6 Super Tasty Salsa Recipes

If you're hosting a casual get together, short notice you'll need some people pleasing food that doesn't look last minute.  I pulled up six of our favorite salsa recipes I originally pulled together for Cinco De Mayo because any any excuse to feature Mexican food is a good excuse to make a quick easy salsa that takes minutes to prepare from ingredients you probably already have on hand.  The salsas will be a great intro to some build your own tacos.  And heck, what's better for some Tailgaiting Football parties?

Nine Layer Dip in a jar

Turn on the TV for some manly sports and serve this SUPER easy, almost homemade and delicious dip in a jar.  The thing about party dip is the appeal quickly disappears as soon as a couple of servings are taken out of the beautiful presentation and the left overs aren’t so appetizing either.  That is one reason to make individual servings in a jar.  Some other great reasons are portion control, less mess, ease, you can be sure everyone gets some and extra’s are easy to send home with guests. This is also a technique

Party Appetizers and Finger Foods

Stuffed jalapeño, meatloaf slider, 9 layer dip, potato skin, baked fried pie, chocolate strawberries

We Americans do love our football.  I’m more about the commercials and food than the game, especially when it’s not a very exciting game like the XLVIII Super Bowl game.  What I thought was a party for two happily became a party for three when big girl grand came by on her way home from work.  Here are some of the recipes for the appetizer/finger food Sunday night we shared.

Texas Caviar also known as Cowboy Salsa

Cultural food day was a big success at the school where I worked.  I had to laugh when one of the adults said she almost brought a bottle of Heinz 57!  Many Americans are like me, multi-cultural.  My Aunt Doris can tell us much about her and my mom's heritage.  She even traveled to England and Scotland scouting old graveyards and records.  She also states the rumored American Indian is undocumented and can't be claimed.  What a shame, I'd really like to know. For the rest of this story and a wonderful Texas Caviar recipe click here.

Baked Fried Pickle with Ranch dip

I feel like the last Texan alive that had not eaten fried pickles.  But something about the thought of fried dill pickle has deterred me since I first heard of them at the State Fair several years ago.  The recipes have floated by me on Pinterest and on numerous cooking shows until today.  I’ve been trying to give my mom a varied menu and today after a short discussion about fried pickles I gave in.  Why did I ever wait?

No Resolutions

for the new year needed.  I have already admitted to being a habitual organizer and list maker.  I just woke up on New Years Day and continued on with the daily living towards being a better person and living each day to the best of my ability.  I truly believe doing this daily makes for an amazingly stress free existence.  I rose early enough to watch the new year sunrise because it's a nice way to mark beginnings.  This is the view that came as I drew in my breath that morning.

You can see the last sunset as I saw it on 1/31/12 on yesterdays post.  It was also an amazing site.

Today we kept a Texas tradition and ate black eyed peas.  Back during the depression and dust bowl days, many homesteaders were very hungry and a tradition was born as many Texans ate black eyed peas and hoped for better days of prosperity.  Prosperity eventually came and the tradition stayed on as a salute to survival.

We ate our black eyed peas in a relish type dip.  It is really delish.  I posted the recipe previously here.     I usually serve them with Frito brand Scoops, but my sister made some spicy saltines that were very good with them too.  I'll twist her arm gently for the recipe in a few days...

While I'm sharing, here are a couple of easy finger lings we had at our big family Christmas Brunch.  I sat the ingredients before a couple of nieces and they had fun assembling them while I made cup cake upside down pineapple cakes.

Found this easy recipe on Pinterest.  Purchased powdered donuts
and turned the into snowmen with candy corn & mini chocolate chips.

Another Pinterest find, Grinch fruit!  Spear a strawberry, banana slice and green grape.
We used purchased black icing in a tube from the grocery store to make the faces.

By far the favorite was this pineapple upside down cupcake recipe.
In a cupcake pan, place a teaspoon of butter and
a teaspoon of brown sugar
then a pineapple ring.
Enough simple yellow cake batter to fill the muffin pan 2/3 full.
Bake 350 F for about 20 minutes.
Flip over onto serving platter and
op with a marachino cherry.

I sometimes link up here...

Salsa using an emersion blender and pantry ingredients

42 years of collecting has my cabinets crowded and crammed with stuff I use, stuff I'd like to use and stuff I don't know how to use.

Every year, usually right before and right after New Year's Resolution day... I start thinking about organizing the kitchen stuff. Though I'm a habitual organizer, the kitchen stuff seems to get pushed to the bottom of the list and only surface organized. Beginning today, I am determined to take one item out of the dark recesses and either use it, figure out how to use it, or get rid of it. I already know what is first. That little hand held Braun blender. Fast forward...20 minutes... I did it! In 20 minutes I checked for some salsa recipes, rummaged for ingredients and substitutions, took photo shots, used the Braun blender, taste tested and checked off one more thing in my bucket list.