Salsa! (By Jason and Kelly) and Loaded Sour Cream, trust me, it's good

I'd like to start out by saying American Idol sucks. I will never watch again. I love you Casey James! Muah! (Kissing noise)

Dinner party tomorrow! We're having our favorite neighbors over and I will attempt for the first time ever a whole roasted chicken along with artichoke risotto. And guys, my risotto always seems to stay a little crunchy. This is even after adding all the called for liquid plus some and cooking it for the time called for in the recipe. Is this normal?

Anyway, moving on...

So a lot of my friends have been super fun and supportive of my blogging efforts. My friend Jason sends me pictures via cell phone of all the delicious things he makes. The cool thing about Jason is that he doesn't work from a recipe, he just works with what he's got or can get for cheap. That's just how this gangsta rolls. A few days ago he sent me a picture of this:

"Grilled Chicken and Mango Salsa"

"I had mangoes I got for super cheap, and chicken that was gonna go bad so I went to the store and got cilantro and lime. Grilled some red onions and sliced mango and bam." -Jason P.

Well, bam Jason! You're a rock star. I wish I lived back in San Diego so bad it makes my stomach hurt! I MISS MY FRIENDS! Thank goodness for technology. Keep sending me pictures of your food so I know you guys miss me too.

This next salsa recipe is so delicious and simple! Kelly (of According to Kelly) made it for a dinner this last Easter holiday. It goes fast at parties, it's a great thing to keep in your fridge for snacking (Finn loves it), and it's made from things that are easy to get any time of year and that most of us have on hand most of the time anyway.

Ingredients:

- 1 red bell pepper (small diced)

- 1 green bell pepper (small diced)

- 1 cucumber (small diced)

- 1 can corn, drained

- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

- cilantro (to taste, but about 2 tablespoons chopped)
- Zesty Italian Dressing (about 3/4 bottle)

Combine and toss. Eat with chips or add to a salad. Yummmmm!

Ok. Are you ready for loaded sour cream? Jacob and I stopped at this restaurant called Cafe Diablo ( http://www.cafediablo.net/) in Torry, Utah on our way home from Escalante this last trip. We had never heard anything about it, and were really surprised when we discovered it to be an upscale restaurant with all plates hovering around the $22 mark. In Torry? Seriously? It's claim to fame is being featured in the 1,000 Places to see in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die. Our food was so good, but I think our favorite thing was the quesadilla we ordered for Finn. Homemade tortillas, gooey cheese, and it was served with this crazy good sour cream. I've spent a couple days on it and I think I have it figured out.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup sour cream

- 2 tbsp small diced green bell pepper

- 1 tbsp small diced onion

- 2 tbsp small diced cucumber

- 1 tomato diced

- Lawry's seasoned salt (to taste)

- 1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary, finely ground

Mix all ingredients together, but reserve half the chopped tomato to sprinkle on top. Eat with quesadillas, enchiladas, or whatever. I crave this stuff.