Salsa Fresca (Fresh Salsa)

INGREDIENTS:

1 small onion, finely chopped
6-7 roma tomatoes, finely diced
3 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
2 limes, juiced
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients and serve with chips. Pretty easy huh!

Note: the salsa will taste even better if you let it sit for a bit.

Streusel Pumpkin Pie

1 (9-inch) unbaked pastry shell
1 (16oz) can pumpkin (about 2 cups)
1 (140z) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 Eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt

Topping: In medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar and 1/2 cup flour; cut in 1/4 cup cold butter until crumbly. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped nuts. After 30 minutes of baking at 350, sprinkle on top of pie; bake 20 minutes longer or until golden.

Preheat oven to 425. In large mixer bowl, combine all ingredients except pastry shell; mix well. Pour into pastry shell. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350; bake 35 to 40 minutes longer or until knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean. Cool.

Tortilla Dessert Cups w/ Creme

I found this recipe in an old issue of the magazine "Light & Tasty" from Taste of Home's. Just from the picture they had in the magazine, I wanted to check it out to see how it would taste. The lady that contributed the recipe said that she found this recipe for her mom who suffers from Diabetes, the recipe is low in sugar and fat. The dessert is so good, you really can't tell that is fat free (I used mostly fat-free ingredients when I made it).

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INGREDIENTS:

3 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

10 flour tortillas (6 inches)

1 pkg (8 oz) reduced-fat or fat free cream cheese

1 c cold fat-free milk

1 pkg (1 oz) sugar-free instant white chocolate or vanilla pudding mix

2 c reduced-fat or fat free whipped topping (8oz tub)

1/4 c milk chocolate chips, melted or chocolate ice cream topping

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TORTILLA CUPS:

In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon. Coat each tortilla with nonstick cooking spray; sprinkle cinnamon and sugar. Repeat on the other side. Cut each cinnamon/sugar coated tortillas in 4 wedges. To make dessert cups, place round edge of one tortilla wedge in the bottom of a muffin cup, shaping sides to fit cup. Grab a second wedge and place it in the muffin cup allowing bottom and sides to overlap. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, then let cool.

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FILLING:

Beat cream cheese in a mixing bowl until smooth. In another bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add to cream cheese; beat on low until blended. Fold in whipped topping, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Carefully remove tortilla cups from muffin cups and pipe or spoon about 3 tablespoons filling into each cup. Drizzle with melted chocolate and place in refrigerator for a few minutes so the chocolate is set.

Arroz Blanco Mexicano (Mom's White Rice)

There have been a lot of requests for this rice and I finally remembered to post it.

My mom is an AMAZING cook, so just with that...you've got to try this rice...it's delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

1 c uncooked white rice

1/4 c chopped onion

3-4 tbsp butter

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 c water

1/4 c milk

salt to taste

1 tsp chicken bouillon

1/2 chopped poblano pepper or green pepper (optional)

shredded mozzarella/Monterrey Jack cheese (optional)

In a saucepan saute onions and garlic with butter. Add rice and continue stirring to toast the rice. Note: When you first add the rice to the sauteed butter, you will notice that the rice will look somewhat clear. You will know the rice is ready for the rest of the ingredients when it gets solid white or cream color, about 3-5 minutes depending on the heat. You do not want to brown the rice.

When rice is toasted, add the water, milk, salt, and chicken bouillon, mix well and cover. Cook on low heat for about 15-20 minutes. About five minutes before rice is cooked, add the chopped pepper and cheese on top.

Note: This time I added Colby Jack cheese on the top and it turned out just as good.

Mock Sushi Sandwiches

I made these for my kids and it was a hit! They love sandwiches but I get tired of the same old every day. These are healthy and so tasty, a perfect way to change it up.

Ingredients:

Tomato and Basil sandwich wraps

Cream Cheese (I used whipped cream cheese spread)

Green Leaf lettuce

Your favorite sandwich meat - thin cut

Thinly sliced Tomato and/or any other favorite sandwich toppings

(pepperchinis, avocado, bacon bits, etc.)

Directions:

Spread thin layer Cream Cheese over wrap. It doesn't take much, maybe a tablespoon.

Add toppings and lettuce across the 1/2 of the wrap, stopping about 1 1/2 inches from top.

Add sandwich meat across entire wrap, stopping at about 2 inches from the top. (I used turkey on one half and roast beef on the other)

Tightly roll all ingredients together and slice about 2 inches thick.

Serve and Enjoy!

Chicken Tenders w/ Wanna-be Winger's Amazing Sauce

For those of you who have never been to Winger's Restaurant, let me tell you that you are missing out. Their Amazing sauce is delicious! Specially on chicken fingers. My husband and I were just there last week and I told him that I really wanted to learn how to make the sauce and I was going to figure it out. Lucky for me, I didn't have to experiment much as someone had already come up with the perfect copy-cat recipe! Anyway, I found the sauce recipe on a site called "Favorite Family Recipes" (I'll put a link on the side of this blog), and it really tastes just like the sauce from the restaurant! Amazing!!!!

I believe the chicken fingers from the restaurant are fried so I wanted to do a healthier version and decided to find a recipe that is baked. After much searching, I found a perfect, and super easy recipe from Rachael Ray's Show.

I made this for dinner last night and it turned out delicious, hope you enjoy it!

SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbsp Franks RedHot Original Sauce

2 Tbsp water

3/4 c brown sugar

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Heat all of the ingredients in a saucepan until all the sugar is dissolved, it will have the consistency of syrup. Anyway, I actually doubled the recipe because I didn't think it would make enough. I'm glad I did, and ended up with about a cup of sauce. We had enough to coat the chicken and also some more for dipping.

Chicken Tenders:

1 1/2 lbs chicken

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 c milk

1 c flour

2 c bread crumbs (mine were Italian-seasoned, but they don't have to be seasoned)
Salt and pepper

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You can buy the chicken tenders or just use boneless chicken breasts cut into thin strips (this is what I did). You will need three shallow dishes. In one you will mix the eggs and milk, in another place the bread crumbs and in the third the flour with some salt and pepper to season.

You need to season the chicken with some salt and pepper, then coat the chicken with the flour (remove any excess), then dip in the egg mixture, then coat with the breadcrumbs. Place the chicken tenders on a baking pan or cookie sheet that has been lined with aluminum foil (See picture below). Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown.

When chicken tenders are done, dip them in the amazing sauce until they are completely covered. I accompanied this meal with some steamed rice, steamed broccoli, and a baked potato. You could just make the chicken tenders or wings as an appetizer on their own.

p.s. The rice tastes super good with a little bit of sauce over it.

Homemade Scallop Potatoes

Preheat oven 375 degrees.

4 Cups Sliced Potatoes
2 Tbs Flour
1 Tsp Salt
1/8 Tsp Pepper
3 Tbs Butter
2 Cups Milk (warm)
1/2 Cup Shredded Cheese

Butter a 2 quart dish.

In a bowl combine flour, salt and pepper.

Place 1/3 potatoes into dish. Sprinkle 1/2 flour mixture over potatoes, repeat with another layer of potatoes and flour mix and top with remaining potatoes.

Dot with butter then pour warm milk over potatoes. Cover and bake 45 minutes.

Uncover sprinkle cheese over top, return to oven and bake, for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and cheese has melted.

Beef Fajitas

So Yummy!

Ingredients:

Beef, carne asada cut

1 onion

1 bell(green) pepper

2 tomatoes

Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning

Cut meat into thin slices and place in a skillet, add some seasoning, cover, cook until meat is done.

While meat is coooking, cut vegetables into long thin slices. Add to meat (when meat is cooked) and then add a little more seasoning. Cook uncovered for about 10- 15 minutes. Don't overcook veggies.

Serve with rice, beans, and warm tortillas. Enjoy!

Pionono (Dulce de Leche Roll)

My friend Marta who is from Argentina gave me this recipe. Not only is it fast and easy to prepare, but it's absolutely delicious. Highly recommend it!

Ingredients:

6 eggs, separated
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp vanilla

Whip egg whites until stiff, then add egg yolks and continue whipping until it's all mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients and continue beating for 2 or 3 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and then grease it with cooking spray so the cake doesn't stick. Pour the batter and make sure it spreads evenly. Bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Follow the procedure as with any jelly roll (roll cake and let cool). When cake is cooled, unroll and spread dulce the leche or your favorite jelly. Roll back again, and slice it. You can sprinkle the slices with powdered sugar or leave them like that. Place the pionono in the fridge for about 10 minutes and then you can serve it.

This is the dulce de leche I buy. It's from Nestle and it comes in this can. You can find it on the latin section of your grocery store by the sweetened condensed and evaporated milk (if not, check by the regular baking products aile).