Salsa Recipe

I've had several people ask me for the recipe for salsa. There isn't really one, so I'll do what I can! :) And this is from Kim. Everything is chopped by hand (or a hand chopper)--if you like very runny salsa, you can probably put everything into a blender and do it that way. I like chunkier salsa, like pico de gallo (is that how it's spelled??). And this usually makes almost 2 big jars of salsa...
5-6 regular tomatoes OR 10-12 Roma tomatoes, skinned*, chopped and drained (my tomatoes
are really juicy, so I throw them into a strainer after I chop them)
1/2 large red onion, chopped
2-4 green onions, chopped
cilantro, chopped (it's all up to your taste. It doesn't take a whole lot)
Lime juice (I squeeze the juice out of 1/4 to 1/2 of a lime)
Salt to taste
That's it! Refrigerate and it'll be gone by the end of day if you're anything like us!
*Kim taught me a trick for skinning the tomatoes very easily. Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil and drop the tomatoes in--it takes less than a minute (you don't want to cook the tomatoes!). Then put them in cold water (just to cool them off so you can skin them). The skins peel right off!
Enjoy!

Cooking with Mama

Anna is my right-hand girl...she loves to help me, especially with cooking and washing dishes (seems like I used to be a lot like that...right Mom?) Anyway, yesterday afternoon we made some more salsa (I had 2 buckets full of tomatoes!). And yes, it's already gone! Binga brought Anna and I some matching Amish-made aprons (thanks!!), so we wore our matching aprons, chopped up veggies, and made salsa! Anna has allergies and they just started in again this week. She gets completely stuffed up-sneezing-coughing-gags on the gunk at night. It's miserable (don't I know!). So she carries a box of tissues around with her and she's such a little old lady about it! She keeps one tissue and uses it several times, tucking it away in a pocket in between! Hilarious. So this day she was keeping her tissue in her apron pocket. It was absolutely adorable to see her tuck her tissue away in her apron pocket!!!

Look at me Mom! -- she calls me Mom most of the time these days :(

Tucking her tissue into her pocket.

Helping Mama chop up the green onions (she likes to use the Pampered Chef chopper)

Since Jacob was already up from his nap and wanting my attention, I put a Berenstain Bears movie on the computer. Anna stood there and watched and stirred for the longest time! In fact, she got mad when it was time to put the salsa into the jars!

This is what Jacob did while the girls cooked (I'm sure it won't be long before he'll be watching ESPN while the girls cook!!). *he didn't actually sit in that chair the whole time--I just plopped him up there for a picture! he's growing up too fast!!! :(

Daddy had Anna bedtime duty tonight. Not sure who fell asleep first! She was watching a cartoon after her bath (remember when I said she doesn't like to be cold? Even in the summer time she likes to stay in her towel where it's "warm". So she usually gets to watch 10-15 min. of a cartoon after her bath.) I was working on the computer and realized after a while it was pretty quiet in there. Like father like daughter! I've always said they have the same sleeping habits (such as they have to be covered with blankets-big ones-no matter how hot they get!). And b/c of her severe congestion right now, she's been sleeping on a mattress on the floor of our bedroom so she doesn't wake up Jacob. She gags multiple times during the night on all the gunk, which makes her half-way wake up and cry quite a bit (who can blame her?!).

Told ya

I told ya it'd be gone before the night was over...only the small jar left and Aaron's not asleep yet! ;-)

Yummy, fresh garden salsa!

What's better than some yummy, homemade, fresh garden salsa??? I'll tell ya what--nothing! :) My friend Kim invited me over to make salsa today since I had SO MANY tomatoes. Here is the wonderful result. It is so good. Aaron is going to be in hog heaven when he gets home. I'm betting there won't be any salsa left by the time we leave tomorrow afternoon...In the big jar, I used green onions (from my garden), red onion, garlic, cilantro, a little salt and a little lime juice. In the small jar, I didn't use the green onions (b/c they are all in the big jar!). It is sooo good! There's no recipe, she just throws it in and tastes it. It's super easy. No canning or cooking, just a lot of chopping. So thanks Kim! I had fun and we'll be enjoying some chips & salsa tonight! :)

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Anna found this little baby carrier yesterday amongst her millions of toys. I picked it up at a garage sale long ago. She was having so much fun carrying her little baby around :)

This is how our mornings go...Anna wakes up and comes to my bed. Sometimes she goes back to sleep, sometimes we cuddle and watch 'toons. She's told me over and over that cuddling in Mommy's bed is her favorite thing to do! :) Well, yesterday morning was no different. As I was trying to get Jacob down for a nap, she comes in and insists on getting her pillow and blanket (Joyce, if you're reading this-she refuses to sleep with any other blanket! Never mind that it's a million degrees outside! She'd rather get hot and sweaty than sleep with a different blanket!!) Anywho. I fail at getting Jacob asleep and walk by and see this...

She evidently wasn't satisfied with the quality of the pillows and blankets already on the bed...she had to have her own! What a kid.

And Jacob...the boy is in love with Dora! Jamie & Cassie got Anna this awesome little Dora "movie" player for Christmas. It's like a projector. He will sit there and watch that little movie over and over and over. He gets really excited when it turns on, and then he just sits really still and watches. It's very cute and quite humorous!

Oh yes...the other day we were at the store when the lady in front of us starts talking to the kids. She was w/ her 3 grandkids. She guessed Anna was about 3 (to which Anna said Yes!) and then she looked at Jacob and said "And I bet you're not quite 2." I kind of laughed and said "Actually, he not quite 1!" Ha! The kid is still growing at a ridiculous rate, I'm afraid.