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Twenty Dollar Tuesday – Mango SALSA!

August 31, 2010 By

Twenty Dollar Tuesdays is usually reserved for helpful hints and decorating ideas. But…I’ve decided I’m going to give you a recipe today (Because I’m just that WILD!).  I am NOT a mango eater. I usually think they taste like iced tea in fruit form…BUT a year or so ago, I ordered a crab cake at one of my favorite restaurants and it came with mango salsa. This stuff was AMAZING and was the perfect compliment to the crab cake. So, a few weeks ago, when I decided to make crab cakes, I thought to myself “Kate, you could pretend you work at a fancy restaurant and whip some of that mango salsa right on up”.  And so I did! It was my first time working with mangos (and I confirmed that I STILL do not like them in non-salsa form), and it turned out great! I’ve made it several times since then and I just love it! It’s great with meats, with chips, and tonight I had it with a veggie quesadilla. YUM!

So why am I including this in Twenty Dollar Tuesdays, you ask? Well friends, I think if you have a recipe that is this versatile, well, it’s worth at least $20! :) So, without further ado, Mango Salsa:

Mix together:

*2-3 mangos, diced

*1 bunch of green onions, diced

*1/4 cup or so of cilantro, diced

*juice of one lime

*(optional) red or green pepper, diced

Combine and add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

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Ole!

April 14, 2010 By

So after looking at all those New York Times food photos a few days ago, I decided that I needed to step up my food presentation AND my food photography.  So here we are, effort number one. I made this guac for a spouse’s club happy hour tonight, and not only does it look pretty good, but it taste pretty good, too (if I do say so myself)! The key to good guacamole is nice ripe avocados.  The skin coloring should be dark purplish and the avocados should feel a little mushy.  If they don’t, they’re too firm and won’t make good guac!

Ingredients

  • 5-6 large Hass Avocados
  • 1 lime
  • Salt
  • Cayanne Pepper
  • Cumin
  • Season Salt
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • Onions, Cilantro, Tomaotes (or if you’re rushed for time or are a bit lazy like i was tonight, buy a “fresh” salsa from the produce section)

Directions

  1. Peel the Avoados and mash in a large bowl with a potato masher.
  2. Sprinkle with juice from the lime.
  3. Throw in a few shakes each of the salt, cayanne pepper, cumin, and season salt.
  4. Cut up the garlic, 1/4 of an onion, 1 small tomato and a bit of cilantro and add that (Today I just added the garlic and a few spoonfuls of the fresh salsa).
  5. Taste.
  6. Add a bit more of the spices as needed. If I’m not sure what it needs, I get a chip with some guac and sprinkle a bit of each thing one at a time so I can see what tastes best, and then add that!
  7. Serve with veggies if your’re being good, or tortilla chips if you’re being bad. :) Enjoy!
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Stinking Garlic Relish

February 7, 2010 By

Tonight a group of girls (and one guy) from the spouses’ club headed to LA to go to The Stinking Rose, a garlic restaurant.  We had a wonderful time and the food was yummy yummy yummy!  My favorite part of the meal was probably the garlic relish they served with bread before the meal.  It was very strong and garlicy but SO delicious.  I immediatly came home and googled the recipe, and luckily I found it.  So, I’m going to share it with you and you can bet that I’ll be making it soon!  Enjoy…I’m off to brush my teeth a time or two! Thanks for a great night, ladies (and man)!

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch of chopped parsley
  • 1/4 cup chopped garlic
  • 2 tbsps vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • olive oil

Directions

  1. Mix parsley, garlic, vinegar, and salt.
  2. Add enough olive oil to cover ingredients and stir.
  3. Cover and store in refrigerator (good for 3-4 days).
  4. Serve on warm bread.
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Store Bought Appetizers

January 6, 2010 By

As a rule, I don’t like to purchase store bought appetizers.  There are so many easy recipes that are almost as fast as scooping items out of a bowl!  I do, however, have a few exceptions to this rule:

1. Trader Joe’s Spinich Dip.  This stuff is A-MAZ-ING.  It’s a great dip, it’s great on sandwiches, it’s great on sourdough bread and grilled like a grilled cheese sandwich.  If you’ve never had it.  Go buy some.  Now.

2. Trader Joe’s Red Pepper Hummus.  Two words. Yum Me.

3. Costco’s Tri-Color Spread (Cream Cheese, Sun Dried Tomato, Cream Cheese).  I could eat a whole bowl of this by myself.  This is why I never buy it unless there are going to be at least 20 people in my house. “Safety first.”

If you’re looking for a way to keep things easy for a party, try purchasing some of these items, and then jazz it up  a bit!  Make finger sandwiches with the spinach dip, cut up pita bread and make your own pita chips to accompany the hummus, or serve a dollop  of the tri-color spread already placed on small pieces of bread. Find a way to make these store bought items your own!  What store bought appetizers do YOU like?!?

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