Delish Dish

I have been on this healthy/green kick here lately, which of course I hope stays put for indefinitely! With that being sad, I love cooking. I love my garden. And, I love making "pretty" dinners.

My mom and I headed to Sams Club to scope out some things, and while I was there I got a huge honkering for homemade salsa. We love to make homemade salsa, but I wanted something chunkier then what we usually make and a little more fruity. I picked up a pack of pickled peppers...hahaha!! No, I didn't pick up pickled peppers, I just couldn't pass that up....I did pick up an assortment of peppers (orange, red & yellow), some peaches and limes (the rest I had at home) and made this AWESOME summer salsa.

It was sooooo good. The thought of it was so good that I also bought a chicken (already cooked...did I mention that Paul's out of town, so what's the use in cooking a whole chicken for 1 big person to eat and 2 small mouse like eaters),

and my thought was to go home, pick some lettuce from my garden (look how bountiful it's becoming...I'm so proud!)

and make a chicken and salsa salad.

Since Paul is not home, I got a little fancy. It was so light and refreshing, and my glass of cherry limeade was the perfect thirst quencher. What a great night for a delicious salad!!

I had some left over salsa so I shared with my neighbor and then invited a few girlfriends over for some homemade lemonade and salsa. I love that I can just pull some cilantro from my herbs for a quick garnish...hehe.It was a beautiful and relaxing evening...too bad Paul wasn't here too :(

Recipe for Tina's Summer Salsa:

• One each: yellow, orange & red pepper; seeded and chopped
• 1 peaches skinned and chopped
• half of a red onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• juice of 2 limes
• juice of 2 lemons
• salt & pepper
• cilantro
• and I had frozen strawberries in the freezer, so I chopped a handful and added them as well.

Mix all chopped ingredients together, add juice of lemons & limes, handful of chopped cilantro, salt and pepper to taste (I use kosher salt, but you can use whatever you like). Cover and refrigerate for 2+ hours.

Refreshing Lemonade:

• In a glass mix 2-3 TBS freshly squeezed lemon juice with 2(ish) tsp of sugar.
• Add rum, and stir again.
• Add ice and pour water over the top. Garnish with a pitted cherrie (gives it a pink tinge) and lemon rinds.

You can also make this non-alcoholic for the wee ones...my girls LOVED it today :) Enjoy!