Habenero Lime Salsa

My husband actually started making cantina style salsa. I always made fresh pico de gallo. Every time we bbq, he would always make salsa and we would always have salsa stuff left over. He bought some habeneros and limes one time and didn’t use hardly any. I watched him on how he made his salsa and came up with my own. 1 habenero packs a lot of heat, so if you’re not into spicy, then I suggest you roast a jalapeno instead. Or even a serrano. This salsa is the best I’ve ever made. It’s tart, spicy and addicting.

5 roma tomatos (fresh and left whole)

4 tomatillos (whole)

1 large jalapeno (whole)

1 bulb of garlic (peeled and whole)

1 roasted habenero (whole)

1 medium onion (chopped)

1/2 c. cilantro (chopped)

1 lemon (juice)

2-3 limes (juice)

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

kosher salt to taste

Fill a pot halfway with water . Add tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic and the jalapeno and cook until it boils, covered. Turn the heat off and let it sit covered for 5 minutes. Roast a habenero on an open flame until chard.  Add the tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic, jalapeno and habenero into a food processor and pulse until almost smooth and pour into a bowl. Add chopped onions, cilantro, lemon, limes, seasonings and mix well. Refrigerate for 2 hours or over night. Serve with homemade tortilla chips. (see under “tips/diy”)

Crockpot Mushroom Chicken With Black Truffle Cheese and Rigatoni

Okay so I intended for this to be just a simple creamy mushroom chicken over rice….but I decided at the last minute to get fancy. I totally forgot that I had bought black truffle italian cheese from Trader Joe’s the other day. So I decided to roll with it and try to create something yummy. Yes this is a crockpot recipe. And yes this is very easy! Now for those who have never tried Black Truffles, they are quite pungent and have a strong earthy smell and taste to it. Some like it, some don’t. They are a little expensive and you can find the truffle cheeses at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods…so if you are not quite familiar with truffles, I suggest you try it first on a piece of toast before you make this. You can substitute truffle cheese with fontina cheese or even mozzarella if you wish.

8 pieces of chicken tenderloin breasts or 4 large chicken breasts (halved)

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1 small white onion (chopped)

1 bulb of garlic (peeled and left whole)

1 can of golden mushroom soup (if you can’t find this, then use regular cream of mushroom)

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

1/2 c. of chardonnay

1/2 c. sliced cremini mushrooms

1/4 c. chopped parsley

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp of black pepper

1 tsp of kosher salt

1/3 c. frozen peas

4 c. of rigatoni pasta

1 c. black truffle italian cheese (shredded)

1/4 c. parmesan cheese

Place Chicken (it can be frozen) in the bottom of the crockpot. Melt butter in a pot. Once melted, add onions and garlic and cook for about a minute. Then the 2 cans of mushroom soup. Mix well. Then add the chardonnay and mushrooms along with the parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper and salt. Mix Well and turn the heat off. Then pour over chicken. Cook in the crockpot for 5 hours. Then add peas. Cook for 1 more hour. Then set aside.

In a large pot boil water to cook rigatoni and cook until al dente. In a large casserole dish add cooked pasta. Then add 1/2 c. of the shredded black truffle cheese and 1/8 c. of parmesan cheese. Pour the creamy chicken and mixture into the casserole dish and toss lightly until it’s mixed well. Add a the rest of the cheeses on top. Sprinkle olive oil across the top and set in the broiler for 5 minutes until cheese is melted.  Then ready to serve!

 

French-Toast Casserole

I love everything about this dish. It is super easy and super yummy. I needed to make something last weekend for a a small group of friends because we were throwing a garage sale at my house. Our friends brought stuff to sell and I had told them that I would provide breakfast and coffee. I wanted to make something I can quickly put together and leave in the oven while I help set up and attend to my 1 year old. This was perfect and a hit! My friend Rheanna gave me this recipe, except that I tweaked it a little bit because I didn’t have vanilla extract and that I didn’t really want to use as much granulated sugar that it asked for. But I still give her props! Thanks Rheezy! Everyone loved it! Even my little one!

1 loaf of french bread (cut cubed)

3 cups of milk

8 eggs

4 tbsp of agave nectar

2 tbsp of vanilla bean maple syrup (fresh&easy brand) or vanilla extract

2 tbsp of granulated sugar

4 tbsp of cinnamon

1/2 c. melted unsalted butter

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Using a large buttered casserole dish, spread out cubes of bread at the bottom.. Mix milk, eggs, agave nectar, vanilla and 2 tbsp of cinnamon in a bowl. Then pour evenly over the bread. Then pour melted butter over the top of the bread. Let it sit for 10 minutes to soak.

Then sprinkle granulated sugar and the rest of the cinnamon over the top.

Bake for 1 hour.

Serve with the vanilla bean syrup or fruit with powdered sugar and enjoy!