Salsa Fresca

Salsa Fresca

• 6 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped yellow or orange bell pepper
• 2 cups onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 3/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 3 limes, juiced
• 2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss together.   For best flavor, let salsa sit overnight to allow the flavors to blend.

Adapted from The Best Fresh Tomato Salsa on Allrecipes.


This is enough for our family and to share. :)

~ ENJOY!

Chicken for Enchiladas

1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 small can of mild chiles, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbs mole concentrate
4-5 boneless-skinless chicken thighs
1 can chicken broth

Saute onion, chiles, garlic, and salt in 2 Tbs coconut oil.  Add chicken thighs and broth, cook covered 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through.  Remove chicken from broth, shred, and return to pan.  Simmer 10 minutes, lid off.

Scrambled Eggs Southwest

I'm not sure this is a recipe so much as a scrumptious and healthy way to eat eggs. It just happens to be my favorite breakfast!

Scrambled Eggs Southwest

2-3 eggs, scrambled
1/8 - 1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1-1 Tbs guacamole
1-2 Tbs salsa

Layer all ingredients in your favorite flat bowl (plate works, too).

This is my pretty picture version.  Normally, you would see the guac and salsa schmeared all over the top of the eggs and cheese just as I'm getting ready to eat.  While it's tasty that way, it doesn't make for a great picture. :p

~ Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup

My picky eater loves soup.  She especially loves Chuy's Chicken Tortilla soup.  Unfortunately, we don't really like anything else at Chuy's, so she was out of luck until I found this recipe.  It's different from most restaurant tortilla soup and recipes I've seen because doesn't have a thick tomato base.

I adapted this recipe so I could make it with pantry items I already had on hand.  So canned tomatoes and jalapeños for fresh.  This soup is so awesome, my friend Susan blogged about it at Wild Life in the Woods.  She also posted a picture.

Some day I will buy a padlock for my slow-cooker so I can get pictures before my family demolishes the food!

Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup
adapted from America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution

Ingredients:

• 1 T. olive oil 
• 1 can tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 onion, minced 
• 1 small can chopped jalapeño peppers
• 8-10 garlic cloves
• 2 T. minced canned chipotle chile in adobo 
• 1 T. tomato paste 
• 8 c. chicken broth 
• 10 cilantro stems, tied together with twine 
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken thighs 
• Salt and pepper

Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add tomatoes, onion, and jalapeño and cook until onion is softened and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, chipotles, and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in 1 c. broth, scraping up any browned bits; transfer to slow cooker.
Stir remaining 7 c. broth and cilantro stems into slow cooker. Season chicken with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4 to 6 hours on low. 
Transfer chicken to cutting board, let cool slightly, then shred into bite-size pieces. Let soup settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon. Discard cilantro stems.
Stir in shredded chicken, and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes.
Top with crumbled queso fresco cheese, tortilla chips, avocado, sour cream, cilantro, and lime wedges.


This was a huge hit with the whole family. Even the one who grumbled about soup for dinner at two full bowls! With the toppings, this is a hearty soup that sticks to your ribs.

~ Enjoy!

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #10

 Nachos with Beef and Beans.

 Beef and Beans

• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 j, chopped (seedless for less spice)
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (don't forget the stems!)

Brown all ingredients except the black beans in a skillet over medium high heat.  After all pink is gone from the ground beef, add the can of beans and simmer about five minutes.  Add cilantro and continue to cook until all vegetables are soft.

Serve over nachos with cheese, salsa, olives, lettuce, sour cream...  whatever you like to put on your nachos.

I got this recipe from a show Rachael Ray did at least seven years ago about take-home at home.  She made fresh pico de gallo and cheese sauce based on a white sauce,  but that's too much work for us most days.  The show made me SO hungry that I ran out and bought cilantro and jalapeños, the two ingredients I was missing.  From that day forward, for the rest of the summer, I made the full nachos with the cheese sauce for my kids and their friends in our apartment complex every week.  It's easy to make for a crowd.

The beef and beans is also good inside tacos and burritos.

ENJOY!

P.S.  In case you were wondering...  I couldn't get the actual recipe because my cookbooks are being held hostage by a disassembled bunk bed. :p