Abe's Salsa

My dad is a great cook and this is his salsa recipe. I finally decided to share it with the world! All I have to say is, it's fantastic and that jarred supermarket stuff just doesn't compare.

Ingredients
5 tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion (you can use 2 medium ones also), finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1 serrano pepper, diced and seeded (this is for a mild version--use 2 or leave in some seeds if you like it spicy)
1 small can tomato paste
1/4 cup (or less) of water
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a pot. Add the onion, garlic, and serrano pepper and stir continuously until the onion is translucent. Add some salt while these ingredients are cooking. Do not let these ingredients brown. Add the tomatoes and tomatoes and stir to mix with the other ingredients. Add the water a dash at a time as needed. The salsa should be thick and not watery. Add some pepper to taste. Continue stirring over the medium heat for another 5 minutes. Let the salsa cool and enjoy with some tortilla chips and whatever else you like to eat with salsa!

Plum Tomato Appetizer

I prepared these for a 4th of July bash and they were light, tasty, and great for a hot day. A big plus is they are super-easy to make. I found the recipe on epicurious.com which says the original recipe came from Bon Appetit. You can get very creative with this appetizer and add different flavors or let the tomatoes take center stage. Enjoy!

Ingredients
12 plum tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
1-2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 5.3 oz. container of herbed goat cheese, marinated mozzarella, pesto, or any other kind of filling you like

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the tomatoes on a cooking sheet lined with foil or well oiled. Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and pepper, then drizzle them with olive oil. Use an oil dispenser or spray can so you don't soak the tomatoes or else they will come out too soggy. Roast the tomatoes in the oven for 40-50 minutes, then let them completely cool. Spoon your fillings into the tomatoes and serve! So easy!

Rigatoni with mushrooms, peas and "sausage"

This was a very easy weeknight pasta dinner without a sauce. The sausage patties are already loaded with flavor, so this doesn't require much extra seasoning.


Ingredients


3/4 box of rigatoni, cooked and drained
1 carton of button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup frozen peas
4 morningstar farms "sausage" patties, cut into bite size pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste


Instructions


Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan and add the sliced mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms begin to change color and shrink. Add the frozen peas and cook for 1 minute. Add the "sausage" patties and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the rigatoni, remaining tbsp of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir to thoroughly to mix the ingredients together over medium heat for another 3-5 minutes.