Blender Salsa

We have a tradition in our home - Taco Tuesdays. 

It is a fairly new tradition about a year old or so. 

Everyone loves it. 

We often have beef/liver tacos or chicken tacos and occasionally steak tacos. 

Always with soft wheat tortillas and corn tortilla chips. 

(here is how I keep the tortillas warm)

When I get totally taco-ed out I will make chicken enchiladas or enchilada lasagna. 

And on my birthday we have spaghetti because, well, I love spaghetti. 

The one thing I always make is homemade salsa. 

It is so simple and fresh and delicious. 

In "tomato season" I use all fresh locally grown 'maters. 

In the winter I use canned fire roasted. 

I love to add tomatillos but they aren't necessary for yummy salsa. 

I add stuff until the blender is full. I always taste it before declaring "done" because it often needs a bit more of this or that.

Here is a recipe to start with - play with it and make it your own.

Blender Salsa

4 or 5 large fresh in season tomatoes OR 1 large and 1 small can fire roasted tomatoes (can use plain also)
1 small onion cut in big chunks
2 cloves garlic peeled
1 tsp salt
1 handful of cilantro (I leave the stems on - they are blended up so why waste them?)
1 green pepper cut in big chunks
1 lime squeezed
1 or more jalapenos - deseeded - be careful and use gloves, I have burnt my hands before and it is miserable.
Optional - 6 or so tomatillos - cook in simmering water until they change from a bright green to a dull green. (You know to peel the papery outside and rinse them first right?) When I do this I use a bit less of the tomatoes.
Optional - a handful of purslane - a delicious weed herb weed that adds lots of nutrients!

Put it all in a blender and blend away. Taste, adjust seasonings. Refrigerate for an hour at least to blend flavors.
Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!
I am linking this to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday  Scratch Cookin' Tuesday and the Hearth and Soul Hop!

Enjoy Eating Saturated Fats: They are good for you!

This is a bit long but very informative and worth your time; I promise. The gentleman giving the talk a Dr. Donald W. Miller Jr. is a heart surgeon and he debunks current thought that saturated fats are bad for us.

Meatballs for a Crowd

This is spaghetti with meat sauce ;o) I didn't take a picture with the meatballs. Oops.

 Do you like your spaghetti with meat sauce or with meatballs? 

I admit that I am a meat sauce fan. 

I like to get meat and sauce in every bite. 

But sometimes you just want to shake things up. 

That is what I did today. 

I made meatballs - for the very first time. 

They were really good. 

I made a ton of them because, well in order to use four different meats it needed to be tons. 

I cooked them and then froze about two third of them to use later. 

Now you don't need to use all the different types of meat.

 I am sure these would be great without the liver.

 I am just always looking for ways to feed this wonderful organ meat to my family. 

Recycled picture from spaghetti with meat sauce post - but isn't she cute?!

Also, you could just use sweet Italian sausage and I suppose they could be made with just hamburger meat but they wouldn't be anywhere near as tasty. 

Meatballs for a crowd 

(60 or so depending on size)

1 lb beef liver ground in the blender to mush (sounds gross but trust me)

1 bag spinach added to liver and blended with it (or use thawed frozen cubes)

1.5 lbs ground beef - the best you can afford and find

.5 lb Sweet Italian sausage and .5 lb spicy Italian sausage - once again the best you can find

4 large eggs - hopefully from happy free range chickens

1 sleeve of saltines (or there abouts, I had been saving the stale ones for this) blended - or use good bread crumbs just add salt then to the mix.

1 onion diced

2 TBS Italian Seasoning

2 TBS garlic seasoning

2 TBS dried parsley

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Prepare a large pan by greasing it - I used those butter wrappers from my freezer.
3. Put in a huge bowl and mix away. I put my hands in empty bread bags turned inside out to do the squishing and mixing.
4. Take a small handful of the mix and gently roll into a ball and place on your pan, repeat until your pan is full. 
5. Cook for 20 minutes and then check and make sure done by either cutting in half or using a thermometer.

 I had planned on adding Parmesan cheese but forgot to add it, I think they tasted fine without but you could certainly add it.

Linking this to Gallery of Favorites @ Premeditated Leftovers and The 21st Century Housewife. And Fight Back Friday @ Food Renegade. Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday.