Hot and Smoky Salsa

This is another recipe that comes to us from Texas. The original recipe used three large cans of tomatoes and made enough salsa for a small army. I adjusted the recipe to make a smaller batch. This is the salsa recipe I go to when I want something spicy or hot. It is also wonderfully smoky from the cumin. Dear sister thought it had chipotle peppers in it. I broke the news to her that it was cumin. She is not a cumin fan but really loved this salsa. I found it a really well balanced recipe. There really isn't one ingredient that shines more than the other. They all work so well together.

Hot and Smoky Salsa

Makes 4 cups

Ingredients

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

1 Serrano pepper, roughly chopped

1/3 bunch of cilantro

3/4 tsp ground cumin

1 heaping tsp kosher salt

1 tsp onion powder

1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes

Directions

Add all ingredients except tomatoes to blender container. Drain the liquid from the tomatoes into the blender. Set tomatoes aside. Blend until ingredients are very smooth. Add the tomatoes and pulse until blended. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Note: I find this salsa is great right out of the blender. It is better once chilled. But be warned the heat of the Serrano can intensify the longer it sits in the refrigerator.

Linking to:
The Tumbleweed Contessa: Spicy! Saturday Dishes Linky Party

Shrimp Chili Rellenos Tacos

Hello there! Sorry, I have been working a lot. Not much cooking going on. I am trying to finish a design project for a client. Yesterday I wrapped things up for awhile and got back in the kitchen. 

Last Wednesday, I got to thinking I should try using shrimp in my Chili Relleno Taco recipe. Yes I think about recipes while I work sometimes. I did experiment Saturday making one Shrimp Chili Relleno Taco. It was amazing! So yesterday, I had dear sister over to share my experiment. We made Salty Chihuahuas and another salsa recipe (I will post later). I also tried the new shrimp tacos out on her. She loved it too. She said, "I can't believe how good they are. They are better than I thought they would be. I think the marinade is perfect on the shrimp." I agree! I think I like the shrimp relleno taco better than the chicken version. My next experiment will be Mushroom Chili Rellenos Tacos. You won't have to wait for long. I already bought the ingredients. So stay close by.

Shrimp Chili Rellenos Tacos

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 poblano peppers

20 shrimp, peeled, deveined and marinated [Click here for Marinade recipe]

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

4 small flour tortillas

Directions

Set 4 skewers in water to soak [Click here for a tip on soaking skewers]. Pre-heat grill to medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Marinate shrimp 10-15 minutes before ready to cook. Rub poblano peppers with a little vegetable oil. Poblanos should be left whole. Place poblanos on the grill. Grill for five minutes on each side on medium high heat. Remove poblanos and cover with plastic wrap. Thread 5 shrimp on each skewer. Grill shrimp for 4 minutes, 2 minutes a side. When poblanos are cool enough to touch, peel off the skin of poblanos. Cut poblanos in half from stem to tip, remove seeds, stem and veins being careful not to split open the sides of the pepper. Place a flour tortilla on a sheet of parchment paper, place a poblano half on top. Fill poblano with 5 shrimp and 1/4 cup of cheese, fold tortilla around poblano and wrap in parchment. Place 2 parchment wrapped tacos on a microwave safe plate. Microwave 45 seconds to 1 minute until cheese has melted and tortilla is soft and warm. Serve.

Click here for the original Chili Rellenos Tacos post.

Linking to:

Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo

Memories by the Mile: Tuesday Trivia - North Carolina and Linky Party

Anyonita's Nibbles: Tasty Tuesdays
Love Bakes Good Cakes: All My Bloggy Friends
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays

Marinated Mushroom Salad

This is yet another recipe I copied from the WW Recipe Review Board. I decided to see if I could find it's origin. It turns out it is also a recipe from Taste of Home [Click Here for the Original Recipe]. I love mushrooms! So any recipe that uses three pounds of mushrooms appeals to me. The fact that it has olives too does hurt. This salad is delicious the only problem is you have to be patient. It really does need to refrigerate overnight. All that time marinating is what makes the mushrooms so delicious. It reminds me of a mushroom salad you might find on a nice salad bar. It has lots of fresh crunchy vegetables too. I like parsley, so I add a little more parsley than the original recipe. It gives a fresh herb flavor to the dressing. This is really a great summer side salad.

Marinated Mushroom Salad
Adapted from: Taste of Home
Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients

2-1/2 quarts water

3 Tbsp lemon juice

3 lbs small fresh mushrooms

2 carrots, sliced

2 celery ribs, sliced

1/2 medium green pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

1/2 cup sliced stuffed olives

1 can (2-1/4 oz) sliced black olives, drained
Salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste

For dressing:

1/2 cup fat free Italian dressing

1/2 cup red or white wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Directions

In a large saucepan, bring water and lemon juice to a boil. Add mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and cool. Place mushrooms in a large bowl with carrots, celery, green pepper, onion, parsley and olives. Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar with tight fitting lid; shake or mix well. Pour over salad. Cover and refrigerate overnight, stirring occasionally.

Veggies + Fruit = Delicious Salads

I have discovered I really like combination veggie and fruit salads. It all started with some of Mark Bittman's recipes for 101 Simple Salads. In many of his salads he combined veggies and fruit. Some of my favorites are:

1. Grate carrots, toast some sunflower seeds, and toss with blueberries, olive oil, lemon juice and plenty of black pepper. Sweet, sour, crunchy, soft.
2. Cut cherry or grape tomatoes in half; toss with soy sauce, a bit of dark sesame oil and basil or cilantro. I love this — the tomato juice-soy thing is incredible. (Ok, no fruit in this one but it is too good not to share.)
3. Cube watermelon and combine with tomato chunks, basil and basic vinaigrette. You can substitute peach for the watermelon or the tomato (but not both).
4. Mix wedges of tomatoes and peaches, add slivers of red onion, a few red-pepper flakes and cilantro. Dress with olive oil and lime or lemon juice. Astonishing.

Then Hungry Girl added cucumber to her fruit salad. She calls it Ginormous Fruit Salad Surprise. The surprise to me is that the cucumber tastes a little like melon when combined with the fruit. Delicious!

So when I saw this Zucchini Apple Salad in Taste of Home I knew I had to try it. It did not disappoint. It is sweet, tangy and crunchy. I knew I would like zucchini and apples. But I wasn't sure about Italian dressing and apples, I really like it! Sort of a sweet and sour thing. It is more apparent freshly made. It mellows the longer it sits in the refrigerator. Any of these salads would be great to take for lunch or to a pot luck.

If you have any favorite veggie and fruit combinations I would love to hear about them.

Zucchini Apple Salad

Source: Taste of Home

6 Servings

Ingredients

2 medium red apples, chopped

2 small zucchini, chopped

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

2/3 cup Italian salad dressing

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the apples, zucchini and walnuts. Add salad dressing; toss to coat. Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 2/3 cup (prepared with fat-free salad dressing) equals 114 calories, 6 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 383 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1 fat, 1/2 fruit.

Tomato and Swiss Cheese Melt

This is perhaps one of those non-recipe recipes. It is a breakfast idea I got at a WW meeting many years ago. I love the Swiss cheese with the tomato. American is not bad too. But the Swiss version is my favorite. It is a go to breakfast when tomatoes are at their peak. 

Tomato and Swiss Cheese Melt

Serves 1

Ingredients

1 - 100 cal. English muffin

2 slices Swiss cheese(2% if you can find it or ultra thin slices)

2 slices of tomato

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Slice muffin in half and toast. Season tomato with salt and pepper to taste. Place one tomato slice and one cheese slice on each muffin half. Place under a broiler or in a toaster oven until cheese melts.

Variation: Use American cheese or your favorite cheese. You can use the microwave to melt the cheese, but the English muffin will not stay crisp.

Boiled Cabbage and Sausage

This recipe was a staple in my house growing up. It was a quick one pot meal Mom could get on the table on a week night. I know now that this is called a "Boiled Dinner". We always called it "Boiled Cabbage and Sausage". The sausage and onions really give this meal all it's flavor. Starting with cold water and bringing it to a boil pulls the spice from the smoke sausage and flavors the pot. Mom always served this meal with butter and vinegar on the table. Butter was great on everything. But the vinegar was great on the cabbage. I decided to get fancy with the recipe and I added a bay leaf, some thyme sprigs and pepper to the pot this time. To be honest I really did not see much of a difference. Some recipes are just fine and should be left alone.

Boiled Cabbage and Sausage

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 head of Cabbage, quartered with core/stem trimmed but intact

1 lb smoked sausage, cut into 2” pieces

4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2” pieces

4 small onions, peeled and halved with root attached

8 new red potatoes

1 tsp salt

Optional ingredients:

Black pepper

Red pepper flakes

1 bay leaf

2-3 sprigs of thyme

Directions

Place all ingredients in a large pot, fill with water just to cover. Bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are fork tender, approximately 20 minutes. Drain and serve.

Linking to:
Rediscovering Lost Arts from Our Mothers:Tried and True Family Recipes

Creamy Mac and Cheese

Oh boy! Did I make a mess with this recipe Friday. I had everything timed out perfectly. The Turkey Burgers and the Creamy Mac and Cheese would be finished at the same time. Then it happened. I went to drain the cooked elbow macaroni and I dumped the entire thing into the sink. Ooops! I am so glad I had penne in the pantry. The good news is now I know this recipe is delicious with elbows, shells and penne. This recipe is adapted from a Southern Living recipe. The original recipe used all full fat ingredients and refrigerated Alfredo sauce. I find you don't miss the fat at all. It is creamy and so easy. I like that you automatically get a two cheese mac and cheese by using the Alfredo sauce. You can customize the recipe and use any cheese or pasta shape you like. This is a very flexible and delicious recipe. 

Creamy Mac and Cheese
Adapted from: Southern Living

Makes 2 to 3 main-dish or 4 to 6 side-dish servings

Ingredients

1 (8 oz) package elbow macaroni (2 cups dry)

1 (15 oz) jar light Alfredo sauce

1/2 cup 1% milk

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 (8 oz) 2 % sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

Parsley, roughly chopped (optional)

Directions

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.

Bring Alfredo sauce and next 4 ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted. Stir in cooked pasta. Serve garnished with parsley. 

Linking to:
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Ms.enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - American Favorites