Salsa update

I have been busy trying out salsa recipes - no ulcers yet. Here are a few that I really liked.

Salsa Mexicana
2 T. finely diced white onion
8 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 serrano chiles, finely diced, with seeds
2 T. finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 t. sugar
1 T. fresh lime juice

Place the onion in a strainer and rinse with hot water and drain. Combine all ingredients. Add more sugar if the tomatoes are to acidic. Refrigerate at least 30 mins. before serving.

Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa
1 lb. tomatillos (about 15) husked, rinsed and chopped
1 avocado roughly chopped
1 serrano chile, with seeds
3/4 c. fresh cilantro leaves
2 T. fresh lime juice
1 t. salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor and puree.

Fire-Roasted Tomato Chipotle Salsa
1/4 cup plus 1 T. virgin olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
2 lbs. Roma tomatoes, blackened
4 t. finely minced roasted garlic
1/2 c. minced fresh cilantro
4 chipotle chiles en adobo, chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 T. salt
1 t. sugar

Heat a T. of olive oil in pan until lightly smoking. Add onion and saute until caramelized. Transfer the onion, half the blackened tomatoes, and garlic to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the cilantro and chipotle chiles and pulse again.
Peel, seed, and chop the remaining tomatoes and fold in together with the remaining 1/4 c. olive oil, vinegar, salt, sugar, and other tomatoe mixture.

Avocado-Serrano Salsa
2 large avocados chopped
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
1 Roma tomato diced
3 T. minced red onion
4 t. minced serrano chile, with seeds
2 t. minced cilantro
1 1/2 t. salt

Carefully fold all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

And finally...

Tomatillo Salsa Verde
1 lb. tomatillos husked, rinsed, and roughly chopped
3 serrano chiles, with seeds
3/4 c. fresh cilantro leaves
2 T. fresh lime juice
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree.

Happiness does not come from a jar!

I Y salsa! Yes, I do. Not the nasty Pace stuff in a jar, but homemade with tomatoes, cilantro, onions, and all those good things. If I were to get a paper cut, I would bleed salsa. Nathan can attest to my addiction. (Addiction...such an ugly word. Let's go back to I Ysalsa! Yes, I like that much better.) Today while meandering through the library, I came across a little book called "The Great Salsa Book." Just reading the title had me salivating. I checked it out and have decided that it would be silly of me to try out multiple recipes with just the two of us eating oodles of salsa in one sitting. (Tempting but I think it would kill Nathan) Instead, I think I will have friends over for fajitas and a salsa bar. Perhaps, a joint Cinco de Mayo themed birthday party even though neither of our birthdays are the 5th? I even have a pinata! (I'll tell you all about that in another post.) I'll keep you posted on the details. Until then, happy salsa sampling to me :)

Call Me Susie

Now that I am not working (hallelujah!), I am enjoying being a house wife. Everyone at my last job kept telling me, "You'll be so bored and want to come back to work." all while I am thinking "I could never be THAT bored that I would go back to work at THAT office." I have to say I have been loving every minute of being at home. I start out my day by going to the gym, then come home to walk Duncan. Then I either clean a little or do some laundry while I bake or scrapbook. The other day I tried out a new recipe that I thought I would share. It is so tasty and goes great with the homemade rolls I made last week -- call me Susie homemaker.

Potato Cheese Soup

3 cups chicken broth

5 cups diced potato

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt
3/4 cup margarine

3/4 flour

1 pint half and half

1 pint milk

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Combine broth, onion, salt, pepper, celery, and potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender. Make a white sauce with margarine, flour, 1/2 and 1/2, and milk. Stir into veggies. Add cheese and heat through.

**I like to serve with crumbled bacon on top!**