Dinner Party Recipes

Lee’s Homemade Salsa (restaurant style)

28 oz. can diced tomatoes
14 oz. can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles
Handful of fresh cilantro
5-6 jalapeno slices, more or less to taste (we use the Mt. Olive jarred jalapeno slices)
Salt, garlic powder and lime juice to taste

Pulse all ingredients together in food processor until smooth.

Guacamole (adapted from Kelly’s Korner)

5 avocados
4 roma tomatoes, diced
Half of a white onion, chopped
Handful of fresh cilantro
Juice of two limes
Salt

Put all ingredients together in a bowl and mash/stir/mix until you reach the desired consistency.

Southwestern Caesar Salad (adapted from Allison’s recipe)

Romaine lettuce (I also added in a bag of spring mix for a bit of darker green)
Two avocados, cubed
3 roma tomatoes, diced
Black bean and corn salsa
Tortilla strips

Toss all ingredients together and serve with creamy Caesar dressing.

Chicken Empanadas (via Carmen)

2-3 chicken breasts, diced
28 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles
½ onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
Jalapenos to taste
Wonton or egg roll wrappers (can be found in produce/tofu section of grocery store)

Saute onion in olive oil, add garlic and jalapenos. Add chicken. Add tomatoes after chicken is halfway done. Finish cooking until chicken is done. Add small spoonful of chicken mixture to egg roll/wonton wrapper and close with a little egg/water mix. (Can be made ahead of time and stored in fridge overnight.) Fry in oil right before serving.

Alfajores (via Carmen)

Follow this recipe for the shortbread cookies. (I omitted the ground almonds.) Instead of making the filling, I bought this stuff instead. You can find it in Spanish grocery stores, but make sure you get the dulce de leche flavor. (I found it helpful to print out a pic of the can and ask someone to help me find it, otherwise I would have been looking all day.) Or, you could just make the filling according to the recipe. Then, just make sandwiches using the cookies and filling and sprinkle with powdered sugar. They are ahhh-mazing!

If you decide to try out any of the recipes, let me know how they turn out!