A beautiful breakfast!

This breakfast was so pretty that I just had to take a couple of pictures. It was a beautiful spring day and I had just read my new edition of "Victoria" magazine. Those of you who indulge will understand. I had no choice but to go out into my newly emerging back yard and pretend that I was in one of those inspiring photos I had just enjoyed. I felt so...British!

Greek vanilla yogurt with orange flavored olive oil and marmalade jam, along with whole grain crackers,  pepper jelly and extra sharp white cheddar. Devine!

The Best Fresh Salsa in the World!

Yes, I do think this is the best fresh salsa in the world, and I'm not the only one ;-) I have spent many years changing and perfecting this until now I make it the same way every time. This is my own recipe, and makes enough for my husband and I (did I mention that my family really LOVES salsa?)

And here are today's players (I'm watching the BYU San Diego game right now)
Ro-tel original tomatoes and jalapeno's, fresh tomato, onion, cilantro, fresh jalapeno,
fresh lime juice and salt.

Start with the Ro-tel. Use your mini chopper or magic bullet for this. If you use a regular blender, be careful not to over blend it. ( start with the mushiest stuff first and build to the firmest on top)

I don't bottle salsa anymore because we love fresh so much more, so I bottle my tomatoes and jalapeno's (making my own Ro-tel) So if you want, you can use yours. The store baught Ro-tel is a little chunkier than mine though, so I use this for other things.

Add one or two fresh tomatoes. For this recipe, I don't like to use really ripe home grown tomatoes. They make it too sweet. I guess this is one of those FEW times where hard, mealy, tasteless store bought tomatoes work just fine. ;-)

...and about a half of a fresh jalapeno.
This part really depends on your ability to handle heat. Sometimes when they are growing in my garden, I add a fourth of a habeniero and that just about kills us (but we LOVE it!)
You could take the seeds out, or add less...

...but here is how I determine how much to put in. I cut off the end, then lick it. If I have to take a drink, I add a little less, if not, I add the whole thing. WARNING: I have a high heat tolerance!

Add a hand full (about 1/3 cup) cilantro. Can be more or less depending on how much you like cilantro. In a pinch, you can also use dried cilantro.
Squeeze a half of a fresh lime in there.

Add 1/4th of a small onion. Since the onions are raw, make sure it doesn't have too much green showing or a extra strong smell. I have had a couple of batches turn out too strong because of an "off" onion

Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt

As you can see, this puppy is pretty jam packed.

Here's what it looks like before I chop it up.

...and here it is after.
I just pulse a few times until it's the consistency I want.
If you're using a blender, be careful not to blend it too much. It get's foamy and isn't as good.

Here it is in all it's yummy-ness!

It's best eaten right away, but stays good for a couple of days.
I like it with Santias chips.


Fresh Salsa Recipe

1 can Ro-tel tomatoes
1 or 2 fresh tomatoes
handful cilantro
1/2 jalapeno
1/4 onion
juice of 1/2 fresh lime
1/2-1 teaspoon salt

Add the Ro-tel first, then roughly chop the other veggies and add to the chopper. Top with lime juice and salt. Pulse the chopper until it's finely chopped.
Enjoy!

Vermicelli Salad

(This is a 2 part salad. The first part needs to marinate overnight.)

Yes, this salad looks kind of gross but it is SO good! I like to take it to potluck's and it's always one of the first to go. I took this one to Kate's homecoming Sunday.

Here are the stars of today's salad!

Cook about 12-16 oz. spaghetti

drain then put into bowl with lid, then add Oil, Lemon juice, seasoning salt and Accent. (yes I know Accent is very controversial, but it won't taste as good without it...and I have been using it for years)

Mix them together (I like to do it while the noodles are still a little warm) put the lid on, and set in the fridge over night.
Get two knives and cut through the noodles a few times to make them into short pieces (don't forget this part! I did, and had to do it when everything was mixed and that's a lot more work)

The next day, chop up your celery, onions and green pepper

I like them chopped up really fine, so I use my handy dandy mini chopper! ...I use this for salsa too....

See... nice tiny pieces

If you're going to be in a hurry the next morning like I was, chop these up the day before and put in a zip loc bag in the fridge so that all you have to do the next day is dump everything in.

The next day, dump in your veggies, olives (Ha ha! They look like eyes) pimento's and mayo

Mix it all up and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving. It get's better with time!

Recipe for Vermicelli salad

1 16 oz. package spaghetti noodles
4 Tbsp. Oil
3 Tbsp. Lemon juice
1 Tbsp. Accent (MSG)
1 Tbsp. Seasoning salt
mix together. Cut noodles into small pieces, cover and refrigerate over night.
The next day add
1 C. chopped green pepper
1/2 C. chopped onion
2 C. chopped celery
2- 40z. can's chopped olives
1- 40z. jar chopped pimento's
1-1/2 C. Mayonnaise
Mix together and let sit in fridge at least 2 hours before serving

Grandpa's Taco's

These yummy taco's were invented by my Grandpa Frank Fish sometime around the 1940's. They are different from any other taco in the world...anyway, I haven't seen any like them....

I don't have a written recipe for this, so I'll walk you through it. First cook up some hamburger. About two lbs, (85% lean) add salt and pepper.

While it's cooking, cut up one head of iceburg lettuce, 2 or 3 tomatoes, and a half an onion and put it all in a large metal or glass bowl, then add the cooked ground beef.

Trust me, it's going to be good!

Then make some chili gravy by melting about 1/3 cup shortening, 1/3 cup flour, 2 teaspoons chili powder and 1 teaspoon salt. let it cook for a couple of minutes....

Then have a big glass (about 3 cups) water ready. Turn down the heat and add the water a little at a time stirring with a whisk till it's the consistency of thick gravy (mine is a little thick here, but it's all good)

Then dump it in the bowl with the veggies and meat...again, trust me...

A note on Tabasco. I have at least two recipe's that HAVE to have Tabasco...no substitutions! It wouldn't be the same with out it. I shake the bottle about 10 times, but you can adjust it to your ability to handle heat.

Mix it all up, cover it with tin foil and put it in the oven at 325 while you fry the tortilla's (about 20 minutes)

Get a stack of corn tortilla's and spread one side with shortening, then stack them back up. (this way a little gets on the back too)

fry them about 10 seconds on each side. You want them a tiny bit crisp but still soft enough to fold. put them on a plate with paper towels between to soak up the grease.

Take the yummy stuff out of the oven....put in to tortilla's, add cheese and of course extra Tabasco, and ENJOY!

I hope you give this a try. Once you do, I think it will be a regular at your dinner table!

Oh, and don't forget...this is a 4 napkin meal ;-)