fresh tomato salsa

Someday I'll have a garden, and I think I'll plant some tomatoes, which doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary for most people. But, none of the folks in my house like raw tomatoes; I know, we're weird. BUT we LOVE them in salsa! (Or more correctly Pico de Gallo. However I like my tomatoes very finely diced so it might be considered SALSA, but without the "cooking it" part. Read here for the difference between pico de gallo and salsa.)

Thankfully, my in-laws have a NICE garden with an ABUNDANCE of tomatoes and I think they were more than happy to get rid of a bunch of the tomatoes they had, knowing they'd have just that many more in 2-3 days. :) So, this is the recipe I've found for fresh tomato salsa/pico de gallo (aka pdg) that we really like. I better write it down so I'll have it for NEXT time I want to make salsa/pdg.

Now this looks good! Although, I want all my veggies a lot more finely diced so...

I run it through my BELOVED (which I use all the time!) food processor  in batches. I don't want MUSH so I pulse some tomatoes until they're the desired size, then swap out for more tomatoes, then swap out for the onion, etc. This way it's mostly evenly sized. I wouldn't want to be the person who got a BIG hunk of onion!

 

Ingredients:

•  4-5 large chopped tomatoes (or 6-8 smaller ones) I even seeded mine this time, but I don't think it really makes a difference
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 c. onion, diced
• 1/4 c. minced fresh cilantro (or if you don't have fresh you can use about 2 Tbsp dried- as in coriander? haven't tried the dried cilantro- not sure how it works...?)
• 2 T fresh lime juice (may need an extra splash of lime juice at the end)
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh jalapeno pepper (include seeds if you want it hotter- add less if you don't like heat) my household does NOT do well with heat, but give it a try if you like it
  
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1/2 t ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1/2 t. garlic powder)

Mix all ingredients together and serve. Keep leftovers in fridge. This tastes amazing after about 24 hours in the fridge . . . the flavors all mix together and it is delicious!

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com.

s'mores krispies

I found this tasty recipe on Pinterest and it delivered!

S'mores Krispies

Yield: 12 Bars

 Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 10 Minutes

Total Time: 25 Minutes

A twist on a campfire classic treat

Ingredients:

1 bag (10 oz) Mini Marshmallows
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips + 1 for topping
1 box (12 0z) Golden Grahams Cereal
6 Tbsp Butter
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
Non-Stick Cooking Spray

Directions:

1. In a 9x9 inch 9x13" baking pan, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large non-stick pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add in marshmallows and stir together with butter until marshmallows have melted and become creamy. Stir in vanilla extract.
3. Fold in grahams cereal until all marshmallows and grahams are evenly mixed together. Mix in 1 cup of chocolate chips. Spread treats into sprayed baking pan. Press into pan and sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips on top of the treats, lightly press into top of treats to make sure they stick. Place into fridge for 10 minutes to cool.
4. Slice into bars and serve. Devour.

*Note: Once I was ready to make this recipe I realized I didn't have as many Golden Grahams as I needed, so I ended up using 6 oz. of Cocoa Puffs & 6 oz. Golden Grahams. They were yummy!

oreo layer dessert

Here's another successful recipe I found thanks to Pinterest. It's pretty similar to my 4 Layer Dessert recipe, but I like that this recipe makes a 9x13. The other recipe only makes a pie pan size, which is never enough. ;)

Oreo Layer Dessert

1 pkg of regular Oreos

1/2 c. of butter

1 lg box of instant chocolate pudding

2- 8 oz cool whips

8 oz. of cream cheese, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Make chocolate pudding according to package directions and let it setup in the fridge. 
2. Crush the whole package of cookies either with a food processor, or in a bag and a rolling pin.  Save a 1/2 c. to sprinkle on top of dessert when it's done.  Pour remaining crumbs in a 13x9 pan.  
3. Melt butter and pour into crumb mix.  Stir it up good and press crumbs in bottom of pan to make a crust.  
4. In a mixing bowl blend cream cheese until nice and smooth and then add powdered sugar, mix.  Then fold in 1-8 oz thing of cool whip.  
5. Top oreo layer with cream cheese mix, then pudding, then your last 8 oz tub of cool whip, and then sprinkle remaining Oreo's on top. 
6. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

bunch o' hippies :)

One warm July morning, the kids and I made some tie-dye shirts. I think they came out pretty well! Check out this site for more cool tie-dye techniques.

Supplies:
I bought a VIBRANT (v. classic colors) tie-dye kit at JoAnn's and white shirts for all in the family (pre-wash before you start).

Getting ready:
I laid out some clean garbage bags as my working surface, then a couple layers of paper towels on top.

Here are some of the techniques we used:
Daddy's Bullseye Shirt

Alivia's freeform/crumple shirt. Just lay out and scrunch up a bit before you add the initial and splotches

Jackson's Bullseye shirt and Mommy's Swirl Shirt

Levi's shirt (not pictured) was a variation of the Fold technique

It was pretty easy and fun to do. We all enjoy wearing them as our pajama shirts or just around the house. Lookin' spiffy! Yes, I said spiffy. ;)

cookies & cream cupcakes

I know! I made these tasty morsels for a BBQ with friends and they were AWESOME!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk

• 20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (I quarter them)
• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2 tbsp. heavy cream
• Oreo cookie crumbs
• 24 Oreo cookie halves

(I think I bought 2 packs of oreos, to be sure I had enough.)












Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line the wells of two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.
• Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Blend in the vanilla extract. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add the heavy cream to the bowl and beat on medium-low speed just until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs and garnish with Oreo halves.

*Note: the recipe calls for using an oreo on the bottom of the cupcake, which I did, but I thought it was just extra sugary (having broken-down with cooking, etc.) and I'm not sure I'll put them in again...we shall see.

Enjoy these! I know your family and friends will!

chick-fil-a lemonade

Thank you for Real Mom Kitchen for this refreshing drink! It was really good, but with a hint of sour. It's nice to have a lemonade that's not TOO sweet.

Chick-fil-a Lemonade

Ingredients

• 8-10 Sunkist lemons (that is what Chick-fil-a uses)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (or Splenda for the diet version)
• 5 1/3 cups water

Instructions

1. Juice lemons so you end up with 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice.
2. Add lemon juice to a pitcher and whisk with the sugar until sugar is dissolved.
3. Add water and whisk until well combined.
4. Refrigerate until nice and cold. Enjoy!
5. Serves 4-6.

*Note: I juiced 10 lemons (with my sweet juicer) and got 15 oz. of juice. I added a little extra sugar (for a total of 1 1/2 c.) and kept the same amount of water.

chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake bars

Holy cow! Are you kidding me?! All my favorite things in one bite! I found this SCRUMPTIOUS recipe here.  I made these for our July Relief Society refreshment and they were amazing!!! Enjoy folks!

(Oh and I used LITE cream cheese and they were still phenomenal!)

FYI: I DOUBLED my recipe  for a 9x13 pan. The recipe below only makes an 8x8, which will NOT be enough. I'll warn you now. :)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

Time to chill: 2+ hours

Ingredients (9-12 servings)

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup flour
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips

Cheesecake Filling:

• 10 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line an 8" square baking pan with parchment paper or foil allowing a little overhang and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Mix the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes. Remove pan to a cooling rack. Leave your oven on while you prepare the dough.

3. While the crust is cooling, prepare the chocolate chip cookie dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth and thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Mix in the flour on low speed, and mix until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips. Set aside. (*Note: This mixture is going to be dry...that’s okay. It’s rather like a crumble topping. You’re going to crumble it on top of the cheesecake layer.)

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla on low speed just until incorporated. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust. Distribute the cookie dough onto the top of the cheesecake batter in teaspoon-sized clumps. Be sure to use all of the dough.

5. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top feels dry and firm (the cookie dough) and the entire pan looks set if given a gentle shake. Move bars to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Chill in refrigerator overnight or for at least a couple hours.

6. Lift the bars out by the overhang and cut into squares for serving.

Source: My Baking Addiction