Monday, June 18, 2012

Restaurant Salsa

Ingredients1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can Rotelle tomatoes
½ onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ lime, juiced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1-2 green onions, chopped
1 jalepeno, chopped, with most of the seeds removed (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper

Directions
Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend on low to desired consistency.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Baked Lemon Pasta


1 pound Thin Spaghetti - - PREFERABLY CAMPANELLE noodles or FUSILLI or even BOWTIES or something similarly sized/shaped
4 Tablespoons Salted Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 whole Lemon, Juiced And Zested
2 cups Sour Cream - - or split it 1 cup sour cream 1 cup plain yogurt
½ teaspoons Kosher Salt, Or More To Taste
Plenty Of Grated Parmesan Cheese
Flat-leaf Parsley, Chopped
Extra Lemon Juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente. In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT. When butter is melted, add minced garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat. Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary. Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish. Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.) When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top. Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley. Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end or feel free to add as much as you like.

Queso Dip

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 30 fluid ounces
  • 1 1/4 (1.25) lb block White American Cheese (Land O'Lakes brand preferred), cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1/4 cup diced green chiles
  • 2 pickled jalapenos, chopped
  • 1 ounce pickled jalapeno juice
  • 2/3 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • pinch of cumin (optional)
Toss all ingredients into a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stopping to stir after every minute. The mixture might seem watery during the first few stirs, but should come together as a nice runny dip after all the cheese is melted.
Serve immediately as a dip with tortilla chips or as a sauce over your favorite Mexican dish.
*Recipe Note: White American cheese is found at most deli counters in your local grocery store.
*Reheat Instructions: Store any leftover cheese dip in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until creamy and hot.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Pink Lemonade Pie

Lemonade Pie

Crust:
2 sleeves of Ritz Crackers, crushed
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. butter, melted

Mix cracker crumbs and powdered sugar together until well blended. Add melted
butter and stir until mixture is crumbly and sticks together. Press 2/3 of it in
the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Set the remaining 1/3 of the crumb mixture
aside.

Filling:
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (6 oz) pink lemonade concentrate, thawed ... (you can use any concentrate
really)
1 (12 oz) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed
red food coloring (optional if you want it more pink)
Combine sweetened condensed milk and lemonade, whisk together. Fold in whipped
topping and food coloring. Pour into prepared Ritz crust. Spread evenly. Top
with crumb mixture. Freeze for a couple of hours.