Corn Salsa Recipe

I have always been a fan of good corn salsa.  Here is a recipe for an easy yet really good one.

Corn Salsa

Ingredients

3 cups frozen corn
2 poblano chilies
2 jalapeno chilies
1/2 red onion
1 bunch ciliantro (about 1/3 cup chopped)
2 TBS fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
zest from 2 limes
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Roast poblano and jalapeno peppers until charred on all sides.  Put in bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
2. Heat skillet on medium until hot.  Put corn in skillet and stir occasionally until roasted and a few kernals are blackened (about 8 min).
3. Remove the skin, seeds and stems from peppers.  Dice peppers.  Dice onion. Chop cilantro.  Place peppers, onion and cilantro in large bowl.  Add corn.
4. Add lime juice and zest to bowl.  Stir.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Salsa recipes

I have had many things come up in the last few weeks that have prevented me from updating the blog.  I thought now might be a good time to take a break for a couple of weeks and resume the blog in August.  It is almost time for tomatoes to be ripe so I thought I would post a link to a site that has copycat salsa recipes from restaurants.  Have fun trying them out!

http://hubpages.com/hub/Copycat-Salsa-Recipes

Café Rio (or Costa Vida) Sweet Pork Copycat Recipe

There are a ton of copycat Sweet Pork recipes on the web.  I have tried a few and made some tweaks and I think I have a pretty decent version of the yummy pork!  See what you think but I couldn't believe how easy it was.

Since my goal of doing this blog is to publish it into a cookbook, I am finally taking my own photos instead of getting them off of Google.  Now I have to go back and replace all of my previous posts with my own pics!

Café Rio Sweet Pork

Ingredients

6-7 pounds boneless pork ribs (they come in a package at Costco)

1 2 liter bottle of Coke (NOT Diet Coke or Coke Zero)

1 tsp garlic salt

1/4 c. water

1 medium sized can of sliced green chilies

1 can enchilada sauce (mild or medium depending on desired spiciness)

2 c. brown sugar

Directions

1. Put pork, 1 1/2 cups of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork. 
2. In a blender, blend 2 cups Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and brown sugar. If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.
3. Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours.

Caramelized Onion Potato Bake

This is a great side dish for steak.  We had this yesterday with bbq ribs and it was a hit.  I adapted this recipe from Tyler Florence's Carmelized Onion Potato Tart.

Caramelized Onion Potato Bake

Ingredients


4 potatoes
1 onion
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
2 tbsp butter



Directions


1. Cut onion in half and slice onion thinly.

2. Put 4 tbsp olive oil in skillet on medium heat. Add onion and cook for 12-15 min until onion is caramelized.

3. Scrub potatoes and slice very thin (using a mandolin slicer helps).

4. Add onion mixture to potatoes and lightly toss together with spatula being careful not to break potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Add 2 tbsp olive oil to small casserole dish and add potato/onion mixture. Break up butter on top of potatoes. Cover with foil for 30 min. Remove foil and bake for another 20-30 min.

Well-Done Hamburgers

I have been trying different ways to have well-done, yet juicy hamburgers.  I think I have finally figured it out.  Try it you will like it!

Ingredients

2 lbs hamburger (80/20 works well)

1 hamburger bun

2 tbs milk

1 tbs steak sauce

2 cloves garlic; minced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Preheat grill on high.
2. Break up hamburger bun into food processor.  Process for about 1 minute.
3. Add bun crumbs to large mixing bowl and add milk.  Mash with a fork until combined.
4. Add steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce and garlic.  Stir to combine.
5. Break up hamburger and add to mixture in bowl.  Use hands and combine.  Be careful not to over-mix.  Add salt and pepper.
6. Use large lid (such as a mayonnaise jar) lined with plastic wrap and add hamburger pushing down to form about 7-8 patties.
7. Cook on hot grill for about 5 minutes per side.
8. Remove from grill and serve with your favorite toppings.

Bran Muffins

Bran Muffins


These muffins are a hit at our house.  We like to make them on Sundays and then eat them throughout the week.  The best part about these muffins is they aren't dry like most bran muffins.  This recipe has been tweaked over the years and was originally based on the "America's Test Kitchen" Better Bran Muffin Recipe.

Ingredients


1 cup craisins
1/4 cup raisins
1 tsp water
3 tbsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups plain yogurt
6 tbsp melted butter, cooled to room temp
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups All-Bran cereal
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
Sugar in the raw for sprinkling on top of muffins


Directions


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (380 degrees if using convection)
2. Plump raisins/craisins by putting in a bowl with the water and covering with plastic wrap. Cook in microwave for 30 sec and then let sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
3. Add the flours together in a large mixing bowl along with the salt and baking soda and whisk to combine.
4. Add eggs to another large mixing bowl and beat until combined (about 20 sec). Add molasses, sugar, and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add cooled melted butter and yogurt. Stir to combine.
5. Process half of the cereal in food processer for 1 minute. Add processed and unprocessed cereal to egg/yogurt mixture and let sit for 5 min.
6. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and carefully combine with spatula. Avoid overmixing. Fold in raisins/craisins.
7. Spray a standard sized muffin pan with cooking spray. Using a 1/3 cup fill muffin cups. Sprinkle with sugar in the raw on top of each muffin.
8. Bake for 16 min (14 min if using convection). Remove and let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove muffins and place on cooling rack.

Asian BBQ Chicken

Asian BBQ Chicken

This recipe is one that everyone loves.  I get requests to make it often.  It is really easy!  If you don't like Asian BBQ you can substitute the sauce with your favorite BBQ sauce!

Ingredients

2 lbs of chicken legs or wings (bone in and skin on)

salt and pepper

Sauce

1/4 cup sriracha (asian hot sauce found in the asian aisle, see picture)
1/2 cup oyster sauce (found in asian aisle, see picture)

Directions

1. Preheat grill for at least 15 min (if using a gas grill)
2. Season chicken heavily with salt and pepper
3. Place on grill and grill each side about 20 min
4. After cooking brush each piece of chicken with sauce