Carbo’s Homemade Salsa

Mark T. Carboni shares his Cookin With Carbo party recipes with Shindigz

When Carbo has a gathering of friends, he always is on the search the perfect opening bites of food and a comfortable surrounding. Bring your friends together around a bowl of homemade salsa that is painfully simple and tasty! Whether it is a Memorial Day picnic or any Summer party, you will find this salsa to be a hit!

Carbo’s Homemade Salsa

Whip up this Homemade Salsa in minutes for your next Party!

3 roma tomatoes
3 kumato tomatoes
1 Anheim pepper
1 medium onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of cilantro
1 T Olive Twist Organic Lime Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Olive Twist Spicy Hot Red Cayenne Olive Oil
1 T Olive Twist Honey Ginger White Balsamic Vinegar
2 limes
1 tsp salt

Dice 2 roma and kumato tomatoes, the pepper, onion and cilantro. Mince the garlic, add to the tomato mixture. Juice two limes and add to the tomato mixture.
In a blender, place one roma and kumato tomato, the lime oil, the cayenne oil and the honey ginger and blend until smooth.
Add the liquid mixture to the tomato mixture, add the salt and stir. Allow to refrigerate at least one half hour to infuse the flavors.
This party favorite will be a great appetizer for up to 8 people.

The passion for cooking was inherited through Carbo’s maternal grandmother who inspired Mark T. Carboni (Carbo) to bring joy to friends and family through the act of preparing food and celebrations. Carbo and his partner travel to sample and learn regional and cultural differences in food. The experiences allow him to make new and exciting recipes that can be reproduce in your own home using every day products and equipment in a short amount of time. Carbo provides private cooking lessons, authored his first cookbook and keeps a highly interactive Facebook page that showcases food-talk and fun. www.facebook.com/carbocooks.

Chicken Enchilada Meatballs

Heather Jurczyk from HeCooksSheCooks.com shares her recipes with Shindigz

Happy Cinco de Mayo! One of the tastiest food holidays ever. Ever ever. So many delicious tastes! Tacos and burritos and taquitos. Fresh salsa and guacamole. And margaritasssssss! Sigh. I love it all. And much to Jeff’s dismay, I could eat Mexican food every day of my life. For now he concedes on twice a week. I am working on increasing that.

These Chicken Enchilada Meatballs came about as we were planning a Cinco de Mayo party. I wanted simple finger foods (no dinner time assembly required like tacos) but I also wanted all the flavor of some of my favorite elaborate meals. The Enchilada meatball was born.

This is simple but does require some prep work. Grind your own chicken if you can, and get a good quality enchilada sauce. You can make your own and we usually do but we make a half gallon at a time. I wanted easy for this recipe.

Mexican Inspired Chicken Enchilada Meatballs are perfect for a Fiesta anytime!

Chicken Enchilada Meatballs

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 4 scallions minced
• 1 teaspoon whole chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup Mexican cerveza
• 2 hand fulls of corn chips, crushed fine
• Mexican Quesadilla cheese (not fresh crumbling cheese, melting cheese)
• Red enchilada sauce (we used Frontera brand which is really good.)
• Cooking oil (olive, canola, vegetable or corn)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine. Let sit for 30 minutes. Roll into 1″ balls.

Preheat oven to 400°

In a heavy bottomed pan add about 2 Tablespoons of oil and heat till hot. Add the meatballs in 2 batches (This is so you do not over crowd the meatballs and steam them instead of browning them.) and cook till browned on all sides.

Move the meatballs to a 9 x 9 pan and pour the enchilada sauce over them. Top with 6 oz of shredded cheese and bake for 25 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Be sure and check back Friday for a special “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere” recipe just in time for The Kentucky Derby!

Recipe by Heather Jurczyk, the sassy half of the  duo that make up the cooking team of He Cooks She Cooks. They have a weakness for feel good, down to earth, amazingly tasty eats that almost always include the addition of beer.

From growing their own tomatoes to brewing their own beer, they like to cook from scratch as much as possible. They know what’s important. Love. Food. Beer. Visit He Cooks She Cooks for more recipes.

Habanero Bacon Cheddar Cheeseball

Heather Jurczyk from HeCooksSheCooks.com shares her recipes with Shindigz

Happy Cheeseball Day!

Maybe, just maybe you have never heard of cheeseball day before. And you are thinking to yourself “you know there are plenty of other holidays we could be celebrating why the cheeseball?” Hmm… like tax day? Pfffft!

It is a day worth celebrating! Have you ever HAD a cheeseball? I don’t mean the small crispy cheeseballs that make a great after-school snack. (Or after work snack, or beer snack, or stuck on a train for 3 hours snack…) I mean the tasty cheesy smear on a cracker or on a stalk of celery snack that if you think back, you had once or twice, loved it but never thought you could do it for yourself because let’s face it, they are magical.

I am here to show you the cheeseball light! In a few simple steps you will be the easy cheesy hero at your next gathering with this Habanero Bacon Cheddar Cheeseball.

Yummy Cinco de Mayo party appetizer – a Habanero Bacon Cheddar Cheeseball

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1  4 oz. jar diced pimentos, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 Serrano seeded and diced
• 1 Habanero seeded and diced
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 8 slices of thick cut bacon, diced

In a large bowl or in the bowl of your mixer add the cream cheese and mayo and whip till well blended.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix till well combined.

Pour out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap the plastic around the cheese mixture and form a ball. Twist end tightly.

Refrigerate for 4 hours.
Cook up the bacon in a large skillet till crispy. Drain and cool. Crumble.

Remove cheese ball from refrigerator and roll in bacon crumbles.

Serve immediately with crackers, celery, apples or whatever else you like.

NEXT WEEK: Zucchini Carrot Squash Bread

Recipe by Heather Jurczyk, the sassy half of the  duo that make up the cooking team of He Cooks She Cooks. They have a weakness for feel good, down to earth, amazingly tasty eats that almost always include the addition of beer.

From growing their own tomatoes to brewing their own beer, they like to cook from scratch as much as possible. They know what’s important. Love. Food. Beer. Visit He Cooks She Cooks for more recipes.

Chicken Burrito Pizza

2 T. salsa (more if desired)
Pizza Crust (store-bought)
1 cup low fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 chicken breast, grilled and diced
4 T. black beans
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

For the Pico De Gallo
1 large tomato, diced
1 small green chili, diced
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 red onion, diced
Salt

For the Guacamole
1 large avocado
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 red onion, diced
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

*note: to save on time you can buy prepared pico de gallo and guacamole at the store and use that instead.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread salsa over the prepared dough. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with the chicken, black beans and onions. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are golden brown. Meanwhile, combine tomato, chili, cilantro and onion in small bowl. Season with salt. Set aside. Halve an avocado, remove the pit, and scoop out the flesh into small bowl. Using a fork, mash the avocado. Mix in cilantro, onion, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Watermelon Fire and Ice Salsa

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped watermelon
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the watermelon, green bell pepper, lime juice, cilantro, green onions, jalapeno and garlic salt. Mix well and serve.

Pico de Gallo Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients

• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 limes, juiced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into strips
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 (12 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream, for topping

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, lime juice, cilantro, jalapeno, salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add chicken and saute until cooked through and juices run clear. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
3. Put the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the hot skillet and saute the sliced onion and green pepper until tender. Stir in the minced garlic and saute until the aroma is strong. Mix in half of the pico de gallo and chicken breast meat. Set aside; keep warm.
4. In a heavy skillet, heat one flour tortilla. Spread 1/4 cup shredded cheese on the tortilla and top with 1/2 the chicken mixture. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup cheese over the chicken and top with another tortilla. When bottom tortilla is lightly brown and cheese has started to melt, flip quesadilla and cook on the opposite side. Remove quesadilla from skillet and cut into quarters. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve quesadillas with sour cream and remaining pico de gallo.

Debbie Baggett’s Armadillo Eggs

• Jalapeno Peppers
• Cream Cheese
• Bacon

1. Clean and seed the jalapeno peppers. Cut in half and parboil.
2. Fill each half with cream cheese.
3. Wrap with bacon and secure with toothpicks.
4. Grill until bacon is completely cooked.

Taco Soup

• 1 pound of Ground Beef or Ground Turkey
• 1 Finely Chopped Medium Onion
• 2 Cans of Pork & Beans (do not drain)
• 2 Cans of Mexican Stewed Tomatoes (do not drain)
• 2 Cans of Whole Kernel Corn (do not drain)
• 2 Cans of Red Kidney Beans (do not drain)
• 2 – 15 oz Cans of Tomato Sauce
• 1 packet of Taco Seasoning (any flavor)

Combine the ground beef and onion in a large skillet, brown meat until no longer pink in the middle. Drain the meat and pour into pan. Add the pork and beans, stewed tomatoes, corn, kidney beans, tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Bring this taco soup recipe to a boil. Reduce heat and cook taco soup for 25 minutes. Serve with a dollop or cheese and serve with tortilla chips.

Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients

• 1 pound bacon
• 10 eggs
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
• 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas

Directions

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside. Wrap the tortillas in foil and warm in the oven.
2. Fry the eggs in a greased skillet until firm. In a small sauce pan heat the refried beans.
3. Top each tortilla with refried beans, 2 strips of bacon, 1 egg and a little cheese. Roll tortillas into burritos and serve.

Jalapeno Corn Muffins

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for tin, melted
• 3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh or frozen (thawed) corn kernels
• Unsalted butter, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush the cups of a standard 12-cup muffin tin with melted butter, and set aside. Whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and sour cream in a medium bowl until combined, and set aside. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, jalapenos, and corn in a large bowl until combined.
2. With a rubber spatula, fold buttermilk mixture into cornmeal mixture until well combined. Fold in melted butter. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let muffins cool in tin 5 minutes. Turn out into a basket or bowl lined with a clean kitchen towel; cover to keep warm. Serve with butter.