There is no reason why you can't use them other than the cost and inefficiency of double processing anything. But if you have then then sure use them if you wish. The general conversion of fresh to dried is 4:1 so 1 cup of chopped fresh onion would equal approx. 1/4 cup of dried chopped onion. But it is always recommended that you rehydrate them first so that they don't use up the liquid in the rest of the recipe rehydrating and so change the overall density. So if you take the time to rehydrate them you can just measure them normally and use whatever the recipe calls for. Not sure how much time and effort it would save in the long run but there is no safety issue I know of. Alternative suggestions: just freeze all the ingredients for now and make the salsa in the fall when things slow down, of 2) find a better, faster way of dicing onions - food processor takes about 2 min. :) Dave

I just made the BEST recipe for my book club last week, using chili sauce, for shrimp dip. The book was " Long Journey Home" About a Afrian Boy that found his home land at war at age 12. It is a quick good read. We make recipes around the theme of the book, so I googled African recipes. I found great recipes, but the best was the one I'm going to share with you. The first night I used the sauce as a dip for cold shrimp the next night I made a hot dish sauting the shrimp, aspargus, pineapple and the sauce and severed over rice. It is going to be my new, favorite company dish. 1 pound fresh or frozen jumbo shrimp (16 to 20) 4 stalks celery Red Dip (recipe follows) Pink dip (recipe follows) Red Dip: 2 tablespoons Red Pepper Paste(recipe follows) 1 cup chili sauce Pink Dip: 2 tablespoons Red Pepper Paste (recipe follows) 2/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing 1 tablespoon lemon juice Red Pepper Paste: 1/4 cup dry red wine 1 tsp. cayenne pepper 3/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. ground ginger 1/8 tsp. cardamom 1/8 tsp. ground coriander 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp. ground cloves 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp. ground allspice 1/8 tsp. black pepper 1/8 of a medium onion 1 small clove garlic 1/4 cup paprika Directions: 1. Clean shrimp and cook according to package directions; refrigerate. Cut celery into sticks. Refrigerate in cold water. 2. Prepare dips. Serve in bowls with shrimp and celery. Red Dip: Mix all ingredients. Makes about 1 cup. Pink Dip: Mix all ingredients. Makes about 3/4 cup. Red Pepper Paste: 1. Measure 2 tablespoons wine and remaining ingredients except paprika into blender container; cover. Blend until smooth, scraping sides of blender frequently. With remaining wine, wash spices down sides of blender. 2. Heat paprika in saucepan 1 minute. Add spice mixture in small amounts, stirring until smooth. Cook unitl hot, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool. Red and Pink Dips can be prepared 48 hours in advance. Store covered in refrigerator. I would use food processor instead of blender. It was hard to scrape the sides of the blender! * didn't like the pink sauce as well. Next time I will make this sauce using the chili recipe on this posting.

This is a variation of a recipe posted at all recipes by Star Pooley. The changes are mostly in cooking the broth for 2+ hours instead of 30 minutes. Level 1 - Pro/Fat 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 onions chopped 2 cloves of garlic - minced - more if you like about 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley - originally called for an entire bunch of parsley 1 large can of diced tomatoes - originally called for stewed tomatoes * optional(if you like a thicker soup you can include a large can of tomato puree or 1 small can of tomato paste) 1/2 cups dry white wine 2 bottles of clam juice - origanally called for water instead of clam juice 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon of dried basil 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon dired oregano *optional - 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes - if you like a little kick 1 1/2 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp 1 1/2 lbs bay scallops 2+ dozen clams 2+ dozen mussels - cleaned and debearded 1 1/2 cups of crabmeat - I used lump crabmeat 1 1/2 pounds of cod cubed - I used tilapia Over medium-low heat melt butter and add evoo in large stockpot, add onions, garlic and parsley. Stir and cook until onions are tender. Add tomatoes to the onions, then add chicken broth, wine, clam broth, bay leaves, basil, thyme and oregano. Mix well, cover and simmer at least 2 hours. Stir in shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, crabmeat and fish. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer about 7 minutes or until clams open. Serve in bowls and enjoy!

The canned chipotle's are wicked hot. I quite buying them and now sub the dried stuff because it keeps better. I would always open one of those little cans and be optomistic and just add one chipotle, but it was too hot for me! Your mileage may vary of course, when it comes to hotness. I saw George Lopez on a DVD the other day doing a riff on how Mexicans are immune to hot pepper spray, they just wave some chips in the air! I dunno, hot pepper is just too much for this north country girl. When I'm done eating I don't want to be further affected by my food, like having my lips burn for an hour or more! That's why I don't eat high garlic things, when I'm done eating I don't want to smell like a pickle for the rest of the day.