Homemade Bottled Salsa

My friend asked me for this recipe. I figured if I'm going to type it up, I might as well post it here. =) I love this recipe! It was given to me by my sister-in-law's mother, and I've used it for a couple years now. It's pretty darn easy, and Greg and I love the flavor. What more can you ask for in a homemade salsa?! It's definitely not a mild salsa though. I would put it firmly in the medium category. My sister-in-law adds a "few" more serranos to make a fire batch every year. I like a little heat, but have no desire to get my eyebrows singed while eating. Feel free to adjust the amount of pepper/chilies to your own liking.

Homemade Bottled Salsa

6 quarts tomatoes, chopped.
2 c. onions, chopped (about 2 large)
2 c. green sweet bell peppers, chopped (about 4 or 5 large)
4 garlic buds, minced
2 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. cilantro, miced
2 c. jalapeño peppers, chopped (leave seeds in) (about 20)
2 c. anaheim peppers, chopped (about 20)
1 1/2 sweet banana peppers, chopped (about 15)
12 serrano peppers, chopped
1/3 c. canning salt
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 c. apple cider vinegar


Combine all ingredients in a large stockpot. Simmer several hours until thickened. Bottle it up in canning jars. Water Bath 30 mins. for pints, and 40 mins. for quarts.

Yields 7 quarts

Tips: Do ALL your chopping, mincing, ect. with a food processor. SO EASY! Leave the skins on your tomatoes. Leave the seeds in the jalapeños. Chop everything as fine or as chunky as you like. Cilantro chops up better if it's in the food processor at the same time as something else...like onions or peppers. I simmered mine while I was chopping, plus about an hour more. Then I whisked in some Ultra Gel to thicken it up. Just personal preference. I'm sure I could have simmered it down a little longer. I also have a HUGE stock pot so I did a batch and a half at a time. If you had a large pressure cooker/canner, you could definitely do two at a time.

Fresh garlic is a pain, but so worth it. I discovered on my second round that my son, Miles, is really good at peeling garlic teeth. =) Child labor, Baby!!

Mom’s Creamy White Chili

I wish I had a picture of this. Guess I'll have to buckle down, and make it so I can add one. Looks easy enough. :) I've been dying to eat this again ever since Britani made it for family dinner. PS: I wish all you Quigleys lived closer so you could join our monthly family potlucks. They've been a lot of fun!

BJ's Creamy White Chili

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 ½ tsp. garlic powder
1 TB. oil
2 (15 oz.) cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained (1 ½ cups dry beans cooked or 3 ½ cups cooked beans)
2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chilies
1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ cup whipping cream
1 cup sour cream


In a large pan, sauté chicken, onion, and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and cream. Serve immediately. Serves 7.

Salmon with Cilantro Pesto

Salmon with Cilantro Pesto
Jenny Quigley

Ingredients
*cooking spray (optional)
*4 salmon fillets (about 4 oz. each), rinsed and patted dry
*1/4 cup sliced almonds

Cilantro Pesto
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
3 Tbsp. chicken broth
2 Tbsp. sliced almonds
2 Tbsp. shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt free garlic herb seasoning blend

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400.
Line a baking sheet with foil or lightly spray with Pam
In a food processor or blender, process the pesto ingred. for 15 to 20 seconds, or until slightly chunky.
Place the fillets about 2 inches apart of the baking sheet. Spread the pesto evenly over the top of the fillets. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup almonds
Bake for 10 to 12 min. or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Killer Tomato Soup

I love love love grilled cheese sandwiches, so naturaly I gobbled up the recipe idea that Melinda posted a while ago. I decided to go all out and make my own tomato soup to go with the sandwiches. After finding and tweaking this recipe, it rocked! Jordan raved about it. I don't think I'll be buying Campbell's any time soon. This was way too easy and yummy.



Killer Tomato Soup

2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
6 tbs butter (I use unsalted)
15 fresh basil leaves, minced
pepper to taste

In medium sized pot, bring tomatoes and broth to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 mins. Add basil and pepper. Reduce heat to low; stir in cream and butter (slice it so it melts more evenly). Cook until butter is melted.

We enjoyed this recipe with Chef Doughty's Pizza Style Grilled Cheese Sandwich on sourdough bread.

Cranberry Chicken

Once in awhile I try a recipe that I am not sure if it will be good or not. And every once in awhile it is! Well, here is one of them...Trust me, it is better than it sounds!

Blend:
1 (8 oz.) bottle creamy French dressing
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 can whole cranberry sauce

Pour ingred. into 9x13 pan. Place chicken breasts in dish and cover with sauce. Bake, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.

I like to serve it over brown rice. Steamed broccoli is a great side!

Hearty Minestrone Soup

This is a recipe that I really like. It is healthy, hearty, and a great one for food storage. I am making it tonight...give it a try and let me know how you like it!
Love you all!
Jen

Hearty Minestrone Soup

3 cans beef broth
1 can red kidney beans, undrained
1 can cannellini beans, undrained
1 can (or bottle) of crushed tomatoes
1 pkg. frozen, chopped spinach (thawed)
1 pkg. your favorite frozen mixed veggies (thawed)
1 med. onion, chopped
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. black pepper
1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni (or sm. wheat pasta)

*Combine all ingredients except pasta. Bring to boil over Med. High heat then stir in noodles.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 min. or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.
Makes 12 cups.
Really good with some cornbread and honey or fresh homemade bread. :)

Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Pizza Style

I just got back from girls camp where we had a gourmet chef preparing the food. Chef Doughty is the bomb, and is really inventive. She really wanted all the (picky) girls to like the food, so the meals we ate were often a twist on a classic favorite. Freakin' GOOD STUFF. For lunch one day, we had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Boring? No. The soup was a thick, hearty, homemade tomato basil wonder, and the pizza style sandwich was simple but so good! I figured that I at least had the skills to make the sandwich, so guess what my family ate the day after I got home? Uh huh, and guess what else? They loved it! So here it is for you. Sorry no pictures.

Pizza Style Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Bread of your choice
mayonnaise
Italian seasoning
mozzarella cheese
pepperoni

On one slice of bread, spread mayo and sprinkle on Italian seasoning. On the other slice, be generous with the cheese and pepperoni. Bring the two halves together, and butter up the outsides (or spray your griddle with oil), and grill up your sandwich. Use the back of your turner to press it like a panini while it cooks. Serve with your favorite tomato soup.

Sound easy? It is. Sound good? IT IS.

Hope you enjoy it!

PS: Chef Doughty has a radio show in addition to her blog. In fact, she had the show long before the blog. She is a really good teacher, and really seems to love passing on her knowledge to help others find their Chef Within. I was so impressed with how she interacted with the young women of our stake. She didn't just give them jobs, she taught them skills. It was awesome. I wish I could have spent more time in the kitchen. Here's the link to her show's homepage: Food for Thought. There are a ton of recipes there.

PSS: At camp we also had these amazing french toast variations one morning using french bread topped with coconut, classic cinnamon, chopped pecans, and more topped with homemade cinnamon ginger maple syrup. I just noticed that she had the recipes on her sites. Oh man...sooooo good!

Black Eyed Salsa

I made this for a church function last night. It turned out so good. Good enough to eat like a salad, but excellent with chips. Tostitos Hint of Lime chips are the bomb with it.

Black Eyed Salsa

3 cans Black Eyed Peas, rinsed and drained
1 can shoepeg corn, drained (white sweet corn)
tomato, chopped (2 or 3)
green onions, chopped (like 3)
avocado (I used two huge ones)
fresh garlic, peeled and sliced
lime
kosher salt

Firmly rub the sliced side of your fresh garlic on the sides of a large mixing bowl, coating it with garlicy goodness. In same bowl, combine black eyed peas, shoepeg corn, tomato, green onions, and *avocado chunks. Season with fresh squeezed lime juice and kosher salt.

* This makes a ton, so I split the batch, and added the avocado, lime and salt to the half we used that night. I reserved the rest in the fridge, and added those three ingredients when we were ready to eat it. Next time I think I'll add some cilantro. YUM.

BJ’s Butter-Pecan or Toasted Almond Ice Cream

2 TBs. butter
½ - ¾ cup coarsely chopped pecans or sliced almonds
1 ¾ cups packed brown sugar
¾ cup water
4 eggs
2 tsps. vanilla
1 quart whipping cream
Milk to fill line

In a small skillet, melt butter. Add pecans or almonds. Stir over low heat until browned but not burned; set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar and water. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Simmer gently 2 minutes, stirring occasionally; set aside. In mixing bowl, beat eggs until thick and lemon colored, about 3 minutes. Continue beating while pouring hot brown sugar syrup in a thin stream over beating eggs. Continue beating until cool and thick. Stir in vanilla, whipping cream and pecans or almonds. Pour into ice cream canister. Fill a little above the fill line with the milk. Stir. Freeze. Makes 1 gallon.

Mama Q's Homemade Ice Cream

BJ’s Favorite Ice Cream Basic Recipes
(Makes one gallon.)

4 beaten eggs
2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp. salt
1 quart whipping cream

about 5 cups milk (varies with each variety)

Flavoring, fruit choice from variation list below

2 - 7 lb. bags of ice

Uncooked Method: Whisk eggs in canister until lemon colored. Add sugar, salt, and cream. Whisk. Add variation ingredients (see below). Add milk to fill line. Stir. Freeze as directed.

Cooked Method: Combine sugar, salt & cream in saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Gradually stir 1 cup hot mix into beaten eggs. Add eggs to remaining hot mix, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Put in canister. Stir in other desired ingredients. Add milk to fill line. Stir. Cover. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Freeze as directed.

To Freeze: Assemble freezer and start. Fill maker 1/3 with ice. Add 1 cup rock salt. Repeat to fill. (May have to add ice and salt before it stops.) When it stops, leave can in ice, remove dasher, cover with plastic wrap and lid. Drain some water off. Pile as much ice on top as you can. Put 1 cup salt over top. Cover with a plastic bag and folded beach towel. Sit maker in a large plastic container to catch further melt. Wrap whole maker with a wool or levi blanket. Best if made at least 4 hours ahead and allowed to harden. I have had it wait 6 hours and it has been great. Enjoy!!!

BJ’s Variations to the Favorite Basic Ice Cream Recipe

Vanilla – 4 TBs. Clear Vanilla (Brown works too, ice cream just isn’t as white)
Chocolate – 4 tsp. Brown Vanilla, 3 – 4 oz. pkgs. Of Ghirardelli Chocolate (60 Cocao Bittersweet) – Melted in Microwave 2-3 mins. on Power Level 5. Best using the cooked method and added at the end, just before putting into the canister.
Fruit – Juice of 1 lemon & 1- 16 ounce bag of frozen fruit, thawed and mashed. (The multi berry packages are great with additional strawberries added.) Or fresh mashed peaches etc..
Root beer – 1 tsp. Vanilla & 2 TBs. Root beer Extract
Orange Creamsicle – Juice of 3 Oranges & 1 Lemon, and 1 tsp. Orange Extract. Red and yellow food coloring to make orange.
Candy Bar – 1 tsp. Vanilla & Crushed Candy Bars of choice added 10 minutes into freezing. (Cut sugar to 1 cup.)
Oreo Cookie – 1 tsp. Vanilla & 24 Slightly Crushed Oreos added 10 minutes into freezing. (Cut sugar to 1 cup.)
Peppermint – ½ tsp. of Peppermint Flavoring & ½ cup crushed candy cane or chopped junior mints. (Cut sugar to 1 cup.)
Cherry – ½ cup coarsely chopped maraschino cherries, 1 tsp. almond and vanilla. (May also add ½ cup coconut and nuts.)
Pineapple – 1 large can unsweetened pineapple, drained, ½ cup juice, 1 TB. Vanilla & ½ cup nuts
Hawaiian – Juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange, 1 mashed banana and 1 mango, 1 small can pineapple, ½ cup coconut, & chopped macadamia nuts if desired.