Sassy Salsa

Last weekend we had fish tacos for dinner. I had made them once before, with a mango salsa, and we really enjoyed them.

Well, almost everyone.

While the fish was delicious, flakey with a hint of spice, my husband wasn't really jazzed by the mango salsa I had made. He said it was too sweet for him. And as someone who loves spicy food, he said he would've preferred a spicy salsa over a sweet one.

So last weekend, while I had mango salsa on my fish tacos, I made a tomato salsa for my husband.

And it was a hit.

Not only did he heap the salsa onto his tacos, but he's been eating the leftover salsa with corn chips. I can only imagine how much of a hit it will be when I get the tomatoes fresh from the farmers' market. Perfect for summertime gatherings.

Homemade Fresh Salsa
Original Recipe from Country Cooking

Ingredients:

• 2 vine-ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes from the Chef:

• I use a melon baller to seed the tomatoes. I find it's the least messy method.
• I use a grapefruit spoon to seed the jalapeño pepper. Scrapes it out without getting any seeds on my hands.
• If you like more heat in your salsa, swap out the jalapeño for a pepper with more heat.

All-Star Appetizer

Buffalo wings and football go together like peanut butter and jelly. But what if you're looking to do something just a little bit different?

Give this recipe a try! It has all the wonderful flavors of buffalo wings without the sticky fingers.

This recipe was a winner of a game-day snack competition on The Rachael Ray Show in 2009. I was looking for ideas for that year's party, and I knew I had found a winner in this dish. I make it every year, and every year it's a crowd-pleaser with the dish all but licked clean.

Scoop corn chips were recommend to serve with this dish, but they can break easily. I like to spoon some on crackers, and celery sticks work well for that true buffalo wing feel. Whatever your pleasure, I highly recommend this dish for your own game-day gathering. You won't be disappointed.

David Garrard's Buffalo Chicken Dip
Recipe from an episode of The Rachael Ray Show
Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
  
• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
  
• 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce
  
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  
• 1/2 cup blue cheese dressing
  
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
   
2. Cover the bottom of an 8x8-inch dish or pie plate with cream cheese.
   
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the shredded chicken, wing sauce and butter, and pour over the cream cheese-filled dish or pie plate.
   
4. Top with just enough blue cheese dressing and mozzarella cheese to cover. (Adding too much cheese will cause a thick skin to form that will make eating the dip difficult once the cheese cools.)
   
5. Heat the dip in the oven for 20 minutes.

Half-Time Show

When you're having company over, it can be hard to strike that balance between time spent in the kitchen and time spent with your guests. That's especially true on Superbowl Sunday, when you also want to send time in front of the TV -- even if it's just to see the commercials.

My solution? Break out the slow cooker!

For last year's game I made this dip, which was a huge hit. It was full of flavor and quite versatile. I served it with veggies, crackers, and breadsticks. Any leftovers? Serve over a short-cut pasta for some zippy macaroni and cheese!

Zippy Sausage Cheese Dip
Recipe from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. pork sausage, squeezed out of casing and crumbled
  
• 2 lbs. Velveeta cheese, cubed
  
• 2 10.75-oz. cans Rotel tomatoes with chilies, undrained

Directions:

1. Brown sausage in large nonstick skillet. Drain.
   
2. Return browned sausage to skilled and stir in cubed Velveeta cheese.
   
3. Cook over low heat until cheese melts. Stir occasionally.
   
4. Place pork and melted cheese in slow cooker. Stir in tomatoes.
   
5. Cover and cook on LOW 1-2 hours until heated through.
   
6. Serve warm with raw, cut-up veggies or chips.

Variation: For a creamier dish, add 2 10.75-oz. cans cream of mushroom soup to Step 4, stirring soup in with the tomatoes.

Raw

I remember towards the end of "Sex & the City" Samantha met Smith at a restaurant where he was waiter. The restaurant only served raw food, which was a fad at the time. The food did not look appealing at all, surprising to a woman who grew up eating most of her vegetables raw.

Carrots, cucumbers, celery, bell peppers ... I always preferred them raw instead of cooked. Every Thanksgiving my family would try to get me to eat glazed carrots, telling me they tasted "just like candy." Never bought it. It was raw all the way for me. And while I still like my veggies raw, I do like to dress them up with some dip.

Enter hummus. I started eating it in 2006, when a co-worker made some and brought it in. I was hooked and started eating it regularly. But it wasn't until my son started eating it in 2009 that I decided to make it myself, in an effort ot eliminate any additives or preservatives. What took me so long?! It's so easy to make! The food processor does all the work! So if you like hummus dust off your food processor because I have two wonderful recipes to share.

5-Minute Hummus

Recipe adapted from Real Simple magazine
Total time: 5 minutes
Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
  
• 1 clove garlic
  
• 1/4 cup olive oil
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  
• 2 tablespoons tahini
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. In a food processor, puree the chickpeas and garlic with olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, cumin and salt until smooth and creamy.
   
2. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.

Red Pepper Hummus

Recipe adapted from Souther Living magazine
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 1/2 cup roased red bell peppers, drained and chopped
  
• 1/3 cup tahini
  
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
  
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Process first 9 ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides.
   
2. With processor running, pour olive oil through food chute in a slow, steady stream; process until smooth.
   
3. You can also add water, by the tablespoon, to help achieve the desired consistency.