A Chip Off The Ol' Block

Salsa is such a great summer food isn't it? I crave chips and salsa year round, but all those fresh veggies of summer just make me think about and crave it that much more during summer. It's not a constant craving though, and I think that is in large part due to my very specific guidelines for what makes for a GOOD salsa. I love fresh salsa. Like I said, I'm pretty picky though. I've tried many, many varieties of store bought salsa, and the stuff from the jar just doesn't get it for me. Maybe there's a brand out there I haven't tasted yet that would suit me, if so I'd love to find it. I have found a few brands in the refrigerated section that that I liked. What makes a winning salsa to me? The fresh, natural flavor of simple ingredients: tomatoes, onion, peppers, cilantro and a little lime. Texture is a huge thing for me. I don't like chunky salsas, I want mine finely minced, almost pureed even. And nothing too spicy, I like a little bit of a kick, but nothing that makes me break into a sweat or leaves the outside of my mouth burning. That's just no fun! One of my biggest culinary wishes is to master the art of making irresistable salsa and guacamole. I've tried making each one time and failed so badly with both that I've been intimadated by the idea of trying again. People swear it's so easy to make both, you just chop some ingredients up and throw them together. That's what I did, but somehow I found them both to leave so much to be desired it wasn't even funny. Homemade tortilla chips? Those on the other hand I can whip up and willingly devour in a flash. I lucked up and found a totally tasty salsa on a recent shopping trip, so a batch of my homemade flour tortilla chips were in order. I love the restaurant tortilla chips that are loaded with salt and a hint of lime. If you haven't had them before and you've got a Qdoba Mexican Grill nearby, run, quickly and order up a batch. And eat some of their warm 3-cheese queso while you're at it. It's faaaantastic! My homemade tortilla chips are hardly the same as those at Qboda - they're baked not fried, and the tortillas are much thicker, the ones at Qboda are paper thin. But mine are virtually guiltfree and still really good. Sometimes different is good right? Baked Lime Tortilla Chips 4 10-inch flour tortillas 2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil juice of 1 lime kosher salt Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice tortillas into 8 wedges and place on lined baking sheet. Brush top side of tortilla wedges lightly with oil. Drizzle evenly with lime juice and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes. Rotate baking sheet and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until tortillas start to crisp but do not turn brown.