* Mango Tomato Salsa *

Last week I went to a Pampered Chef party where they served fresh mango salsa...and it was DELICIOUS!! Luckily, we got some mangoes in our Bountiful Basket a few weeks ago and hadn't used them yet so I thought, why not make Mango Salsa? I didn't use an actual recipe for this; I kind of just threw in what I thought would taste good...and it turned out yummy (although I'm sure you could look up a real recipe super quick and it'd be great too!)!!!

* Mango Tomato Salsa *
2 ripe mangoes
6 tomatoes
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/2 onion
1 jalapeno pepper
1 green Anaheim pepper
1 T. lemon juice (I've heard lime juice is yummy with mangoes too!)
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Cut and peel mangoes. Place mangoes and tomatoes in food processor and chop them up until they're at your desired consistency (I like mine kinda chunky so I didn't process them very long.) Pour mangoes and tomatoes into large mixing bowl. Add cilanto, onion, and peppers (I took the pepper seeds out of my peppers because I'm not a super spicy salsa lover but you could leave the seeds in for some heat) and blend them up to desired consistency (I like these ingredients a little less chunky so I pretty much pureed them). Stir into mangoes and tomatoes. Stir in lemon juice and salt. Serve with chips. This is even better the next day after the flavors sit together in the fridge!

* 3 Envelope Roast *

I am not really a pot roast person. I like roast with BBQ sauce or french dip sandwiches...you know...the kind of recipes with a little something mixed in so it's not just a hunk of meat? Well, I decided I was going to make a nice Sunday dinner with roast and potatoes. I found this recipe at Real Mom Kitchen and it was actually pretty yummy and very easy!

* 3 Envelope Roast * 3 pound beef roast (I used a chuck roast)
1 envelope of dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 envelope of dry ranch salad dressing mix
1 envelope of dry brown gravy mix
2 cups water

Put the water in a measuring cup that is larger then the amount of water you are using. Add and mix all three envelopes of dry salad dressings to the water. Mix until blended completely. Brown the roast (if desired--I did not brown mine...in fact, I put my roast in the crock pot still frozen). Add the meat to your cooker. Pour the water, salad dressing mixture over the roast. Cook it on high for about 4-5 hours on low about 8-9 hours.

You can also make gravy using the drippings from the roast and dressing mixture. I mixed 2 T. cornstarch with 1/4 c. of the drippings until it was no longer lumpy. I then added 2 cups of the drippings/dressing mixture and 2 beef bouillon cubes. I brought it to a boil (or until it thickened) and served it over mashed potatoes. It was actually really good!

* Hamburgers *

Have you ever seen this cookbook?Heathe gave it to me for my birthday a few years ago and I'm finally starting to get some use out of it. Basically, it's a cookbook that teaches you how to hide vegetables in yummy food...great for my kids AND me (because I really don't like vegetables). The book teaches you how to cook, puree, portion, and sneak the veggies into semi-normal meals. One of my favorite parts of the book is the informational part. It talks about each vegetable, what vitamins/minerals/healthy stuff it has in it and what good that can do for our bodies...it's actually pretty fun to read.

This week in our BB (Bountiful Basket) we got a huge head of cauliflower--eew. Luckily, this book is full of recipes that you can add cauliflower to! Yesterday we made the "Burgers 1" recipe and it was surprisingly good! My 2 year old just gobbled it up. My husband noticed a difference but at least it tasted better than straight cauliflower, right? I changed the recipe just a little bit to fit my family's tastes and the ingredients I had on hand but overall, it's pretty similar

* Hamburgers *1 lb. ground beef (original recipe called for ground turkey)
1/2 c. bread crumbs (I used quick oats)
1/2 c. cauliflower puree (it also says you can use carrot puree)
1/4 c. milk
1/2 envelope onion soup mix (not in original recipe)
2 T. soy sauce
2 cloves garlic (I used garlic powder)
1/8 tsp. pepper
8 buns

Mix the ground beef, bread crumbs, puree, milk, soy sauce, and spices together. Form into 8 patties. Cook on preheated grill until the insides are no longer pink. Serve on buns with all the fixings.

The author (Jessica Seinfeld--Jerry Seinfeld's wife) actually cooked hers in a skillet on the stove but we are so excited for spring that we dusted off the outdoor grill.

* Chicken Roll-ups *

This meal has been one of my most favorite meals as far back as I can remember. I got this recipe from my mom and it's now one of my family's favorites as well.

*Chicken Roll-ups*
3chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. margarine, softened
2 packages tube cressent rolls

Mix cream cheese and margarine together. Add shredded chicken to the mixture. Add salt & pepper (to taste), onion salt (to taste), and a pinch of basil. Cover and refridgerate til set up (sometimes I skip this step).

Open cressent rolls, put a spoonful of mixture on each piece of dough, and roll up. Dip in melted butter and Italian bread crumbs. Bake at 375* for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes (or rice) and gravy.

--Variations--
*a friend of mine uses canned chicken instead of the shredded chicken breasts.

*my mother-in-law rolls the filled cressents in a chicken stuffing mix (not cooked, just the dried stuff) instead of bread crumbs.

*You could skip the bread crumbs all together if you want.

*Instead of the tube cressent rolls, you could make the dough out of bisquick for a biscuity type meal.

* Sloppy Joes *

I recently realized how much I actually like sloppy joes...for some reason I always kind of stayed away from them--maybe because of the word "sloppy" in the title? Anyways, I got this recipe out of a cookbook from my sister. It's super easy and super good!

*Sloppy Joes*
(I forgot to take a picture this week...but you all know what a sloppy joe looks like, right?)
2 lbs. ground beef
2 T. flour
1 1/2 c. ketchup
3/4 c. water
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. vinegar
1 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. worchestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
(I half this recipe for our family)

Brown ground beef in large saucepan. Drain off excess fat. Stir in flour. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover, simmering for 1/2 - 1 hour (simmering if optional). Serve on hamburger buns.

* Chili-Lime Mango Chicken Skewers AND Coconut Sticky Rice*

So much for my resolution to post 3 times a week, eh? These past few weeks have been a blast...not. Both of my kids were hit with the week-long flu and then both got awful colds a week later! It's been fun, let me tell you. And after dealing with miserable, coughing, sickie kids all day AND night (because you know they can't sleep well when their sick either), I've been pretty awful about making dinners and taking pictures. I'm sure you all missed me (the 4 of you that read this). Well, you're in luck--cause I'm BAAACK!

I found this recipe for Chili-Lime Mango Chicken Skewers on Our Best Bites and we had to try it. If you look at the recipe link, you'll see that they serve their skewers with coconut rice (not the recipe I used...I found mine here).

We really liked these but I have to admit that it would've been better if I had know how to cut up a mango. Because I didn't know, my mango chunks ended up all uneven and small and the mangos cooked faster than the chicken and ended up a bit burnt. On the Our Best Bites link above, they have a link to a tutorial. Before you try this out, learn how to cut up a mango. It's harder than you might think...it has the wierdest pit! Anyways, my sister made these a few days after us but she did not thread the chicken and mangos on skewers. She just grilled them and their family loved it.

Oh and about the Coconut Sticky Rice...we made our own coconut milk using our fresh coconut. Oh My! What a lot of work. Buy the canned coconut milk...SO MUCH EASIER!

*Chili-Lime Mango Chicken Skewers*
6T olive oil (I used vegetable oil because that's all I had...)
¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
Zest of 1 lime
1 t chili powder
¼ t cayenne pepper (double that if you like spicy things!)
½ t salt
1 T sugar
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 ripe but firm mangoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

If you're using wooden/bamboo skewers, make sure to soak them in water for 20-30 minutes before you use them. Otherwise they'll fire right up on the grill!

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, lime zest, chili powder, cayenne, salt and sugar. Place in a zip-lock bag and add the chicken and mangoes, stirring gently to coat with marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Prepare grill (or indoor grill pan)

Remove the chicken and mangoes from the marinade and thread onto skewers, alternating the pieces and dividing them evenly.

Arrange the skewers on the grill and cook, turning until the chicken is nicely charred and cooked through, 6-10 minutes. Serve immediately.

*Coconut Sticky Rice*
3 cups rice
2 cups canned or fresh coconut milk
3/4 cup palm sugar, or substitute brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 ripe mangoes, or substitute sliced ripe peaches
(I halved this recipe)

Cook the rice until tender (I used my handy-dandy rice cooker).

Meanwhile, place the coconut milk in a heavy pot and heat over medium heat until hot. Do not boil. Add the sugar and salt and stir to dissolve completely.

When the rice is tender, turn it out into a bowl and pour 1 cup of the hot coconut milk over; reserve the rest. Stir to mix the liquid into the rice, then let stand for 20 minutes to an hour to allow the flavors to blend.

Meanwhile, peel the mangoes and slice into chunks. Serve over the top of coconut sticky rice. (This was my hubby's favorite part of the meal.)

(I was pretty proud of myself for using 3 Bountiful Basket ingredients in one meal--mangoes, coconut, and asparagus. By the way, any tips for making yummy asparagus?)