Mango Chipotle Salsa

1 medium onion (bbq/broiled)
3 roma tomatoes (bbq/broiled | remove skin)
2 cloves garlic
cilantro (as much as you desire)
1 mango (remove skin and chop into strips)
2 chipotle peppers
1 jalapeno (removed seeds)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Dang skippy this salsa ROCKS! Josh loves taking the tomatoes and onion and barbecuing them first. You can get the same affect by broiling if you want.

Remove the ends of the onion and take off the outer skin. Roast it on all sides.

Roast the tomatoes on all sides and remove the skin. You can throw in some of the burnt skin into the food processor if you want a little smoked, rustic taste.

We use a food processor attachment on our kitchen aid, but a regular food processor will work. A blender does not work well with the mango, but you can make this salsa without the mango and it still tastes wonderful.

Here's a picture of the chipotle peppers we buy.

Super Fast Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles!

Here's a recipe with lots of decorating possibilities:

Sugar Cookies with Options

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 egg
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

PREPARATION:
Soften butter in microwave till it is practically melted. Put it in the kitchenaid bowl with the sugar, vanilla and egg. Then stir. Sift dry ingredients together and add them to the wet mixture. Stir until a dough is formed.

Pull off quarter-sized, up to 1 1/2-inch, pieces between palms of hands to form balls. Place on cookie sheet and smash down with the palm of your hand.

Next shake sprinkles on top of cookies or pick up cookies one at a time and dip them into a plate of sprinkles and place them back on cookie sheet.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake cookies for about 11 to 13 minutes, or until edges just begin to turn light golden brown. Watch for overbaking. Cool 1 minute, then remove from cookie sheet.


Some fun sugar coated options:

Colored Sugar
Mix a drop or more of food coloring with table sugar about 1/2 inch deep in a small Pyrex bowl. Stir until colored. Prepare several colors or tones of colors.

Ball Version
Place a ball of dough in Pyrex bowl and rotate around until covered by colored sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Mash down with your the palm of your hand or the bottom of a drinking glass.

Really Lazy Version
Shape dough into a roll as evenly as possible. Cut into 1/4-inch slices, place on ungreased cookie sheet and dust with colored sugar or other bottled decorations.

Decorative Version
Roll chilled dough out flat and 1/4-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to make shapes. For leaves, cut them freehand. Dust with bottled decorations or colored sugar.

Amazing Pesto Sauce Recipe!

Recipe for Basil Pesto:

1 1/2 cup Basil – before chopping
3 Tablespoons Pine Nuts (You can use any nut substitute, almonds, walnuts; ALMONDS ROCK!)
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Small clove of garlic

Throw all of this in a blender or a food processor and grind it to your desired thickness. This recipe makes one cup of prepared pesto. You can pour it over pasta, use it as a pizza sauce, a dip, whatever you want! You can also freeze it and use it later.

Coconut Curry Chicken

Dang Skippy this is a YUMMY recipe!

Chicken Curry

• 3 teaspoon(s) vegetable oil
• 12 ounce(s) skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves, cut into 1-inch chunks (2 chicken breasts)
• 1 medium potato cut into small cubes
• Salt
• 1 medium (6 to 8 ounces) onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium (6 to 8 ounces) red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) (from about 1/2 chile) minced jalepeño chile
• 2 teaspoon(s) grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2 clove(s) garlic, crushed with press
• 2 tablespoon(s) curry powder (We like a strong flavor, for a milder flavor use 1 TBS)
• 1 can (14oz) light coconut milk

Directions

1. In 10-inch skillet, heat 3 teaspoons oil on medium-high until hot. Put in potato cubes and let them turn a little crispy (about 2-3 minutes) Toss in onion and chicken. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt; Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally so the onion is softened.

2. To same skillet, Stir in pepper, jalapeño, ginger, and garlic; cook 1 minute or until fragrant, stirring. Stir in curry powder; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in coconut milk, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet.

3. Put a lid on your skillet and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Serve this over white or brown rice or couscous.

California Pizza Kitchen Dough Recipe

Makes dough for two 9-inch pizzas

Basic Pizza Dough:
1 1/2 c. warm (105-115 degrees) water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 1/2 c. flour

In a large bowl (the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.

Add oil and salt then stir. Add 1 1/2 c. flour and mix well (Use the mixing paddle attachment because the batch size is too small for the dough hook to be effective. If you double the recipe use the dough hook). Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups, depending on your elevation and your humidity) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.

Spray a glass or metal bowl with cooking spray and place dough in the bowl.
Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.



TIME TO COOK
Preheat your oven (and your pizza stone, if you want) to 425 degrees. While oven is heating, punch down dough and shape into a disc. Spray your work surface, rolling pin, and pizza stone with non-stick cooking spray. Place dough disc onto work surface. Roll and shape into a circle. (Disregard all of this, by the way, if you’re a stinking dough-thrower). Very gently transfer the dough onto your pizza stone and continue to shape up to the edges of the stone.

4. Using a fork, prick several holes in the crust. Drizzle crust with a little olive oil…

and brush all the way up to the edges. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Both oiling and garlic salting the crust help crisp it up, give it a great flavor, and keep it from getting soggy in the middle.
5. Bake crust in preheated convection oven for 5 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven.

6. Spread a layer of sauce (if desired) over the surface of the crust. Top with whatever toppings you like (I do the flat stuff, i.e. the meat, first).   Sara does a layer of cheese first to “glue” on the toppings and then tops with a bit extra after.

Then sprinkle with oregano.

7. Return crust to oven and bake 10-12 more minutes or until cheese is melty and the crust is golden brown.

And there you have it. Beautiful pizza, completely non-doughy in the middle, a little crispy on the edges and chewy on the inside.

Crockpot Sweet Salsa Shredded Pork

Ingredients

salt and pepper to taste
4 pounds boneless pork loin roast (you can substitute 4lbs of chicken and it's still fabulous)
2 Tbs butter
1 cup salsa
1/2 brown sugar



CROCKPOT

Season the pork with salt and pepper.  Place the butter in a pan over medium heat and then pan sear the pork.  Put the pork in the crock pot and pour 1 cup of salsa and 1/2 of brown sugar on top.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Shred with a fork and let it sit for 30 minutes and serve.

Texas Style Turkey Tacos

1 pound of turkey meat

1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon of garlic salt

1. Put the meat in a saucepan and add water to make the meat a little mushy. Stir in chili powder and garlic salt and place pan over medium heat. When mixture comes to a boil, decrease the heat and simmer until the meat is completely cooked. Add water if necessary; the meat should still be a little mushy when you serve it. Add salt to taste.

Serve this in corn or flour tortillas with some pinto beans, homemade salsa or guacamole!

Easy Lasagna

1 lb of ground turkey

1 (26-ounce) jar of meatless spaghetti sauce

1 lb of uncooked lasagna noodles

1 (24-ounce) container of low fat cottage cheese

1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1/4 tsp of ground black pepper

2 cups of mozzarella cheese

1. Brown the turkey in a large skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce and simmer for 10 minutes

2. Remove 8 noodles from package and cook according to package directions. Drain and lay out the cooked noodles on a 15 inch sheet of tin foil. (You will use the foil to cover the baking dish)

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 baking dish

4. Mix cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs and pepper in large bowl.

5. Assemble the lasagna, spread 1/2 of the meat sauce in the baking dish. Arrange 4 noodles length wise over the sauce. Spread half of the cheese mixture and sprinkle 1/2 of mozzarella cheese over the pasta. Repeat one more time.

6. Cover with foil and bake 35-45 minutes till bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

You can prepare this ahead and freeze it or store it in the fridge for 2 days. If you freeze it let it complete thaw in the fridge before baking. Bake an extra 10-15 minutes longer than directed above.

Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 1/4 pounds potatoes
Splash of milk
1 Tbsp. butter
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sprig fresh rosemary
Olive oil

Directions

Scrub your potatoes clean, cut them in half, and put them into a pan of salted, boiling water. Boil for about 10 minutes until tender. Stick a knife into them to check they're soft all the way through. Drain in a colander and return them to the pan. Add the milk, butter, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mash until smooth and creamy, adding another splash of milk if necessary. Pick a rosemary leaves off the woody stalk and lightly push them into the potato. You can drizzle with a little olive oil, or use olive oil instead of butter.

This recipe is taken from Jamie's Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver (Hyperion). © Jamie Oliver, 2009

BBQ Taco Chicken

Taco Chicken
Click to print recipe text only

1 lb. chicken breasts or thighs
A couple of juicy limes
A splash of red wine vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or coarsely chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Juice the limes and combine with a couple splashes of red wine vinegar. Add garlic. Pour over chicken. This will not completely cover the chicken; just turn it occasionally as needed. Marinate for at least 4 hours, no longer than 8.

Heat an outdoor grill (you can also use a grill pan inside. Or your broiler in your oven.) Combine salt, chili powder, cumin, and black pepper in a small bowl. Remove chicken from marinade and rub the spices all over the chicken. Isn't raw meat disgusting-looking?


Grill about 7 minutes per side.

Remove from heat and allow to stand a few minutes so it doesn't lose its juiciness. You can either eat the chicken as it is, maybe with Mexican rice and beans, or use slice it up and use it as you would taco meat.

This recipe is from: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/taco-chicken.html

HOT AIR CARAMEL POPCORN

• 1⁄2 cup of popcorn kernels popped
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1⁄4 cup white Karo syrup
• 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda (depending on how long you bake it for)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla

Cook butter, sugar and Karo on medium heat until it boils…Boil for 2 minutes, then take it off heat and add 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda, then add 1⁄2 teaspoon of vanilla.

Pour caramel over popcorn in a bowl. Next spread it on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 for 10 to 30 minutes depending on how crunchy you would like the popcorn. Take popcorn out and stir it around and put it back in for another 10 minutes until you've done it for a total of 30 minutes. My family likes it gooey so we DO NOT bake the popcorn, we just dump the caramel on top, stir it around and eat it!!

*Cool tip* You can take 1⁄4 a cup of popcorn kernels and put them in a paper lunch sack taped shut and pop for about 1 min and 40 seconds in the microwave. Do that twice and you have a ton of fresh popcorn to dump the caramel over.

Jen's Yummy Salsa

• 1 medium tomato
• 2 avocados
• 1 cup of sweet corn 
• 1 bunch of green onions
• 1 can of black beans
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• *fresh lemon juice from one lemon
• Tapatio Sauce to taste 
• Season with salt and pepper to taste

Place drained black beans and corn into a large bowl.
Dice up the tomato and green onions and add them in the bowl.
Add in the minced garlic.
Season with the salt, pepper, and tapatio sauce to taste.
Mix everything around and then taste it to check seasoning.

Add chopped avocado.  Season it with salt, pepper, and the lemon juice. Mix it around one more time (I put the avocado in last so the little diced pieces don’t get all mushy in the initial mixing process).

Mexican Rice

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
• 2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Add all ingredients to list

Directions

• Prep
  5 m
• Cook
  25 m
• Ready In
  30 m

1. Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin.
2. Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
3. 
   

Super Easy Enchilada Casserole

• 9x13 pan
• 1o ounces Homemade enchilada sauce (recipe here)
• Prepared Chicken filling (recipe here)
• 2 cups of mozzarella cheese
• 1 Tbs of canola or olive oil
• Bag of corn tortillas
• Tin Foil

Put a very thin layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the 9x13 pan. Just enough to coat it.

Lay down corn tortillas, you can overlap them. I usually have 6.

Cover the tortillas with a thin layer of enchilada sauce.

Next layer with chicken mixture

Next layer with mozzarella cheese

Lay down another layer or tortillas

Put enchilada sauce on top

Put another layer of cheese (At this step you can repeat steps 5-7, but I usually don't I just build another 9x13 if I need to feed a lot of people)

Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 mins at 375 degrees.

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

• 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup (4 ounces) grated Parmesan
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme

Heat oven to 400° F.

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients. Transfer to a roasting pan or 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Roast, stirring once, until golden brown and crisp, about 50 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.


Yield: Makes 4 servings

Chicken and mixed vegetable stir-fry with noodles recipe Gordon Ramsay

Serves 4
Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut onto the diagonal into strip 1 cm (1/2 in) wide
• Vegetable oil
• Sesame oil
• 1 garlic cloves
• 2 carrots, peeled
• ½ red pepper
• ½ yellow pepper
• ½ green pepper
• 2 celery stalks
• 200g bean sprouts
• 1 tbsp dark soya sauce
• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• Sesame seeds, toasted
• Egg noodles
• Method: How to make chicken and mixed vegetable stir-fry

Cook the noodles in a large pan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes until soft.

Whilst the noodles are boiling, slice 2 carrots, half of each red, yellow and green pepper into slices and 2 celery stalks, keeping them separate.

Once the noodles are cooked. Drain and return to the saucepan. Toss well in vegetable oil and set aside. Cover with a tea towel.

Heat a wok until very hot, then add 2 tbsp of vegetable and sesame oil. Add 1 chopped garlic clove after 30 seconds. Toss in the sliced peppers and carrots and stir-fry for another 30 seconds, then add the sliced celery and 200g bean sprouts. Add another splash of soya sauce and then take out of the wok and set to one side.

Add another tablespoon vegetable and sesame oil to the pan. Add the chicken and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until it loses its colour. When the chicken is ready add the vegetable back to the wok with the noodles and toasted sesame seeds. Stir in the soya sauce and oyster sauce. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly and serve immediately.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Serves 4

This baked version of taquitos is healthier and less mess in the kitchen than the traditional fried ones. The flavorful chicken filling makes great tacos as well. Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole. Leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken is perfect for the filling.
Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil, more for brushing tortillas
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 cups shredded cooked chicken meat
2 cups low-sodium, gluten-free chicken broth
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 cup crumbled queso fresco or shredded Monterey jack or cheddar
Method

Preheat oven to 425°F and oil a baking sheet. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add onion and cook until starting to soften and turn translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, paprika and salt. Stir to combine and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer, until fragrant. Take from heat and stir in cilantro and chicken. Set aside.

Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a skillet or pot wide enough to hold tortillas. When broth simmers, dip tortillas briefly, one at a time, just to soften, 1 to 2 seconds. Lay tortilla on a work surface and spread 2 or 3 tablespoons chicken mixture over bottom third. Top with a tablespoon of cheese and roll up. Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Spray or brush tortillas lightly with oil and bake until crisp and lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
Nutrition

Per serving (About 3 taquitos/376g-wt.): 450 calories (150 from fat), 17g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 33g protein, 44g total carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 3g sugar), 85mg cholesterol, 540mg sodium

Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Servings: Serves 4

Ingredients:

Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes , peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. dried Italian herb seasoning
Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil coated with cooking spray.

Spread the sweet potato strips out onto the baking sheet in a single layer, coat with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and spices, turning them over to evenly coat on all sides with oil and spices.

Bake for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes with spatula. Serve warm.