North Dakota Salsa

I really like salsa. All kinds of salsa. But, I especially love traditional spicy tomato salsa.

Making salsa in North Dakota over the winter is quite a challenge because finding good, fresh tomatoes is difficult when it’s -30 outside. Shocking, I know!

So, I was thrilled when I discovered (begged) this recipe ... made my Pat Sanden (the mom of Corey’s friend Josh). It uses canned tomatoes! and it tasted great! So, I shall call this North Dakota Salsa.

Here’s what you’ll need:1 large can (approx. 16-28 oz depending on how much you want to make) whole tomatoes
1/2 - 3/4 bunch of cilantro
1/2 yellow onion
two jalapeños
3 T Mrs. Wages salsa canning seasoning (in the canning area of the store)
sate and pepper to taste

What to do:
Combine ingredients in food processor and chop until desired consistency is reached. If you don’t have a food processor a blender will work but it gets frothy, so refrigerate before serving. Serve with chips.

This salsa is responsible for motivating me to buy a food processor ... if it does the same to you ... I recommend looking at www.amazon.com - they have some great deals!

This is the Mrs. Wages salsa seasoning. I get mine at WalMart ... save yourself time and look for it in the canning isle (near housewares).

Thanks for the recipe Pat!

Easy Stromboli

I love pizza. I mean I really love pizza. This is my way of making pizza-like food and pretending it’s not pizza.

This is what you’ll need:
1 lb Italian sausage
1 jar marinera sauce
1 tube Pillsbury refrigerated French loaf
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Pepperoni slices
1 can of mushrooms
1 onion caramelized with butter, balsamic vinegar and sugar
1 tablespoon butter

This is what you do:
Brown sausage and caramelize onion.
Spread the french loaf on a greased cookie sheet or 14x12 pan (it should stretch to cover the sheet).
Across the middle, layer the sausage, some cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, and onions, about 1/4 of the sauce and almost all of the cheese. Then roll edges of dough and seal all sides. Cut three slits on top. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.
Slice and serve with marinera sauce and parmesan cheese.

*the photo above is Corey’s stromboli ... notice the abundance of sauce ... so yummy.