Strawberry-Avocado Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

This recipe came from Cooking Light May 2011 Issue. I don’t know about you but I think Cooking Light always has the prettiest food! Full of color  and rustic backgrounds. I am really starting to like that magazine. Especially after this recipe. (Since I’m not as “healthy” as Cooking Light I added a little more oil (originally 2 teaspoons) and bumped the cinnamon sugar mixture (originally 2 teaspoons of sugar – I don’t know how you are supposed to cover 6 tortillas with that!) At the same time, I did not go overboard and lightly sugared and oiled the tortillas.

1 Tablespoon Canola oil
6 whole wheat tortillas
Cinnamon and sugar (I always keep this mixture on hand for cinnamon toast or cookies so if you don’t use it all you can save it for something else!)
2 ripe finely chopped and peeled avocados
1 cup finely diced strawberries (all the same size)
2 Tablespoons minced cilantro
1 teaspoon finely diced, seeded jalapenos
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
3/8 teaspoon salt

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• To prepare chips, brush oil evenly over one side of each tortilla. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle a little evenly over the oil-coated sides of the tortillas.
• Cut each tortilla into 12 wedges (I used a fluted pastry cutter to make the chips more fancy); arrange wedges in a single layer on two baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until crisp.
• Combine avocado and remaining ingredients; stir gently to combine.

Serve with chips. Enjoy~

Guacamole and Mediterranean Salsa

My first “official” gig in which I wasn’t making food for an event I was planning myself. I was asked to make a few dips for a party of about 40 people.

I was a little scared at first, not knowing how much food to estimate or how much time I would need to make that amount of food. How to keep the guacamole from turning color. Things that I did not ever put too much worry into. I guess when you are making food for someone else’s event it is just more stressful. Probably questions everyone asks when they first start making large quantities of food for OTHER people! It was not as bad as I anticipated! Whew!

It was a fun and exciting new challenge and hope I get the opportunity to do this more often! I love to feed people’s bellies so this was a privilege for me!

Here is what I made:

Guacamole – this recipe is on my site already, but I’ve updated it with a photo

Next was Mediterranean Salsa which in a previous blog I promised quite some time ago…sorry for the delay! This recipe doesn’t make enough for 40 it makes enough for probably a crowd of 15 or so.

Mediterranean Salsa

1 lb. tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 English (seedless) cucumber, diced

1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped

2 sprigs of mint, finely chopped

3 green onions, thinly sliced in rounds

juice of  1/2 lemon

1 clove of garlic

3T olive oil

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 c. feta cheese

Toss the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix lemon juice, minced garlic, olive oil and salt. Pour over tomato and cucumber mixture and toss.

Serve with Pita chips or toasted Lavash Chips.

Guacamole!

Guacamole

I get rave reviews on this guacamole where ever I take it. So here it is…  Use this recipe for the chimichangas! MMM…

3 avocados
2 small tomatoes, seeded
3 green onions
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/2 T cumin
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper

Cube avocados add to bowl and mash VERY little. Dice tomatoes in small pieces. Finely chop green onion and cilantro. Add together in a bowl sprinkle with salt, cumin, and squeeze in lemon juice. Mix together until incorporated together.

Cuban Braised Beef

I have been looking for a good shredded beef recipe for some time and my slow cooker is my favorite tool right now so this recipe was right up my alley. Fast and easy and ready when I get home. This was such a good recipe and I just added a little more flavor and heat with jalapeno and my favorite mexican cheese – Cotija. Cotija is a very salty flavored crumbly cheese. You have probably eaten it many times if you eat at mexican food restaurants it’s the white cheese crumbled on top of your beans. I put it on salads too, it’s so good – my daughter likes it as well.

Adapted from Real Simple recipe for Cuban Braised Beef and Peppers

1 –  1 ½ lb flank steak, cut crosswise into thirds
28 oz diced tomatoes
2 red bell peppers, ½ inch thick slices
1 onion (cut into 1/8)
2T. chopped cilantro
2t. oregano
1t. cumin
1t. cayenne
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno (or 1/4 of a small can of jalepeno)
1avocado
Cilantro (for garnish)
Cotija (for garnish)
Tortillas or Rice

COMBINE tomatoes, oregano, cumin, cayenne, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, salt and pepper in the slow cooker. Add onions and peppers and stir. Push flank steaks into the vegetables. Cook on low for 8 hours.

PLACE atop rice or on tortillas. Top with cilantro, avocado slices, and cotija cheese.