Salsa

It's been a while since I posted a recipe and I have a couple that I just haven't gotten to yet but today is salsa day and it's worthy of a repost. I rarely make the same version twice...I guess I'm still tweaking it for the perfect jar but this version is getting close. The original recipe was posted a year ago, I'll just post the orginal recipe and today's modifications for now.

Salsa
10 quarts of tomatoes, skinned and chopped
6 c. onions chopped
4 cans (small) diced green chilies
1 large green pepper chopped
1 1/2 c. jalapeno peppers chopped fine (I usually leave most of the ribs and seeds)
1/2 c. vinegar
1/4 c. sugar (you may need more depending on how ripe your tomatoes are)
4 T. salt
4 t. oregano
4 t. cumin
1 large handful cilantro chopped (a couple T if using dried)
5-6 cloves garlic (sometimes I leave this out if I don't have fresh)
1/2 c. oil
12 oz. tomato paste
1 t. crushed red pepper
Tabasco (to fine tune the heat at the end if needed)

Blanch the tomatoes and slip the skins. Seed if desired. I run mine through the blender quickly because my family doesn't do chunks very well. Mix all together and simmer until desired consistency (1 1/2-2 hours). Fill jars and adjust lids. Process in water bath for 45 min or in a pressure cooker on 15 lbs for 10 minutes.

10-2-10 Update
5 1/2  blenders full of tomatoes (1/2 bushel)
6 1/2 c. onion
4 cans green chiles
8 small jalepenos-leave ribs and seeds
2 med Anaheim peppers
4 Serano Peppers w/ribs and seeds
2 lg green peppers
1/2 c vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. lime juice
4 T. salt
4 t. oregano
5 t. cumin
1 bunch cilantro chopped
 2 t. red pepper flakes
4 heaping t. garlic powder
12 oz tomato paste

Yum. :)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yes, I'm still on a diet...so what do I do? Make cookies to torture myself! I'm taking cookies to a party on Sunday and am tired of all the same old recipes that I usually take so I decided to experiment by combining a few of them. I love peanut butter bars and peanut butter cookies so I wanted to kind of combine the 2. This is what I came up with and I think it is dead on.

This recipe makes a zillion cookies but they freeze well. Ok, maybe not a zillion but truly 7 doz or so. I think the next time I do it I am going to try freezing half of the dough to see how that works. It's awesome to be able to just pull dough out of the freezer and bake. *hmmm*

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
7 doz

3 sticks butter
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
1 1/2 c. peanut butter (I used creamy because that's what I had but chunky would be good too)
1 T. vanilla
3 eggs
3 c. flour
1 T. baking soda
1 t. salt (I like sea salt or Kosher)
1 1/2 c. oatmeal
1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
1 c. milk chocolate chips
1 c. peanut butter chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together butter and sugars. Add peanut butter, vanilla, and eggs; mix well. Add flour, soda, and salt. Combine until blended together. Mix in oatmeal and chips just until mixed, don't over do it!
3. Roll dough into golf ball sized balls and put on sprayed cookie sheet. Slightly flatten with a cup dipped in granulated sugar.
4. Bake for 9-10 mins. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for a couple of minutes so they will stay together when you put them on a cooling rack.

Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Slices

I'm dieting again. *sigh* So in an effort to find a snack that isn't going to break the bank calories wise and still falls into the actual "snack" category I have been looking all over the internet at different refrigerator pickle recipes. I LOVE pickles and will eat just about any kind but since I've given up sugar for a while I kind of wanted something sweet. I found a recipe over on Our Best Bites that looked like it would work so last night I gave it a whirl.

I must have used all my rice vinegar so I used a white balsamic vinegar instead and it came out more sweet than I had anticipated so next time I will double the amount of red pepper flakes (I've actually thrown them into the jar since I tasted them). The recipe below reflects the changes that I made.

This is definitely a do again. I can even see this as a side dish at a BBQ like a cucumber salad. My dad always used to eat cucumbers in vinegar in the summer and this is similar but doesn't have the sharp bite that you get from cider vinegar. I actually liked it better.

Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Slices
1 quart

3 medium-large cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar (you could use rice vinegar or white wine vinegar but I think that cider or regular white vinegar would be too strong)
1/2 c water
3 T Truvia sweetner or sugar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T minced red onion

Place cucumber slices in a colander sitting over a bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss well. Let sit for an hour regrigerated. Toss them a few times while they drain to evenly distribute the salt. While they are draining prepare marinade.

Combine vinegar, water, sweetner, onions and red pepper in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cook until reduced to a 1/3 cup (about 10 minutes). If you boil too long just add a little more water until you have 1/3 c. Let mixture cool to room temp.

When cucumbers are done resting, pat them dry with a few paper towels and then combine with the vinegar reduction. Let chill completely before serving.

S'more Brownies

This is not really a recipe...it's too easy to be called that, it's more of a "technique". Maybe not even that but it is YUMMY!

After I put it all together and took it to my in laws thinking I was so clever my sister in law said "Oh did you see this on picky-palate.com? I didn't but when I went to check it out I discovered that I wasn't the only one with a grand idea so check it out over there as well. Here's the link: http://picky-palate.com/2010/05/31/smores-stuffed-brownies/

At any rate it's super easy, just layer and go! The hardest part is waiting for it to completely cool which I discovered the hard way is absolutely necessary. Also, line your pan with parchment paper, spray the paper with PAM and then layer. You will be able to lift the whole kit and kaboodle out and cutting will be HUGELY simplified.

S'More Brownies

1 box brownie mix or your favorite recipe for 9X13 pan
graham crackers
milk chocolate chips
big marshmallows

1. Prepare brownie mix. Pour 1/2 of the batter onto the bottom of the pan.
2. Layer graham crackers directly over batter
3. Sprinkle chocolate chips all over crackers; about 1 cup
4. Line marshmallows over chocolate chips. Cute little rows...
4. Pour remaining batter over marshmallows
5. Bake 28-30 min or until toothpick comes out mostly clean
6. Let cool completely....agony.
7. Lift out of pan and cut into small pieces