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Friday, September 22, 2023

Mexican Rice

 Mexican Rice

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups long grain rice

¼ cup oil

8oz tomato sauce

Cilantro (optional)

1 tsp garlic salt

2 ½ cups chicken broth

Dash of cumin

½ cup frozen corn


HOW TO PREPARE:

Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add rice and cook until lightly browned. Pour rice into the rice cooker. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Push the “white rice” button to cook the rice. 


Sunday, August 20, 2023

Cream of Chicken Soup

 Cream of Chicken Soup (equals 1 can)

INGREDIENTS:

1 ¼ cups chicken broth

¾ cup milk

6 tbsp flour

½ tbsp adobo


HOW TO PREPARE:

Combine the chicken broth & ¼ cup of milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a low boil. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the flour and adobo into the remaining ½ cup milk until smooth. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and whisk until thickened. 


Cream of Chicken Soup (equals 2 cans)

INGREDIENTS:

2 ½ cups chicken broth

1 ½ cups milk

¾ cup flour

1 tbsp adobo

HOW TO PREPARE:


Combine the chicken broth & ½ cup of milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a low boil. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the flour and adobo into the remaining 1 cup milk until smooth. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and whisk until thickened.


Broccoli Cheese Soup

This is one of my favorite soups.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup butter , sliced
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic , minced
6 Tbsp flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk
5 cups chicken broth
5 cups small diced broccoli florets
1/8 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup heavy cream
12 oz sharp cheddar cheese
2 oz parmesan cheese , freshly & finely shredded

HOW TO PREPARE:
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until they begin to soften, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add garlic, flour and season lightly with salt and pepper then cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. While whisking, slowly pour in evaporated milk (whisk well to smooth).

Cook mixture, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken then pour into a slow cooker along with chicken broth, diced broccoli and thyme. Cover with lid and cook on low heat for 5 - 6 hours.

Turn heat to warm (or off) and stir in heavy cream. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth. Then add in shredded cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese and stir to blend. 

Sunday, June 18, 2023

Shrimp Gumbo


Many years ago, I went to Louisiana. It was there that I first tried shrimp gumbo. One bite and I was hooked. I found this recipe in this cookbook.



Shrimp Gumbo

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup flour
7/8 cup bacon drippings
2 medium onions, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
2 1/2lb shrimp, deveined and tail-off
Smoked sausage, chopped
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
3 bay leaves

HOW TO PREPARE:
Brown flour in bacon drippings in large Dutch oven, stirring constantly. Add onions, green pepper, and celery; simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and shrimp; simmer, covered, until shrimp turn pink. Add sausage,  seasonings, thyme, bay leaves, and 3 quarts of hot water; simmer for about 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice. Yield: 6 servings. 

Monday, June 5, 2023

Jericalla Custard

I wanted to find an authentic Mexican dessert and this was so delicious. It tastes a bit like rice pudding, but it is so creamy and smooth. I found the recipe here





Jericalla Custard

Ingredients
6-8 SERVINGS
water
4 1/4 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp. vanilla (I recommend this one from Mexico)
6 large egg yolks

HOW TO PREPARE:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a heavy-bottomed pan, add a drizzle of water over medium heat.

Then add the milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
Place the egg yolks in a bowl. Have a whisk handy.

Once the milk boils, add hot milk ONE TEASPOON AT A TIME to the egg yolks. Beat vigorously. Repeat 4 times. I cannot stress the importance of using only a teaspoon. I had to remake this because I added the hot milk too quickly and the eggs scrambled. Ugh. Learn from my mistake!

Add the yolks to the milk and sugar while stirring.

Turn off the heat.

Pour into individual flan molds.

Place the flan molds in a baking pan and add plenty of hot boiling water to the baking pan.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes until golden. The length of time will depend upon the size of your flan molds. Mine were bigger and they took almost 2 hours...

Place on the top rack of the oven and turn the oven to broil. Broil until small dark spots appear on the surface of the custard. Watch carefully. Mine took less than a minute to darken. 

Carne en su jugo

I have been doing some research in authentic Mexican cuisine. We all enjoyed this. You can eat it as a soup or put some in corn tortillas to make tacos. It's pretty versatile. I found this recipe here




Carne en su Jugo

INGREDIENTS:
6 slices bacon
3 cups water
4 fresh tomatillos, husks removed
3 serrano chile peppers, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 pounds flank steak, cut into 1/2-inch squares
1 tsp Caldo de tomate (tomato bouillon)
4 cups of cooked pinto beans
½ onion, chopped
6 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
ground black pepper, to taste
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges

HOW TO PREPARE:

Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels. Crumble bacon and set aside.

Combine water, tomatillos, serrano peppers, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Transfer contents to a blender. Add caldo de tomate. Blend until smooth and set aside.

Place a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; cook and stir flank steak in the hot skillet until completely browned. Pour tomatillo mixture over beef and bring to a boil. Stir in chicken bouillon and reduce heat to medium. Cover the skillet and simmer until tender, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, heat pinto beans in a saucepan over medium heat until warm; reduce heat to low to keep warm until needed.

Stir bacon and pinto beans into flank steak mixture; divide mixture between 6 bowls. Garnish each with onion, cilantro, black pepper, and a lime wedge.

Friday, May 12, 2023

Queso

 I recently stumbled onto this cooking blog and this is the first recipe of theirs that I have made. It didn't disappoint! Now, their recipe didn't include measurements, but I will share what I did. 


Queso

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, remove the seeds and dice the pepper
1 tomato, chopped
1 tbsp cornstarch
5 cups heavy cream (can use evaporated milk)
8oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese
salt to taste

HOW TO PREPARE:
Sauté onion and garlic in the butter for 8 minutes on medium heat, stirring often. Add jalapeño pepper and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Stir in tomato. After heated through, sprinkle cornstarch over vegetables and stir well. Add heavy cream (and/or evaporated milk). Heat until simmering. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to blend until pureed. Return to heat and add the 8oz of cheese. Stir constantly and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat until thickened to a desired consistency, about 4-5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Monday, May 1, 2023

Baklava

This is a Bulgarian version of Baklava. You prepare it one day and then wait a day before you eat it. It's worth the wait. 


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1LDRPzLkoJyKTx55ayJj5A3iNfVWy3nNU

Baklava

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ lbs pistachios

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups butter, melted

1 box phyllo dough


SYRUP:

2 cups water

3 cups sugar

6 whole cloves

Juice of ½ lemon

Splash of rose water


HOW TO PREPARE:

For the syrup: boil water and sugar for 10 minutes. Then add

cloves, lemon juice, and rose water. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the whole cloves and let cool completely. 

In a food processor, process pistachios, sugar, and cinnamon

until pistachios are finely processed. 

Grease 13x9 inch pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cover the bottom of the pan with 3-4 sheets of phyllo dough,

folded in two, brushing lightly in between each layer with

butter. Sprinkle ¼ of the pistachio mixture evenly on top of the

layer. Repeat this process 4 more times. End with 3-4 more

double layers of phyllo dough, each layer brushed with butter.

Lightly score the top of the phyllo in a diamond pattern.

Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until light brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Pour

cold syrup evenly over the hot baklava. Let baklava set

overnight so it can absorb the syrup. Serves 12. 

Friday, March 17, 2023

Beef Noodle Soup

My husband ate this soup during his two year mission in Taiwan. I had been putting off the idea of making this soup because it seemed so complicated. However, once I ordered some of the ingredients that I don't keep on hand, it wasn't that hard to put this soup together. And seeing the happy expression on my husband's face was worth the effort!


I made the mistake of mixing the noodles into the soup. Traditionally, you add cooked noodles to a bowl of beef noodle soup. 


Beef Noodle Soup

INGREDIENTS:

3 pounds beef shank

2 tablespoons oil

A 2-inch piece of ginger (smashed)

6 cloves garlic (smashed)

3 green onions (cut into 2-inch segments)

1 onion (cut into wedges)

1 tomato (cut into wedges)

4 dried chilies

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons spicy bean paste (called douban jiang)

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup Shaoxing wine

8 cups water (to make the soup broth)

1 Chinese aromatic herb packet (called lu bao)

32 ounces fresh wheat (white) noodles (900g)

A small handful of bok choy for each serving

Cilantro (finely chopped, optional)


HOW TO PREPARE:
In a very large pot, add beef and fill the pot about halfway
with water. Bring to a boil. Spoon off the beef scum from
the top of the water.

Next, in a nonstick skillet, add the oil, crushed ginger,
garlic, green onions, and onions in that order. Stir to lightly
caramelize. Let the onion turn translucent. Add the tomato
and dried chilies.

Next, add the sauteed vegetables to the pot with the beef.
Then add the tomato paste, spicy bean paste, sugar, soy
sauce, and Shaoxing wine, and mix thoroughly. Add 8
cups of water and the spice packet. Bring to a boil and
then simmer for 3-4 hours. Remove meat and cut into
chunks; discard bones. 

Boil some noodles per package instructions, and in the
last minute or two of the noodles cooking, throw your
bok choy in and blanch until just tender. DO NOT ADD
noodles to the soup. Keep the cooked noodles separate.

Serve each bowl of Taiwanese beef noodle soup with a
serving of noodles, a few stalks of bok choy, and generous
sprinklings of finely minced cilantro, if desired.

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Stuffing




Stuffing


Start several days before you want to serve it. 

1 ½ loaves of bread, cubed, into large cookie sheets. Let dry out for 1-2 days. 


1 onion, diced
1 ½ stalks celery, chopped

2 tbsp butter

1 chicken breast


Melt butter and saute the onions and celery until soft. Cook chicken breast in butter in skillet. Chop up. In the same pan, cook ½ pound pork sausage until browned. In the same skillet, add 1 tbsp water and heat up, to loosen all the flavor up from the pan. Scrape it up and include that in your stuffing. 

Beat 2 eggs, 2 cans cream of chicken soup and heat until warm. Add ½ tsp sage, ½ tsp poultry seasoning, ½ tsp salt and pepper. Then add 1 tbsp baking powder to sauce. Add warm milk if it seems too dry. 

Mix all together, put foil on top and bake in a large buttered pan for 30 minutes. Bake at 375°. Take foil off and turn it over with a spoon. Bake another 20 minutes (with foil off) until it looks done. Not too mushy, not burned.