Stacie's Hoosier Caviar

Ok, so this dish is originally called "Texas Caviar" but I got the recipe from my friend Stacie and she's from Indiana so I have always called it Stacie's Hoosier Caviar.  Deal with it!

This is Stacie.  She is posing with cheese at a huge gas station on the way back from a girls-only weekend getaway.  We went on a brewery tour and saw a No Doubt concert on this trip.  That is all I can tell you.  The rest is top secret and if I give you any more information, I will have to kill you.


I love how this dip/relish/salsa/salad can be adjusted to any taste.  You can add more or tone down any ingredient.  I don't even follow a particular recipe.  I just start chopping the ingredients.  I have shared this recipe with many people.  Everyone who tries it asks for it!

Here are the players in this game.  The tomatoes (already chopped and in the bowl) are roma tomatoes.  First time I tried using them instead of the regular big slicing tomatoes.  I think i made a good choice!  Also, I have always used green peppers in this dish, but I just bought a bunch of red peppers and I wanted to use them so I diced up two.  They added a bit of sweetness that was really good!  Also added cilantro, a red onion that I minced up in teeny tiny pieces, green onions, a can of black eyed peas drained and rinsed and Kraft Zesty Italian dressing.


Oopsie- garlic and jalapenos forgot to get in the family photo above.  I minced 3 garlic cloves and about 2 1/2 jalapenos.  You can use fresh jalapenos, but I loooove the jarred jalapenos.  They're still spicy but they have that vinegary taste I love.  Nom nom.  But don't use anything other than fresh garlic!


Chopping up the cliantro is always my least favorite part of this recipe.  After you wash it, the leaves stick to your hands no matter how dry you try to get it.  And it takes forever because I pick all the individual leaves off so there are NO stem pieces.


Toss everything in a large bowl to mix.  Hee-hee, I don't normally line everything up.  This is strictly a photo-shoot thing.


Add the dressing.  This is where Stacie and I are different.  I used half of one bottle- just enough to coat everything and give it a bit of zip.  If I remember correctly she uses the whole bottle, maybe more?  You can adjust to your own taste!



Isn't that gorgeous???  Sooooo fresh and crunchy and good!!!



You can eat it like a salsa with some chips, spoon it on grilled chicken or fish (sooooo good on grilled meat!!!) or my favorite way- put some in a bowl and eat it with a fork like a salad.



Store in a glass container so you can look at it every time the fridge is open.


Here Stacie and I are vandalizing our friend's car while she was in the bathroom at a rest stop on the above-mentioned road trip.  That's me on the left with the amazing hair cape.



The "recipe" for Stacie's Hoosier Caviar

tomatoes (this time I used 8 roma tomatoes), seeded and diced
green peppers (but this time I used 2 red bell peppers), seeded and diced
red onion, chopped into tiny bits
green onions, white and green parts, diced
black eyed peas, 1 or 2 cans rinsed and drained
jalapeños, 2 or 3 minced
garlic, minced
cilantro, large handful, minced
Kraft Zesty Italian dressing

Chop up everything into small bits.  Toss it together in a large bowl with dressing.  Start off with a small amount and adjust to your liking.