Recipes: Salsa Three Ways

It's no secret, I love me a good salsa. Not only do my husband and I love making salsa together, but it helps us snack on something that is pretty healthy, and inexpensive. Just a few years ago, I would only like runny salsa, just dip my chip in a teeny tiny tad, and shake off any chunks. Wow, have my tastes changed.

For our intro to salsa, plus tips on using and freezing veggies and herbs for later use, visit my post here. Also, you can doctor up any store bought salsa as well by using a few ingredients listed.

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♥ Basically Amazing Salsa Recipe (Chiptole Chicken) ♥

1/2 can well rinsed black beans

1 tomato, chopped

1/4 red onion, chopped

1 poblano pepper, chopped (or jalepeno if you like spicy)

handful fresh cilantro, chopped (we grow our own, it's super easy!)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 T lemon juice

2 T olive oil (we usually skip this)

2 T vinegar (we usually skip this too)

salt to taste

Mix all, let stand together at room temp for approx 30 mins to let the flavors meld together. This salsa is really good with corn (like a pico de gallo) and cooked chicken chunks in a bit of Tabasco Chiptole sauce chunks added in. Top it on rice with a bit of shredded cheese and you've got your own Chipotle chicken.

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♥ Tangy Strawberry Salsa ♥

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium avacados, chopped (not smashed, this is not guacamole!!)

4 roma tomatoes, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

huge handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

8 strawberries, chopped
1 squeezed lemon
salt and pepper to taste

After chopping the tomato, avocado and onion, we put it in a pan on the stove and do a light stir frying for about a minute. It helps to add flavor just in case they aren't totally ripe just yet, and makes a nice warmth for serving on chips. Then we mix it all together in a bowl.

I know what you are thinking, "What, strawberries?" I'm telling you, it's awesome. If you ever over do it with onions and garlic (which we tend to do because we love both), tossing in some strawberries balances the flavor and adds something not too sweet and noticeable, but just enough as a 'secret ingredient'.

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♥ Grilled Steak with Avocado-Mango Salsa ♥

I got this recipe from HEB. But, it's still awesome. If you don't have an HEB, you can get recipes here.

For the salsa (serve over steak but also amazing with chips)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium avacados, chopped (not smashed, this is not guacamole!!)

4 roma tomatoes, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

huge handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

1 mango, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 squeezed lime
1 c crumbled queso fresco (I didn't do this part, but if you do, it's super good).
salt and pepper to taste

For the steak:
4 boneless beef ribeye steaks, cut 3/4 inch thick (we used 2 super thin cut cheapo steaks).
2 tb olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp EACH of: coarse salt, pepper, oregano, ground cumin
1 cup Texas on the Plate Bodacious Soppin' Sauce or any marinade you like (I'm an A-1 gal).

1. Combine all steak ingredients in bowl and rub on both sides of steak and let sit for 15 mins.
2.  In the meantime, heat grill or charcoals. (we just did it on the stove).
3. Combine all salsa ingredients in a bowl and set aside at room temperature.
4. Grill steaks 6-9 mins per side for med-rare to med doneness. Baste generously after flipping if grilling.
5. Serve salsa, chutney style on steaks.

Homefront: Soul Salsa

We used to make our own salsa and guacamole all the time, and we eventually just stopped as life got busier. I had a really good food chopper, but gave it to Goodwill (brand new) b/c we never used it. As we've begun cooking more, we have re-realized how fun it is to prepare dinners (and snacks) together.

We love standing at our tiny kitchen counter together, chopping our own herbs and veggies. That 15 minutes or so that would other wise be "saved" by using a food chopper, is one of our favorite parts of these moments. We get busy in our own worlds, with the kids, work... but making a little snack and spending that time talking, laughing, chopping... it's good for us. Almost therapeutic. Of course, snacking on the delicious treat is most excellent as well! Do you have something like that for you or your relationship? It may even be something you do not even realize. Once you figure out what that activity might be, try and cultivate it and make it part of your weekly routine.

Salsa Recipe:

1/2 can well rinsed black beans

1 tomato, chopped

1/4 red onion, chopped

1 poblano pepper, chopped (or jalepeno if you like spicy)

handful fresh cilantro, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 T lemon juice

2 T olive oil

2 T vinegar (though we usually skip this)

salt to taste

Sliced avacodo, shredded cheese and chips for serving. Or serve over rice and cooked cubed seasoned chicken with corn for a "Chipotle" like meal.

Combine all, seal in airtight container and let stand for approx 30 mins for the flavors to blend together. I like to put a slice of avocado on my chip, dip in the salsa and then sprinkle on a little cheese. Delicious.

*tips... I freeze onion and herbs, and some other veggies I chop!! I only use a handful in my meals, but I put it in almost everything I make.  So, when I chop a fresh onion (or bell pepper or whatever), I use what I need, then cut up the rest and put it in an airtight freezer bag and freeze. (Some veggies need to be blanched first for the best freezing, and some veggies don't freeze well at all, this link has good advice).  Of course, they are best when going to be cooked in the next meal, as they lose their crispness when they thaw, but still excellent if you are going to be using them soon. Cilantro is easy to grow and freeze too,  read about it here, including the comments.

gourmet traveler 88 has a great directions for freezing herbs

Freezing makes it easy when cooking, just throw in a little frozen onion and it cooks just fine. For herbs, chop them up, and fill an ice cube tray with them. Cover with a bit of water and freeze. When cooking, just plop in your herbed ice cube, here's an easy tutorial with pictures at bananablender. You can do the same thing with pesto herb mixes (directions here) as well .

Happy chopping!