Chili’s Copy Cat Salsa

I had lots of garden tomatoes and peppers to use, so I was looking for a great salsa recipe. Olivia, who posts on here quite often, recommended this one and it is AWESOME!! Especially since I’ve always been a huge fan of Chili’s salsa… not so much the rest of their menu.

Super easy and makes a ton… so stock up on your favorite chips and make it a Mexican week for your menu so you don’t have to throw any away!

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:

2 cans (14.5 oz each) whole tomatoes, drained

3-4 canned, whole jalapenos

1 yellow onion, quartered

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons lime juice

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients together into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Serve with tortilla chips.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned. Threw a close guess for the amount it called for in cans into the blender because I was too lazy to chop and go for an exact measurement. Turned out fine.

- While I know that Chili’s salsa is chopped very fine… I tend to like a little chunk to mine, so be careful in your blending.

- Also, not all peppers are alike. So add them one at a time and taste between. I like spicy so I used 6 or 7.

 

***Original recipe from http://www.sixsistersstuff.com***

Strawberry Rhubarb Freezer Jam

While we were up north I got a bunch of rhubarb and decided to try making some strawberry-rhubarb jam. It turned out super yummy! Here's the recipe for anyone who might want to try it.

Ingredients:
- 2 cups fruit (I used 1 cup strawberries and 1 cup rhubarb)
- 4 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 box sure jell

Directions:
- Chop, mash, or food process your fruit to the desired "chunkiness"
- In a large bowl, mix fruit with sugar and let stand about 10 minutes
- On the stove, boil water.
- Add the sure jell and boil for one minute.
- Pour sure jell mixture into your bowl of fruit/sugar- and mix well for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour the jam into glass or plastic containers.
- Allow to set for 24 hours without the lids.
- After 24 hours, either put them in the freezer or the fridge. (Keeps up to 1 year in the freezer or a few weeks in the fridge.)

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
- If you live in Gaston County, Lineberger Farm's Market Stand sells packets of "dutch jell" for $1 that I think works better than the certo or sure jell that you buy at the store for jams and jellies-- and it is WAY cheaper.
- This is the same recipe I use for regular strawberry jam-- just use 2 cups of strawberries and no rhubarb.

Dill Pickles

I've been waiting for Shannon to post this recipe, but she seems to be a slacker lately. Not like she has cancer or anything!!? I made dill pickles with her when Madeline and I stayed with her back in June and we LOVED them. Great use of those extra cucumbers from the garden! This was a Taste of Home original, but of course it has been altered.

Ingredients:
15 pickling cucumbers (cut in spears or chips)
30/40 sprigs of fresh dill (just buy a small bunch of it at the grocery and separate)
2 large onions (finely sliced)
1 bulb garlic (peeled, separated, and sliced)
1 qt water
1 qt vinegar
1/2 cup pickling/canning salt

Directions:
- Boil water, vinegar, and salt.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir cucumbers, dill, onion, and garlic into the brine.
- Let cool.
- Place in fridge for at least 4-5 hours.
- Put pickles into smaller jars/containers to store in fridge for up to 3 months.

Reality Notes:
- If you aren't a big garlic/onion eater-- cut back or you'll be shocked at the strong flavor. Also, the longer they are in the brine with all the garlic and onion will determine how strong they are. You can strain out the garlic and onion when packing into smaller containers. (I love the strong flavor, but some people don't!)
- The amount of cucumbers to use really depends on how big they are. Use as many as you can cover with the brine. I was able to use more than 15.
- Make sure when you eat these that everyone in your company eats them too! Makes for some pretty scary pickle breath! :)

Easy Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles

I've been making these pickles for the past two seasons and they are super easy and super tasty. It's a great way to use all those cucumbers your grandparents give you from their gardens! I have used the small white-skinned pickles and the regular green-skinned pickles and both seem to work fine. I got the recipe, and most all the recipes I'll put on here, from Cooking Light so they should be a little healthier than other pickle recipes. They sure don't taste light though!


Ingredients
5 1/2 cups thinly sliced pickling cucumbers (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/8 teaspoon turmeric


Preparation
1. Combine cucumbers and salt in a large bowl; cover and chill 1 1/2 hours. Drain; rinse cucumbers under cold water. Drain; return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to bowl.
2. Combine sugar and remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.