Quick and Easy Salsa

I love chips and salsa. It is definitely my favorite part of going out to eat at a Mexican restaurant. This recipe is super easy and tasty. My kids love chips and salsa too, and get it often with this quick recipe.




1 clove garlic, chopped
½ cup onion, chopped
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 handful cilantro
1 jalapeño, chopped (or to taste)
1 lime, juiced
Salt to taste

Combine garlic, onion, jalapeno, lime juice and half the can of tomatoes with juice in a blender. Pulse a few times, then add remaining tomatoes and cilantro. Pulse in blender until desired consistency. Salt to taste.

Susan's Cheese Ball

Yummy, yummy, yummy, yummy, yummy!!! I adore this cheese ball. It is AWESOME, even if I do say so myself. I make this every year around the holidays. I think it is the best tasting cheese ball out there. It is my own concoction that I started in high school and it just got better with age. I have had people that hate cheese balls actually like this one.



1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon dry ranch dressing mix
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 cup chopped pecans

Soften cream cheese at room temperature. Add cheddar cheese, ranch dressing mix and green onions. Mix until well combined. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Mold into a ball and roll in pecans. I spray my hands with Pam before rolling the cheese into a ball - makes it a little easier to work with.

Crepes

Crepes are my 11 year old's favorite breakfast food. They may be the favorite of all my kids. My little 4 year old calls them "those roll up things". They are more time consuming than I like, but I did give in and make them for breakfast the other day. I had some strawberries to use and thought crepes would be delicious with them. My personal favorite way to eat them is with sweetened whipped cream and strawberries. My kids usually eat them spread with melted butter and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Even though we usually eat them for breakfast, the also make a great desert.



1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Blend together in blender on high for 1 minute. Preheat crepe pan (or you could use a flat bottom frying pan) over medium heat. Butter the bottom of the pan (I use a frozen stick of butter and just circle it on the bottom of my pan - the frozen butter makes it easy to work with) and pour in about 1/4 cup of batter. When I pour the batter in, I hold my pan up off the heat and angle it a little. I pour the batter in the center of the pan and rotate the pan around to cover the bottom only with a thin layer of batter. Cook until small holes form in the crepe (about 1 minute), then flip over and cook about an additional 30 seconds.

Mama's Rice

This recipe came from a local fresh-mex restaurant called Cabo Grill. The restaurant closed down in the fall of 2008, but, I happen to know a previous owner quite well and was able to snag the recipe with just a little sweet talk. Thank goodness I am good at sweet talking, because we were there weekly. I am still having withdrawls.



2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons jalapenos (I use an entire jalapeno)
2 tablespoons onion
2 tablespoons tomatoes
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups chicken broth (I use Better Than Bullion to make the broth)

Melt butter over medium high heat. Add jalapenos and onions and sauté until onions are clear. Add tomatoes and salt, then rice. Sauté until rice starts to turn light brown. Add chicken broth. Let come to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 to 25 minutes.

White Crescent Rolls

Out of all the things I love to cook/bake, bread is probably my favorite. There is nothing quite like hot fresh bread. Plain, or smothered in butter or honey butter. Mmmmmm This is probably my very favorite roll recipe. The rolls come out tender and delicious.

My kids like to help me roll up the crescents. My sweet little 4 year old will even make me "special" rolls. I just don't know what I would do without all of my super special helpers. I would probably have way too much time on my hands (although my house would probably be immaculate). :)

I usually use instant yeast and just mix it in with the flour, instead of proofing it in the water. The instant yeast makes it go a little faster.



1 ¼ cup water
½ cup butter
1/3 cup powder milk
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon yeast
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 ½ cups flour

Proof yeast in ¼ cup water, sprinkle with a little sugar. Melt butter in remaining water. Add powder milk and sugar, then add yeast and egg. Mix in flour and let rise 1 hour. Punch down and divide in 2. Roll each half in to a circle. Cut into 12 pieces and roll from the large end to the small end to make a crescent. Cover and let rise 20 to 30 minutes. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Brush with melted butter.

Recipe from my friend Beth.

Refried Beans

I LOVE refried beans! They are so easy and versatile. I like to eat them just plain or topped with salsa, but they are also great in burritos. My sister married a guy from Mexico and this is how she makes his beans.



1 pound pinto beans
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic

Put beans in a pot with at least 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and let boil 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit 2 hour with the lid on. Drain beans and then cover again with water. Add salt, onion and garlic. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 2 hours, or until tender. Drain off liquid and save to add back into the beans. Mash the beans - I use a potato masher. Gradually add in liquid while you are mashing to get the consistency you want.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are the favorite of my oldest daughter. They are very easy and very yummy, and only have 3 ingredients, what could be easier than that? They are made with a box of cake mix. Boxed cake mix in recipes was right there with canned soup, but, like canned soup, has climbed the totem pole. Now I will proudly admit that I use either. I actually think it makes me look smart - it saves time. :)



1 Box spice cake mix
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
2 cups chocolate chips

Mix cake mix and pumpkin until well combined (it will seem very dry at first, but will moisten when it is all mixed together). Add Chocolate chips. Drop on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.