Week 10: Homemade Salsa and Tortilla Chips

Let it be known that I love chips and salsa, probably more than is healthy. This week I was thinking that some fresh salsa sounded good, and it makes me feel really healthy because of all the big chunks of vegetables, and the lack of any chemicals or preservatives that may be potentially toxic to my body. There are a ton of salsa recipes out there, so I narrowed it down by looking for specific ingredients. I knew that I wanted black beans, and I was also looking for a salsa that called for lime juice, because I thought that just might give the kick of freshness and tang that I was looking for. I ended up really liking this recipe. I'd still like to try others for comparison's sake, but this might be a good, faithful standby.

INGREDIENTS

2 medium tomatoes (we used more because this didn't sound like very much, and we felt that tomatoes should be a pretty prominent ingredient in salsa)
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (3 ears fresh corn)
1/4 cup finely chopped purple onion
1 serrano chile pepper, seeded and minced (we used jalapenos)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

DIRECTIONS
Chop tomatoes and bell peppers.
Stir together tomato mixture, corn, and remaining ingredients. Cover and chill 8 hours. Serve with tortilla chips


While we were making salsa, it just made sense to make homemade tortilla chips also. I was slightly less impressed with the chips, and was left with the feeling that I might as well just buy some pre-made baked tortilla chips. I DID like that they were nice and thin, and that I could control the seasoning on them. And perhaps if I made some out of flour tortillas they would seem more novel.


INGREDIENTS
1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cut each tortilla into chip-sized wedges and arrange the wedges in a single layer on a cookie sheet. In a mister, combine the oil and lime juice. Mix well and spray each tortilla wedge until slightly moist. Combine the cumin, chili powder and salt in a small bowl and sprinkle on the chips. Bake for about 7 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 8 minutes or until the chips are crisp, but not too brown. Serve with salsas, garnishes or guacamole.

** We cooked our chips for way less time. They ended up being in the oven for closer to about 7 minutes total. But we might have gotten exceptionally thin corn tortillas...**