Another Salsa

 

I had to throw in a picture of Benjamin!

Okay, this is my first attempt at my own salsa recipe. I took ideas from a couple of other recipes, and I think it turned out pretty good!

Ingredients:

2 cloves of garlic

2 Serrano Chiles - or jalapenos if you want less heat

2 roasted Hatch green chiles

1 medium onion

about 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Juice of 1 lime

1 large can of whole tomatoes - chopped were on sale, but the whole work better

salt to taste

Turn oven on to broil. Place onions, garlic, and serrano chiles on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and cook. Turn so that all sides are browned or blistered. Then, peel the garlic and place onions, garlic, serrano & Hatch chiles, cilantro, apple cider vinegar, and lime in a food processor. Puree until everything is coarsely chopped, but not smooth. (I'm not going for baby food here!) Then, add the can of tomatoes and puree again until everything is mixed, but not too smooth. Then, grab a chip and taste. Add salt or more lime juice to taste.

Note: I still have Hatch green chiles in my freezer from Central Market two years ago! We bought half a case of hot and half a case of mild, and they've lasted a long time. But, you could also use the jar green chiles or just leave them out. If you use the jar kind, they're already chopped. I probably used the equivalent of 2 tablespoons of chopped green chiles. If you live in Texas, the Hatch Chile Fest happens in August, and I'd plan on stocking up when you can get these chiles fresh. We add them to eggs, enchiladas, salsas... you name it!

  

  

Salsa Verde

 

This recipe is from Cowgirl Cuisine by Paula Disbrowe. It is delicious, especially when the ingredients are warm and fresh from the oven!

Ingredients:

2 pounds tomatillos (about 14 medium), husked

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 to 4 garlic cloves

2 to 4 jalapenos

1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

Juice of 1 large lime (about 2 Tbsp)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

3-4 Hatch green chiles

Rinse the tomatillos. Place tomatillos, onion, unpeeled garlic, jalapenos, and chiles (unless already roasted or from a jar) on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and toss to coat. Place the baking sheet under the broiler and cook, turning as necessary, until blistered on all sides. Remove from oven in batches, if necessary. Stem the peppers, peel the garlic, then transfer all ingredients to a food processor. Puree until smooth, taste, and season with salt and lime.

 

 

Lentil Sausage Soup

My new favorite soup.

The picture doesn't really do it justice, but this soup is delicious. I used store-bought chicken broth because the idea of making my own just kind of scares me. Plus, it saves a lot of time! This makes a lot of soup, too. We've eaten this twice, and I still have another meals worth in the freezer! Okay, I'm starting to sound like a soup-nerd, but I just had to share.

God's Love & Winter Pictures

I listened to a sermon yesterday that Noel Piper had posted on her blog by a pastor in Minneapolis named Rick Gamache.  It really helped my thinking on God's love for me.  I love God's grace.  I love that I am justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  But, in my thinking, I've been missing the next step in God's grace and love for me.  Pastor Gamache was preaching from Ephesians chapter 1:

"...he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved." v. 4-6

The thing that's so amazing is that God didn't stop at justifying us.  He did more than declare us "not guilty", although that alone would have been glorious and undeserved.  As Pastor Gamache put it:

When we were adopted, God the judge put down his gavel. God the judge stood up and he stepped away from bench and he took off his judicial garb. He came to us and took us in his arms and he said to us, “my child, from now on call me Father, and he rejoiced over us with loud singing.”

We are not only forgiven of our sins, but we are adopted by God.  As believers in Jesus Christ, we were once enemies of God, but now he holds us in him arms and declares us to be his child.  WOW! Seriously?!?  "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God." - 1 John 3:1  I love when God gives me a fresh and new understanding of something that's been under my nose all along.  I'm praising God today for my adoption.

That's my thoughts for the day, now here's some sweet pictures of our winter in Louisville.

  

Benjamin is learning to sit up!

...more sitting up pictures

  

 Oh, Dad!

  

 Benjamin loves playing with his dad! Derek gets the biggest smiles out of him!

  

 We have had a lot of snow lately! I'm told winters are not usually this white here in Louisville. This is the view from our back porch just yesterday. Derek and I measured 5 inches of snow at one point. 

 

 That's our car covered in snow!

  

 Benjamin and I had to check out the snow flakes. I don't think he was too interested in them!

Alright, I hear him waking up from his morning nap. That's all for now!

Benjamin's First Snowman!

 

 

  

  

The snow is about melted now, but I like it that way. It's pretty for a few days, and then I want it to go away! Benjamin didn't seem to think much of it. He wouldn't smile or look at the camera or anything. He did stare at the snowman which was pretty cute!  I think he was mostly just cold and wondering why we were outside to begin with!