Salsa 

1 4oz can green chilies

1 4oz can jalapenos

1 large can tomatoes [not 15oz can]

1 tbsp vinegar 

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp garlic salt

Salt & pepper to taste

1-2 small onions, chopped to desired size

Fresh cilantro to taste if desired

Chop tomatoes into small pieces, reserve juice from can. 

Add juice and all other ingredients including tomatoes to a bowl and mix well. 

Can be served immediately but we prefer to cover and refrigerate an hour or more before serving.

BACKSTORY:

While stationed at Point Loma Submarine base on the USS Dixon in 1989, a fellow shipmate [Boatswain's Mate] took pity on me and let me spend a couple of weekends here and there with him and his wife at their apartment. It was great to get off the boat sime as I had no car and San Diego was huge! His wife made the best salsa and gave me the recipe and I have been making it ever since. 

Mom's Thanksgiving Dressing

This dressing can be made in advance in easy stages. My Mom usually makes the egg bread the day before she needs it.

EGG BREAD: 

>Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

*Grease a 10in cast iron skillet or a 9in cake pan. [do not preheat pan in oven]

Mix the following ingredients together in a bowl. If it seems a little too thick, add more milk.

3/4 Cup self-rising corn meal

1/4 Cup self rising flour

5 Eggs

1 Tablespoon oil

1/4 Cup buttermilk

1/4 Cup whole milk

Mix til well blended. Pour in prepared pan and bake at 425 for 15-20 min. Set aside to cool. 

*This can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days or frozen and thawed out the day before it is needed. .

BROTH FOR DRESSING:

*large pot of boiling water

Chicken bouillon [to your taste]

2 Chicken back or necks

3 Hard boiled eggs-chopped

2 Stalks of celery-chopped

1 Large onion-chopped

In a large pot boil chicken necks/backs for 1.5-2 hrs. The meat should be falling off the bone. Remove the bones, pick the meat off of them and add the meat back to the broth.  Reduce heat to low/med, add celery and onions. Cook til vegetables are soft. Add chopped hard boiled eggs when veggies are done.

While onions and celery are cooking, process the dressing below:

DRESSING:

>Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

*Food processor, large bowl, 13 x 9 in. pan

**If you do not have a food processor, the mixing can be done with bare hands in a large bowl.

1 Box Stove Top Stuffing [Savory Herb or Chicken flavor]

1 Recipe of egg bread

1 Recipe chicken broth 

Additional canned chicken broth [if needed]

In a food processor [or by hand] coarsely crumble/chop egg bread, then add the box of stove top stuffing and the seasoning pack. Process together til fine. Put in large bowl then add 1 recipe chicken broth. Mix it well. The consistency should be a little "soupy." Add canned chicken broth if needed to get the soupy consistency. Pour into 13x9 pan and bake at 350 degrees til brown on top. 

If the dressing is not soupy when it goes into the oven, it will be dry when it comes out. Trust Mom on this, lol. 

I've had lots of dressing over the years but this one is forever my favorite.  

Grandma Petrey's Pumpkin Pie

My Grandma Petrey handed this recipe down to my Aunt Barbara and it was then passed down to me. 

I will have additional tweaks at the end to cut back the sugar and carbs. 

 Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

Ingredients: 

2 eggs 

1 one-lb can of pumpkin. [not pumpkin pie mix] 

3/4 Cup packed brown sugar 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 

1 12oz. can evaporated milk 

1 deep dish frozen pie crust, thawed/defrosted. 

 Mix first 5 ingredients thoroughly, then mix in evaporated milk. Mix well. Pour into pie crust. [should be some left over.] 

 Bake in pre-heated 425 degree oven for 15 min., then LOWER TEMP to 350 degrees and bake for 50min. 

 Check for doneness by inserting a sharp knife in the center. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, continue to bake and check at 5min. increments til done. 

My tweaks for lower carbs and sugar: 

 *I subbed out equal amount of Swerve brown sugar for regular brown sugar. 

*I do not use a pie crust at all and put it in a glass deep dish pie pan. There is no leftover pie filling this way, also.

Cauliflower Mash

I have been reworking this recipe for years trying to get it as close as possible to a mashed potatoes type consistency and finally have it down to a science. After numerous requests it seems time to get it out of my head and onto my blog. 

Cauliflower Mash

*One medium to large head of cauliflower

*One stick of butter (not margarine)

*One container of onion and chive cream cheese

*Heavy whipping cream

*Salt, pepper, and granulated garlic

Equipment: pot with lid, (a steamer basket if steaming is preferred) colander, lots of paper towels, hand-held potato masher, electric hand mixer, large bowl.

Steam or boil cauliflower til done. 

Line colander with two layers of paper towels. 

Drain cauliflower as much as possible, then dump into paper towel lined colander. Cover cauliflower with a couple more layers of paper towels and use the handheld potato masher to begin to press down on the paper towels, pressing as much water out as possible. 

You will need to change out the paper towels frequently and keep pressing until no water comes up through the paper towels as you mash. This will significantly compress your cauliflower by about half, normally.

In an appropriate sized mixing bowl, slice up the stick of butter and dump the butter and the entire carton of cream cheese into the bottom of the bowl. 

Dump the hot cauliflower on top of the cream cheese and butter in the bowl. Season with salt pepper and granulated garlic. Use your hand mixer to begin whipping the cauliflower with the cheese and butter underneath. Add a splash of heavy whipping cream as often as needed to make the mixture creamy. Mix on high to break up all of the chunks. Adjust salt, pepper and granulated garlic as you go. 

*Reheats well in the microwave and freezes well, also. 

**I occasionally swap out the onion and chive cream cheese for garlic and herb cream cheese. I have used generic and Philadelphia brand and the Philadelphia brand seems to taste and melt better.

 

***Mashing out the water in the cauliflower by hand while swapping out soaked paper towels isn't fun but the end result is well worth it! 

It pairs well with Mississippi Pot Roast and as the mashed potato layer in Shepherds Pie. 

Close up view of the fluffiness and consistency. 

RECIPE REVIEW: The Best Broccoli Salad You Will Ever Make

I needed a good recipe for broccoli salad for a fundraiser lunch and came across this one. That is a big, bold claim to make so I figured they must be pretty sure of themselves.

Let me tell you, they were right. I got back raves from everyone I made it for and my son, Mr. Picky even liked it. Just a suggestion: do not sub out the real bacon with anything you did not cook yourself. No bacon bits, no real-bacon in a bag. Just. Don't.

It was the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. Overnight in the fridge it got a little condensed down and heavier.. It was much fluffier first day it was made. If I were going to make it for a get together I would advance prep every thing [including the dressing] and combine/refrigerate for maybe an hour or two prior.

Here it is. Let me know what you think. The link to the original recipe is at the end. :)

p.s., I added raisins. Next time I think I will do dried cranberries and maybe some walnuts or pecans. ;)

. Combine the following ingredients together, mix, and set to the side. 

• 1 cup Hellman’s Mayonnaise (DO NOT use miracle whip) 
• 4 Tbs white sugar
• 3 Tbs white vinegar 

Next combine the following ingredients in a bowl

• 5 cups of chopped up broccoli 
• 1/2 med red onion chopped into small pieces
• 8 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled 
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup of broccoli slaw

Mix all of these ingredients together and pour dressing over top and mix all together. Refrigerate.


The Best Broccoli Salad You Will Ever Make

Recipe Review: Kyle's Crockpot Mac N Cheese

Kyle's Crockpot Mac N Cheese

I had a tablespoon of this and knew it was probably the best macaroni and cheese I've ever had, I am low carbing, which I was barely able to remember once that golden goodness hit my tastebuds. I asked him to give me the recipe, which he did. Here it is in all of it's gooey goodness!

• 1 small can of evaporated milk
• 1 pint half and half
• 3 cups of extra sharp shredded cheddar cheese
• 8oz container of sour cream
• 1 jar of Ragu double cheddar sauce 1 quarter stick of butter or margarine, softened Black pepper to taste
• 2 eggs
• 16 ounce box of macaroni
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Turn crockpot to High. 

Combine all ingredients in crockpot except pasta and eggs. Stir until ingredients are mixed. Make sure you pepper the mixture before adding the eggs.

Beat eggs separately, add to pot and stir well.

Boil pasta in water for 6-8 minutes - not quite al'dente. (just to soften in up). Drain. 

Add pasta to pot stir and cover. let cook for 2 hours on high. then add 1 cup of shredded cheese to top and let cook for another 30 minutes to an hour to desired consistency

SO GOOD! Thanks Kyle for giving up the info!

Vegetarian: Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas

Made these for my vegetarian band camp staff members. They were pretty good and even the non vegetarians [the VegeCurious] liked them.

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons olive oil 3 tablespoons finely chopped onion 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 1 (10 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained 1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 cup salsa 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 2 tablespoons butter, divided 8 (8 inch) flour tortillas 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in beans and corn, then add sugar, salsa, and pepper flakes; mix well. Cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.

2.

Melt 2 teaspoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the skillet, sprinkle evenly with cheese, then top with some of the bean mixture. Place another tortilla on top, cook until golden, then flip and cook on the other side. Melt more butter as needed, and repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. I really did not tweak this recipe. It was great as is. I did leave out the red pepper flakes.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/black-bean-and-corn-quesadillas/