Giraffe's Smokin' Low-Carb Fiesta Salsa

Living in Arizona, we are very lucky with the numerous authentic Mexican Restaurants.  We absolutely LOVE their food and especially, their chips and salsa.  Unfortunately, the combination definitely puts on the pounds.  

And who can eat only a couple of chips.  We sure can't.  😂 We will always TRY to be good and eat just a few chips.  But, before we know it, the entire basket has been devoured.  

We, therefore, thought we would dabble in Salsa making, to decrease our carbohydrate intake.  Instead, we've created a low-carb alternative that is fresh and full of flavor - Giraffe's Smokin' Low-Carb Fiesta Salsa!

Our salsa offers a robust, sweet, and tangy tomatoey flavor, yet tasting garden fresh.  

Preparation time is a mere 5-10 minutes, with a chilling time of 1-2 hours (if a chilled salsa is desired)

Our ingredients include:

• 8 Roma Tomatoes
• 1 Onion
• 1 Tbsp. Sweetener
• 1 Tbsp. Lime Juice
• 1 tsp. Minced Garlic
• 1 tsp. Ground Cumin
• 1 15 oz. Can of Diced Tomatoes
• 1 Small 4.5 oz.Can of Green Chiles

We'll begin by chopping our onion in half and placing aside.

Next, we'll slice the tops of our tomatoes and will discard them.

We'll then slice each tomato into 4 parts and will place in our bowl.

So, we'll now, pour our tomatoes into our food processor, will cover, and will blend on high until our end result is a somewhat chunky salsa in appearance.

If a food processor is unavailable, our 1-Second Slicer may also be used. I know we've discussed our lovely gadget in past posts. However, this gadget saves us plenty of time, when we're chopping vegetables.  The 1-Second Slice is a must have!  We've bought ours on Amazon, back in the day and have been very pleased with our purchase. (Clicking on our highlighted words will direct you to this product on Amazon.)

 And if a 1-Second Slicer is unavailable, merely chop your tomatoes until they are all diced into 1/4th inch or smaller cubes.

We'll then, place our onions in our food processor, will cover, and will again blend on high until they have also been chopped into very tiny pieces.

Next, we'll uncover our food Processor and will add our garlic, sweetener, Lime Juice, Diced Tomatoes, and Green Chiles.

Next, we'll cover our food processor and will chop on high for about 10 seconds.  

This will allow our salsa to exude chili flavor, instead of tasting chunks of chili in every other bite.

We'll then, pour our salsa into our storage container and will stir in our cumin.

Since we enjoy chilled salsa, we'll cover our container and will place in our refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.

Marinating our salsa will also allow our flavors to combine and deepen.  

Voila!  

Our Salsa is ready to be served!

We were once, dining at a Mexican Restaurant, along the San Antonio Riverwalk, when we ordered Chips and Salsa. We were given an option of substituting Pork Rinds for our Tortilla Chips.  So, we thought we would try their alternative "Chips" and Salsa.

What an amazing idea!  That's something we definitely took from that experience

So, we are enjoying our newly created salsa with our Dill Flavored Pork Rinds, that we recently discovered at our local grocery store.

What a delectable combination.  Fresh tomato and chili salsa, accompanied with our crunchy, dill flavored Pork Rind.  MMMMMM mmmmm!

We hope you enjoy our fresh Fiesta Salsa!

From our kitchen to yours ~

Enjoy!

Smokey's Saucy and Spicy Low-Carb Enchiladas

Mexican Food Night is one of our favorites, especially with the upcoming Cinco De Mayo Holiday. 

 Our Enchilada Recipe is a low-carb alternative to the typical Mexican Restaurant carb-full Enchiladas.  Our enchiladas are made with tons of sour cream, shredded cheese, and various spices.

We were delighted to discover this recipe through our fellow flight attendant friend Megan H. According to Megan, one can never have too much sour cream, since sour cream is the key to our saucy enchiladas.  

Preparation time is about 15-20 minutes and cooking time is about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

The ingredients for our enticing enchiladas are...

• 1/2 Shredded Rotisserie Chicken
• 1  28 oz. Cans of Green Enchilada Sauce
• 1 14 oz. Can of Red Enchilada Sauce
• 6-8 Low-Carb tortilla wraps
• 2-3 Pound Container of Sour Cream
• 1 large can of mushrooms
• 1 large onion
• 1 large green pepper
• 1 large can of Chopped black olives
• 32 oz. of Shredded Cheese
• 1 tsp. Minced Garlic
• 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp. Chili Powder
• 1 tsp. Cumin
• 1/2 tsp. Ginger
• 1/4 tsp. Pepper
• Salsa (for pouring over enchiladas) 

We'll begin by shredding our chicken, once it cools.  

Next we'll grease our baking pan with cooking spray and will pre-heat our oven to 350F degrees.

We'll then, pour enough Green Enchilada Sauce to coat the bottom of our pan.

Next, we'll pour our remaining Green Enchilada Sauce into a mixing bowl.  

We'll then, quickly dip each of our low-carb tortilla wraps into our sauce, so that both sides are completely coated. 

Our next step is to place the first tortilla against the side of the pan, so that half is on the side and the other half is resting on the bottom.

Now, it's time to fill our tortillas.  We'll generously spread our sour cream on top of the tortilla, followed by our shredded chicken and shredded cheese. 

We'll then roll our tortilla, place on the side of our pan, and will repeat until our remaining tortilla wraps are filled.

While our enchiladas are resting, we'll begin to prepare our enchilada toppings.

We'll use our 1-Second Slicer (from As Seen on TV), to chop our onions and green peppers.

Next, we'll spray our frying pan with cooking spray and will place our onion, mushrooms, green pepper, and spices together.  

We'll then, stir our mixture, cover our pan, and will cook on medium heat, for 10-15 minutes, or until tender.

Next, we'll pour our vegetable mixture over our stuffed tortillas. 

 We'll then, generously spread sour cream over the top of our vegetable mixture, as if we were icing a cake.  

Similarly, we'll place shredded cheese over our sour cream.

 Next, we'll slice our black olives and will pour over our cheese.

We'll then pour half of our can of Red Enchilada Sauce over the entire contents of the pan and will bake for 1 hour.

After our cooking time has passed, we will remove our enchiladas from our oven and allow to cool for about 15 - 30 minutes.

Megan tells us to allow our enchiladas time to sit, in order for the dish to hold better.  The longer the enchiladas rest, the tastier they will become.   

Although our enchiladas are tasty once they are removed from our oven, Megan shares that they are even more flavorful, when served the following day.  

Smokey's Saucy and Spicy Low-Carb Enchiladas are just phenomenally tasty!

Our enchiladas are so moist and cheesy, that we feel as if we are eating at a Mexican Recipe. The combination of fresh vegetables, chicken and dobs of sour cream make this dish unbelievable.

From our kitchen to yours - enjoy!!