California Black Bean & Corn Salsa

Chips and salsa is always good, right?  When I was in college I practically lived on the stuff!  But why don’t we try to take the salsa to a whole new level?  Stop buying the canned stuff from your local grocery store and make this instead!  This is an oldie but a goodie!  I have been serving this salsa for about 10 years now, and I swear that everytime I make a batch everyone ooo’s and aaaa’s over it.  It is just good… there’s no other way to explain it.

California Black Bean and Corn Salsa 

Dressing:

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1 canned chipotle chile or more, to taste
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 garlic clove, minced or crushed

Salsa:

• 2 (16 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups fresh corn kernels (see note)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 3/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 large ripe tomato, diced
• 1 ripe avocado, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine the dressing ingredients in a blender.  Process till thoroughly blended.

Combine the beans, corn, bell pepper and onion in a bowl and mix well.  Add the dressing, starting with about half the dressing and toss to coat.  Add more dressing if needed, to taste.  Marinate, covered, at room temperature for at least 3 hours, stirring occasionally.  Just before serving, stir in the tomato, avocado, and cilantro.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Note: fresh sweet corn may be used without cooking first.  I have also used Trader Joe’s frozen super sweet white corn, and it works great.

We are linking up at The Table Scaper, I Heart Naptime, A Well Seasoned Life, Simply Sweet Home, It’s a Blog Party, My Sweet and Savory, Six Sisters Stuff, Blessed with Grace

Simply, Banana Bread

My boyfriend in high school had a mom who was a whiz in the kitchen. Simply amazing. She taught me how to make chocolate chip cookies and the art of baking with dark brown sugar. This banana bread is simple, yet delicious. It is moist, and packed with flavor. And it is all thanks to 2 key ingredients in my opinion: dark brown sugar and buttermilk. Though this is not her exact recipe, I think it is close.

Simply Banana Bread

• 1 c. butter, softened (2 sticks)
• 1 1/2 c. dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 c. flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 4 large bananas (ripened, darkened….brown spots, on their way out!)
• 1 c. buttermilk

Preheat overn to 350 degrees.

Cream together butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together baking soda and flour. In another bowl, mash bananas with fork and add buttermilk. Stir until combined. Alternately add wet and dry ingredients to batter. Mix until combined. (at this point I like to scrape the sides and bottom down and give it one more mix!) Put batter in loaf pans. Yields 2 loaves. Bake for 45-55 min, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. As always, add your own flare! Nuts, chocolate chips, etc!

Creamy Peanut Butter Pie

This recipe comes to me from my good friend Stacey, and it came to her from her good friend (and mine) Courtney, and is just so good, that it had to passed from friend to friend.  So, now, I pass it to you!  Simple to make, semi-homemade, and just so yummy to eat!!!!

Peanut Butter Pie

Filling:

• 1 large box instant vanilla pudding
• 1 2/3 cups cold milk
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 16oz. heavy cream, whipped with 1 tablespoon sugar

(reserve ¼ of the whipped cream for the topping)

Crust:

• 35-40 oreos
• ½ cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Crush oreos (I like to put mine in a gallon ziplock bag and beat with a rolling pin… but that’s just me… you can crush those babies any way you please!)  In a medium bowl, mix the crushed oreos with the melted butter.  Press this mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan or into 2 8” pie pans.  Bake for 8 minutes then cool completely.

Mix pudding and milk until pudding begins to set.  Mix in peanut butter.  Fold in ¾ of the whipped cream.  Spread mixture onto cooled crust.

Cover with remaining whipped cream.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

You could top it with crushed oreos, shaved chocolate, chopped up peanut butter cups, etc.

Linking up at My Sweet and Savory, Coastal Charm, Skip to My Lou, Sew Chatty, C.R.A.F.T., Running with Glitter, So Very Creative, A Well Seasoned Life, The Tablescaper, I Heart Naptime, Tip Junkie, Digital Scrapbooking Made Easy, Raising 4 Princesses, This Chick Cooks, The Girl Creative, Mandy’s Recipe Box, Serenity You, Chef In Training, It’s a Blog Party, The Blackberry Vine, Lady Behind the Curtain, Alli N Son, Crazy for Crust, Nap Time Creations

Sweet Pork Mexican Salad

Like so many of you, I am addicted to Café Rio / Costa Vida’s  sweet pork salad with  the creamy tomatillo ranch dressing.  Oh, it is so good… to die for.  It calls your name, and wakes you in the night!  Last time I was there I asked for the recipe for the sweet pork and for the dressing (the rest I figured I could come up with on my own).  They gave it to me but in HUGE QUANTITIES like for a restaurant… duh.  Dressing called for 3 gallons mayo, 2 gallons buttermilk, etc.  After playing around with it I came up with something that is close… nothing like the real thing baby, but this will do in a pinch.

Sweet Pork

• 3-5 pounds pork tenderloin roast
• 1 cup water

• 1 cup salsa (nothing fancy… just Pace or something)
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 can Dr. Pepper

The night before you want to serve the salad, put the pork loin and the 1 cup of water in your crock pot on low, and let cook overnight.

In the morning, remove pork from crock pot, put in large bowl and use forks to pull pork apart into small strings.   Combine the salsa, brown sugar and Dr. Pepper in a bowl.  Put pork in crock pot and pour liquid over top.  Set crock pot to low and cook for 8 hours.

Creamy Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

• 3 large tomatillos (canned or fresh)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup mayo
• 1 envelope buttermilk ranch dressing mix (Hidden Valley)
• 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
• juice from one lime
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp canned diced jalapeno peppers (more or less to taste)

Combine all ingredients in blender and combine till thick and creamy.  Refrigerate for an hour or so to let flavors meld.  Dressing can be saved in airtight container for about 3-4 days in refrigerator.

So, this is a layered salad and so you will also need the following, and should layer in this order:

• Warm Tortilla (I like to buy the uncooked tortillas in Costco’s refrigerated case and cook them fresh for this salad, but any tortilla will do)
• Cooked white rice
• Warmed Pinto or black beans (your preference)
• Sweet Pork (from recipe above)
• thinly sliced romaine lettuce
• diced tomatoes
• glob of guacamole
• glob of sour cream
• tortilla strips
• sprinkling of grated cotija cheese
• and of course the dressing (I usually serve on the side)

So, there you have it.  FYI… my kids don’t so much love the salad, so I usually end up making them a quesadilla or burrito from the preceeding ingredients and they dip that in the dressing.  YUM! ENJOY!

The Perfect Peanut Butter Cookie

Cookies, cookies, cookies! They are our favorite! So here, yet again, is another spectacular cookie recipe. This is the best, most simple peanut butter cookie recipe. But you get to insert some of your creativity and personality into it. First, are you going to use creamy or chunky peanut butter? Will you go with chocolate chips or no chips? Will they be semi sweet or milk chocolate? What about using peanut butter chips? Or both!! Yes, I know, I am blowing your mind right now. But play with it, see what you and your family like. My favorite is creamy peanut butter with milk chocolate chips. But the hubby is in love with chunky peanut butter with peanut butter chips. Can you say dilemma?? I will leave it to you and yours to battle over what you think is the best. Have fun!

The Perfect Peanut Butter Cookie

• 1 c. butter (2 sticks) softened
• 1 c. peanut butter
• 1 c. sugar + 1/4 c.
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 3 c. flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar. Then add eggs and vanilla. Mix until combined. Add salt and baking soda. Then add the flour one cup at a time until combined. Put 1/4 c. sugar in a shallow bowl or plate. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough into ball and roll around in sugar. Place balls on cookie sheet. Then press each ball with a fork in a criss-cross manner. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Nothing says comfort food quite like Mac N Cheese. And that was the kind of  mood I was in this weekend. I have been craving the familiar taste of homemade macaroni and cheese. And not the orange powder stuff I lived on in college. The creamy, cheesy, milky, yummy, totally bad for you homemade macaroni and cheese. So I made it! It somehow brought the fall season into my home. It almost motivated me to make some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, but we will save that for a different post my dear friends.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

• 1 lb. elbow macaroni
• 1 quart (4 cups) whole milk
• 1 stick of butter, cut into Tablespoon portions
• 1/2 c. flour
• 4 c. grated cheddar/colby mix cheese
• 2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg (OPTIONAL)  Shannon and I both prefer without!
• 1 1/2 c. plain bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook the macaroni in a large pot of boiling water, according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

Heat the milk in a microwave safe bowl or cup measure for about 4 minutes, until hot, but not boiling.

Then in a large stockpot, melt 6 Tablespoons of the butter. Add the flour and stir with a whisk for 2 minutes, over low heat. Continue whisking and add the hot milk. Cook for a minute or two more until mixture becomes thickened and smooth. Remove from heat. Add the cheeses, salt, pepper. (add nutmeg here also if you like) Stir. Add the macaroni and stir until combined. Pour into a 9×13 baking dish. Combine bread crumbs with the remaining 2 Tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle on top. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the sauce is bubble and the macaroni is browned on top.

Cucumber Sandwiches

 

Tea time?  No, ANYTIME!

These tasty treasures are traditionally served in tiny triangular bite sized portions, but I am so in love with the flavors, that I when I make a sandwich for myself,  prefer to just half it, so I can really sink my teeth in.  Granted, when I make them to bring to tennis, or a luncheon, I slice them up into the little triangles to make them an easier finger food.  But if it’s just for me, give me the full size please!!!!

 

Exact measurements are not given below, because, as you can guess, you can either make 1 sandwich or a dozen, depending on how many people you need to feed.

 

Cucumber Sandwiches

 

• English hot house cucumber, or Small persian cucumbers, sliced
• Cream cheese, softened, or the whipped cream cheese does well too
• micro-greens
• good dense, slightly sweet bread (I like Whole Grain Natural Bread Co. California Black Bread, or Orowheat Buttermilk white bread)
• *** secret ingredient*** greek seasoning (as shown in picture below, available on the spice aisle of most grocery stores)

You assemble this, just as you would any other sandwich, in this order:

slice of bread

spread with cream cheese

sprinkle with greek seasoning, to taste

add a layer of cucumber slices

a layer of micro greens

top slice of bread

I know this is so simple, but sometimes, the simple things are the BEST.  This is one of those things… people forget how good these are!!!  Try them for yourself and see if you agree!

 

Double Delish!

This tasty little treat came about thanks to a friend of mine…Shelley.  (She gives me all sorts of great ideas all the time!)  It’s a brownie and it’s a chocolate chip cookie, all in one!  What could be better… well, maybe a small scoop of vanilla ice cream plopped right on top, but I digress… Shelley bought a mix to create a treat like this from Williams- Sonoma.  No offense to WS, but who wants to pay $12 for a mix that I could create a recipe for on my own?  Emily happened to be visiting me at that time and so we spent a day coming up with our own version of this super yummy treat.  I think what we came up with is one of our all-time “bests”.  People die for these… in fact, I’ve been known to bribe friends, doctors & ortho’s with these little babies.  Poeple will do almost anything to get their hands on them.

It’s a pretty easy process to make these, but there definitely is a process, so this will be a recipe/ tutorial.  I’ll guide you through, so you can reproduce these gems in your home…

Double Delish

Brownie Portion

• One box Betty Crocker Original Supreme Premium Brownie Mix with Hershey’s syrup (yes, I know this is a cheat, but remember what I’ve said about the semi-homemade thing… if you can get the same results and make your life easier, do it, everytime!)
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg

In a medium bowl, prepare the brownie mix, according to the package directions, but do not bake!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Portion

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ salt
• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

In a stand mixer, or in large bowl with an electric mixer… mix together the butter, the brown sugar and the white sugar, until combined.  Do not over process.  Add the eggs and vanilla and again, mix until combined, without over processing.  In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add this mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined.  Add chocolate chips and mix till distributed through dough.

You’ll now need 2 sizes of cookies scoops, a small and a large… you can use a reagular spoon, you’ll just have to eyeball it, and it makes it much harder.  As, I’ve said before, investing in cookie scoops is a good thing.  You’ll use them over and over again.

Prepare 2 regular sized muffin tins (12 slots each) by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.  Into each slot, scoop a small cookie scoop portion of the brownie mix, so it just covers the bottom of the tin.  (see picture)

Lay out a half sheet size of parchment paper, and using a large cookie scoop, make 24 cookies.  Lay another sheet of parchment on top, and gently press down each cookie to flatten.  (see picture)

Lay one cookie on top of the brownie mixture in each of the tins.  (see picture)

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies start to become golden.  Remove from oven.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for a few minutes (5 or so), until they set up, then remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

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And, here’s me on my way out the door to go bribe the pediatrican into giving the entire family the flu-mist vaccine, and sign some papers for my kids school.  It worked!  We are now all vaccinated, sans yucky shots, and papers are signed!!!  Yay for the Double Delish!!!!!

We are linking up at Sew Chatty, Coastal Charm, My Sweet and Savory, Skip to My Lou, Happy Hour Projects, The Table Scaper, Making Monday Marvelous, This Chick Cooks, Somewhat Simple, So Very Creative, Easy Peasy Grandma, Crazy for Crust

Buttermilk Pancakes

People, step away from the Bisquick! Seriously! This is your new go-to pancake recipe. I had been searching for one for years. I didn’t need fancy, I just needed delicious. And really, I think homemade, from scratch, pancakes are practically as easy as opening that box of Bisquick. It is worth the extra 2 minutes of work! We made these this weekend and my husband (who really is not a pancake fan) ate 5! My son devoured his 2 in about 10 seconds! And while I am telling how much we all ate, I had 4! Moment on the lips, lifetime on the hips…oh well. They are so tasty I couldn’t help it. They are buttery and sweet, and I love the fact that they aren’t so dense.

And for all you moms out there, I will double and sometimes triple this recipe so that I can throw the leftovers in the freezer. It is so great to let the kids have pancakes in the morning, even if you’re in a hurry. Pop these babies in the micro for 30 seconds or so and you have a quick, hot breakfast for the kiddos!

Buttermilk Pancakes

• 1 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2  tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 2 tablespoon butter, melted

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Then add egg, buttermilk and melted butter. Stir with whisk until combined. Batter will be a little lumpy. At this point I put all my batter in a gallon ziploc plastic bag. I cut the tip of it and start putting the batter on a hot griddle. It makes clean up a dream, and no measuring cup falling down in the batter! Cook on medium high for about 2 1/2 minutes or until bubbles appear on the top of the pancake. Flip over and cook for an additional minute.

Key Lime Cupcakes with Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe came about when Shannon and I were in Utah for my Gram’s 90th birthday party and we visited a cupcake shop in Orem called Cupcake Chic. I, of course, went straight for the chocolate. But in our browsing and wondering eyes we also picked up a few Key Lime Cupcakes. I was in love! I had never had them before and they tasted so fun! Fruity and sweet, tangy and buttery. I was sold! So I came home and tried to get a good Key Lime recipe going. Here’s what I came up with.

Key Lime Cupcakes

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 c. sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 c. sour cream, room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2/3 c. key lime juice* (I use fresh key limes, but you could also use the bottled juice)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3 c. all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter and sugar in mixer until light and fluffy. (about 3 minutes). Then add eggs, 2 at a time, and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides and add sour cream and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Then add key lime juice and mix on meduim speed for one minute.  Sift together salt, baking soda and flour in a medium mixing bowl. Then add half the flour mixture to batter and mix until well combined. Add the rest of the flour and mix well. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting**

• 2 packages of 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 1 Tablespoon lime zest
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 5 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Cut the butter and cream cheese into small chunks. Mix the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. (about 4 mintues) Then add vanilla and lime zest. Mix well. Then add confectioners sugar 2 cups at a time until gone. Give the frosting a good mix at the end to ensure it is smooth.

*TIP – I had heard that key limes were hard to find. But I have seen them at almost every major grocery store. I buy them in a little bag at Wal-Mart.

**TIP – It is important for the cream cheese and butter to be only slightly softened. You need a little chill to keep the frosting together. We have all been to parties where the cream cheese frosting on the cupcakes looks like it is melting off.