Because these 3 ingredients are the base for most of the Mexican meals I make, I thought I’d add a quick post where they are all linked in together.
Here is the Salsa.
Here is the Mexican Seasoning.
Here is the Masa Tortilla.
Combinations of these always lead to happy dinners and plates licked clean at our house!
Enjoy 🙂
My husband and 3 boys are serious Mexican food fans (even miss Fussy quite enjoys it) – Tacos, Nachos, Enchiladas, Steak Burritos, Mexican meatballs, Taco steak with Mexican Bean Salad, Salsa Chicken …. we could eat Mexican just about every other night and they’d be happy!
What I’m not so happy about is the quantity of additives and preservatives in  the jars of salsa type sauces to use in these dishes. So I’ve had a go at making my own based on the back of a jar we’d had … and it was a winner! This makes quite a big batch so we will be using this from now on instead of the store-bought variety.
Simply place all ingredients into your food processor and pulse until you reach the consistency you enjoy.
Fewer times for a chunky salsa to dip your chips in, and more times for a smoother salsa to go inside your burritos, enchiladas, Salsa Chicken etc.
Makes quite a large batch – the equivalent of 3 large store bought jars.
Enjoy!!
Our big boys went to a school disco the other night so after making very simple dinners for the 2 little ones, Peter and I got to enjoy a grown up dinner. It was so quick to make and it was just delicious!
Heat a frying pan and place the salmon in the pan.
In a small saucepan, place the oil, then add the dill, capers and salt and pepper. Don’t allow to boil just keep warm over a very low heat.
Turn the salmon after a couple of minutes (depending on thickness) and fry for a further 2-3 minutes on the other side.
Lay the salmon on a bed of cauli-rice (or some crushed boiled ‘jacket’ potatoes), top with slices of lemon and drizzle the herb oil over the top. Serve with steamed greens.
Enjoy!
P.S. For a bit of variety, and if I’m being a bit lazy, instead of the lemon slices, I just add the juice and zest of 1 lemon to the Herb butter instead.
Tonight I serve the salon on a bed of steamed and crush sweet potato, together with blanched asparagus and roasted beetroot. Yum!
Mmmm …. pasta and creamy sauce – so many memories from my childhood and the ultimate comfort food.
I know that most of you would be horrified – but I’m pretty sure that if I could, I’d still be happy to attack a box of the scarily orange Kraft stuff!
But sadly, not a very allergy friendly meal (or one that’s very helpful when you are caring for your body! ) … until now!!
I saw this idea on the Stay at Home Mum site and have adapted it  from there.
See below the recipe for a more simple cheese sauce idea. UPDATE: this is the one I use most of the time now, simply because it is quick!
In a large saucepan, cook
Then drain, rinse with cold water and place into a large bowl.
Then in the same saucepan add
Bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes until the veggies are soft.
Drain the veggies and set aside, but retain about 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
In a food processor blitz together, until smooth;
When this mix is smooth, add the vegetables and then about 1/2 a cup of the cooking liquid. Process until smooth. You want this mixture to be a thick sauce so add a little more water if necessary. I used almost 3/4 of a cup in the end.
Add this sauce to the pasta and mix well. Then transfer to a baking dish.
Cover the top of the pasta mix with,
In the now empty food processor add the following and process until it turns to a crumbs;
Sprinkle the crumb mix over the top and then bake in a pre-heated moderate oven for about 25 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling hot.
I grew up with Mac cheese being served with bacon so there is no way I could serve this without it! I diced 5 rashes of shortcut bacon and fried them, then added to the pasta at the same time as the sauce.
This made enough for all 5 of us for dinner and 2 extra lunch serves.
This is one meal that I make into 2 versions – I usually add some extra veggies, like mushrooms and asparagus for the grown ups.
For a quicker, more simple cheese sauce recipe, but one that still hides veg, I now use this one from my lasagne.
It freezes and re-heats well.
Enjoy 🙂
P.S. Next time you make a roast, have a go at using this ‘sauce’ mix to top your broccoli and cauliflower to make a ‘Cauliflower cheese’.
My husband calls my satay sauce ‘frautay sauce’ (fraudulent satay‘).
To be honest, I don’t really mind what he chooses to call it because it is really yummy and everyone loves it … we have even had dinner guests eat it and then look at my kids in horror and say ‘Oh no – but they can’t eat peanuts!’, not realising that it was this substitute.
See below the recipe for a Thermal Cooker method.
Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring until onion is soft and golden.
Add garlic and chilli and cook for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and seed butter and stir to combine.
Return to low heat and add water, lemon juice, vinegar and sugar.
Cook, stirring for about 3 minutes until sauce thickens.
To make the satay chicken, I just wait until the sauce cools, then put about 1/3 of it aside. Use the remaining 2/3 to marinate strips of chicken thigh and leave covered in the fridge for 2 hours.
Thread chicken strips on to bamboo skewers (soak them in water before hand so that they don’t burn when cooking) and cook on the bbq.
I serve with steamed veggies on a bed of rice and top with remaining sauce.
The sauce makes about 3/4 of a cup and I use about 400g of chicken thighs, which is enough to feed all 5 of us, with one or two left over for lunch the next day.
To adapt for a Thermal Cooker:
Place onions, garlic and chilli in bowl and use speed 6 for 8 seconds.
Scrape down sides and add oil. Saute on 100C, speed 1 for about 4 minutes, or until onions are soft and golden.
Add in the sunflower seed butter and mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds.
Add water, lemon juice, vinegar and sugar. Cook on speed 1, 90C for about 6 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.
Itchin' Kitchen 