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!