Fresh Salsa

Fresh Salsa

4 medium tomatoes (or 6 roma tomatoes)
1-3 jalapeno peppers (depending on how hot you want your salsa, I used 1 and it was mild)
4 scallions (green onions)
2 small cloves of garlic
1/2 cup unpacked cilantro
juice from two key limes
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon fine grain salt (depending on your taste)

1. Quarter the tomatoes. If you want a thicker salsa, remove the seeds, if not, leave the seeds.
2. Seed and roughly chop the jalapenos.
3. Roughly chop the scallions, garlic and cilantro.
4. Put all the chopped ingredients along with the lime juice and salt into a food processor.
5. Pulse the mixture until it's the consistency that you like.
6. Immediately serve or refrigerate and use within a week.

Apple Pecan Bread Pudding

This is a very sweet, rich dessert. If you don't like your bread pudding very sweet, then cut the sugar down to 1 or 1 1/2 cups. I like mine really sweet, like a dessert, so I use the whole 2 cups.

Apple Pecan Bread Pudding~

1/2 loaf bread, cubed

4 eggs

1 cup heavy cream

3 cups milk

2 tsp. pure almond extract

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups finely chopped apples

1/2 cup chopped pecans (You could also use sliced almonds)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Butter or spray a 9x13 baking dish.

3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the cream, milk and almond extract.

4. Add the sugar and whisk until it dissolves.

5. Mix the cubed bread and the apples together.

6. Lay the bread/apple mixture into the baking dish.

7. Pour the wet mixture over the bread and let it soak for 15 minutes.

8. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the top and cover with foil.

9. Bake for 45 minutes with the foil on.

10. Remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes until golden brown on top.

Serve warm or cold. This would be yummy served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Tropical Fruit Jam

I know, I know, I said I wouldn't post on here anymore. And then I made this yummy jam and it's so pretty in it's jar that I just had to take a picture and put it on here and post the recipe. This does takes some time, but it's easy and it's worth it!

Tropical Fruit Jam~

(makes about 4 pints)

16 cups of frozen tropical fruit mix (I buy this in a big bag at Costco. It has pineapple, papaya, mango and strawberries. Why it has strawberries, I don't know, but it works!)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1. Combine the frozen fruit mix and the lemon juice in a large pot. Cover with the lid. Cook over medium heat until thawed completely, stirring often.

2. Turn the heat down to low and simmer with the lid on, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is mushy.

3. Mash the fruit with a potato masher or use an immersion blender if you like a smoother texture.

4. Keeping the lid off, continue to simmer until fairly thick.

5. Stir in the sugar and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling cook for 3 minutes.

6. Pour into pint-sized canning jars. You can either can this or put it in the fridge or freezer.