My love for salsa.
Hi, welcome back to Wendy’s Kitchen & More. Glad you are here, and I am super thrilled to share this latest creation with you. I feel like it’s been a while since we connected on food creations. Well only a week, grin. But my writing rhythm has been a little turned around this week with a holiday weekend and a quick trip to Saratoga with amazing friends.
Life gets busy in the summer or maybe just always. But that should never hold you back from enjoying what you love to do. And for me, it is writing for my beautiful Substack friends and family.
Inspiration
Today’s inspiration truly comes from my need to recharge. For me, recharging is creating something in the kitchen.
I had a wonderful breakfast meeting with a dear friend, and on my way home I stopped at a Farm Stand. Where I spotted gorgeous beefsteak tomatoes, cucumbers and a sign that read $1 for all plants. Hum, plants—of course I did a detour, and purchased more plants for the garden. I will post all about it, in week 8, this week’s Garden Journey Series.
With fresh tomatoes in hand, I explored the garden for inspiration. Salsa? Always salsa with me. Once I was asked, if you were stranded on an island, what’s the one food you could not live without. My answer, salsa. Why, well it has all your veggies of course. And it’s healthy, and super delicious. With salsa on the brain, I spot 3 ripe peppers, and a ton of cilantro needing to be picked before it goes to seed. There you have it—a garden salsa creation in the making.
Garden Salsa
Makes 1 quart.
Ingredients
2 beefsteak tomatoes, diced or chopped to bite size
1/2 red onion, diced
2 Hungarian yellow hot wax peppers, diced
1 long hot pepper, diced
5 small scallions, green only diced
2 garlic scapes, diced
2 limes juiced
1 bunch of cilantro (1 cup), finely chopped stems and all
1 tablespoon garlic powder or fresh garlic chopped, I used garlic powder
3 teaspoons of cumin
1 tablespoon of cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
💕
Directions
Mix up all the ingredients in a large bowl, except for the salt and pepper. Taste, add salt and pepper to your taste buds go yum! Remember they know best. Let it chill for an hour on the counter and the juices will blend into a tasty salsa creation. I then stored the remaining in a quart-size Ball jar and placed in the refrigerator.
Chicken Nachos
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast (or use a rotisserie chicken, and shred)
1/4 cup Frank’s Red-Hot (optional)
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1/2 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder
1/2 bag of tortilla corn chips
1/2 brick of extra sharp cheese, shredded
1 cup homemade garden salsa from above
sour cream
Sriracha sauce garnish
Directions
Pre-heat your oven to 475℉
First you will simmer your chicken in the Frank’s Red-Hot sauce. Melt your butter, add the Frank’s Red-Hot, juice of 1/2 lime and garlic powder, then add your pre-cooked shredded chicken. Simmer for 5-minutes while your oven is pre-heating. You are basically blending your chicken with the Frank’s Red-Hot sauce. You can opt out of this step and add the shredded chicken directly to your nachos. We love spice in the Henry house.
Now take an oven safe casserole dish, place a layer of corn tortilla chips on the bottom, layer 1/2 of your shredded cheddar cheese and 1/2 of your chicken mixture, top with another layer of corn tortilla chips, remaining 1/2 of your cheddar cheese and chicken. Bake for 5-minutes at 475℉ or until all your cheese is melted.
Serve with the Garden Salsa, sour cream and sriracha sauce. Yummy! 😋
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As with my buymeacoffee, tip jar (the link below), 10% of all my earnings are donated to our local St. Joseph’s church foodbank. Each week, I plan on sharing our donations.
Our first donation goes in this month of $2.00! We donate every month regardless, now we are adding extra. So thrilled!
Try to let go and let God. When I do, wonderful moments happen.
Enjoy your week! 💕
Wendy
Your salsa recipe sounds delicious. We’ll have to make it. (Deserted island 🤣🤣)
Thank you! 😊