Easy Wintertime Salsa

I call this my "Wintertime Salsa" because it's a good salsa to make when fresh tomatoes and jalapenos may not be the most flavorful because of the season. But it's good year-round. All the ingredients are canned or dried, and are things I usually have on hand anyway.

As is, I consider the salsa to be "medium" in heat. Adjust the peppers accordingly to make it as hot or mild as you like.

It goes together in less than 10 minutes, so it's a good appetizer to whip up if you have unexpected company.


Blogarita's Easy Wintertime Salsa

2 14.5-ounce cans stewed tomatoes, with juices
8 slices of pickled jalapenos (use less for a milder salsa)
2 tablespoons of the juices from the pickled jalapenos (use less or omit for milder salsa)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon bottled lime juice
2 teaspoons dried cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Set one can of stewed tomatoes aside.

In a blender or food processor, combine remaining ingredients and process until fairly smooth.

Add reserved can of tomatoes and process (or use pulse setting) for approximately 1 second at a time, repeating 4-5 times, until tomatoes are blended in, but still slightly chunky.

Pour into a bowl and serve at room temperature or chill, if desired.

Makes approx. 1 quart of salsa.

Cheese Ravioli Lasagna

This has to be the easiest "recipe" ever for lasagna.

Just spray a pan with non-stick spray, spread about a 1/2-cup of pasta sauce on the bottom, and add a layer of frozen cheese ravioli.

Add a layer of whatever you like (I used cooked and crumbled Italian sausage and some shredded Mozzarella cheese...you could use ground beef, frozen chopped spinach or broccoli or just about anything else that sounds good).

Spread on another cup or so of sauce and another layer of frozen cheese ravioli. Top it all with more sauce, cover it with foil and bake it at 350° for about an hour.

Remove the foil, sprinkle on Parmesan cheese and bake for another 10 minutes or so to brown the cheese a little.

That's all there is too it! Super easy and tasty with some garlic toast and a salad.

Preparing For A Busy Week

Being a stay-at-home wife, I'm used to the luxury (at least, I consider it a luxury) of being able to start supper early in the afternoon. It's been quite a while since I've had to come home late in the afternoon and try to put a meal together in a hurry.

This week, I have appointments to keep throughout the day Monday, some important work to do here at home on Tuesday, then Wednesday through Friday, I'll be caring for a friend's mother all day. (She recently had shoulder surgery and needs someone to stay with her in her home until family members can get there after work.) So, it will be an unusually busy week for me.

I have some free time today, so I'm going to take advantage of it by doing a lot of prep work in the kitchen to plan for the week ahead. That way, on those three busiest days at the end of the week, I'll have lots of yummy leftovers that I can just heat up quickly for us to eat.

Here is our menu for this week:

Today (and again on Wednesday): Marinated Broiled Flank Steak, Twice-Baked Cheddar Potatoes, Braised Cabbage, Green Salad.

Monday (and again on Thursday): Taco Salads in Tortilla Bowls, Drunken Pinto Beans

Tuesday (and again on Friday): Cheese Ravioli Lasagna, Garlic Toast, Summer Squash Veggie Medley, Green Salad.

Saturday: Ham and Pepperoni Panini, Roasted Corn and Crab Soup (I had originally planned for a creamy potato soup, but decided to try Violet's soup instead!)


To get a jump start on the week, this morning I have already:

- put the steak in the marinade and cooked the cabbage for today's meal;
- cooked and seasoned the ground beef, shredded the lettuce, sliced the black olives and made the salsa for the taco salad meal;
- cooked the Italian sausage and cut up the zucchini, yellow squash, onions and carrots for the lasagna meal. I have pasta sauce that I made last week in the freezer.

With these things done already, the meals will go together very quickly each evening. By Saturday, things will have slowed down again and I'll have plenty of time to make the soup and grill the sandwiches that are on the menu.

And if everything goes well, I might even have time to make a cake of some kind today for an early Valentine's Day treat.

Busy Night Chili

This week has gotten out of hand with errands and appointments taking me away from the house, so last night I decided to go off my planned menu and fix one of our favorites. This is one of the most basic chili recipes I know. It can be on the table in less than half an hour because it doesn't require hours of simmering. (But it does seem to taste even better as leftovers the next day after the flavors have to blend.)

We like this chili with sour cream and corn chips, but it's also good with crackers.


Blogarita's Basic Chili

1 pound ground beef
1 envelope chili seasoning mix
1 can condensed tomato soup
2 cans chili-style beans (do not drain)

Brown ground beef in Dutch oven. Pour cooked meat into a colander and rinse with water to remove excess fat. Wipe pan clean with paper towel.

Return meat to pan. Add remaining ingredients to pan and stir to combine. If chili seems too thick, add half a soup can of water.

Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until chili is hot. Serve with toppings of your choice.

Serves 4.

I Confess...

We eat leftovers.

Not only do we eat leftovers, I plan my menus with every intention of having leftovers.

Don't get me wrong, I love to cook. But I'm busy and broke most of the time, and having planned leftovers saves me both time and money.

I hear people complain that they (or their spouse or kids) don't like leftovers. But what's not to like? Most things hold up well to being refrigerated and reheated, and many things (like chili) taste even better when they've chilled overnight.

As a way to save time, I make large batches of almost everything I cook. On average, I cook three complete meals each week. We eat each meal twice (on consecutive nights or spaced out, depending on our moods) and on the seventh night of the week, I normally fix a fast, simple meal that we eat only the one time. Or we might go out to eat on the seventh night. (And on the Seventh Night, God rested by going to Applebee's.)

I've been cooking this way for about four years now, and I can't imagine going back to cooking every night of the week. It's so nice to look at how my week is going to play out and plan to have the leftovers on the busier days.

You can probably see how eating leftovers saves time, but you might be wondering how it saves money. Good question. The savings go along with that old saying that time is money. Any time I don't spend in the kitchen cooking can be spent otherwise, maybe making or saving money in other ways. And whenever I feel crunched for time and I'm tempted to grab some carry-out food, I know that the leftovers are there waiting for me and can be reheated in the same time (or less) it takes to bring something home from the drive-thru, yet they are less expensive and probably more healthy.

But leftovers just don't taste as good, you might be thinking. Part of problem is in knowing how to handle them. A quick cooling and an airtight container is usually all it takes to successfully store food in the fridge. Cooling quickly keeps condensation from forming and dripping onto the food, and the airtight container keeps flavors from transferring back and forth between foods.

If I'm going to freeze something, I find it helps to put plastic wrap around each piece of meat, or right on the surface of soups, refried beans, mashed potatoes, etc. It really helps to keep those ice crystals from forming and freezer burn from happening.

Another complaint I hear about leftovers is that they are boring. There's a way around that, too. Try transforming them into an entirely different meal. If you make sauce with meatballs to go over spaghetti on Monday, try using the leftover meatballs for meatball subs on Wednesday. If you roast a chicken on Sunday, turn the leftover meat into a chicken pot pie on Monday.

Leftovers might not be "your thing". But if you think your family might go for it, and you want to save a little time and money, try planning a few meals from leftovers. Even one night a week will save you a couple of hours in the kitchen. If nothing else, it'll give you more time to spend blogging!