The Best 5 Minute Restaurant Style Homemade Salsa Recipe

Web Admin 0 2 Article rating: No rating

The Best 5 Minute Restaurant Style Homemade Salsa Recipe

A bowl of homemade salsa in which a tortilla chip is being dipped. The salsa is sprinkled with cilantro leaves and has cilantro and roma tomatoes and a lime in the background. There is also a wooden bowl of chips in the background.

This is the best 5 minute restaurant style homemade salsa recipe! It is fresh, flavorful and easy to make. You’ll never buy salsa again and you might find yourself eating it every night!

Best Homemade Salsa Recipe

This post has been a long time coming. It’s no laughing matter to set out to make the Best Homemade Salsa Recipe. It all started years ago when my friend, Krysta, made the most delicious homemade salsa EVER.

What’s the key? Oh, friend let me tell you…

Restaurant Salsa Recipe

A restaurant salsa is not big and chunky, that’s a pico de gallo. No, this easy salsa recipe is actually more similar to what you’d pour out of a jar with 100% better flavor.

What makes it a restaurant salsa? Two things:

  1. Canned Fire Roasted Tomatoes
  2. Blending versus strictly chopping the ingredients.

Oh Sweet Basil Pro Tip

If you live anywhere like we do, fresh tomatoes might not be super easy to get all year round, however they do make for the best salsa.

Let’s break it down even more so that you can be successful whether at the grocery store or at the farmer’s market.

Which Tomatoes are Best for Salsa?

When making a homemade salsa like our chunky tomato salsa you can use a variety of tomatoes, but for a restaurant style salsa you’re going to want to stick to Roma Tomatoes.

How to Pick Good Tomatoes

  • Tight Skin- Look for tomatoes with really tight, smooth skin, no wrinkles as that’s a sign of withering from age.
  • Coloring- Even coloring without yellow or orange or green marks means it ripened on the vine as it should.
  • Weight- The heavier the tomato the better! This is the most important of all. Pick it up and resist squeezing it. The more often you feel tomatoes the better you’ll get at feeling the weight.

Should You Add Sugar to Salsa?

A dash of sugar is used to balance the acidity of the tomatoes which often comes from using store-bought vs garden tomatoes.

Salsa Ingredients

While you can use all canned items (not the onion) for salsa, I’ve found that a combination of fresh and canned works the best for a copycat Mexican restaurant salsa recipe. I think that’s because the canned tomatoes add a more thick and saucy salsa versus a pico de gallo like salsa.

Here’s what we use for Mexican Salsa:

  • T
Read more

Fluffy Oladi Ukrainian Pancakes +Video

Web Admin 0 86 Article rating: No rating

Fluffy Oladi Ukrainian Pancakes +Video

Fluffy Oladi Ukrainian Pancakes +Video

Fluffy Ukrainian pancakes, or oladi, are crispy around the edges and soft and delicious in the middle. Here’s a surprise for you, these pancakes are made with yeast! But don’t worry, they are as easy as a quick bread! In fact, they are my new favorite breakfast recipe!

Our buttermilk pancake recipe is one of the most popular on the blog, and they are to die for, but these Ukrainian pancakes have stolen my heart and tastebuds!

These yeasted pancakes are cooked in a pan with a little more oil than traditional American pancakes so they get almost fried crispy edges. Mmmm and that hint of sourdough, gosh it’s good! They are almost fritter-like on the outside but takes like pancakes in the middle. Seriously, where have these Ukrainian pancakes been my whole life?? I need to explore more Ukrainian food!

What is Oladi?

Oladi is a type of pancake that originates in Ukraine and Russia. They are traditionally made with kefir, a fermented milk made from kefir grains common in the area. For this recipe, we will use buttermilk, but feel free to use kefir if you want to! They are pan fried in a little oil and usually served with sour cream and a fruit jam.

Oladi is not to be confused the Russian pancakes called blini. Those are usually served with savory toppings like caviar and salmon. Oladi can be served with savory toppings but are usually served as a sweet breakfast.

How to Make Oladi Ukrainian PancakesVideo

What Do I Need to Make Ukrainian Pancakes?

I know, you hear “Ukrainian pancakes” and you think it’s going to call for ingredients that are out of the norm. Well, I have the best news ever! This pancake recipe is made with pantry staples! So you can probably head to the kitchen right now and start whipping up a batch of oladi. Here is everything you need:

  • Water: the warm water helps activate the yeast
  • Buttermilk: adds flavor and rise to the pancakes
  • Egg: should be at room temperature and helps binds all the ingredients together
  • Extra-light Olive Oil: adds a little fat to the pancake batter, and then we will
Read more

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels [+ Video]

Web Admin 0 89 Article rating: No rating

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels [+ Video]

a photo taken over the top of several cinnamon sugar pretzels that have been drizzled with white chocolate

Cinnamon sugar pretzels are one of our all time favorite snacks or treats. Adults and kids cannot stay out of the bowl. Trust me!

Such a simple snack yet so hard to keep your hands out of. These cinnamon sugar pretzels with white chocolate drizzle are great for watching a movie or if Mom really needs a darn treat and they are a perfect snack for parties or for holiday food gifts!

Heaven knows you need at least one simple thing for a party so that you aren’t standing in the kitchen all day and night and during the party. This cinnamon pretzel recipe is your answer for a totally irresistible sweet and salty snack!

What Do I Need to Make Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels?

Have you all tried Dots pretzels? The original Dots are incredible, but I just tried the cinnamon sugar Dots recently and they are heavenly! In fact, they reminded me of this pretzel dessert recipe! You only need 4 ingredients to make this simple, yet irresistible treat…

  • Canola Oil: helps the cinnamon sugar stick to the pretzels without changing any flavor
  • Cinnamon Sugar: see section below for making your own
  • Mini Pretzels: grab a bag of store bought small pretzel twists
  • White Chocolate: melting wafers work great or white chocolate chips are fine too

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

Recommended Equipment

How to Make Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels

This is an odd recipe as it’s oil that you’re going to stir into the pretzels and not melted butter and then use the microwave (no oven needed!!) to bake it all in there. It works. I promise, but it is a little weird to pour oil all over something you want to eat. Here is how it will go…

  1. Combine the pretzels, canola oil and cinnamon sugar in a large glass bowl and toss until the cinnamon sugar coats all the pretzels.
  2. Microwave for 2 minutes stirring every 30 seconds.
  3. Pour the pretzels out onto a sheet pan and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar mixture.
    • PRO TIP: We like to add this little extra cinnamon sugar right before we drizzle the white chocolate, but don’t stress if you forget. They are wonderful either way.
  4. Let the pretzels cool and air dry completely and then drizzle with melted white chocolate.
  5. Let them air dry again and eat!

These instructions are all available in the recipe card down below. Keep scrolling for all the details!

Watch How These Pretzels are Made…

Read more

20 Minute Cheesy Caprese Pesto Tarts

Web Admin 0 93 Article rating: No rating

20 Minute Cheesy Caprese Pesto Tarts

a photo of a golden crispy pesto puff pastry bite topped with a balsamic glaze and fresh basil

I don’t know about you, but I adore appetizers, especially around the holidays. We make these 20 minute cheesy caprese pesto tarts all the time!

It’s easy to make a savory appetizer with puff pastry for gatherings and using a few key ingredients will make it taste like you’ve been in the kitchen for hours. Which is my favorite thing, make people think I’ve worked harder than I did.

We’ve done a whole post on pesto, how to make pesto, how to store pesto, how to freeze pesto, how to keep pesto green, how long pesto keeps, and we have plenty of recipes that use pesto which we will link up to at the bottom of the post. So, refer back to that post if you need to read up on pesto.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Fisher Nuts, however all opinions remain our own.

What Do I Need to Make Pesto Tarts?

Here is a quick rundown of all the ingredients you’ll need. The measurements for everything can be found by scrolling down to the recipe card below.

For the Pesto

  • Basil: you can make your own fresh pesto (highly recommend!) or go with store-bought pesto to save time
  • Garlic: fresh whole cloves
  • Fisher Walnuts: We use walnuts instead of pine nuts to really push that more nutty flavor in this pesto.
  • Olive Oil: make sure it is extra virgin for the best flavor
  • Parmesan Cheese: adds flavor
  • Lemon Zest and Juice: adds a bright pop of freshness and helps keep the basil green
  • Salt: enhances all the flavors

For the Tarts

  • Puff Pastry: We use store bought puff pastry because hello, who has time to make that from scratch?
  • Grape Tomatoes: You can half them or leave them whole depending on the size.
  • Mozzarella Cheese: grab a block of good quality cheese and cube it, it melts so perfectly!
  • Black Pepper: adds flavor

Tips About Walnuts

Just as with our classic pesto, the secret to really great flavor is in toasting the nuts and garlic. Walnuts, when fresh are not bitter like you may believe. Instead they have a sweetness to them and with that robust garlic it really makes for a great pesto.

The pesto we will make today is a little different as it uses Fisher Nuts Walnuts. We did a random sampling and Fisher Nuts were preservative free, tasted the most fresh and not bitter since they weren’t past their date of freshness.

Did you know that? That good fresh walnuts taste juicy, nutty and sweet? To store walnuts, I keep mine in the blue bag we buy them in as the dark colored bag actually is best to keep them fresh, then we place them in the kitchen cupboard as light degrades the oils.

Read more

Reindeer Muddy Buddies Christmas Snack Mix

Web Admin 0 95 Article rating: No rating

Reindeer Muddy Buddies Christmas Snack Mix

Reindeer Muddy Buddies Christmas Snack Mix

An easy and delicious Reindeer Muddy Buddies Christmas snack mix that is perfect for the holidays! This snack mix is filled with muddy buddies, pretzels, M&Ms, and peanut butter cups!

 

I know, we already have a muddy buddies recipe and we already have a 5 minute Christmas snack mix but whenever I go to parties and like a certain combination in a snack mix I want to make it at home.

There’s nothing I love more than a quick and easy snack mix that the kids can make with me. 

Any chance we’ve got to get together over something delicious is kind of a big deal these days. With three kids it’s busy, but since our three are totally different ages and not at all on the same playing level little traditions like making snack mixes is the perfect way for them to connect. 

How to Make This Christmas Snack Mix

  1. Make the Muddy Buddies

Prepare our best muddy buddies recipe and allow them to cool completely. 

   2. Combine the Ingredients

In a large bowl, combine the muddy buddies, pretzels, m&ms and peanut butter cups. 

   3. Toss everything together and store in a sealed container. 

 

Christmas Snack Mix Storage Tips

Storage is key in any snack mix. It allows you to make it early enough that you can spread out the holiday busyness! 

  • Store this Muddy Buddies Snack Mix in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. 

 

Oh Sweet Basil Pro Tip!

  • You can freeze any leftover snack mix in an airtight container/bag for up to 2 months; thaw at room temperature and munch away!

Variation ideas for Snack Mixes

  • Replace some of the pretzels with popped plain popcorn
  • A white chocolate or milk chocolate drizzle with sprinkles is always fun!
  • Use chocolate covered pretzels instead of plain pretzels
  • Add in mini marshmallows (marshmallows will not keep)
  • Throw in peanuts or cashews

 

Gather your kiddos of all ages in the kitchen and make this Christmas snack mix! We love to put some in cellophane bags and deliver them to friends in the neighborhood.

More Holiday Snack Mixes:

RSS
123456