Salsa Recipe

We're a smooth salsa family! What I mean is, is that we prefer smooth salsa over the chunky--although, I'll eat both with gusto. I judge a Mexican restauant by the quality of its salsa. I judge the quality of the salsa by this--if it is SO good that I could just eat it with a spoon and not even need the chips! My 3 favorite restaurant salsas are as follows:

1. Chilis
2. La Carretta (Merrillville, IN)
3. Chipotle's hot salsa

These are 3 very different types of salsa, but all delicious. I have been on a quest to make my own salsa that could rival any good restaurant salsa. Jessica and I have come up with this recipe, which so far is the best homemade salsa I have made yet. My sister-in-law had a scrumptious Mexican dinner catered, and the salsa was delicious! I asked the caterer what her ingredients were, and that's why I ended up adding the cumin and oregano which were a great addition to my original recipe. My whole family has loved this recipe, and when I ask if they would change anything, they all offer a resounding, "NO!"  I hope you enjoy it as well:

Throw all of these ingredients into a food processor:

1/2  of a  28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1/3 of an onion
1 palm (the palm of your hand) full of fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/2 tbsp. cumin
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 lg. or 2 small jalapeno peppers (I just cut off the ends and chop into chunks--seeds and all)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. lime (I use either bottled lime or fresh)
3 tsp. apple cider vinegar

I whir up all these ingredients until it's smooth. Then add the remainder of the can of tomatoes and finish blending in the food processor.

We tend to go lighter on onion than most salsas do and heavier on the jalapeno than some people like, but of course, you can adjust it to your liking.

Sunday Dinner!

I couldn't help it-- I had to take pictures because Sunday dinner was worth remembering today!  The best part was eating it, but the second best part was the easy preparation.  Our friends, Lloyd and Debbie, gave us a lovely package of chuck steak, and I knew immediately that it would make some great Italian beef--and oh, was it sooooooo good. There really isn't a recipe. You can use about 4-6 lb of chuck steak or sirloin--I've even used a chuck roast (just make sure it doesn't have a lot of fat).  Throw it in the crock pot along with 1 jar of pepporcinis and let it cook a good long time--about 8 hrs. on low should do it. I have even let it cook overnight. I even got a great deal on fresh, baked hard rolls at Food 4 Less. The bakery bakes the rolls fresh every morning. They charge $1 for 3 rolls. I bought some white, wheat, and poppyseed. I made some homemade salsa on Saturday evening and a big pitcher of tea. We hate to be unsociable, but we pretty much ran home today from church and enjoyed a great meal. Hope the rest of you had a great Sunday meal too!

Taco Night

The price of ground beef in these parts of California is absolutely ridiculous! Before we left Indiana, we ate tacos once a week; I haven't made tacos one time in 7 months due to the $3 per lb. price tag. I finally came across frozen bags of hamburger patties at the local Food 4 Less, and the price was much more reasonable, so tonight I made TACOS!!!!

My husband and I thought that when we moved here, we would find great Mexican Restaurants on every corner, but I am so sad to say that that is not the case around here. We have been disappointed by wet chicken, scorched refried beans, and tasteless salsa more times than you can count. It's pretty bad when Taco Bell has the best tacos in town! Nothing against Taco Bell--in my book they have good fast food fare, but you know what I mean.

I don't have a secret taco recipe--I just use the cheapest store brand taco seasoning in the meat, tomatoes, lettuce, shredded colby-jack cheese, and flour tortillas. I think the only thing I might do that would be different is I lay the tortillas on a hot griddle until they get a little crisp. I got that idea from this little hole-in-the wall restaurant in Calumet City, Illinois.

I also made really hot salsa tonight. It was like Chipotles' hot salsa but even hotter! lol Everybody's lips were burning!

It has taken us 7 months to learn this lesson--eat tacos at home!