Black Bean Salsa

YIPPEE! Let the summer begin! The kids are out of school, it's finally starting to warm up outside, and it hasn't even rained here for a few days. Best of all...my garden is finally all planted!
One of my favorite things about having a garden is so I can have fresh salsa and pico de gallo all summer. It's soooo much better with fresh tomatoes and cilantro.
I have several different recipes that we like, but this is probably my fave. I ♥♥♥ salsa with lime, so I added it and cumin to the original recipe that I had and this is where it ended up. Mmmm...can't wait 'til those maters start ripenin' in my garden!

Black Bean Salsa
3/4 to 1 cup of your favorite bottled Italian dressing (I use Kraft Free Zesty Italian, but any kind will work.)
1 Tbs cumin
2 to 3 Tbs lime juice
1 tsp salt
4 to 6 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 to 2 avocados, diced
1 can or 1 1/2 cups corn, drained (Fresh cooked corn is REALLY good here too.)
1 can black beans, rinsed
Cilantro as desired (I use about 1/4 cup)

Just mix everything together and eat with your favorite tortilla chips...or with chicken...or with fish (I like Tillapia)...or on a taco...or whatever way you can imagine.
It tastes best after it has sat in the fridge for an hour or so, but I usually have kids staring at me with chips in their little hands before it ever makes it that far. But hey, if it gets 'em to eat veggies, they can dig right in. Yup, I'm just fine with that...'cause I'm usually right there with 'em. Ü

Here's what's on the menu here this week...
MONDAY - Buffalo Sticky Finger Wraps, Broccoli Salad, Honeydew Melon
TUESDAY - Pasta Carbonara, Green Salad, Bread Sticks
WEDNESDAY - Leftover Buffet
THURSDAY - Baked Macaroni & Cheese, Honey Glazed Carrots
FRIDAY - French Toast, Sausage, Fruit Salad
SATURDAY - BBQ Little Smokies, Sliced Potatoes, Fresh Veggies & Dip
SUNDAY - Roast Beef, Smashed Potatoes, Steamed Veggies, Sour Dough Bread

Have a great week everybody!

Pineapple Mango Salsa and Sticky Buffalo Chicken

Pineapple Mango Salsa and Sticky Buffalo Chicken
When I went to pick up my Bountiful Basket order Saturday morning, I was a little worried about the 7 mangoes I was taking home. I had no idea what I was going to do with them all. So, I started searching Tasty Kitchen for mango recipes and found one that I knew I wanted to try. It was Pineapple Mango Salsa from The Pioneer Woman and Oh. My. Goodness. It was sooo good! I added an extra mango just because I was a little worried about them going bad before I could use them all, but we liked it so much I think I'm going to make more for an Easter get together this weekend. Go check out that there link and make ya some Pineapple Mango Salsa....yum! If you have a favorite way to use mango, give me a holler! I'd love some more ideas :)

The other day I realized that I had promised Buckaroo #1 that I would share the recipe for his favorite chicken right now. He loves his Sticky Buffalo Chicken and wishes I would make it every week. He doesn't usually like anything with any kind of a kick to it, so I was really surprised that he liked it so much. Maybe I'll start sneaking in a little more heat each time I make it and see if I can spice him up just a bit. Ü
I love how easy this recipe is...

Sticky Buffalo Chicken
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
2 Tbs Franks Red Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce- add more or less if ya want to
1 lb breaded chicken tenders (At my local grocery store, the meat dept sells bulk "chicken fritters" and they are more bite size pieces.)

Bake or fry the chicken according to the instructions on the package. (Just so ya know, I bake mine.)
In a sauce pan, combine the remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring until the brown sugar dissolves. Cook about 15-20 minutes until it starts to thicken.
When the chicken is done, transfer it into a large bowl and pour the sauce over the top. Carefully toss the chicken to make sure all the pieces are coated with the sauce.
Serve with extra sauce, ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing for dipping.
Tasty stuff I tell ya!

Before I get to carried away posting recipes, here's what I have on the menu this week...
MONDAY - Chicken Bow Tie Salad
TUESDAY - Evil Chicken and Rice, Green Beans
WEDNESDAY - Leftover Buffet
THURSDAY - Joyce Gale Casserole, Green Salad
FRIDAY - Belgian Waffles with Fresh Fruit and Whipped Cream
SATURDAY - Easter Picnic with family
SUNDAY - Easter dinner

Have a fun holiday weekend!

FRESH SALSA

For some reason, I never have a problem growing tomatoes. In fact I always have an over abundance of them each year. I decided this year I wasn't going to let them go to waste and had really good intentions of canning salsa, spaghetti sauce and enchilada sauce with my little red friends. But then my past interfered. I HATED canning when I was younger. It was hot, sticky and messy. I wasn't very excited to get started. Especially with the thought of The Littlest Cowgirl and Buckaroo #4 trying to "help"! So once again, I chickened out was left trying to figure out what to do with them. (The tomatoes, not the kids.)
I started researching a few ideas on the Internet and decided to make salsa...and freeze it. I know it sounds weird, but I found out that it should only make it a little bit "juicier". I think maybe I can deal with a little extra juice in my salsa if I don't have to go through the whole canning process. I also decided to use my own fresh salsa recipe and to use my food processor instead of cutting it all by hand. The result was a delicious, restaurant style salsa. I usually prefer my salsa a little chunkier, but everybody else around here said they liked this a lot better. So I guess it all worked out in the end.

Fresh Salsa
5-6 tomatoes, chopped ( I usually like Romas the best, but you can use what you have on hand)
4 green onion, chopped
1 small yellow onion, diced 1 small can diced chilies
2 Tbs lime juice (it has to be lime, not lemon)
1 tsp cumin (or more if you'd like)
Salt to taste
Cilantro (optional)
Jalapeno peppers (optional)

Like I said, you can cut it all by hand or use a food processor depending on how chunky you like it.