Spicy fresh salsa

I was excited when a sweet friend gave me a plentiful amount of her tomato crop a few weeks ago. Being the foodie that I am, I squealed with delight! I had tomatoes stacked upon tomatoes on my countertop. It was a foodie's dream! After throwing a bunch of them into a salad and eating a few for snacks (topped with salt of course), I decided to throw a salsa together so that not a single one of them was wasted.

Dan and I actually had a Salsa-Off, which I believe I won, according to a handful of our testers. :)

Here was a small portion of the tomatoes I received. Thank you, Monica!

In a large bowl, combine:

12 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped

3 serrano peppers, finely chopped

Grab two bumpy (or non-bumpy), limes and juice them.

Once they are juiced, they could possibly turn into green-toothed caterpillars. That is what Elijah thinks.

Add to the bowl:

1/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped

1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Juice from 2 limes

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Mix well and add:

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper 

Mix well!

Store in the refrigerator in mason jars or in an air-tight container. This salsa will remain fresh in the fridge for 1 week.

Serve chilled with tortilla chips or as a taco topping. Or do as Dan and I do when we have this in our fridge. PUT IT ON EVERYTHING.

Printable recipe: Spicy fresh salsa

Healthy breakfast cookies

Today my life went from crazy to CRAZY ENOUGH TO BE WRITTEN IN CAPS. More on that another time. The reason I mention it is because I will not be able to write more than one post per week on this blog for the next couple of months. This makes me sad. I have been writing two or more posts per week for at least a year. I hope to get back to that rate by December, just in time to make a couple truckloads of Christmas cookies!  

What a great transition! I didn't even plan this one. While we're on the topic of cookies..

My friend Maren passed this recipe along to me from mydailymoment.com. I am always up for a healthy snack, especially one that is referred to as a cookie (i.e., that will sound enticing to my children). I have made these a few times and my boys LOVE THEM. Elijah asks to eat these for dessert. And breakfast. And lunch. You get the point. They are totally and completely healthy and delicious. It almost seems good to be true! But it's not!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine:

3 cups bran flakes, crushed (that is, 3 cups pre-crushed and just less than 2 cups crushed; on my last batch I discovered I only had 2 cups pre-crushed and that worked fine, too!)

2 cups oatmeal

2 tablespoons wheat germ

2 tablespoons cinnamon

Mix well and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine:

1/2 cup yogurt (I have been using vanilla yogurt, but feel free to use plain or another flavor)

1 cup applesauce (I have used unsweetened, cinnamon and mango-peach flavored; all were delicious!)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup honey

1 large egg

1/2 cup skim milk

Mix well.

Add:

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix well.

Gradually add the cereal-oatmeal mixture and stir after each addition.

Add:

3/4 cup raisins

Stir in the raisins.

Roll heaping tablespoons into balls with your hands and place them onto the prepared baking sheets. Lightly flatten the top of each cookie with your fingers.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes.

All of my batches so far have made exactly 36 cookies and none of my batches have lasted for more than 48 hours.

I added a mashed banana to one batch and it was delicious! I would imagine that a shredded carrot would be great, too, or some berries or a mashed peach.

This is officially my new favorite recipe.

Printable recipe: Healthy breakfast cookies

Blueberry zucchini bread

From what I hear, those of you with gardens have zucchini coming out of your ears! I wouldn't know, since I live in a townhome with about ten square feet of grass and no room for gardening. I am here to help those of you with a plentiful crop! Make a few loaves of this bread and your friends and family will love you. This bread is moist and filled with flavor, and I can tell you from experience that it is impossible to eat just one slice. If you have children, you will have to lock this stuff up!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two 9x5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray and set aside.

Shred 1 large zucchini and set aside.

I think it is so cool how zucchinis sweat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine:

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup sour cream

Mix with a spoon until the mixture is smooth.

Add the shredded zucchini. When measured, it should equal approximately 1 1/2 cups.

Fold in the shredded zucchini.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix well.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the zucchini mixture, stirring after each addition.

Rinse 1 pint of fresh blueberries.

Add the blueberries to the bowl, reserving a handful. 

Fold in the blueberries.

Divide the mixture between the prepared loaf pans.

Sprinkle a tablespoon or two of brown sugar over the tops, along with the reserved blueberries.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Here's hoping this recipe helps those of you with a zucchini situation. Enjoy!

Printable recipe: Blueberry zucchini bread

Winner of Bon Ami cleaning products announced!

Congrats to commenter #43, Wendy, for winning the Bon Ami cleaning products kit!

Wendy, please send me your mailing address so Bon Ami can get a kit in the mail for you.

Thanks for commenting and reading, friends!

Peach jam and a giveaway!

As a "chick who cans," I received a very cool cleaning kit in the mail from the generous folks at Bon Ami. Certainly you have heard of Bon Ami, the cleaning products company that has been around for more than 125 years. Their products are toxin-free and gentle on the environment. They also smell wonderful (Tangerine Thyme, yum!) and they did a fantastic job of cleaning my jars in preparation for holding peach jam! 

Bon Ami has offered to send one of my readers a cleaning kit, as well!

To be entered to win a Bon Ami cleaning kit (pictured below), leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite flavor of jam/jelly is.

For additional giveaway entries, leave separate comments for any or all of the following:

- Follow me on Pinterest.

- Follow me on Twitter.

- Follow me on Facebook.

- Follow my RSS Feed.

I will randomly select a winner Tuesday, September 4th at 9:00 a.m.

I would also love to share with you the peach jam I made last week! I am a huge jam fan, and I have something to tell those of you who have never made it and who are perhaps daunted by the task. It is EASY! Way easier than pie. There is nothing better than homemade jam, and it is a perfect and thoughtful gift for those of you thinking ahead to Christmas. 

First, thoroughly clean seven 8-oz. mason jars.

Pit, peel and coarsely chop 8 large peaches.

In batches, place the peaches in a food processor and pulse until the mixture appears chunky (but is not mushy).

Add the peaches to a medium saucepan, along with:

3 cups sugar

Juice from 1/2 of a lemon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil, stirring frequently, for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the jam sticks to the back of a spoon.

Pour the jam into the cleaned mason jars and secure with lids. Place the jars in the refrigerator, or freeze.

Good for 4 to 6 weeks in fridge.

Enjoy!

Printable recipe: Peach jam