Salsa Bar

For my best friend’s bridal shower we had a FIESTA theme! Holli loves chips and salsa so we had a salsa bar with different homemade salsas. I got the idea from here but used a few different recipes. 

Salsa
[from this lady]

Ingredients 

• canned tomatoes
• 6 fresh jalapenos
• 3 fresh green chilies (I used Serrano cause I couldn’t find green chilies at my grocery store. I know, lame.)
• 2 bunches green onions
• 2 bunches cilantro
• 4 cloves garlic
• heaping tablespoon kosher salt (I used regular… I don’t know if that made a difference but I just forgot to buy kosher salt)

Directions:

1. Wash jalapenos and green chilies and roast them on a hot skillet. Let the skins char and blister and remove from heat.
2. Trim roots from green onions and give them a rough slice
3. Wash and drain cilantro, cut them just above the rubber band, and place them on top of green onion slices
4. Mince onions and cilantro until desired size (I cannot mince for the life of me but I tried!)
5. Remove and discard stems from chilies and peppers. Depending on how hot you want, leave seeds and veins in or take them out. Cut chilies and peppers into one inch slices.
6. Peel garlic cloves.
7. Toss garlic, chilies, and peppers into blender. Spoon tomatoes and juice until canister is about 2/3 full. Blend well.
8. Pour into mixing bowl and blend more tomatoes (it says about 2 more blenders full but I did one more)
9. Combine to onions and cilantro
10. Add kosher salt and taste.

 

Tomatillo Salsa Verde
[from here]

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb tomatillos (I used canned tomatillos)
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 1/2 cilantro leaves
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (I used bottled since that’s what I had on hand. Maybe it made a difference??)
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 2 jalapeno pepper or 2 Serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well.
   (I used canned so I skipped to the third step)
2. Roasting method Cut in half and place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin.
   Boiling method Place tomatillos in a saucepan, cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove tomatillos with a slotted spoon.
3. Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, chili peppers, sugar in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season to taste with salt. Cool in refrigerator.

 

Corn Salsa
[from here]

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can yellow corn, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can white corn, drained
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 bunch finely chopped cilantro
• 5 green onions, finely sliced
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup lime juice (again, bottled)
• 1 avocado – peeled, pitted, and diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, or to taste

Directions:

1. Stir the yellow and white corn, black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, green onion, red onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a large bowl.
2. Gently mix in the lime juice and avocado.
3. Drizzle with olive oil to serve.

 

Guacamole
from McCormick packet :)

 

ENJOY!

Garlic Lime Chicken

I tried this recipe the other night and loved it so so much! And basically, I feel super legit when I fry breaded chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves cut into strips
• 1 cup butter
• 2 medium heads garlic, diced
• 1 lime, halved (I used bottled lime juice… but maybe a fresh lime would taste better?)
• lemon pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix flour, salt and pepper together in a resealable plastic bag. Add chicken, seal bag and shake to coat. Set aside.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté 3 to 4 minutes, until it starts to change color. Sauté coated chicken strips with butter and garlic for 10 to 15 minutes, until cooked through and juices run clear.
3. Squeeze lime over chicken and sprinkle with lemon pepper. Serve hot.

ENJOY!

Hawaiian Haystacks

This is our favorite family go-to meal. Adam loves this and it’s so easy to make. [Except we never have as many toppings because Adam hates anything healthy :)] This recipe is all about the sauce. Everything else is pretty self-explanatory.

Sauce:
Ingredients

• 2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 2 cups of chicken

Directions

1. Boil chicken.
2. Use 1 cup of the chicken broth and mix with cans of soup.
3. Shred or cut chicken into cubes and add to sauce
4. Serve over rice
5. Add toppings

Toppings:

• cheese
• chow mein noodles
• pineapples
• celery
• green onions
• bell pepper
• tomatoes
• almonds
• coconut
  (these are all suggestions, you can add or experiment how you'd like)

ENJOY!

Chicken Tetrazinni

 
(did I tell you I’m so bad at taking food pictures??)

Loved this recipe!! Great new take on chicken and noodles. And it has lots of different flavor elements that make it really good!

Ingredients:

• 8 Chicken Breasts
• 1 lb. Thin Spaghetti
• 2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 2 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
• 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups Cream
• Butter
• Flour
• Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

• Cook chicken with salt and pepper. If using whole chicken, debone and reserve broth
• Cook spaghetti according to directions. Drain and pour into 9x13 baking dish
• Melt 3 Tbsp. of butter in bowl and add lemon juice. Pour over noodles.
• In large saucepan melt 4 Tbsp. butter and add 3 heaping Tbsp. of flour. Stir with whisk until blended.
• Add brother and nutmeg and continue stirring until smooth
• Remove from heat.
• Add cream and chicken. Pour over noodles and top with lots of Parmesan cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees until heated completely.

ENJOY!

Anneli’s Stroganoff

I love making this recipe as 2nd meal if we have pot roast some night. It’s really simple and really tasty!

Ingredients:

• 1-2lbs. Beef Stew Meat
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 pkg. Lipton Onion Soup Mix
• 1 cup of Sour Cream
• Noodles of choice (I like egg noodles)

Directions:

1. Combine beef, cream of mushroom soup and onion soup mix in a crock pot and cook 4-6 hours
2. Right before serving add sour cream
3. Serve over noodles

Variations:
French Dip:

• Cook meat (often a roast) with Lipton Onion Soup Mix and 1 can of water.
• Serve as French Dip sandwiches the first night and use leftover meat and au jus to make stroganoff for next meal
• For stroganoff just add soup to the meat and juice (may need to add a little flour to thicken)
• Then add sour cream
• Serve over noodles

Roast:

• Cook meat with Lipton Onion Soup Mix and 1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup (can also add other spices if desired)
• Serve as roast for first meal and use leftover meat and au jus for stroganoff
• Add sour cream for stroganoff
• Serve over noodles.

Ta-Da!!
lots of different choices out of 1 crockpot

Fettuccine Alfredo #1

One of the many recipes I have been exposed to for homemade Alfredo sauce. They all have the basics with some slight variation to them. So you can decide which is your favorite!

Ingredients:

• 1 Package of Fettuccine
• 1/2 Cup of Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 Cup of Butter
• 2/3 Cup of Light Cream or Sour Cream (I’m pretty sure I used the sour cream cause that’s what we had on hand)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package direction.
2. Melt butter in microwave.
3. With a whisk, add Parmesan cheese and light cream. Whisk together very well.
4. Pour sauce over hot pasta and toss to coat well.
5. Serve with addition Parmesan cheese. (Variation: Add a tablespoon or two of pesto before pouring over pasta.)

If I’m feeling like my little family is slacking on some good vitamins {which they always are I’m sure}, I like to add chicken, broccoli or mushrooms to the mix.

YUM!

Thanksgiving Meal: Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Cream Pie

I got my pumpkin pie recipe from Martha Stewart. Again, not a huge fan of this traditional Thanksgiving dessert but I love love LOVED it!! I even made it again a couple of weeks later. Although I put the link, here is the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 Basic Pie Crust, rolled and fitted into a 9-inch pie plate (I used a premade Pillsbury pie crust to save time and energy)
• 1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-ounce envelope)
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

The gelatin part might sound weird, but it helps the homemade whip cream keep its shape. You can’t taste it so no worries!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Press a sheet of aluminum foil onto crust, draping over rim of pie plate. To blind-bake: Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until edge of crust is firm, about 20 minutes. Remove beans and foil; let crust cool completely, and set aside.
2. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. Make filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, pie spice, vanilla, and salt; whisk in cream. Pour mixture into cooled crust; place pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until filling is set, about 1 hour. Let cool on a wire rack, 1 hour; refrigerate to cool completely, about 2 hours.
3. Make topping: Place 3 tablespoons cold water in a small saucepan; sprinkle with gelatin, and let soften, about 5 minutes. Place pan over very low heat; stir until gelatin dissolves. Let cool slightly. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream and sugar until very soft peaks form. While beating, slowly add gelatin mixture; continue to beat until soft peaks form.
4. With a rubber spatula, mound topping in center of chilled pie. Refrigerate at least 1 hour more (or up to 1 day). Sprinkle with more cinnamon before serving.
   

Take Home Gift: Potted Pumpkin Pies

I found this really cute idea for a party favor here and had to try it! I used the Martha Stewart Pumpkin Cream Pie recipe but then just put it in little mason jars for people to take with them. It was a hit!

You can find the directions here to make your own!

 

And that was our Thanksgiving Dinner!!

Hope you enjoyed the little walk through. Let me know if you try the recipes and how you like them!