Shea's Seriously Addicting Homemade Salsa

My good friend Shea has many talents:  crafting, reading, singing, and being an overall awesome mom to her four kids.  She usually brings this salsa to craft night or book club, and I tell you, I have to wait til the end of the night to eat it because if not I will eat the whole bowl!  Sooo good!

1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can diced green chiles
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/3 onion, chopped (add more to taste)
Fresh cilantro to taste
About 1 tsp white vinegar or lime juice (add more to taste)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
Red pepper flakes to taste

Combine in your food processor or magic bullet, whatever you have.  Play around with the seasonings to taste as to what you prefer.

Texas Flour Tortillas

(adapted from The Border Cookbook by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison)

Ingredients:Two cups of all-purpose flour (can make them whole wheat by substituting one cup of whole-wheat flour for white flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
3/4 cups of warm milk

Method:Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil.Slowly add the warm milk.Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed.Knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft.Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.

After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching) and then cover balls with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. (It’s very important to let the dough rest, otherwise it will be like elastic and won’t roll out to a proper thickness and shape.)

After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter. (If you roll out pie crusts you’ll have no problem with this.) Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.In a dry iron skillet or comal heated on high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.

Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat.Can be reheated in a dry iron skillet, over your gas-burner flame or in the oven wrapped in foil.While you probably won’t have any leftovers, you can store in the fridge tightly wrapped in foil or plastic for a day or so.

Makes eight tortillas.

a slightly less fat option for tortillas. have i mentioned that i havent bought them for almost 2 years now!! wahooo!

Cafe Rio Rice

2 c. Basmati rice (rinse twice and drain) I used minute rice and just put everything into the pan, didn't rinse or drain
2 T. oil
1c. water
1/2 teas. salt
1/4 c. lime juice
1 small can of diced green chiles
2 c. chicken broth
place in pan, bring to a boil, then let simmer on low for 20 mins.

After I cooked it I added about 1 T of finely chopped cilantro, so good!

Cafe Rio Dressing

1/2 c. Mayo
1/2 c. Sour cream
1/2c. buttermilk
1 c. Cilantro (before it is chopped, more like half of the bunch or 1/3 of the bunch)
1 pk ranch dressing mix
4 cloves of garlic minced
3 tomatillos

Blend in blender and refridgerate overnight for best flavor.

Cafe Rio Black Beans

1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp cumin
2 T. olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 T. cilantro chopped

In nonstick pan, cook cumin, garlic, and oil over medium heat until you can smell it, then add beans, tomato juice and salt until heated through, before serving add cilantro, and 4 tsp of lime juice.

homemade tortillas

Today i got the craving for tortillas... and there is something so delish about them when they are homemade...

this is the easiest recipe ever!!
I like to just eat em plain but they'd be good with butter, cinnamon, and sugar.... or to have tacos. or fajitas... yum yum!

2 1/4 cup flour
1/4 c butter flavored shortning...
1tsp corse salt...

I mix that up in my food processer until it looks like bread crumbs...
then add 1 cup (really really HOT) water

roll into balls and then roll out as flat as you can get...
cook over medium heat in a non stick pan... flip once it starts to bubble..

Cafe Rio Green Chile Rice

I originally got this recipe from my friend Anna's blog. After experimenting with it a few times, I finally figured out how to make it work.

Ingredients:
1 cup original Uncle Ben’s long grain white rice
2 ¼ cups water
4 small chicken bouillon cubes
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 4-oz. can green chilies
1/2 onion
Chop cilantro, green chiles, onion and garlic together in a food processor. Add rice, water, green chile mixture and chicken buillion in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 25-30 minutes until water is evaporated and rice is tender.

Texas Caviar II

1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 yellow pepper diced (as small as you can)
1 red pepper diced (as small as you can)
1 can Shoepeg corn (drained)
1 can Rotel (original) tomatoes drained
1/2 bunch of cilantro diced small
1/2 bunch of green onions diced small
1T. lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste, Delish!

Same as Dall's put in the fridge over night, for ultimate flavor results!

texas caviar

1can white corn, drained
1 can black-eyed peas, drained
1/2 bunch green onion, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
4 med. tomatoes, chopped
3 avocados, chopped1 pkg.
Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
Mix together all ingredients and chill overnight.

this is one of my favorite dips... its always a hit at a BBQ...