and place around the hens
• slice onion and put around hens, also add slices of garlic
  
• pour water into the dish, so as to almost cover the potatoes
• sprinkle more dill/rosemary/salt/pepper onto potatoes
• cook for about 1-2 hours, baste the hens a few times
  

French Dip Sandwiches

This sandwich is fantabulous!!! Its a crock pot recipe and extremely easy. I got it from another recipe blog. Hope you enjoy as much as Jake and I did!

Ingredients:

• 1 3-lb chuck roast
• 1 can beef broth (I use fat free)
• 1 can water
• 1 package onion soup mix
• rolls
• I added baby bellas
  

Directions:

• Trim excess fat from meat
• In medium bowl, mix together the broth, water and soup mix
• Place meat in crock pot
• Pour soup mixture over meat
• Put crockpot on low heat for 6-8 hours
• I sliced up baby bellas and put them in after 6 hours and let them cook for about an hour
• Once meat is done, take it out and place on a dish where you can pull the meat apart.
• I toasted our rolls and also added a nice horseradish sauce

***This is sooo good. The horseradish sauce gives it a nice "zing". We also added a little salt and pepper on our own sandwiches per our taste.

chili

I got this recipe from a friend who got it from allrecipes.com. I have tinkered with the recipe a bit (as usual). I love making this. Its so good and so easy.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds lean ground beef (I used ground turkey usually)
  
• 1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
• 1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I omit)
  
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (I omit)
  
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
  
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin (I probably use a little more than what's called for)
  
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• I add about 6-10 cloves of garlic (minced in chopper)
  

Directions:

• Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble.
• I sautée the onion and garlic in some EVOO prior to doing the next step
  
• In a large pot over high heat combine the ground beef, tomato juice, tomato sauce, kidney beans, pinto beans, onions, bell pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar, oregano, ground black pepper, salt, cumin and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. (Note: If using a slow cooker, set on low, add ingredients, and cook for 8 to 10 hours.)

***I top my own bowl with fat free shredded cheddar cheese. I also eat it with crumbled fat free saltines.

****The chili is somewhat liquidy, however it is much thicker the following day if you have leftovers....or if you cook it the day before to eat the next day.