{OMG} Restaurant Style Salsa at Home

One thing I have played around with for years is salsa. I have a love/hate relationship with this stuff. 

You see, I cannot tolerate real spicy food. Not even moderately spicy foods. Like "hot" Pace picante sauce is too spicy for me... that kind of "can't tolerate spicy food." But I LOVE eating chips and salsa when we go out to a good Mexican restaurant. For this reason, I have always tried to make my own recipes or find recipes and alter them into my own versions. I have made some good ones before but this one takes the cake. I do not have pictures of this recipe in the making, only the final because I was making several recipes at once and trying to get my son off to soccer practice that my dad was taking him to, yet keep an eye on my toddler and 6 year old while my husband was at work. I am sure you know what a can of tomatoes and chopped veggies look like... 

Gather up the following ingredients:

• 28 oz can whole tomatoes, drained
• 2 10 oz cans Rotel
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 4 gloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1 c. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 serrano pepper, seeded & finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin

Combine all of the ingredients in your blender or food processor. Blend until you have a nice consistency (to your preference). I prefer the way it is after about 30-45 seconds so it isn't so chunky. When it is to your liking, put in your container and refrigerate for at least on hour. Serve with tortilla chips or over food. Yum!

It made a whole (large) applesauce jar full of salsa!

Chili Dog Casserole

Here is a kid-approved lunch that will be gone in a matter of minutes! Just make sure to cut up the hot dogs into bite size pieces once you have plated them for safe eating!

You will need tortillas, 1 can of chili, about 4 oz of colby cheese, and 6-8 hot dogs.

Roll each hot dog in a tortilla like a blanket. 

Place the wrapped hot dogs in the casserole dish.

I originally cut off 1/4 of the 32 oz block of cheese, but then only needed 1/2 of that, so you only need about 4 oz, not 8 oz.  

Shred the cheese.

Top the wrapped hot dogs with the can of chili. 

Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the chili.

 Bake in the oven for 350 degrees for 30 minutes to heat thoroughly and melt the cheese.

Enjoy!

Kickin' Chicken Enchiladas

I have been scouring Pinterest for cheap and easy recipes that will feed the mouths of babes easily... The more mouths it feed and the less it costs, the better. If it is delish, that is WAY better. :) I found a recipe that I thought was a winner so I decided to give it a whirl. It didn't even have a name, but it seemed pretty easy. You just dump a few canned goods on top of some FROZEN chicken meat into your crock pot, add some cream cheese, and cook it 6-8 hours. Done.

Let me back things up by saying that I enjoy following fellow blogger, The Pintester. She is HILARIOUS! She is a little crude, so for my mother-in-law (and likely, most of my husband's fam), I don't recommend. You probably wouldn't appreciate the humor or language used. If you dare to visit the website, don't say I didn't warn you. Either way, I love reading through her fails and wins, and most of all, getting the comfort in knowing that I am not the only one who sees these amazing pins that seem so attainable and then fail so hard... I say all of this because one of the things she is well known for is not having the proper ingredients. Here is where I got my big-booty ego and decided to wing it.

The recipe called for:

• 2.5-3 lbs chicken breast tenders, FROZEN
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can rotel
• 8 oz block cream cheese

This is the picture from the original blogger. Original Blogger

You are supposed to put the FROZEN chicken tenders at the bottom of your crock pot, then put your cream cheese on top of it. Then dump in the canned ingredients. Cover and let cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring every 2 hours.

First of all, I had chicken breasts, not tenders. I hate shopping at the dang Walmart that is close to my home because I can never find the tenders which is what I prefer, but I am not willing to drive further away to a bigger store where I will spend way more money to get chicken tenders. So I settle every time on the chicken breasts.

Second, I only had about 3 oz left of my cream cheese, not 8 oz. To make sure I didn't lose cheesiness (... is that really a word??) and creaminess, I added a can of cheddar soup to the mix.

Third, I also struggled to find Rotel at this stupid Walmart during my last trip. Granted, I was suffering from a serious migraine, toting an extra child in addition to 3 of my own, my husband was in an electric cart-thing due to a broken leg (looooong story), following me asking too many questions, and I don't know the layout of this store, yet. Not knowing the layout of my regular grocery store tends to cause me a high (I mean EXTREME - not exaggerating) level of anxiety. For this reason, I prefer to go with my husband and no children and treat it as a date so he can help me remain focused and not go crazy. I found the canned tomato section last time but for the life of me couldn't fine Rotel. Since then, we went back for our next grocery trip and Jeremy walk right up and grabbed it. I swear, they were not there. Must have been out of stock or saw me coming... I did, instead, have "tex mex style diced tomatoes," which were used as an alternate.

So aside from substitutions and adding some minor seasoning, I followed the instructions. After 8 hours (since I used breasts, I wanted to ensure thorough cooking), I served this Mexican stew-esque dish wish pan-warmed tortillas.

Jeremy and I both thought it was "okay" and filling, but a little lacking. It could use some fresh cilantro if used to make tacos to give it that fresh taste, or maybe a dallop of sour cream? It was too soupy as-is for us. We had a ton of leftovers and weren't real sure what to do with it, but in our current financial situation, we were NOT going to waste the food. So we debated over options, but then I came up with a good one we could both agree on... Enchiladas. :)

Genius!!!

So basically, you take this mixture you just created above, and roll it into corn tortillas. I did mine dry tonight but they kept breaking. You could dip them in warmed chicken broth if you want so they are more flexible and have more give without the tear. I just had kiddos running around like mad and parents coming to pick them up soon and wanted to start working on homework with the kids to get them all finished up at a reasonable hour tonight. So you fill the tortilla, roll it, place it in a baking dish. Continue doing so until you have filled the dish. I had enough (with our LEFTOVERS) to fill two dishes, so you may want either two LARGE or three small dishes. Once you have used all of the filling and are done rolling, open a can of green enchilada sauce and pour over top of each of the dishes. I used a large 28 oz can for ours because we like ours with lots of sauce - and I apologize, but the can was all jacked up from being dropped and I forgot to get a picture. Our family prefers to buy the blocks of cheese and shred by hand (for cost-effectiveness and for taste/quality), so I then shredded about 16 oz of the Colby Jack marbled cheese to top it all of. Next, just pop them in the preheated oven and bake at about 375 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melty and browning on top.

Here is the final recipe:

• 2.5 lbs chicken breasts/tenders, frozen
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can black bean, rinsed & drained
• 1 can rotel
• 1 can cheddar soup
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 16 oz Colby jack cheese, shredded
• corn tortillas
• 28 oz green enchilada sauce
• 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, optional
• 1/8 tsp sea salt, optional

Step 1. Cook chicken (frozen), corn, beans, rotel, soup, & cream cheese on low in crock pot for 6-8 hours or until cooked through, stirring every 2 hours as needed.

Step 2. Roll filling into corn tortillas and place into baking dishes until dishes are full. Top with green enchilada sauce. 

 Step 3. Top with shredded cheese as desired and place in oven to bake for 45-55 minutes at 375 degrees or until cheese is melty and browned on top.

Ta da!!!

DIY Laundry Detergent

Just for the record, I have been trying to publish this same post for the last week and a half now. I am not sure what the problem was. I have reported the error to Blogger but gotten nothing in return. I am finally trying it from Internet Explorer instead of Google Chrome (my default browser) and apparently this is working. Here goes nothing!

So after doing some research into making my own cleaners for our home, I decided DIY laundry detergent would be one of the most cost-effective ways to do so. Using the following recipe, it is said to cost less than ONE cent per load! With four kids ages 1 to 8 years old (and now full time child care operating out of our home), laundry can be a killer. We were buying an average of 2 “family size” liquid laundry detergent containers, 1-2 softeners, and 1-2 boxes of dryer sheets every month. With the prices as they are right now, the laundry detergent alone was costing us about $30 per month. Because this laundry soap requires less soap than traditional store-bought soap to effectively clean your clothing, it costs even less comparatively. This recipe costs our family only $4.45 per month. Less than $5 per month for laundry detergent!!!!! How is that for thrifty! Now will you be willing to spend about 15 minutes of your time preparing this super clean-smelling detergent to clean your clothes with? I know I am willing to give up that little bit of my time for that little bit of my money.

 

Here is the recipe, found on Pinterest, originally pinned from Frugally Green.

 

•  Some kind of bucket to mix all your ingredients in. I used a 3 gallon bucket.
• A large boiling pot.
• 1/3 bar of Pink (or original) Zote Laundry Soap (you can also use Fels Naptha, Octagon, or Ivory--amounts may vary) – 2 pk for $6.78.
• 1/2 cup Borax Laundry Booster – 76 oz box for $10.70.
• 1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda – 55 oz box for $9.19.

**I bought everything online at Amazon.com with free SuperSaver shipping, but supposedly you can find all of these items in any Walmart store. I put the prices and sizes I got online in case you are interested in getting a good deal online. I spent a total of $26.67 and this will make 6 batches worth using the Zote I have, but 3 more if I spend another $3.68 to buy an additional bar of Zote. 

 

Step 1: Cut your bar of Zote Soap into thirds and finely grate one third of it. Save the other two thirds because next time you make a batch of laundry soap it will feel like you are doing it for FREE!

 

Here is a close-up of the shredded curls of Pink Zote soap. They are super soft and addicting to play with. You have been warned. :)

 

Here is the 1/2 cup of each powdered ingredients. 

 

Here is where the pictures (with the exception of the final) stop because I was being assisted by my 8-year-old, who I was not going to allow to take pictures with the Galaxy SIII, holding it over the pot of boiling soap... Sorry, use your imagination. :)

 

Step 2: Put your grated soap in a pot with 6 cups of water and heat on low until the soap melts. Don't let the soap boil. Once all the soap is completely melted add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens (almost as thick as honey) Remove from heat.

 

 

Step 3: Pour 4 cups of hot tap water into your bucket. Add the soap mixture and stir it up. At this point you could add a few drops of essential oil like lavender or tea tree oil if you wanted your soap to have a fragrance. Add nothing and your clothes will simply smell clean. I personally really like the smell of the pink Zote, so I didn’t add a thing.

 

 

Step 4: Now add about 12-14 cups of hot tap water to the bucket. The original recipe calls for “one gallon plus 6 cups” but when I did that it came out way too runny. Give it another few minutes of stirring and then let it sit overnight. 

 

 

 Step 5: In the morning your soap might look runny, or like gel, or separated with big clumps of slime on top and water on the bottom. This is all normal depending on the weather, the type of soap you used, etc. At this point you can be done and simply keep your laundry soap in the bucket and just scoop out 1/2 cup per load (like me). Or you can give it another good stir and funnel it into your old, well-rinsed laundry soap container (like I intended to do and still kind of do). Or you can spend the money you saved on the first batch and buy a cute container and cup to store it in. You will need a wide-mouthed funnel of some sort to do this and probably a helper.

 

Here is mine, still in the bucket, two weeks later. 

 

 

 

 

I am neglecting my blog...

I have been a horrible blogger lately...

Between the health problems, doctors appointments, Etsy orders/business, and then losing my job about two weeks ago and trying to get everything in line with that, things have been way out of hand around here. I apologize to any of my readers who may have thought I had forgotten about them. Maybe had I gotten any comments, I would have come back sooner...???


Just playing.  :)


I did lose my job. Long story, not going into it because the end is still that I am now officially unemployed. I am currently in the process of registering with DFPS for my child care license to open an in-home day care. In the meantime, I may be watching a few kids. I have not heard a definitive "yes" from the moms, yet, but I will take what I can get. In addition, I am trying to increase my options available for online business. I know that the wedding season is upon us and that means lots of planning women (and some men, too) are out and looking for a deal. If you know of anyone, please send them my way. If you are interested in possibly ordering a custom wedding (or garden arbor/chuppa/pergola), please visit our Wedding Arbor Etsy Listing.

We do make custom wedding arbors for about $200 a piece (the price has gone up for materials apparently since we last built ours in 2011. We removed the ad from our store on Etsy for being shipped outside the local area, and for local purchases, we will actually deliver it ourselves. I also do custom graphic design (which includes wedding stationery design & the option of printing as well). If you are interested in learning more about the wedding stationery process, please visit our Wedding Stationery Etsy Listing.

I promise I will be back some more soon, but tomorrow morning, Jeremy and I are leaving on an Amtrak trip to Chicago with Connor to go visit his family and daughter for the first time since last summer (yay!). It is a long-awaited and much-needed break. I have several projects nearing completion that will be posted when I come home, so I should be back in the swing of things, soon.

Until then, keep praying, please!