20 piccante recipes

Homemade picante sauce with canned whole tomatoes, fresh jalapenos, onion, apple cider vinegar, and garlic. Simmered 15 minutes and served chilled with chips for a chunky, spicy Texas-style salsa.

Picante red sauce blended from roasted red bell pepper, diced tomatoes with green chiles, soy sauce, umeboshi vinegar, and basil. A smoky, tangy all-purpose sauce for pasta, stuffed peppers, or cabbage rolls.

Quick Rotel salsa made with canned Rotel tomatoes and chiles, fresh tomato, scallions, garlic, and lime juice. No cooking required. Mix and serve with chips, on salads, or over Southwestern dishes.

Homemade picante sauce simmered with canned whole tomatoes, fresh jalapenos, onion, and apple cider vinegar. Adjust the heat by adding more peppers. Serve chilled with chips.

Pace guacamole, the four-ingredient shortcut guac built on ripe avocados, Pace picante sauce, lemon juice, and salt. No dicing onions, tomato, or chiles, the picante does all that work.

Hacienda dressing made with just two ingredients: creamy ranch and Pace picante sauce. A spicy Southwestern ranch that works on salads, beans, pasta, and sliced avocados.

San Antonio seafood cocktail sauce made with picante sauce, ketchup, and fresh lemon juice. A Tex-Mex twist on classic cocktail sauce served with chilled shrimp, scallops, or crab.

Red snapper Veracruz simmered in picante sauce with tomato paste, green olives, and lime juice. A quick Mexican-style fish dish with bold, briny flavor.

Turkey pasta salad with corn, zucchini, and picante-creamy garlic dressing. A Tex-Mex spin on leftover turkey, ready in 20 minutes and better after a chill in the fridge.

This dish is best at room temperature, although it is good hot or cold also. I have given just the basic recipe; you can add all kinds of things, like corn, fresh tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, blanched chayote squash, etc.

A 4-ingredient salad dressing with picante sauce, orange marmalade, soy sauce, and fresh ginger. Sweet heat meets tangy citrus in 5 minutes flat.

Mock guacamole made with steamed asparagus and picante sauce instead of avocado. A low-fat, avocado-free dip with the same creamy green look and tangy flavor.

Light fiesta shrimp dip with reduced-fat cream cheese, picante sauce, horseradish, and cumin. A creamy, zesty cold dip with real chopped shrimp served with vegetable dippers.

Slow cooker veggie chili layers black beans, corn, peppers and crushed tomatoes with spices bloomed in oil first, then simmers all day. A hearty, high-fiber vegetarian chili that's nearly hands-off.

Spicy Mexican bean burgers made with kidney beans, picante sauce, bell pepper, carrot, and chili powder. Oven-baked vegetarian patties for a healthier handheld meal.

Light fiesta shrimp dip blends chopped shrimp with reduced-fat cream cheese, picante sauce, horseradish, cumin, and green onions. Lighter than your average shrimp dip, full of southwest punch.