The problem is that I could eat it almost every da’gum day.   I just got a sneak peak at the sale ad that comes out tomorrow – and let’s just say, if you’re like me (swimming in the deep end of the crazy pool over Mexican food), you’re gonna love it.   So let’s kick off a little fiesta with the King of Mexican condiments:  salsa!

The FamDam has a favorite Mexican restaurant.  It’s downtown, on 4^th Street.  It shall remain nameless here today.  If they had given me their salsa recipe when I begged them for it recently, maybe I would have mentioned them here.  But they didn’t, so – too bad.  No plug.  To be fair, they don’t need a plug from me.  If you stop in on any given Saturday night, you’ll have a wait.  A big one.  So they’re doing just fine without free advertising from little old me.

“Bitter, party of one?”

I kid, I kid!  Back to the issue at hand today: SALSA.  For me, the mark of a great Mexican restaurant is their salsa.  Don’t you agree?  If I don’t like what a taquieria is serving up with its chips, I don’t go back.  And that’s why I’m such a fan of La Fue — oops, I wasn’t going to mention them.  They have GREAT salsa.  Amazing, even.  I could eat it with a spoon!  It’s smooth, with the perfect balance of tomatoes, onions, and cilantro –and it’s always nice and cold.  Soooo delicious with a chilly margarita and a basket of warm, toasty chips … aye caramba! I feel a swoon coming on.

My friend Lori has also made an attempt to garner this particular recipe, and like me, has come up empty handed.  She and I have gone ‘round and ‘round ad nauseam, speculating as to how the people at La Fue – darn, there I go again – this restaurant – make their salsa.  After much discussion, we’ve concluded that there is no possible way they use fresh tomatoes.  Forget it – there are canned tomatoes involved.  We also agree that onion, fresh jalapeno, tons of cilantro, a bit of garlic, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice are also in the mix.

We can’t quite seem to duplicate it, but I have to say, this version comes close.  And because I’m nice, and I don’t run a Mexican restaurant, and there’s no proprietary information involved here, I’m going to share it with you.

Give it a whirl!  See what you think.  Serve it up on Sunday while you watch the big game – it’s also great with the Shrimp Quesadillas I’m going to have up here tomorrow.  And if you have any insight as to how these restaurants down on 4^th street make their salsa, feel free to chime in at any time.

Happy Tuesday, my little cucarachas!

Some recipe notes:  I used a whole, unseeded jalapeno in mine, but of course you could cut this if you’re not in to the heat (“What are you, a man or a mouse? I mean, a woman or a wouse?” Name that movie!).  Also quite important is that you allow enough time for this salsa to chill in the fridge (ideally, overnight).  You would not believe how the flavors are going to improve when they’re all allowed to mingle for a spell!

RESTAURANT STYLE SALSA

Makes about 6 cups

A collaborative effort of Lori & Leah!

• 2 15 oz. cans whole tomatoes, undrained (Shurfine are on sale)
• 1 14.5 oz can Rotel (find this on the top shelf where the tomatoes are)
• ¼ medium onion, rough chopped
• 1 whole jalapeno, stemmed and rough chopped (leave the seeds and the ribs if you like it HOT) – these are on sale
• 1 clove garlic, rough chopped
• Small handful of cilantro (half a bunch, maybe?) rough chopped – on sale
• Generous squeeze of fresh lime juice – on sale
• Pinch sugar
• Sea salt to taste

Place all of the ingredients in your food processor and pulse until you get it to the consistency that you like.  I like mine pretty smooth, so for me that’s 10-12 big pulses.  Season with salt to taste.  Transfer to a lidded container and chill for at least two hours, occasionally shaking the container to blend.  Store overnight if possible.

Now, for the love of all that is good and right in the world, please serve this salsa with a decent, restaurant quality chip!  My favorites are Matilda’s or Xochitl, and both are on sale this week.

(Sad, isn’t it?  Maybe if a sale at the grocery store is enough to get me this excited, I need to get a new hobby.  Maybe I need some new friends.  Maybe if I serve these tacos, I’ll get some new friends.  Maybe those new friends can introduce me to some alternate interests….hhm…it’s worth a try.  And  I’m not above  - beneath? – bribing people for their friendship in exchange for tacos.)

I digress…I’ll try to pull myself together.

I don’t usually cook dinner on Fridays, but those sale chuck roasts were just so darned tempting, I gave in to my carnivorous side and headed for the kitchen.  It seemed like the right thing to do.  Plus, the chores on my ‘to do’ list aren’t all that attractive today: vacuuming, folding whites, scrubbing crusty blue goo out of my kid’s sinks, etc…I think not.  The obvious choice is to while away a rainy afternoon in the kitchen.  C’mon, let’s go!

If you choose not to make these tacos today  – like for instance, if you HAVE interesting hobbies and a whole gaggle of friends who are tempting you with other activities – they would make a great Sunday supper!  And a bonus:  your house will smell divine!

BEEF SOFT TACOS WITH SALSA

Serves: 4

Source: epicurious.com

• 1 T. oil
• 1 ½ lbs. boneless beef chuck, cut into ¾” cubes  (on sale this week!)
• 1 c. bottled chunky salsa (I used the medium hot Pace Salsa that’s on sale)
• ½ c. beef broth (or slightly more; you’ll want enough liquid to cover all of the beef)
• 2 T. chopped garlic
• 2 T. packed brown sugar
• 1 T. soy sauce

• ¼ c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 T. fresh lime juice

• 12 6” flour tortillas
• Shredded cheese (or, use the sale pepperjack and shred it yourself)

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat.  Saute half of beef until browned on all sides, about three minutes.  Using slotted spoon, transfer beef to a bowl.  Saute remaining beef until brown, about another three minutes.  Return all beef to the pot.  Add salsa, broth, garlic, brown sugar, and soy sauce and stir to blend.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low, cover pot and simmer until beef is tender, stirring often, about 1 hour 10 minutes.

Uncover pot and simmer stew until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.  Mix in cilantro and lime juice.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat tortillas and wrap in a clean dishtowel to keep warm.  Serve stew with tortillas and shredded cheese.

Note:  Just a thought (and only a thought; I’ve never actually tried this), but if you didn’t feel like futzing with cubing all of the beef, you could probably sear the whole roast on both sides, cover it with the remaining ingredients, and then cook it off like a regular pot roast.  I think it would be good shredded on tostadas, or sliced and served over rice with the gravy.  Just a thought.  If you try it like this, let me know!

I ate too much this weekend.  And if you want the truth, I went overboard on the  cocktails, too – we went to a really fun (LATE) dinner party on Friday, then out to the lake on Saturday, and had company on Sunday.  The weather was gorgeous, and I just felt like livin’ it up and indulged just a teensy bit too much.

It’s time to get back on track, and I’m going to be really, really good today.  I just ate an apple (a Jazz apple, I’m totally hooked – you must try them!);  I’m munching a bunch of grapes and pounding ice water by the quart to re-hydrate and flush all the junk out of my system.  I might even go a little crazy and EXERCISE later.  I know, right?  Look out.

I like to go ‘veggie’ for a few days when I’ve abused my body like this, and a perfect way to get back on track is with this delicious black bean soup.  If you didn’t know this already, black beans are virtually fat free, they’re a great source of fiber and antioxidants, and … they’re on SALE through today, yippee!  This soup feels filling, and if you go easy on the shredded cheese and sour cream, it’s very healthy too.   My kids totally dig it and have absolutely no earthly idea that it’s good for them — cheap, healthy, and a total nutritional fake out,  I love it!

Alongside I like to serve these crispy roasted vegetable quesadillas; again, these can be made quite healthy if you go light on the cheese and don’t oil your griddle with too heavy a hand.  I’m making mine with the sale LaBanderita tortillas (which I have leftover from the burritos last week), the sale red onions, and the Colby Jack that’s on sale in the cheese department (you’ll have to shred this yourself).  Choose from one of the three brands of salsas that are on sale (Frontera, Manny’s, or Newmans!) to dunk the quesadillas.

I’m off to the gym.  Hope I remember how to get there.

If you have the luxury of time, make the soup earlier in the day.  It gets better the longer it sits!

Serves:  6-8 for dinner

Source:  Adapted from epicurious.com

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 very large yellow onion (on sale!), diced
• 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 ½ t. dried thyme
• 5 – 15 oz. cans black beans, drained (LaPreferida brand, on sale)
• 4 c. chicken broth
• 1 – 28 oz. can and 1 – 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes with their juice
• 3 t. ground cumin
• 1 t. ground chipotle powder (or regular chili powder)
• Generous pinch of chopped cilantro
• 1 lime, cut in to wedges
• 2 – 3 scallions, chopped
• Shredded cheese and sour cream for serving, if desired

Heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic, and thyme; sauté until onion is tender, about 8 minutes.  Add beans, broth, tomatoes with juices, cumin, and chili powder.  Bring soup to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until flavors blend and soup thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.

Working in batches, puree half of the soup in blender until smooth (see note).  Mix puree back in to soup in pot. Stir in cilantro, a squeeze of fresh lime juice to taste, and season with salt and pepper.  Ladle soup in to bowls and top with sliced scallions, shredded cheese and sour cream if desired.

NOTE * BLENDING  HOT LIQUIDS 101: If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ve heard it before.  Unless you enjoy cleaning soup off of yourself, your cabinets, and your ceiling, please, please, please do not 1). Fill your blender to the top with hot soup, and then 2). Put the lid on tightly, and then 3).  Turn it on full blast.  (I’m telling you these things because 1). I like you, and 2). I don’t want your scalded self and your messed up kitchen on my conscience!)

To call this a ‘recipe’ is kind of silly – it’s really more of a guideline, because if you can make a grilled cheese sandwich, you can make a quesadilla.  Swap in most any vegetable that you like; sometimes I throw baby bella mushrooms or zucchini in the mix too!  Have fun!

ROASTED VEGETABLE QUESADILLAS

Serves:  4-6 for dinner

Source:  Adapted from epicurious.com

• ½ – 1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1” pieces
• 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded, cut in to 1” pieces
• 1 large red onion, sliced and separated into rings
• 1 – 2 T. olive oil
• 6 large flour tortillas (I’m using the LaBanderita 10” sale tortillas)
• ½ – ¾ lb shredded cheese (I’m using the sale Colby-Jack, but feel free to swap in shredded Pepper Jack, which is also terrific in these)
• Chopped fresh cilantro to taste
• Cooking spray
• Salsa or Pico de Gallo for serving
• Sour cream for serving, optional

Preheat the oven to 500.

Line a large cookie sheet with foil for easier cleanup.  Place the vegetables on the pan and toss with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast vegetables until tender and lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally, about 10-12 minutes.  Cool vegetables.

Preheat the broiler.

Place three tortillas on a work surface.  Sprinkle each lightly with some of the cheese, then divide vegetables evenly among the tortillas.  Top with more shredded cheese and chopped cilantro.  Cover with the remaining three tortillas.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Place the quesadillas on the baking sheet, spray the top tortilla with cooking spray.  Broil the quesadillas until golden brown, about 2 minutes.  Carefully turn the quesadillas and broil the second side until golden brown, an additional 2 minutes.

Alternately, make the quesadillas on your cooktop, like a grilled cheese.  This is what I always do, because I don’t trust my broiler!