Cooking

That's what I'll be doing this summer. Lots and lots of it. I love to do it. This week, I've cooked or baked something every day and I'm thinking I might make something else today. I can't get enough of it. I also want to keep a record of all the recipes I try here.

Unfortunately, this week, I don't have any pictures of the food... because I didn't get around to taking any and now most of the food is already gone. But in the future, I promise I will at least try to get a good picture. Anyway...

So, my goal is to cook dinner once a week for the summer. I started out this week with a challenge to put together a meal for $10 or less. I made it just within my budget, thanks to the fact that we already had some of the ingredients... hopefully as I go I will learn how to be a little more frugal.

First, I made Pioneer Woman's Restaurant Style Salsa.

Let me tell you, this stuff is amazing. The recipe uses canned tomatoes, but the fresh cilantro, jalapeño, onion, and garlic give it a homemade taste.

This recipe also makes a huge batch of salsa. About 6 cups. If you do the math, the cost of all the ingredients should technically be cheaper than jarred salsa (and way better). But... maybe not because it disappears twice as fast. ☺

Pioneer Woman's Restaurant Style Salsa

Ingredients

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice

2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)

¼ cups Chopped Onion

1 clove Garlic, Minced

1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin

¼ teaspoons Sugar

¼ teaspoons Salt

¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin

½ cups Cilantro (more To Taste!)

½ whole Lime Juice

Preparation Instructions

Note: this is a very large batch. Recommend using a 12-cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

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I also made Spicy Bean Burritos from Annie's Eats. Just a warning, this recipe uses chipotle in adobo sauce and the burritos really are spicy! Really! Although I am not a big fan of spicy foods, I love the sweet and smoky flavor that the chipotle adds to the bean mixture.

Spicy Bean Burritos

Yield: about 6 servings
Ingredients:
For the bean filling:
2 tsp. canola or vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. minced chipotle in adobo sauce
1 tsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp. kosher salt
Dash cayenne pepper
1/3 cup water, vegetable broth or chicken broth
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
6 tbsp. fresh salsa

For serving:
6 (9- or 10-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
Shredded cheese
Diced tomatoes
Shredded romaine lettuce
Chopped green onions
Low-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt

Directions:
To make the bean filling, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle, cumin, salt and cayenne; stir, cooking just until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Add the beans and the water or broth to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the salsa and mash the mixture with a spoon or fork.

Spoon about a third of a cup of the bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top each serving with a pinch of shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, green onions and sour cream.Roll the tortilla up tightly, burrito style, and serve immediately.

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Both of these recipes were easy and yum - I will almost definitely make both of them again. By the way, if you have never checked out Annie's Eats, do it now! It is a beautiful site and I have found plenty of great looking recipes that I want to try, including chicken gyros with homemade pita bread... in fact, I plan on making the Ginger Beef Stir Fry next week. And I will try to post at least one picture. ☺