Adrienne’s Famous Bean Salsa

I’m not sure how long my sister-in-law, Adrienne, has been making this bean salsa for my family. I’ve been out of state for a while so I haven’t been savvy to who brings what side dishes to gatherings. But everyone in our family knows about it so it’s probably been a while.

All I know is that when hubby and I moved back to NY this summer, she invited us to join her and my brother at her parents’ cottage on the lake for an afternoon. We were sitting on the patio in the shade, watching boats go by and sipping cold beer. Hubby and I had just eaten lunch so we weren’t particularly hungry, and we pretty much ignored the bean salsa that was sitting on the table. For a little whole.

Then, during a lull in the conversation, I picked up a tortilla chip and scooped some out.

Then I couldn’t stop, even though I was full. So nummy. Scoop after scoop.

Afterwards, I wanted it again, but didn’t want to make it just for hubby and I because I knew that it makes a lot. And it’s one of those recipes that’s very difficult to halve because you’re using a can of beans here, a can of corn there, an envelope of seasoning there, etc.

But then Adrienne invited some people over. Now was my chance! It’s a little silly to bring over someone’s own recipe, but I did it anyway.

Here are my ingredients:

Start with the green bell pepper.

Dice it up, and then do the same with a sweet onion.

And then a couple tomatoes.

Next, open up cans of black beans, black eyed peas, and corn. Drain and rinse, then add to the diced veggies.

Then take a tablespoon of minced garlic. This took me forever to prepare, peeling and mincing a ton of small cloves. Better than the stuff from a jar, though.

Plop it on top of everything else.

Oh, and then cut open a lime

And squeeze it over the whole thing.

Now for some seasonings… Oregano…

Basil (from the tube in my fridge)…

And cilantro (also from a tube).

Finally, in a little bowl, combine some olive oil…

and vinegar (I wasn’t sure what kind, so I used white wine vinegar)…

and a packet of Italian dressing mix.

Mix it up, and pour on top of the salsa!

And with that, you’re done!

Chill it for a few hours, then serve with tortilla chips.

It’s so addicting. Seriously. The dressing mix tenderizes the veggies and makes such a delicious flavor. You’re supposed to drain before serving, but I happen to love the Italian dressing/ veggie juice mixture sitting at the bottom of the bowl, so I didn’t.

So when can I have this again?

Beer Burgers

My brother called me up to invite hubby and I over for dinner. We can do that now that we’re in the same city. He announced that he wanted to grill something, but said that he didn’t know what and trailed off. Then he rattled off a handful of sides that he wanted to make. I asked if I should make burgers, and he got excited by that thought and promised to take care of all the toppings and condiments if I would. So I did.

I wanted to do something different than the jalapeno burgers that I’d made earlier in the summer, so I turned to allrecipes. I found one that was pretty simple, yet unique for the addition of beer. Hell yeah.

The original recipe called for one small onion, finely chopped. I was doubling the recipe, but I left this part as-is.

I was afraid that even this would still be too much onion, so I separated it and decided to mix in a little at a time until it looked like enough. In the end, I added most (but not all).

You’ll add it to the ground beef, of course.

The recipe also called for minced garlic. I used fresh homegrown garlic from my Aunt in Virginia, as I have for the past few recipes. The cloves are little so I used a lot of them. Who doesn’t like garlic, anyway?

In addition to the onions and garlic, I added some salt and pepper.

Finally, the good part. I’d never had this beer before, but a friend had given this to me a week or two beforehand. It was an amber lager and somehow seemed more appropriate than the Sam Adams Summer Ale or Shock Top that I had in the fridge.

I realized around this time that I didn’t have Worcestershire sauce. It’s one of those things I always have in my fridge and rarely use, but given our recent move, I had none. I decided to steal some from my brother’s fridge later.

Time to mix the beef. Put my ring someplace safe so it wouldn’t get covered in raw beef.

And dug in! Honestly, I know that it’s raw beef and all, but it smelled amazing. The garlic and the beer… something about it made me want to eat immediately. But I didn’t.

Fast forward. Forgot pictures of adding the Worcestershire sauce or forming patties or grilling them, but here’s the finished cheeseburger on my plate!

Okay, so I failed getting my patties flat enough. The burgers were kind of ball-like. Aside from that, though, they were perfect.

The beer was a good choice for the flavor and for the juiciness. I had used 80/20 beef, so that helped, but I think the beer made it. Everything else I added was just icing on the cake.

I will definitely make these again!

Here’s the recipe (or check the recipes tab, as always).

Filet Mignon and Baked Potatoes

It’s summertime, and that means it’s time to get out the grill!

Unless, of course, you’re like me and don’t have one because you don’t own your own home and are instead living in close enough proximity to strangers that grills are fire hazards… or maybe other people just don’t like seeing them. I don’t understand no-grill rules, honestly, but there is one in effect. No grill for me. I’m hoping that hubby and I will be buying a house of our own by this time next year, so this will definitely change, but I’ve got to make do for now.

I had filet mignons from Omaha steaks in my freezer and really wanted to give them a try. I did some googling so that I would make the best of the attempt. This is more of a cooking method than a recipe, and I’m sure it would work just as well for other cuts (though you might have to adjust cooking time if your steaks are a different thickness).

And honestly, it’s not hard at all!

First, season both sides of the meat with salt and pepper.

Shoo away any critters that are showing interest.

And preheat your oven to 375.

The plan is to sear both sides of the meat in a skillet before moving it to the oven to finish cooking. So, dribble a healthy amount of olive oil in a skillet and heat it. A few different sites said to wait until it is practically smoking before adding the meat.

But then you do. Sear them for 3 minutes on one side…

Then flip them over. Use a spatula, not a fork, since you want all the juices in the meat to stay right where they are, rather than letting them leak out everywhere. Three more minutes on this side.

Then just move the skillet to the oven for a bit. My sites said 4-5 minutes for rare, 6-8 minutes for medium, and 9-10 minutes for well-done. I like my meat red, and I also had thinner cuts than the sites called for, so I kept my cooking time real short.

When it came out, it was juicy.

Real juicy.

Real, real juicy.

Oh my gosh. So yummy. Of course, filet mignons are the pricey cut of meat and they’re known for being amazing, but it’s nice to know that I was able to capitalize on this. I would have been disappointed if I’d screwed this up, but I didn’t. Amazing. I’d like to try it with different cuts, but at least I know it works with these!

Because that method was so simple, I figured I’d post it along with another recipe-that-is-really-just-a-technique. Everyone knows that steak and potatoes go well together, so here’s a good way to prepare baked potatoes.

This recipe / method is from Alton Brown on the food network. He says to coat Russet potatoes (after washing and stabbing them) with olive oil, sprinkle coarse kosher salt, and then put them directly on the oven rack. Because mine dripped a lot, I put a foil-lined baking sheet on the lower rack to catch oil as it fell. And then cook for an hour at 350 (if you’re grilling, I guess it’d be the same principle but you’ll have to gauge doneness by squeezing since you have less control over the temperature). Simple as that!  To serve, slice lengthwise and then squeeze the ends toward each other. Top with sour cream, cheese, crumbled bacon, or whatever you would like. If you use this method, it should be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Delicious, and the perfect foil for those summertime steaks!

Links to explanations are in the recipes tab.

Juicy Jalapeno Burgers

This dish is a rarity on this blog – something original! A few years ago, hubby and I didn’t have plans for Independence Day beyond going to see some fireworks at the community college down the road, so we decided to grill some burgers. Even better, we decided to make our own instead of buying frozen patties. I reviewed a bunch of different recipes online, talked over the differences with hubby, and together we ended up with these juicy jalapeno burgers.

First, start off with some fresh jalapeno peppers.

Remove the stems, seeds, and membranes, and then dice them. I wasn’t too careful about removing every speck of membrane and seed because I wanted the burgers to have some heat, so it didn’t take me too long.

Also dice an onion.

I’ve never been a fan of raw onion or pepper chunks in anything, and neither has hubby, so we sauté these before doing anything with them.

Next, it’s time to make the meat mixture. We use ground beef, an egg, bread crumbs, milk, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, and minced garlic.

And, of course, the sautéed pepper and onion. Dig in with both hands, mixing everything together.

I subdivided this ball in half, then subdivided each half again, and then subdivided each piece again until I had 8 equal pieces. I mushed them together as best as I could, then formed them into patties. I left them thick so they could be squished on the grill.

Then I sent my daddy outside to grill them.

I mixed up a batch of my Chickpea Salad with Red Onion and Tomato to go with the burgers. This time I actually used fresh parsley. It was a good change!

Here we are: fat, juicy, burgers with a hint of heat. Topped with colby jack cheese, fresh tomato, and lettuce, they were perfect for a Memorial Day meal.

And certainly better than frozen patties.