Easy and Delicious Party Appetizer: Cheese and Tomato Crackers

This is a recipe I came up with when Leonard brought home a huge box of tomatoes from work. I just used what I had on hand, though if you want to fancy it up you could use bruschetta instead of saltines.

1/2 T. basil
1/2 T. italian seasoning
1 pinch garlic powder
1 pinch onion powder
1/4 c. olive oil
saltine crackers
a few roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
mozzarella cheese cut into thin squares (just smaller than the cracker)

Combine basil, italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and olive oil in a bowl. Mix. Add the sliced tomatoes to the mixture, gently stiring them in to coat them with the mixture. If you feel that seasonings are too thick in the oil then add more olive oil. Set the bowl aside. On a baking sheet, place the saltine crackers, salted side up, about an inch apart. Then place one piece of cheese on each square. Then add one slice of the seasoned tomatoes over the cheese. If some of the tomatoes dont have enough seasoning, just spoon some more over it. Place in the oven at 350 and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. I like to let it brown just a little bit. Then serve to your guests on a cute little platter! :)

Note: you may want to use parchment paper. The cheese WILL stick to the bottom of the pan. I havent tried using parchment paper, so I just turn my spatula over and use it as a scraper.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, raw, diced
2 Tbsp butter
2 celery stocks finely chopped
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 Tbsp chicken soup base
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 Tbsp crushed red pepper (optional; I love to have a little spice in my dishes)
1 1/2 c. water
1 c. jasmine rice

Place butter, celery, and onions in a baking dish and place in the oven while it preheats to 350 until the butter is melted (I like to let the onion and celery soften just a bit; dont let the contents burn!). In a large bowl, combine all the rest of the ingredients. Its best to put the raw chicken in last so that you can taste the mixture to see if you would like to add more salt. Pour the mixture into the baking dish with the celery and onions, stir, cover with foil, and bake for about an hour or until the chicken is fully cooked and the rice is tender. For more flavor you can add grated chedder over the top when it is done and bake with the foil off for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

makes about 6 servings as a side dish

My Famous Avocado-Corn Salsa

4 green onions, roughly chopped

2 serrano chiles, roughly chopped

3 small cloves of garic, roughly copped

1 or 2 healthy handfuls of cilantro (I love this stuff! J)

1 Tbsp ground cumin

2 or 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 ripe (but not squishy) avocados, chopped to bite sized pieces

1 can sweet yellow corn

2 cans diced tomatoes

          or 6-10 fresh roma tomatoes (canned ones are just quicker and convenient)

salt

Place the serranos, cilantro, green onion, garlic, and lemon juice into the blender or food processor. Blend it until it resembles a course mixture, you may have to scrape the sides a few times. Add one can diced tomatoes and pulse it a few times. Don’t pulse too much or you will have a spicy tomato sauce instead of chunky slasa. Dump mixture into a bowl. Add the last can of tomatoes to the blender and pulse a few times. Add to mixture. Add cumin, avocado, and corn and stir together. Salt to taste. (it wouldn’t be a bad idea to add a pinch of sugar. This helps tame the tomato flavor.) Sometimes I also add a can of black beans. This is the best salsa EVER.