Menu Plan - 10/24 to 10/30

Hi all.Here is our plan for the coming week in the food department. 

I am trying to use up some things in the pantry and freezer to save money and clear out room for the weeks to come. 

Monday:

Breakfast - Eggs and sausage, chocolate milk

Lunch - Grilled Cheese and tomato soup

Dinner - Pork Chops, egg noodles with browned butter, and tomato & mozerella salad 

Tuesday:

Breakfast - Bagels and juice

Lunch - Mickey D's (won't get this for a few weeks because of surgery next Tuesday)

Dinner - Hot dogs, roasted carrots, and macaroni & cheese

Wednesday:

Breakfast - waffles with butter and syrup, milk

Lunch - leftovers

Dinner - @ church

Thursday:

Breakfast - eggs and bacon, chocolate milk

Lunch - Snacky lunch: cheese stick, crackers, fruit, raw veggies with dip, fruit snacks
Dinner - Chicken Tetrazinni

Friday:

Breakfast - cereal and yogurt

Lunch - leftovers

Dinner - on the road, headed south

Saturday & Sunday we will be in Coconut Creek with Tim's parents, so we will be eating whatever they are serving:)  It is always yummy, and of course we still get the Bettelli secret sauce on Sunday.

Hot Hoagies Yummy Yummy!!!

Tonight, my wife is taking a much needed break and going to bed early so you all are stuck with me, and pretty much - short, sweet, and to the point.  So I have decided to brag about my wife a little bit. As you all know, Louise is pretty much Super Mom/Wife. Somehow she was able to clean the house, take care of our son, tutor her students, finish a project for her master's degree, and make me dinner, which of course is the most important thing of all on that list.  I know her menu said we were having Hot Hoagies on Friday, but she changed her mind. She cooked the meat in French Onion soup and sauteed onions and peppers and combined them on a hoagie bun, put them in the oven with provolone cheese melting on top till the bread was slightly toasted.  DANG! Guys, you know that sounds good. Needless to say, it was AMAZING!  

So above you can see my wife's masterpiece.

Thanks Babe, I loved it...can't wait to eat the second one you made me for lunch tomorrow!

It's true you know..."The way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

 -Tim (the hubby)

Menu & I got a new iphone

So, hello again all you faithful readers:) First things first . . . I. got. an. iphone. I know I am the last one in the world to get one, but it is still super exciting, especially when you see my last phone.  George is in North Carolina with my parents this week for their yearly tradition of pumpkin patches and train rides.  Ethan is an only child for the week, so our meal planning will be simple.  My favorite kind of menu. 

Monday:

Breakfast - eggs and chocolate milk

Lunch - leftover pasta

Dinner - out @ Tony's Pizza (we have a Groupon we need to use)

Tuesday:

Breakfast - Pancakes and sausage

Lunch - bagel bites

Dinner - Poppyseed Chicken over rice (recipe at the end of post)

Wednesday:

Breakfast - Waffles and Milk

Lunch - Chik-fil-A

Dinner - @ church

Thursday:

Breakfast - Eggs and Bacon

Lunch - Grilled Cheese and tomato soup

Dinner - Pork Chops, Rice, Broccoli

Friday:

Breakfast - Bagels

Lunch - Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches, grapes

Dinner - Roast Beef and Cheese Hot Hoagies with tater tots

Saturday:

Breakfast - Cinnamon rolls and milk

Lunch - @ pumpkin festival

Dinner - on the way home from pumpkin festival

Sunday:

Breakfast - Pancakes, Hashbrowns, chocolate milk

Lunch - out after church

Dinner - Spaghetti with Bettelli famous sauce

*This recipe is definitely not low-fat, but the yummy taste makes up for that.  It is a great meal to take to a grieving family or to someone who just had a baby. Poppy seed chicken

2 or 3 chicken breasts, cooked and cut in small pieces
1 16 oz sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken
2 tbls of poppyseeds (I don't measure - I just shake a ton in)
Ritz crackers
1 stick of butter

Mix the first 4 ingredients and put in a baking dish. Cover with crushed up ritz crackers. Melt a stick of butter and pour on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350.

Menu Plan - 10/10 to 10/16

Menu Plan Monday again:

 

This week is super busy again.  I really think the Fall is the busiest season for us.  It just seems like we pack so much in after the lazy summer.

I will start tutoring this week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  George has an appointment with an ENT to discuss an enlarged tonsil on Monday.  I have class on Tuesday and Wednesday night.  I will be going to the Women of Faith conference in Tampa on Friday and Saturday.  Whew, I am tired just thinking about it:)

Here we go:
Monday:
Breakfast - Pancakes from the freezer, chocolate milk
Lunch - Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup
Dinner - Hot Dogs, Mac & Cheese, broccoli

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Bagels and juice
Lunch - Mickey D's - no more excuses
Dinner - Fried Chicken, Rice, salad (Daddy is on duty because I will be tutoring and then have class right after)

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Waffles with peanut butter, milk
Lunch - PB & J, cheez its and bananas
Dinner - @ church

Thursday:
Breakfast - Eggs and sausage, yogurt
Lunch - Snacky lunch (crackers, cheese, veggies & dip, lunch meat rolled up)
Dinner - Shrimp Quesadillas (recipe below), black beans and rice

Friday:
Breakfast - Pancakes with butter and syrup, chocolate milk
Lunch - Leftover quesadillas and rice
Dinner - Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina (I will include this recipe below too - another easy, healthy one)

Saturday:
Breakfast - Bagels, bananas and juice
Lunch - mommy @ conference, so boys eat whatever Daddy feed them
Dinner - leftovers from the week

Sunday:
Breakfast - Eggs and cinnamon rolls
Lunch - out after church
Dinner - Pasta with the special Bettelli sauce

Quesadillas de Camarones (Shrimp Quesadillas):

Ingredients:
Flour tortillas
8-12 Large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 ounces Mexican red sauce or Enchilada sauce
1 large onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
2 cups cheese, grated (Monterey Jack is best)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste

What to do?
Pour red sauce over shrimp. Set aside.
Chop vegetables into large pieces.
Heat skillet over high heat and add olive oil.
Cook vegetables over high heat until they start to get brown/black. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Return skillet to high heat, then dump in the shrimp with the sauce.
Cook, stirring only occasionally, until shrimp is opaque. Add in a little water if the sauce gets dry.
Remove from skillet and chop into bite-size pieces.
In a separate skillet, heat butter.
Place a tortilla in the skillet, then layer on ingredients: cheese, vegetables, and shrimp.
Top with a little more cheese and a second tortilla.
Cook on both sides, adding butter before flipping to the other side so the tortilla isn’t overly dry.
Remove from skillet and slice into wedges. Serve with rice, beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole—whatever you’d like!

Now on to the Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina:

from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:
1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta - I used cellantani)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

What to do?
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat.
Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta.
Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish.
In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese.
Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture.
Dot the top with small bits of butter.
Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Sorry about the recipe overload, but they are both really good. 
Enjoy!

Menu Plan: 10/3 - 10/9

Menu Plan Monday, Peeps! 

I am back planning this week after a CA-Razy week last week.  It feels good to get back in the swing of things.  Enough small talk . . . Let's get to the food.

Monday:

Breakfast - Pancakes from freezer with peanut butter, chocolate milk

Lunch - Grilled Cheese and tomato soup, apple slices

Dinner - Leftover baked ziti from Sunday night (I always make a HUGE pan of this, so we can gorge on it twice)

Tuesday:

Breakfast - Eggs, bacon and milk

Lunch - Mickey D's (yes, again)

Dinner - Meat Cupcakes (basically a hamburger in a muffin tin, Recipe below), twice baked potatoes and corn

Wednesday:

Breakfast - Bagels with cream cheese, fruit

Lunch - Mac & cheese, grapes

Dinner - @ church

Thursday:

Breakfast - Pancakes from the freezer with syrup and butter, milk

Lunch - Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheez its, and apple slices

Dinner - Grilled Chicken, egg noodles with brown butter, broccoli

Friday:

Breakfast - Waffles and chocolate milk

Lunch - Snacky lunch (crackers and cheese, fruit, raw veggies, basically anything we can find)

Dinner - Pizza night

Saturday:
Breakfast - Eggs and sausage, milk
Lunch - Clean out the fridge lunch
Dinner - Pork chops, rice, salad

Sunday:
Breakfast - cinnamon rolls and milk
Lunch - out after church
Dinner - Pasta with the Bettelli secret sauce

Meat Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 LB. GROUND BEEF
1/2 C KETCHUP
1 T MUSTARD
2 T BROWN SUGAR
1 CAN BISCUITS
1/4 C SHREDDED CHEESE

DIRECTIONS: 
PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 DEGREES.  BROWN THE BEEF AND DRAIN.  MIX KETCHUP, MUSTARD, AND BROWN SUGAR TOGETHER TO MAKE A BARBECUE SAUCE.ADD THE SAUCE TO THE BEEF.  SEPARATE DOUGH INTO BISCUITS.FORM DOUGH INTO CUPS ON THE MUFFIN TINS.  SPOON THE MEAT INTO THE DOUGH CUPS.  BAKE AT 400 DEGREES FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES(OR UNTIL THE BISCUIT DOUGH LOOKS DONE).  SPRINKLE THE TOPS WITH CHEESE.AND DINNER IS SERVED!

Not the healthiest, but definitely belongs in the "easy" category.

Menu Plan 9/12 - 9/18

Menu Plan Monday will be Tuesday this week:). 9/11 knocked me off schedule.

We have a busy week this week (so what's new), and our schedule is weird. My class has been changed to Monday this week, so I had to plan around that as well as church on Wednesday night among other things.

Here goes nothing . . .
Monday:
Breakfast - Bagels and chocolate milk
Lunch - snacky lunch of cheese, crackers, apples, and peaches
Dinner - Leftover ravioli and salad (from Sunday night's dinner)

Tuesday: I have to bring a meal to a family from church who just had a baby, so I am just making it for us too. The Chicken Divan recipe will be at the end of this post
Breakfast - Eggs with cheese, sausage, orange juice
Lunch - $1.99 happy meals, Don't judge, I am keeping it real
Dinner - Chicken Divan

Wednesday:
Breakfast - waffles with real syrup, milk
Lunch - grilled cheese and tomato soup
Dinner - pizza or something else super quick because George has Christmas play practice for an hour before church, and then church from 6:45 to 8. Always a crazy night:)

Thursday:
Breakfast - Bagels with cream cheese, chocolate milk
Lunch - Mac and cheese, peaches
Dinner - Pork Chops, broccoli, twice baked potatoes

Friday:
Breakfast - pancakes, bacon, milk
Lunch - peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apple slices, cheez its
Dinner - Coconut shrimp (frozen), rice and corn

Saturday:
Breakfast - cinnamon rolls, milk
Lunch - Maybe on our way to Orlando to celebrate Aunt Kim's birthday, so probably pick something up on the road.
Dinner - Leftovers or out. Mama has the night off:)

Sunday:
Breakfast - eggs with cheese, hashbrowns, orange juice
Lunch - out after church
Dinner - Pasta with Tim's special sauce, garlic bread, ceasar salad

Chicken Divan Recipe
*It isn't the healthiest, but it sure is tasty. Great comfort food for recovering mommies who just had babies.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 chicken breasts (cooked and chopped)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 large bag of broccoli florets
1/2 cup of mayo
1 tablespoon of lemon juice (I usually put more like 3 or 4 tablespoons)
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Cook and chop chicken (I usually bake it with some seasoned salt on it for 30 minutes on 350 degrees)
2. Take out a 9 x 13 pan (I use glass, but I am sure it would work with tin). Coat pan with Pam.
3. Put broccoli in the bottom. Put chicken on top of broccoli.
4. Mix both soups, mayo and lemon juice. Pour on top of chicken.
5. Sprinkle cheese on top of entire casserole.
6. Put in 350 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes until cheese is melted and just beginning to brown.
Yummy:)

Menu Plan 9/5 - 9/11

It's Menu Plan Monday - Don't get too excited:)

Labor Day today, so no work for the Hubby/Daddy. Yay!

I am going to try to do better about planning out breakfast and lunch each day. I want to see if this will help me feel more organized. Tim usually feeds the boys breakfast, but he will have to leave for work early for the next month. I guess I will be on duty, so I want to feel like I have a plan.

Monday:
Breakfast - Cinnamon Rolls and chocolate milk
Lunch - Subs at the beach (surfing the waves from the tropical storm)
Dinner - Family coming over for Eggplant Parmasan and Pasta with the special Bettelli sauce, ceasar salad

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Eggs and Bacon
Lunch - Peanut Butter and Jelly, cheez-its, and grapes
Dinner - Chicken Tetrazzini and Bisquits (never got to this last week)

Wednesday:
Breakfast - waffles and milk
Lunch - Grilled cheese, tomato soup, and peaches
Dinner - Pizza (church night)

Thursday:
Breakfast - Pancakes and milk
Lunch - Leftover chicken tetrazzini
Dinner - grilled chicken breasts, egg noodles with burned butter, and broccoli

Friday:
Breakfast - Cereal
Lunch - Macaroni and cheese, grapes
Dinner - Steak on the grill, coconut shrimp, rice, salad

Saturday:
Breakfast - Eggs and Bacon
Lunch - whatever leftovers we have in the fridge from this week
Dinner - hopefully date night for Tim and I (his parents will be in town to watch the kids)

Sunday:
Breakfast - Waffles and chocolate milk
Lunch - out after church
Dinner - Pasta with the special Bettelli sauce

I don't have any new recipes for this week, so I thought I would give a few more tips on how I choose my menu each week. The first thing I do before even beginning to plan is check our schedule and check our refridgerator and freezer. I want to make sure to use what we have on hand, and I need to make sure I have time for whatever I want to make each day according to our schedule.

Once I have done that I go online to look at Publix's (our grocery store in the area) weekly ad. It gives me the prices of everything on sale. I try to pick out what I will need to buy by the pricing. I like me some sales:)

Lastly, I try to change our meats out throughout the week. I don't want to be eating chicken everyday, no matter how cheap it is. We would get bored, and I don't think that is healthy.

Those are pretty much my "rules" when it comes to planning. I try to keep it simple, but I also want us all to enjoy our meals. After almost six years of marriage I think this is one area that I succeed at most of the time. I definitely would not say "all" the time, but it has gotten to be almost second nature at this point. It did take a while though, so don't be discouraged if you are new to meal planning.

Menu Plan 8/29 - 9/4

It's time for Menu Plan Monday.

I think I have said it before but making a menu plan is so, so, so helpful for so many different reasons. It has really helped me save money by only having to go to the grocery store once a week. It saves time, and it definitely saves stress. I don't have to worry about what we are eating everyday. I just get it all out of the way in one thinking session, and then I can live in glorious bliss for 6 days until I have to plan again:)

Breakfast:
Same old - waffles, bagels, eggs with sausage or bacon, banana bread (recipe at the end of this post) yogurt, fruit

Lunch:
Grilled Cheese
Tuna Sandwiches
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Macaroni and cheese
leftovers

Dinner:
Monday - Pasta with Tim's special sauce (we skipped this on Sunday because we got into a car accident on our way home from Jacksonville and didn't get home until almost 10 pm.)
Tuesday - Taco night with all the fixin's, homeade salsa, and Mexican Rice
Wednesday - Chicken tetrizzini (in the freezer from when I made it the last time)& bisquits
Thursday - Tortellini Soup (also from the freezer) with garlic knots
Friday - Pizza night
Saturday - Steak on the grill, twice baked potatoes, and broccoli
Sunday - Pasta again

BEST BANANA BREAD:
Ingredients:
• ½ cup butter
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup white flour
• ¾ cup wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup mashed banana (between 2 & 3 whole bananas)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ cup sour cream

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients, mix. Add bananas and sour cream. Bake in greased loaf pan on 350 for 45 minutes uncovered. Then cover with foil loosely and bake for an additional 15 minutes. May need to cook an additional 5 minutes.

Menu 8/22 to 8/28

It's Menu Plan Monday

Breakfast:
Waffles
Cereal
Fruit
Yogurt
Oatmeal
Bagels
We will mix, match, and repeat all week:)

Lunch:
Leftovers from the birthday party
Pasta
Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches with fruit
Ham, cheese & raw veggies
Again, this list will be repeated all week

Dinner:
Monday - Salmon (we never got to it last week because our air conditioning was acting up and I didn't want to turn on the oven), rice, salad
Tuesday - Best Pot Roast in crock pot with veggies, mashed potatoes
Wednesday - Chicken Tetrazzini (frozen from freezer), and leftover rolls from the party
Thursday - Breakfast for dinner: Omlettes, bacon, hashbrowns, pancakes and toast
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Grilled hot dogs, broccoli and egg noodles with burned butter
Sunday - Pasta with the special Bettelli sauce

Here is my favorite pancake recipe - easy and quick:)
Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups of flour (I have used both all-purpose & wheat with success)
1 & 1/2 cups of milk
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
5 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

1. In bowl mix ingredients just enough to moisten the dry ingredients. The mixture will be thick and lumpy.
2. Heat frying pan or griddle over medium heat and lightly grease.
3. Cook pancakes until bubbles begin to form and edges begin to dry. Then flip and do the same for the other side.

This recipe makes 15 to 18 medium sized pancakes. You can freeze any leftovers and just heat when ready to eat.

Menu 8/15 to 8/21

It's menu plan Monday

Here is what our meals are looking like this week:
Breakfast:
We will be rotating much of the same.
We will probably have eggs quite a few times because we got some fresh, organic eggs from a friend last week. We currently have three dozen eggs in our refrigerator. Glad the whole family likes eggs.
We will also eat cereal, waffles, pancakes, french toast, fruit, sausage, bacon . . . you get the picture.

Lunch:
We continue to rotate our favorites.
Grilled cheese with peaches
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with apple slices
Macaroni and cheese with gummies
Leftovers from dinner the night before

Dinners:
Monday - We will get take out pizza because I have a meeting with my graduate school advisor and won't be home until after 7. Tim and George will be at our church's skating night, so we will have to get something quick that takes no preparation.
Tuesday - Salmon (recipe we love at the end of this post), Ranch roasted potatoes, and salad.
Wednesday - Hot dogs on the grill, egg noodles with burned butter, and tomato and mozerella salad (also known as Caprese salad)
Thursday - Hamburgers on the grill, twice baked potatoes, and steamed broccoli
Friday - Take out from somewhere because we will be getting ready for Ethan's first birthday on Saturday
Saturday - Ethan's birthday party:) We will be eating dinner there.
Sunday - Pasta with Tim's secret sauce.

Here is the best and easiest salmon recipe I have ever come across:
Ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic (I use 2 teaspoons of the chopped, jarred stuff)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of dried basil
1 teaspooon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of parsley (I use dried also)
2 (6 ounce) fillets of salmon

What to do:
1. Prepare marinade by mixing first seven ingredients.
2. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish and cover with marinade. Marinate in refrigerator about an hour, turning occasionally.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
4. Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal. (I have also just covered the dish with foil and left the salmon in the dish. It works fine both ways.) Place the sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.

It is so yummy!!! Let me know if you try it. Salmon is on sale for $7.99 a pound this week at Publix.

Menu 8/8 to 8/14 & Recipe

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday because I was basically just being too lazy. Sometimes it is really fun to just be lazy:) Don't judge me, please. My Sunday posts are going to be my book posts, so I will save that for later in the week. I am going to try to do a menu/recipe post on Mondays from now on. I think I will really like coming back to see what we were eating. I also know I get a lot of inspiration from other people's menus around the web, so maybe I can encourage some of you.
I am linking up with "Menu Plan Monday" on Organizing Junkie.


I didn't pick the best week to post a menu because I am trying to skip going to the store this week. Our pantry and freezer are pretty full, so once in a while I try to do a "clean out" to make room. This week would be one of those.

Breakfast:
I usually just switch around a few of the same things -
waffles
pancakes
eggs and bacon or sausage
cereal
french toast

Lunch:
Again, we just do a lot of the same week after week -
grilled cheese with apple slices
macaroni and cheese with peaches
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with goldfish
leftovers from dinner the night before
Bagel bites
we even throw in a $1.99 happy meal from McDonald's every once in a while (I just can't beat the price even though I know it isn't the healthiest option. Sometimes easy and cheap just win the battle.)

Dinner:
Sunday - Pizza at mom and dad's
Monday - Baked Ziti, salad and garlic bread
Tuesday - Farewell dinner for my brother at my parents (I will probably bring a dessert)
Wednesday - Taco Pie & Mexican Rice (recipe will be at the end of post)
Thursday - Chicken on the grill, egg noodles with burned butter, broccoli
Friday - We usually get pizza or some kind of quick dinner, so I get the night off:)
Saturday - This is open night. We either cook together or go out with friends or do whatever comes up.
Sunday - Pasta night. Every week Tim makes his special sauce, and we always do pasta dinner as a whole family.

Recipe for Tace Pie:
I don't have the exact recipe for this. I have seen differnet things around the internet, so I kind of made up my own version that we really like.

Ingredients:
4-6 tortillas (the mid size, not too big or too small)
1 lb. cooked ground beef (Cook it with a taco seasoning packet)
Salsa
1 can of enchilada sauce
2 cups of cheddar cheese

What to do:
*I use 2 glass pie plates to make these
*Start with a layer of enchilada sauce at the bottom of each pie plate
*Place a tortilla down.
*Meat on top
*Add a little salsa
*Lastly, sprinkle some cheese & repeat layers
*I stick with 2 layers, but you can do 3 if you want)
*Cook on 350 for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Doesn't that sound easy?
We top these with more salsa, lettuce and sour cream. You can use whatever favorite taco toppings your family likes.

I also make a homeade salsa and will put the recipe here as well. As if this post wasn't already long enough:)
Ingredients:
1 (28 ounce) can of whole tomatoes with juice
2 (14.5 ounce) cans of rotel with cilantro and lime
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove of garlic minced
1 whole jalopeno quartered and diced (I remove the seeds)
1/4 teaspoon of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of cumin

Throw it all in the food processor and grind until desired consistency. I usually have to half it and grind two sets to get it the way we like it. It makes a lot. Refridgerate for at least an hour. It tastes better the longer it is in there. Serve with tortilla chips or taco pie:) I usually store it in a left over glass jar - a big one like the applesauce size.
Enjoy:)