Fresh Homemade Salsa

It's that time of year when fresh fruit and vegetables are in-season and home gardens are in full bloom.  While I don't mind jarred salsa, there really isn't anything that can compare to fresh homemade salsa.  Now my mom used to make up huge batches, first cooking it then freezing or canning loads of jars to last throughout the year.  But honestly I love chucking loads of great fresh ingredients in the blender and eating it right away with some tasty tortilla chips!!!  Here is how my hubby and I like to make garden fresh homemade salsa:

Ingredients:
6-7 fresh Roma tomatoes or 3-4 beefy-salsa style tomatoes (enough when rough cut that it equals about  4 cups)
leaves from about 8-10 springs of fresh cilantro (aka coriander in other lovely parts of the world)
the juice from 1/2 a fresh lime
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes or 1 small fresh chili pepper diced up (about 1 tsp)

Method:

Chuck everything in your blender (or your food processor) and "chop" until it all gets minced up and blends well together.  Do a quick taste test and add more of anything else that fits to your taste.  If you want it a bit hotter add some more chili pepper and cumin, a little more acidic add more lime juice, or more of that great tingy taste of the cilantro. Add in and blend a little more until incorporated.

Pour in a container that you can cover and put in the fridge to cool....or if you just can't wait spoon some into a little dish and start eating it right away.

Yields about 4 cups and stores in the fridge well for about a week or two (if you don't end up eating it all first!).

Loaded Potato Skins

Love those loaded potato skins you can get at your favorite restaurant or from the freezer aisle...well, you can make them for so much less and they taste so much better with fresh ingredients.  These little guys are perfect to make up as appetizers for a get together or to have while watching the big game.  For those of you who are little more health conscious with this fat loaded treat you can easily substitute turkey bacon and a low fat cheese into this recipe and it tastes just as great.

Ingredients:
















4 medium sized potatoes (I use about any kind of potato, even red ones)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 lb bacon, fried and chopped up
3 green onions, finely chopped
salt and pepper
sour cream - to serve with

Method:

Wash potatoes and bake in microwave for about 7-10 minutes or until they are soft to the touch.  Let cool or if you are like me I don't wait too long.  I hold the hot potato a hot pad in my hand. Cut the potato in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides leaving about 1/4" of potato layer inside the skins.

Place the potato shells on a baking sheet. 

Divide out the bacon into the shells.  Then sprinkle on cheddar cheese in each shell.

Finally sprinkle on a couple green onion pieces on top and salt and pepper the skins to taste.

Put the potato skins in a preheated oven of 400 F for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly bubbling.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Chicken Satay

One of my favorite starters which I love to have before a Chinese meal or during a summer BBQ.  This  marinade has a nutty flavor to it and when you dip it in some good satay sauce it's a match made in heaven.  I usually use a premix for the marinade which you can often pick up at any Asian supermarket.  The kind I get is the Lobo brand.  It comes with two packets inside.  Packet A usually gets added to water or coconut milk to make the marinade.  You can use packet B to make the satay sauce, but I usually like the pre-made stuff in a jar....I know I totally go against my principles of trying to make things from scratch but this is my way of getting a great Chinese treat without having to go to a restaurant to get it.

Ingredients:

1 lb (500 g) chicken (boneless, skinless breast or thigh meat)
1 packet of Satay premix (use packet A)
¼ cup or 60 ml coconut milk or water (look on the instructions)

Method:

Cut up chicken into bite sized chunks (about 1").

Mix Packet A with coconut milk and add chicken. Marinate for at least 1 hour.

Thread the chicken onto skewers.

Grill or cook under a hot broiler in the oven until done (a few minutes on each side).

Serve with warm satay sauce to dip in.

Roasted Tomatoes with Garlic, Gargonzola Cheese and Herbs

While watching the Food Network one day I saw Giada and she made these lovely looking roasted tomatoes for a spa day and I thought they looked amazing.  I copied down the recipe and finally tried them out for myself and I'm in love.  I'm not a huge blue cheese fan, but the Gorgonzola was mild and with the bread crumbs, garlic and the roasted tomato, it all just melts together in your mouth.  These would be perfect to serve as an appetizer at a party, something to share with your girly friends, or as a side with a special Italian dinner at home with your someone special.

Ingredients:
















12 Roma tomatoes, sliced in 1/2 lengthwise
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
3/4 cup finely crumbled Gorgonzola or grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.















Using a teaspoon or grapefruit spoon, remove the seeds from the tomatoes.















Place the tomato halves, cut side down, on paper towels to drain, about 5 minutes.















In a large bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Using clean hands, gently toss the drained tomato halves in the oil mixture until coated. Marinate the tomatoes for 10 minutes.





















In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and Gorgonzola cheese.















Place the marinated tomato halves, cut side up, on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Fill each tomato half with the bread crumb filling.















Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until slightly softened and the underside of the tomatoes are brown.
















Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and arrange the cooked tomatoes on a serving platter. Serve immediately.

Chex Mix - Classic Style

An American holiday time classic treat - Chex Mix. This year I wanted to make some special American goodies for my British friends so this fall I imported some special ingredients like Chex cereal. The closest thing you will find in England to Chex cereal is Shreddies, but it's really not the same. I could only fit two boxes in my suit case so I used corn and wheat chex in this recipe. The nice thing about Chex Mix is that you can throw in anything you like to snack on so when you can't find one ingredient you can substitute another. I couldn't find the bagel chips so I used the mini savory crackers instead, but my husband says if you can't find the original stuff you shouldn't put it in, so another thing that is great about Chex Mix is that you can pick and choose the bits you like out of it as you graze over a big bowl of it. Here is the Original Chex Mix recipe and when I made mine I doubled the whole recipe.

Ingredients:

3 cups Corn Chex® cereal
3 cups Rice Chex® cereal
3 cups Wheat Chex® cereal
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup bite-size pretzels
1 cup garlic-flavor bite-size bagel chips or regular-size bagel chips, broken into 1-inch pieces
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Method: (Oven Directions)

Heat oven to 250°F (120 C).

In large bowl, mix cereals, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips; set aside.

In ungreased large roasting pan, melt butter in oven.

Stir in seasonings.

Gradually stir in cereal mixture until evenly coated.

Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Spread on paper towels to cool, about 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.

Microwave Directions:

In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips; set aside.

In small microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on High about 40 seconds or until melted. Stir in seasonings. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evenly coated.

Microwave uncovered on High 5 to 6 minutes, thoroughly stirring every 2 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.

Kick Up Your Philly

While living in the UK I have come to absolutely love anything flavored with sweet chili like the dipping sauces for my Chicken Selects at McD's, Walkers Selection Crisps with Sweet Thai Chili flavoring, and now Kraft has kicked it up a notch and added it to their delectable Philadelphia cream cheese.

As I was cruising through the grocery store trying to find a quick and easy, but unique snack for an informal dinner with friends I thought this would be something fun to try out.

So I pulled out my bamboo cracker tray from Pampered Chef and one of my new snack bowls to fill up with the Sweet Chili Philly. Then I kicked it up by drizzling some sweet chili sauce on top. What a fun way to make something simple to be simply amazing! You could try using other flavored cream cheeses and top them with fresh toppings of what it's flavored like.

Bruschetta

Bruschetta is one of my favorite savory starters to have before a yummy pasta dish. I found this recipe in a magazine on a Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil ad and it is so wonderful and simple.

Ingredients:

10 large fresh basil leaves, chopped or 1/2 tsp dried basil

2 cups roma (plum) tomatoes, seeded and chopped (about 1 lb)

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

1 loaf French baguette

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Stack (5) basil leaves one on top of the other. Roll up.

Slice crosswise thinly. Repeat on remaining basil.

Deseed tomatoes by cutting them in half and squeeze out the seeds.

Dice up the deseeded tomatoes.

Combine tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and sliced basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine olive oil and garlic in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds. Cut bread into slightly angled 1/4 inch pieces.

Brush with olive oil mixture and place on baking pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown.

Just before serving, drain excess liquid from tomatoes. Spoon mixture evenly over bread slices.

Crab Rangoons

It is amazing how each country adapts another countries cuisine. In England you can't find anything like a crab rangoon which are an almost staple at any American Chinese restaurant, so I found a way to make them here. They were so yummy and great dipped in Thai Chili sauces.

Ingredients:

300 g Philadelphia cream cheese

3 spring onions, finely chopped

4 seafood/crab sticks, finely chopped

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

40 Wonton wrappers

Method:

Mix together cream cheese, crab meat, onion, Worcestershire sauce until creamy.

Lay out wonton wrapper with corners pointing towards you. Use finger to dip in water to wet the edges on the top two edges.

Fold down the wrapper and seal the edges. Deep fry the wontons hot oil until puffed up and golden in color.

Spring Rolls

These are my absolute favorite Chinese finger foods and how I got introduced to Thai Sweet Chili sauce. I never ate an egg roll while living in the States, but I assume that these are quite similar. You can fill them with loads of different things but this is the recipe that my dear friend Min taught to me and they are a hit every time I make them. What's really nice is you can make up one big batch and then freeze the extras.

Ingredients:

40 spring roll wrappers
2 Tbsp plain flour mixed to a paste with water
sunflower oil, for deep-frying

Filling:
6 dried Chinese mushrooms
1-2 medium carrots, shredded
1 cup sweet corn
1 cup frozen peas
4 spring onions, finely chopped
1 can water chestnuts, finely chopped
1 can bamboo shoots, sliced and cut in half
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tsp rice wine
2-3 shakes of sesame oil
2 tsp light soy sauce
dash of white pepper
2 Tbsp oyster sauce

You can find spring roll pastry in almost any Asian supermarket. I like these ones because when deep fried they end up light and crispy. You can also use wonton wrappers to make much smaller spring rolls.

This is what the dried Chinese mushrooms look like.

With all of the ingredients involved in this recipe it is best to get everything chopped and shredded as directed and ready to go before you even heat up the oil in the wok.

Method:

Soak mushrooms for 30 minutes in warm water. Squeeze out water and cut off and discard woody stem. Mince the caps of the mushrooms

Heat 1-2 Tbsp of oil in a wok. Stir-fry onion, carrot, and mushroom for a few minutes.

Add in water chestnuts, peas, and corn and stir for a couple minutes.

Then increase heat and add rice wine, bamboo shoots, sesame oil, soy sauce, pepper, and oyster sauce.

Add green onion and toss for 1 minute.

Spread on platter to cool quickly.

Separate spring roll wrappers. Place a wrapper on the work surface with one corner nearest you. Spoon some of the filling near the center of the wrapper - I usually use about 1 1/2 tablespoons of mix in each wrapper for big ones and a generous teaspoon in the small wonton wrappers.

Fold the nearest corner over the filling.

Turn the sides to the middle and roll up.

Smear a little of the flour paste on the corner and fold on to itself.

Repeat this procedure with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Deep fry the spring rolls in batches until they are crisp and golden. Drain and serve at once with dipping sauce.