Homemade Garden Salsa

As I mentioned in my recent garden update, I have vegetables coming out my ears! When I planted the garden, my plan was to make homemade salsa with all the fresh vegetables from our garden. I had no idea how many batches of salsa I would be making, but the count is currently up to eight. 

Eight batches of salsa, folks! 

With those eight batches of salsa, I have had plenty of time to perfect my recipe.

Today, I decided to share my recipe with you, in case you have vegetables coming out your ears too!

INGREDIENTS:

4 tomatoes

1/2 cup red onion

1/2  cup green pepper

2 jalapeno peppers

1 teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cilantro and Parsley to taste

***NOTE: I like my salsa pretty spicy so this salsa is pretty hot! If you like yours more mild, I would use only 1 jalapeno pepper and 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes. 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place all ingredients in blender and chop,

2. Depending on the consistency you like, you can also use the puree option. 

3. Enjoy with tortilla chips or your favorite Mexican dish!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Stuffed Raspberries- A Simple Snack

Say hello to my new favorite snack...

The past few weeks, Meijer has had their raspberries on sale for a dollar. One dollar people, how could I turn that down? The answer: I couldn't. I stocked up on one of my favorite fruits and started eating them by the handful. But what's better than a bowl full of raspberries? A bowl full of raspberries and chocolate!

If you have not tried these yet, you must! All you have to do is wash your raspberries and stick a chocolate chip inside each one. They are to.die.for. 

I realize that this is something that we have all seen on pinterest so I know I didn't just create some groundbreaking new snack. All I am saying is if you haven't tried it yet, DO IT! Especially if your grocery store is selling raspberries for a dollar! And hey, it's fruit, so it's at least somewhat healthy right?

Angel Berry Trifle

This Angel Berry Trifle is the perfect summer dessert. It is light and refreshing, and the perfect dessert to take to a backyard barbecue. My mother-in-law has made it for the past few summers and it has to be one of my favorites by far. The recipe makes a ton, I cut the recipe in half and it still nearly filled my trifle bowl. I like it with strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, but you can put in any fruit you'd like.

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunt size angel food cake (or two loaves)

16 oz. of strawberries raspberries, blueberries

2 small packs of vanilla instant pudding

3 cups of milk

16 oz. of cool whip

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut angel food cake into small pieces.

2. Wash and cut fruit as needed.
3. Mix milk and pudding, then fold in 8 oz. of cool whip.

4. In a large bowl, layer starting with 1/3 of the cake, then 1/2 the pudding mixture and 1/2 the fruit.

5. Repeat cake, pudding, and fruit layers, with the final layer being cake.

6. Top the cake with the rest of the cool whip and decorate with fruit.

yummmmm. 

Happy Monday!

Valentine's Day Popcorn Mix

I almost always make chocolate covered Oreo's or Prolo's to send to friends this time of year. But this year, I decided to be a little more creative.  

I'm usually not one to like a bunch of random stuff mixed with my popcorn, but as a popcorn fanatic I must tell you, this stuff is amazing! It is very easy to make and its a quick treat to package up for friends for Valentine's Day!

INGREDIENTS:

popcorn, pretzels, melted white chocolate, and melted milk chocolate, sprinkles, and m&m's.

I even thought about throwing in some peanuts... yum!

1. First, pop your popcorn and lay it on a baking sheet. Add in pretzels.

2. Then, melt the white chocolate and pour it on top of the popcorn, mix well.

3. Add sprinkles and m&m's

4. Melt the milk chocolate and drizzle it over the mixture.

5. Let cool, then eat the whole cookie sheet. 

(just kidding...maybe...) 

What kinds of valentine's day treats do you make?

Send them my way :)

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

 I don't know about you, but I love grilled cheese. I am one of those people that still orders grilled cheese when going to say... Apple Bees. It's kind of embarrassing, but I can't help it. They are just so good!

Well, this weekend I decided to jazz it up a bit and make what I know call the "Gourmet Grilled Cheese." It is very simple to make and oh so delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

2 slices of bread, butter, avocado, red onion, and shredded cheddar cheese

You butter your bread just like you would with a regular grilled cheese and then throw in the rest of the ingredients to your liking. I have discovered it works much better if the avocado is soft enough to spread on, otherwise flipping the sandwich becomes rather difficult. Seriously, you should have seen me trying to do it. I didn't even know my arm could twist that way.

Of course, this grilled cheese may not be for everyone. I am in love with onion and avocado, so I love it. But my hubs would never even consider eating it. Avocado and onion are his two least favorite things. Is this just an Adam thing or are all guys like that?

Happy HUMP Day!

The EASIEST Guacamole Recipe!

Tonight was Mexican night at casa de Muszynski. While I stood in the kitchen making my favorite guacamole, I decided I should share it with you all. I love guacamole... in fact, it's my favorite part of Mexican night (besides the margaritas!). I have tried many, many recipes in my day, but none of them have ever proven to be better than this simple recipe with only four, yes FOUR, ingredients!

INGREDIENTS:

2 ripe avocados

1 package of Ortega Guacamole Seasoning Mix

Red onion (as much as you'd like)

1 tablespoon of lime juice

Some people may think it's cheating to use a guacamole mix, but I honestly have found nothing as delicious, not even the copy cat Chipotle recipe (sorry, Chipotle!)

DIRECTIONS:

I have been using the Ortega Guacamole Seasoning Mix for quite some time now and love it, but just recently started adding things to it to try to make it even more delicious. 

The first key to this recipe is buying the perfectly ripe avocado. You want them to be as soft as possible, but nothing is more disappointing than cutting open an avocado and realizing its brown (I use this trick when at the grocery store)

I like my guacamole nice and creamy, so cutting the avocado into tiny pieces is a must for me. I then mash it all up with a fork before adding the guacamole mix, onion, and lime juice. Some people like it chunky, but the smoother the better in this house.

I'm also a red onion lover, so I usually put a lot in there, but most people aren't as big of fans, so just add as much as you like! 

And last but certainly not least comes the lime juice, which is the best part of the whole thing. You can try it without if you don't believe me, but you have been warned!

Last tip: Want to keep your guacamole from turning brown?

Stick the pits inside your dip and it will stay fresher longer! (I think the lime juice helps a bit as well)

Enjoy this simple guacamole recipe on your next family Mexican night!

Let me know what you think.

Halloween Puppy Chow

Halloween is just a few days away, and now that I'm too old to run around the neighborhood trick-or-treating, I like to spend my Halloween night watching Hocus Pocus, snacking on junk food, and anxiously awaiting the youngsters to come-a-ringing. This year, I decided to make a Halloween-themed puppy chow to munch on while hanging out with the Sanderson Sisters.

Here is the recipe in case you decide to whip some up in the next few days, or any time this fall!

INGREDIENTS:
9 cups of Chex cereal
2 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 cup of peanut butter

1 1/2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Candy Corn
M&Ms

DIRECTIONS:
1. Melt chocolate chips in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.
2. Add peanut butter to melted chocolate and mix together until smooth
3. Pour the Chex cereal into a large bowl
4. Remove chocolate and peanut butter from heat and pour over cereal. Mix until the cereal is completely coated with chocolate.
5. Put the chocolate covered cereal into a large ziplock bag and pour in the powdered sugar.

6. Shake the bag until all the cereal is coated in powedered sugar.
7. Mix in candy corn and m&m's to your liking

What are your big plans for Halloween?

Anyone else planning to curl up on the couch watching Hocus Pocus?

Chunky Applesauce

I have another apple recipe for you today! Back when we received the whole basket of apples from a friend, I made a few batches of this chunky applesauce. It is SO simple to make in the crockpot and I love the scents it spreads throughout the house. And, it doesn't taste too bad either!

INGREDIENTS

8-10 apples, peeled and cut into chunks

1/2 cup of water

1 tsp of cinnamon

3/4 cups of sugar

DIRECTIONS

Put all the ingredients in the crockpot and cover. 

Cook on low: 8-10 hours

OR

Cook on high: 3-4 hours

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do in this household!

If you decide to make it, I'd love to hear what you think of it.

Delicious Apple Pie

Let me just preface this by saying I have never made a pie in my life. A friend called us up one day asking if we would like some apples, and of course I said yes. Well, what we got was more than just some apples, it was a whole basket full. I have spent the past few days peeling more apples than I ever want to peel again, but the delicious apple recipes are totally worth it. My hubs requested an apple pie, so I figured I better make him one.

INGREDIENTS

Pie Crusts (homemade, refrigerated, or frozen)

6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place one pie crust in an ungreased glass pie plate and press firmly against the sides and bottom.

2.  Mix all filling ingredients in a large bowl and spoon into the crust-lined pie plate. Place the second crust on top and wrap excess crust under the bottom crust edge, pressing edges together to seal. Cut slits into the top crust.

3. Bake 40-45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Cover the edges of the crust with foil after 15 or 20 minutes of baking. This will prevent excessive browning. Cool on a cooling rack for at least 2 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Tomato, Basil & Parmesan Soup

The cooler weather we had yesterday had me craving some delicious tomato soup! On our way home from camping, we stopped at the grocery store for all the ingredients, threw everything into the crock pot, and waited for dinner time. I decided to share this recipe with you today since fall is right around the corner. If you are anything like me, you probably haven't eaten many warm foods lately. I don't dare turn on the stove, oven, or crock pot during the days of extreme heat. I was so excited for a cool day to make something warm that I haven't had in a while. This tomato soup is seriously the best tomato soup I have ever had. Try it once, and I guarantee you won't be sorry!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cans (14 oz each) diced tomatoes with the juice

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup finely diced carrots

1 cup finely diced celery

1 cup finely diced onions

1 tsp dried oregano

1Tbsp dried basil

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups half and half

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, carrots, celery, onions, oregano, and basil into a large crock pot.

2. Cover and cook on LOW for approximately 6 hours to allow flavors to blend and vegetables to soften.

3. 30 minutes prior to serving, melt butter and add in flour. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes. Add to soup mixture. 

4. Stir and add in Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt, and pepper.

5. Cover and cook on LOW for 30 minutes, or until you are ready to serve.

This soup is so good, even my husband will eat it (he is more of a meat and potatoes kind of guy)! 

Also, this soup is great for dipping grilled cheese!

Introducing PROLO's

Now most of you have probably seen the mouth-watering pretzels and hershey kisses topped with an M&M. Well, I decided to switch it up a bit and make PROLO's, a pretzel and rolo combo of deliciousness (topped with an M&M, of course).

what you'll need: 

pretzels, rolo's, m&m's, backing sheet, and oven

directions:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line pretzels up on the baking sheet and placed unwrapped rolo's in the center of each pretzel. Bake for 2-4 minutes or until rolo's have become soft. Place an M&M on top and push it into the melted rolo.

There you have it, a quick, sweet and salty treat for any holiday day of the week! Seriously... the worst part was unwrapping all the rolos!

Garden Vegetable Lasagna

Garden Style Lasagna

This is one of my favorite recipes I've tried so far! I love lasagna, but I was looking for a different twist on it besides marinara, meat, and cheese. This is definitely not a "quick" dinner recipe, but it's perfect when you have some extra time on your hands. And with it being only 7 weight watchers points, you don't even have to feel guilty for eating it!

I must warn you, this Garden Style Lasagna is definitely not a "quick" dinner recipe, but it's perfect when you have some extra time on your hands. I promise you, it is worth every minute you spend making it.

**Unfortunately, it looked so good I forgot to take any pictures of it before it was devoured, so it doesn't look as appetizing as it did fresh out of the oven. I will try to get some yummier looking pictures the next time I make it.

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped onion
2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil (divided)
2 cups chopped zucchini
2 cups chopped yellow squash
2 cups thinly sliced carrot
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 teaspoon salt (divided)
1/2 cup flour
3 1/2 cups skim milk
1 cup Parmesan cheese (divided)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
dash of nutmeg
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach (thawed)
1 1/2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese (divided)
9 pre-cooked lasagna noodles



Directions:

1. Preheat over to 375 degree Fahrenheit.

2. Saute onion over medium-high heat until lightly browned (approximately 4 minutes). Add garlic and saute 1 more minute. Place in a large bowl.

3. Saute zucchini and yellow squash, with 1 teaspoon oil, over medium-high heat until lightly browned (approximately 4 minutes). Add to large bowl with onion mixture.

4. Saute sliced carrots with 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat until tender (approximately 4 minutes). Add broccoli and saute another 4 minutes. Add to large bowl with the other veggies. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix well.

5. Combine flour and milk in a saucepan. Stir with a whisk to blend. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow mixture to thicken, stirring constantly. When it reaches desired consistency, remove from heat. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and dash of nutmeg. Stir in spinach.

6. Combine cottage cheese and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese.

7. Put it all together! Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. And the layering begins: 1/2 cup spinach mixture; 3 lasagna noodles; half of the cottage cheese mixture; half of the veggies; 1 cup of the spinach mixture; 3 lasagna noodles; other half of the cottage cheese mixture; other half of veggies; 1 cup spinach mixture; 3 lasagna noodles; remaining spinach mixture; 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.

8. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake another 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly/lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!