Traditional Mexican Salsa

I like this salsa because it is made in the blender, making it super easy and a fun texture.

This one's for you, Meg!

4 fresh tomatoes

1 yellow onion

2 garlic cloves

2 cups canned tomatoes, drained

1 c fresh cilantro

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (red pepper)

1 tsp salt

4 Tb lime juice

Process all ingredients in your blender on low until your desired consistency. Makes about 1 quart.

A few tips:
1. This recipe tends to turn out really juicy, almost runny, if you don't make sure to get as much liquid out of the diced tomatoes as you can.
2. I also suggest de-seeding the tomatoes to reduce the liquid content even further. (I slice the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the really wet stuff before chopping them up.)
3. If you want your onions chopped smaller than the rest of it, I throw about half the tomatoes in with the onions and cilantro and pulse a few times, and then add the rest of the ingredients. That way you can avoid large onion chunks without completely pureeing the rest of the tomatoes!

4. This also makes an excellent sauce for mexican dishes (the word 'salsa' actually means 'sauce' in Spanish!) Heat and pour over rice, beans, chicken, or whatever you want!

Black Beans and Rice

Jen and I were talking about serving beans for dinner and she gave me this great idea of how to serve black beans. What I like about it is that there is no meat involved, which is what makes up the cost of most of my bean dinners. 

The night before: Rinse and sort black beans (however much you want...1-2 lbs or so) Put them in a large dutch oven or stock pot. Cover with 3 inches of water. Let soak overnight.

In the afternoon: Drain the water. (This helps cut down on the gaseousness of the beans.) Fill with fresh water and cover beans with a few inches of water. 

Add: 1-2 T bacon grease

1 chopped onion

2-4 minced garlic cloves

salt to taste

Cook on med-low for about 1 1/2-2 hours. Keep an eye on it, don't let your beans boil, this makes them crack. Also, stir them every now and then.

Next: Steam rice (for our fam of 5 I cook 1 1/2 C uncooked rice in 3 C water)

If you have grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa, or chips, bring them out. If not, don't worry, it still tastes really good. 

To serve, I put a scoop of rice in the bottom of each bowl and top with the beans, add a sprinkle of cheese, and we all enjoy it. 

Then the next day I usually spice it up a little more, since leftovers are never as good as the first serving (unless they are chocolate cake or chili). This is when I add salsa, sour cream and chips. Or it is also good rolled up in a tortilla. 

I figured this meal, without the extras, costs somewhere around $1-$3 depending on the price you get on beans. And that serves 5, with leftovers!

Gramma-Tamara Mac-N-Cheese

This is my grandmother's recipe with a serious Tamara twist. (I have this strange inability to follow a recipe exactly.) My dad always said mac-n-cheese was kind of bland, so I worked and worked until I came up with this tasty concoction. Enjoy!

Gather up...

1 pkg. elbow macaroni (or any shape that suits your fancy!)

6 Tb. butter

6 Tb. all purpose flour (or GF all purpose flour!!)

2 cloves garlic

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp onion salt

3 c. milk

handful of fresh-grated romano or parmesan cheese (the saltier the cheese, the better. If you want to use only cheddar, I'd suggest adding 1/2 tsp. salt to your sauce.)

2 generous handfuls of grated cheddar cheese (I use sharp for extra flavor)

handful of potato chips (yes, that's right. Potato chips in your macaroni.)

(In case you're bad at math, the ratio for the sauce is 

2 Tb butter : 2 Tb flour : 1 c. milk. 

Now you can make however much you want!)

Cook up your pasta. Drain and let it sit there while you make the sauce. Don't worry, it will be ok.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over med-high heat. Add the flour, the seasonings and the garlic. (smoosh the garlic through your garlic press so it's not chunky. If you don't have one, try to chop it as tiny as you can.) Stir until it starts to bubble. This takes about 5 seconds. Remove from the heat and add the milk gradually, whisking until it is smooth. Return to the heat and bring to a boil stirring often. Once it boils and thickens, remove from the heat and add the fistful of romano/parmesan and one handful of cheddar. Stir until the cheese melts and is smooth. Now comes the assembly.

In a baking dish, layer 1/3 of the pasta, cheddar, and sauce. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, ending with the cheddar on the top. (If you like yours extra-saucey, you can use all the sauce, but I always have a little too much sauce and discard the extra.) Hang on to those potato chips just a little while longer.

Bake the macaroni at 350 for 15 minutes, or until heated through and the cheese is melted. Grab those chips and crunch them up. Sprinkle them on top and pop the dish under the broiler for just a minute to get them nice and crispy, and a little golden-colored. This makes for a fun and tasty crunch on top. (Before my gluten free days I liked to use crunched-up Cheez-its as well.) 

Enjoy!!!

p.s... when I make this for us I like to boost its nutritional value a little by boiling broccoli in with the noodles, and adding some flax meal to the sauce before assembly. Add some diced up ham, or hot dogs if you wish, and it makes for a yummy casserole!

Gluten-free note: the Kroger on Timberlake has the best selection of GF noodles I've seen in town. It has the best GF selection for everything, actually. The brand "Tinkyada" is my favorite, and they have lots of shaped noodles to choose from, including elbow- macaroni. But of course, any pasta in any shape will do! 

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

These are fluffy, creamy, and everything good mashed potatoes should be. And you can make them the day before if you want to!! PERFECT for Sunday dinners!

You're going to need:

5 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 c. (8 oz.) sour cream

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 Tb. butter, divided

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large pot cover the potatoes with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook for 20-25 min or until very tender. drain well.

In large mixing bowl mash potatoes. Add remaining ingredients, saving 1 Tb. of butter. Beat until fluffy. Transfer to a greased 2 qt. baking dish, and dot the top with the remaining butter. (This is where you put it in the fridge if you are saving it for later.) Bake uncovered at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through.

These are so good!!!

Thank You Janet

Janet, this is really beautiful. I love the peachy clean look! Thank you for spicing it up for us.

Bread-Machine Pizza Dough

Combine the ingredients in a bread machine and process as directed. The recipe makes enough dough for two 12-inch pizzas.

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water (105*-115*)
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp salt
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I used 2 cups whole wheat & 1 cup white)
1 Tbs. active dry yeast

Directions:

In the bread pan of an electric bread machine, combine (in this order) the warm water, olive oil, salt, flour and yeast. Set the machine for Pizza Dough according to the manufacturer's instructions and process through the cycle.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Punch down the dough and divide in half. Form each half into a ball and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Roll out as directed in the pizza recipe. Makes two 12-inch rounds.

Kitchen Tip from Meg: You can freeze your pizza dough by wrapping in plastic wrap and then flatten a bit to store in freezer till your ready to use. Thaw on counter for most of the day.

Asparagus, Goat Cheese & Prosciutto Pizza

This is absolutely delicious! Every bite a bite of goodness! (It's from Williams-Sonoma) I'll post the Bread-Machine Pizza Dough recipe that they supplied but you may have your own favorite pizza dough recipe to use instead. Oh and don't grab the handle of the preheated cast-iron pan like I did! Ouch!

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling (I didn't think it needed "extra")
1 red onion, thickly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Dough for one 12-inch pizza, made in a bread machine (see post above)
Cornmeal for dusting
1/4 lb. goat cheese, crumbled
6 asparagus spears, ends trimmed, spears cooked until tender and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 Tbs grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 Tbs chopped fresh oregano
4 to 6 paper-thin slices prosciutto

Directions:
Place a cast-iron pizza pan in an oven and preheat to 450*

In a saute pan over medium heat, warm the 1 Tbs. olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stiring occasionally, until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer the onion to a bowl.

Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round. Lightly dust a baking peel with cornmeal and lay the dough on top. (or just wing it like I did if you don't own a peel!) Lightly brush the dough with olive oil and spread the onion on top, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Scatter the goat cheese over the onion. Scatter the asparagus on top and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and half of the oregano.

Carefully slide the pizza onto the preheated pizza pan. Bake until the bottom of the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Arrange teh prosciutto on the pizza, sprinkle with the remaining oregano and drizzle with a little oil. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serves 2.

Kitchen Tip from William-Sanoma: When buying asparagus, look for firm stalks with tips that are tightly closed. The cut end should look freshly cut and not too dried out. Cook asparagus as soon as possible after purchase. If you must store it, set the stalks upright in a glasss of water (like you would a bouquet of flowers) and refrigerate.

Whole Wheat Bread

I have been making our sandwich bread for quite awhile now, and this recipe is our favorite. 

Makes 2 loaves

2 C whole wheat flour

2 C bread flour (if you are using freshly ground flour you can grind it extra fine for this)

2 T honey

2 packages of yeast

2 1/2 tsp salt

Dump all these things in a mixer. Mix on low and add:

2 C warm water (115 degrees)

4 T melted butter

At this point I like to add in about 1/2 C cooked oatmeal (at Rachel J.'s suggestion). It really helps make the bread moist.

Then, as the mixer mixes, add 1-2 C bread flour until the dough cleans from the bowl. You can let the machine kneed the dough for about 8 minutes, or kneed by hand for 10 minutes. I have found that when I kneed by hand it turns out better, lighter. 

Turn it out into a greased bowl, cover with a dish towel and let rise about and hour, or until doubled. Next, punch down, divide, form into two loaves and place in two greased 9x5 loaf pans. Cover and let rise until the dough rises above the top of the pan. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 for 30 minutes. Remove bread from pans and let cool on a rack. Don't be too anxious to cut into it, let it cool a bit or else it will colapse as you slice. Have a warm piece with butter and honey. The rest I usually slice and put in a ziplock and freeze until needed.