Matt's Salsa

I met Amy a few months ago on a committee at my church. Her husband Matt makes killer homemade salsa. She sent me the list of ingredients, and as I made it, I wrote down the missing measurements for some of the ingredients. Salsa is really a "to-taste" kind of thing, IMHO, but this is a fantastic starting point....

28oz crushed tomatoes
15oz diced tomatoes
2 4oz cans green chiles
1 4oz can diced jalapenos
(or substitute 2-3 fresh jalapenos, seeded & mined)
1 1/2 cups chopped green onions (two bunches)
chopped fresh cilantro to taste (I used 1/4 cup)
1 t. salt, 1/4 t. black pepper
3 T chili powder
garlic powder/salt to taste (I threw in 1 t., then thought, "what am I doing?" and added four cloves of fresh garlic, peeled & minced)
1/2 t. cayenne pepper

Using fresh jalapenos gives you a little more flexibility on the heat...I used 2 and it's a good heat for general consumption. If it was just for me, I would have added another.

Yum. It's good stuff.

Very Quick Chicken Tortilla Soup

In a deep pot, combine 2 cans chicken broth, 2 1/2 cups water, 2/3 c. minute rice. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes, then add 1 can corn, drained, 1 1/2 c. salsa, and about 1 c. shredded chicken. Bring to a boil then simmer until ready to serve. Serve with crushed tortilla chips on top.

Not super fantastic, but a nice change. Had to spice it up a bit....next time I'll use hot salsa instead of mild, and maybe use all broth instead of broth/water. The chips really make a difference.

WalMart

While I never relish the thought of setting foot in WalMart, there are some good deals to be had there. I got word from my loop that the B&D Brew-n-Go Deluxe coffemaker (that brews one cup into a travel mug) was $9.79, and the $10 B&D coupon from this month's P&G insert wasn't beeping on it. So off to WalMart I went...imagine my glee when mine rang at $5.00. Woo hoo! Two free gallons of milk, courtesy of B&D! :)

Slacker

Okay, sorry, if anyone has been checking, I've been slacking.

A deal of note today for you moms!!

Jewel (Albertson's) apears to be clearancing their Huggies Convertibles at $3 a package. With the $2.50 mfr c/os that have been running....that's 50¢ for diaper-pull-up-thingies. Personally I preferred these to pull ups because they are more diaper like. And therefore don't give your kid the illusion of grandeur (i.e. "I'm such a BIG GIRL wearing BIG GIRL PANTS!!" Um, no, not yet, you still pee in your diaper last time I checked.) that pull ups do.

Happy Hunting....