Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

Hi there!
Today I'm bringing you another Stir Fry! I love stir fry(s), they are really easy to make and they are a great way to add more veggies into our diet! This one has a lot more vegetables than the Honey Chicken Stir fry and is more on the salty side, so hopefully you will like it too!
Serves 4
Ingredients:


10-12 ounces of boneless, skinless chicken cut in strips. (chicken breast or thighs work perfect)
4 cups of frozen stir fry vegetables (you can use fresh veggies if you want)
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely chopped
3 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce plus 2 tablespoon to marinate the chicken
salt and pepper to taste
crushed red pepper to taste
2 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Cut the chicken into thin strips, season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper (all this ingredients are to taste, so add as much or as little as you want!) Also add two tablespoons of soy sauce and set aside.

In a large skillet, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil plus garlic and ginger, and cook on low heat for about 3-4 minutes, or until the garlic becomes slightly brown. (do NOT preheat the skillet and do NOT preheat the oil!) Add the oil, garlic and ginger at the same time, so the oil will absorb all the flavors from the ginger and garlic.

If your veggies are frozen, now is the time to defrost them!  Place them in the microwave to defrost.

Once the garlic is slightly brown, add the chicken and cook for about 4-5 minutes. Add the veggies and stir fry for another minute.  Add the soy sauce, season with ground black pepper and crushed red pepper and continue to cook for about 4-5 minutes or until the veggies are warm.

Serve with white rice or brown rice!

Enjoy!!!

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Salsa and Tortilla Chips

Today I'm sharing with you one of my favorite salsas of all times! This is the kind of salsa my Mama makes whenever we are having a Carne Asada, and of course this salsa can't miss New Year's Eve! This salsa goes great with anything you can think of, veggies, all kinds of meats, you can also make a killer Michelada with this!

Ingredients:
*Salsa *

1 lb Tomatillo (green tomatoes with the husk)
10-20 chiles de arbol (you can find these at the Hispanic section in the grocery store)
1 avocado chopped
1/4 cup chopped onions
chopped cilantro for garnish ( about 1/4 cup)
juice of 1/2 lime

*Tortilla chips*
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
tortillas (as many as you want, the oil will be enough to coat at least 10)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (more if frying)

Preheat the oven to 400°

Remove the husk from the tomatillos and simmer the tomatillos in boiling water for about 10 minutes
or until soft.

In a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil plus 1/2 teaspoon of each, salt, black pepper and chili powder, mix well.

Brush the tortillas with the seasoned oil, make sure to brush both sides of the tortilla, this will make the chips super crunchy without adding too much fat.

Cut the tortillas in half, and then in half again, to make some triangles. Place on a baking sheet, season with a bit more salt and bake at 400° for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy.

Once tomatillos are nice and soft, transfer to a blender, add a garlic clove and also add 10-20 chiles. (Remove the ends of the chile )
Add some salt and ground black pepper and blend for about 3 minutes or until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined!

Transfer the salsa to a small pan and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling add the chopped onions, cilantro and avocado and also add the juice of 1/2 lime.

Taste for flavor and add more salt and pepper if needed. Let it boil for about 1 more minute and remove from the heat.

And that is it! Enjoy
This recipe makes great Huevos Rancheros

and it's also perfect for tacos!

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Home-made Donuts

To Watch this Video-Recipe please click HERE!!

Hi Everyone! I hope you are doing great! Today's recipe is another recipe for Donuts! I hope you enjoy this one as much as my Easy-Donuts recipe!

Ingredients:

3 cups All purpose flour (plus 1 cup extra for kneading)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 stick unsalted butter
3 tablespoons fresh yeast
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
vegetable oil for frying

For coating:
1/2 cup sugar + 2 tablespoon ground cinnamon (mix together and set aside)
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Clean and disinfect your working area: table, counter-top, etc. (the place where you will knead the dough)

Using a fork crumble the fresh yeast, until you get the texture of breadcrumbs.

Heat up the milk in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes. (The milk needs to be more in the hot side than in the warmer side, but be careful not to heat it up too much or else you will end up cooking the eggs.)

Over your working area (table) sift the flour and sugar together, form them into a pile and make an indentation in the center; in this well add the butter cut into small pieces, the 3 eggs and the crumbled yeast. Slowly add in the milk, followed by the vanilla extract and start whisking together. Once all ingredients in the indentation are well combined start bringing in the flour. Using your hands, incorporate the flour and the wet ingredients into a soft dough.

To get the texture we want we will end up adding about 2/3 cup of extra flour to knead the dough, just add a little flour at a time, because if you add it all at once, you will end up with a really tough dough, and your donuts will be hard as a rock.

Keep on kneading your dough, add as much flour as you need to get a soft dough, a dough that is not sticky at all.

Once the dough has the texture we want, we will continue to knead for about 3 more minutes. Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. To speed up the rising process, place the dough inside a large container and cover with a clean, wet kitchen towel, make sure to soak the kitchen towel in warm water, just let it hand in there for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. The dough will rise to almost double the size.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1½in thickness and cut into circles using a doughnut cutter. Let the donuts rise again for about 30 minutes.

In a large pan heat up about 1-2 cups of vegetable oil to a temperature of 350oF.

Fry the donuts a few at a time, for about 1 minute on each side or until golden brown and completely cooked.

(To make sure the donuts are completely cooked without burning them or toasting them too much, I like to keep on turning them after 30 seconds on each side and I turned them about 4 to 5 times. for a total of 2 minutes or 2:30 minutes.)

Keep on repeating this step until you are done Frying all the donuts.

Drain them on paper towels and while they are still warm, roll them on a mixture
of granulated sugar and ground cinnamon.

You can also cover the donuts with Melted Chocolate and garnish them with shredded coconut or coat them with Caramel and garnish with chocolate sprinkles.

Enjoy!

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Spooky Mini Pizzas

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I got this idea from a magazine picture. however I didn't read the magazine, so I don't know what kind of ingredients/products to make this. I'm just recreating the picture I saw. I'm using ingredients I already have in my pantry-refrigerator.

Ingredients:

1 package Pillsbury refrigerated Grands Biscuits (You can use pizza dough if you prefer son)
1 Jar Prego Italian Sausage and Garlic Pasta Sauce
String Cheese (I used cheese slices cut in very thin strips)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Black olives for garnish

Preheat oven to 400oF

Combine the olive oil with the Italian seasoning and garlic powder, mix well, and set aside.

Flatten up the biscuits,press them down with your hands, a plate or a rolling pin.
Once all the biscuits are flat, brush them with the garlic oil.
Using a fork, poke each circle to prevent them from rising. Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes just to brown them a little bit.

If they do end up rising in the oven, just press them down with a plate.

Spoon the tomato sauce over each circle. Add as much or as little as you want.

Slice the black olives in half to make the eyes. Place the eyes wherever you want them to be. Add the cheese bellow and above the eyes. Add as much cheese as you like.

And that's it, bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
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Another great alternative for this tomato and cheese mini pizzas is a "Mollete". A Mollete is a Spanish, (also Mexican) appetizer made with a garlicky bread topped with beans and cheese. Very simple and delicious.

Ingredients:

Pillsbury refrigerated Grands Biscuits
Seasoned oil (the one with made with the olive oil, garlic and Italian seasoning)
Shredded cheese (any kind)
1 can black beans
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon of olive oil
String cheese for garnish
Black olives for garnish

Season the beans with the salt, garlic powder, dry oregano and ground cumin. Add in the Olive oil and blend until smooth. (add water if needed)

Flatten up the biscuits, just like we did for the mini pizzas, brush them with the season olive oil and poke each circle with a fork. Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 400oF for 5 minutes. Just to brown a little bit.

Spoon the bean mixture over the melted cheese and garnish with string cheese, place the cheese in a spider web design. Top the web with a whole black olive. Slice a second olive into strips to make the spider legs and that's it, bake for 10 minutes or until the beans are warm and the cheese has melted. Drizzle or brush with a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!

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Pear Pastry Pockets

Hi Everyone! Today's recipe is a very easy and delicious dessert, perfect for any occasion specially for the Holidays, it will save you tons of time and you will for sure impress your guests with this delicious pastry. (This idea was taken from The Costco Connection magazine issued Sept. 2011. I made some modifications but the idea came from the magazine.  My husband asked for this particular recipe, so I decided to share it with you all. All credits go to The Costco Connection Magazine for this delicious and super easy dessert!)

Makes 16 pockets
Ingredients:

4 large pears
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg beaten
2 packages puff pastry sheets
1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 400oF.

Combine sugar and cinnamon together, mix well and set aside.

Wash the pears, cut them in half, remove the seeds, and then cut each half into 1/4 inch slices, cut the slices in half.

Pour the melted butter over the pear slices sprinkle half the sugar mixture over the pears. Combine and set aside for a minute.

Cut puff pastry sheet in half then each half in half. (it will make 4 equal size squares.)

Add some of the pears over each pastry square, sprinkle with a teaspoon of the sugar mixture.   Brush the edges of each square with the egg wash. Close the pocket by bringing the four corners of each square close together over the center of the pastry. Try to cover as much of the fruit as you can. Press down lightly to seal the pocket. Brush  with the egg wash.

Keep on repeating these last steps until you are done with all the pockets.

1.-place some of the pears over the pastry square
2.-sprinkle with 1 tsp. of sugar mixture.
3.-brush the edges with the egg wash
4.-close pocket by bringing all four corners of each square together
5.-Brush the whole pocket with the egg wash

Bake at 400o F for about 20-25 min. or until golden brown.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream! Enjoy!

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Orzo and Shrimp Scampi Salad

Hi everyone!

Today I bring to you a very easy pasta-salad recipe, perfect for this summer! It is really light, and full of flavor! I'm using regular pasta, if you prefer, go ahead and use whole wheat pasta instead, it will be equally delicious and satisfying!

Serves 4
Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 cup of Orzo (or any other small pasta you like)
1 cup white wine (your favorite, or cooking wine is fine too)
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup green onions, chopped (white or yellow onions work well too)
2/3 cups fresh parsley
zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon olive oil

crushed red pepper, salt, and ground black pepper to taste
3-4 cups of baby salad greens (mix of baby spinach, Romain, arugula, etc)

Peel and devein the shrimp. Season with salt and pepper (to taste) and also add the oregano, garlic powder, olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon of lemon zest. Mix well, make sure every single shrimp is covered with the seasoning and set aside.

Cook the pasta as you normally do. (boiling salted water and a bit of olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking together). Once pasta is cooked, drain, and set aside.

In a large skillet,at low heat, cook the butter and garlic together for about 4 minutes or until the butter becomes foamy.

Add the green onions and cook for 1 minute.
Turn on the heat to medium high, add the white one and lemon zest, cook until the wine is reduce to half, for about 2-3 minutes on medium high.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the shrimp and cook for about a minute and half on each side.

Season with crushed red pepper, add 1/2 cup of fresh parsley, mix and add the cooked pasta, stir together, and cook for another minute or so, or until the pasta is warm and the shrimp is completely cooked.

Serve on a bed of baby greens, garnish with the rest of the fresh parsley and enjoy!

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Stuffed Bell Peppers

 
Hi everyone! Today I have a delicious and healthy recipe to share with you! All Vegan Stuffed Belle Peppers, really easy and delicious! I hope you like it!

Ingredients:

2 bell peppers (any color you want)
2 cups roughly chopped white mushrooms
1 tomato, also chopped in big chunks
1/2 cup  chopped onions
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
crushed red pepper to taste
salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup cooked white rice

Preheat the oven to 400°

Slice the bell  peppers in half, lengthwise.

Cut the peppers in half, lengthwise, remove the veins and seeds from the inside. Brush with a bit of olive oil, and season with salt, and black pepper. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the garlic and onions for about 3 minutes or until the onions become transparent. Add the mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes until the mushroom are brown and soften.  Add the tomatoes, and season with salt, ground black pepper and crushed red pepper to taste. Add the cooked rice, stir well and taste, add more salt if needed. Cook for 1 more minute.

Stuff the bell pepper with the mushroom filling, add as much filling as you want.  Sprinkle with some vegan cheese, or regular cheese, and and bake at 400° for about 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

note: If you want the pepper to be extra soft cook for 15-18 minute.
I like my pepper to have a crunch, so 10 minutes in the oven is enough to give them a delicious roasted flavor and a perfect crunch! 

That is it..

Garnish with some fresh parsley you are ready to
eat. Enjoy!

 

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Steamed Chipotle Chicken

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Hi everyone! Today I'm sharing with you one of my Sister's recipes: Steamed Chipotle Chicken! I love this one, it so easy to make, it has tons of flavor and it requires very few ingredients! It is very healthy too!

Ingredients:
Serves 6-8

1 1/2 chickens cut in pieces (skin and bones in)
7 oz yellow mustard
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (more if you like it spicy!)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste
2 cubes of tomato and chicken flavor concentrate (Consomate)
1/4 cup water
Aluminum foil to wrap the chicken pieces

In a blender, mix the water, mustard, chipotle peppers, tomato cubes
and the ground black pepper. Blend on medium high for about 2 minutes or until you get a soft paste.

Transfer to a large container,(large enough to hold all the chicken pieces). If the paste is too thick, feel free to add 1/4 cup of extra water, taste the flavor and any salted if needed. Set aside for a minute.

With a knife poke the chicken pieces a few times each, this will allow the marinade to impregnate the chicken pieces instead of just hanging on top of them.

Add the chicken to the chipotle mustard marinade, make sure to cover each piece with plenty of this mixture, refrigerate for about at 30 minutes,(at least 10 minutes), just so the chicken can absorb all the flavors.

After 30 minutes, grab a piece of foil, and place a piece of chicken right in the middle, spoon some of the marinade over the chicken and bring the ends of the foil together to close it tight. Keep on repeating this step, until all the chicken pieces are wrapped in foiled.  Place in a steamer, and cook on medium-high for about 35-45 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked.

If you prefer you can bake this at 400 F for about 30-35 minutes, or grill it for about 30 minutes.

Serve with white rice or your favorite steamed vegetables!

Enjoy!

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Cookies Strawberry Jewels

So, the other day I was sleeping on the sofa, and I thought I had heard a knock  on the door, I opened my eyes, and listen carefully to see if someone was really at the door, but I didn't hear anything so I went back to sleep..

Later than same day, I opened my door to go outside and I found a plastic bag filled with Chocolate and Vanilla cookies, and a little note! It was from our new neighbor, who had just stopped to say Hi!
So I decided to make some cookies and go introduce myself, and thank them for the cookies they left at the door! :D
So here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, soften


• 1/2 cup powdered sugar.


• 3 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 2 cups all purposed flour


• 1 teaspoon salt


• strawberry marmalade

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Mix flour and salt together, set aside.

In an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. (mix for around 3-5 minutes until you get a creamy texture)
Scrape the sides of your bowl and add the vanilla extract.

Blend in the flour and mix for another 3 minutes, until everything is combined into a soft dough.

Grab about a tablespoon of dough and with your hands roll it into a small ball, with your finger press down the center of your ball to create a small depression, place on baking sheet and continue to repeat this process.

Now it is time to fill in the cookies (the depression we created with our finger), add about 1/4 teaspoon of marmalade to each and bake for around 15-20 minutes.

You can leave the cookies like that, or you can dust them with some powdered sugar or cocoa powder!
and you are done!!

Enjoy!!

Watch my Video Recipe HERE

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Chipotle Chicken Cakes

Hi Everyone, today's recipe is going to be Chipotle Chicken cakes! This smoky recipe is very versatile, and it's perfect for entertaining, it can be served as a main dish or as a delicious appetizer, or if you want something more substantial you can even make it into a Chicken burger with fries and everything!

It's the perfect recipe to use any left over chicken and if you are entertaining, you can prepare these delicious cakes ahead of time and cook them whenever you are ready. They can be baked or fried, either way they are super tasty and super easy to make.

Serves 4 (makes 4 cakes or 12-15 small cakes for appetizers)
 Ingredients:

4 cups cooked chicken, boneless,skinless and finely chopped (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons garlic finely chopped
1/2 cup green onions, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons fresh cilantro finely chopped.
1 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs or your favorite type of bread crumbs)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3-4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
Chipotle in Adobo Sauce (as much as you want, I'm using about 2-3 tablespoons of the sauce)
Salt and Black pepper to taste
1/4 cup vegetable oil for frying (if baking, spray the cakes with cooking spray instead of the oil)

Note: I cooked the chicken in boiling salted water for about 15 minutes. To the water I added 2 bay leaves, 2 garlic cloves and a 1/4 of a small onion.  You can cook the chicken any way you want. If you have left over chicken go ahead and use that instead.

Finely chop the chicken, add 1 egg, the garlic, green onions, cilantro and 1/2 cup of Panko. (the other half is for breading).Also add 2 tablespoon of Mayo, and 2 tablespoon of the Chipotle Sauce. (if you want the cakes to be super spicy, you can also add 2 chipotle peppers finely chopped. The heat of this dish depends on you, so add as much Chipotle sauce and peppers as you like. )
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mix together, and if the chicken mix feels too dry, add another tablespoon of Mayo, we want the chicken mix to be moist  but not completely wet, we want  the chicken mix to be able to hold together during the cooking process, if it is too dry, it will come apart on your pan.

Once all the ingredients are combined, divide the chicken mix in 4 sections, start forming the cakes. (smaller cakes/sections for appetizers)

Beat the remaining egg with a little bit of water and set aside.

Flour the cakes (cover in flour), dip them in the egg wash and then onto the Panko. Make sure every cake is completely covered with the flour, egg and finally the Panko.

Keep on repeating this step until you are done.

If you have time, I recommend to refrigerate this for about 10 minutes before cooking, just so the chicken can absorb all the flavors we just added to it.  If you don't have time or if you don't want to, don't do it... the cakes will be just as good!

Heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil and cook the cakes for about 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and you are ready to serve.

(If you prefer, bake the cakes at 400° for 15 minutes or until golden brown.)

Like I said this dish is very versatile. It can be served with rice, baked or refried beans,  pasta, mash potatoes, corn on the cobb, salad, or anything else you can think of. You can even turn this cake into a burger!
Enjoy!

 

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Stuffed Chicken Breast

Today I'm bringing you another of my Mom's favorite recipes: "Stuffed Chicken Breast", I hope you like it as much as I do!

Serves 4
Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
2 sausage links (hot dog links or 1 cup of smoke ham chopped in small pieces)
3 slices of bacon
1 onion finely chopped
1 bell pepper finely chopped, any color you want.
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1/2 cup of minced black olives
1/3 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese(more if you like cheesy fillings)
1/2 cup of flour
2 cups of fresh breadcrumbs...
2 eggs
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Cooking spray

To make the fresh breadcrumbs:
4-6 slices of bread (stale bread, any kind you want)
1/2 tablespoon of fresh rosemary
1/2 tablespoon of fresh thyme
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Chop the sausage and bacon into small pieces. Set aside.

Beat the eggs together, season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Beat well and set aside.

Chop the bread in big chunks, (remove crust if you want to). Place in a Food Processor or Blender

blend together with the fresh rosemary and fresh thyme. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Blend until you get the desire texture.

Chicken: Grab a very sharp knife and start making a pocket on the thickest side of each breast, cut almost through the other side of the breast, but not all the way through. Start the pocket about 1/4 inch from the top and end it about 1/4 inch from the end.

Place the chicken and the eggs back in the refrigerator while we cook the filling.

In a large skillet heat up 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, stir in the chopped sausage and bacon, cook until brown, for about 5 minutes on medium high.
Stir in the bell pepper, onion and garlic, season with half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of ground black pepper. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes or until the onion and pepper become tender.

Turn off the heat, and stir in the chopped black olives and
shredded mozzarella. Let it cool for a bit.

Stuff the chicken pockets with the filling, add as much or as little as you want and secure the opening with a toothpick. Repeat this process until you are done.

Coat the chicken with the flour on both sides.
Dip in the egg wash, make sure the chicken is completely soak with the egg and finally coat the chicken breasts with the breadcrumbs.

Spray with cooking spray on both sides and bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked.

I served it with baby greens and white rice
and garnish with fresh parsley...and that's it enjoy!!

To  watch this video recipe click HERE!

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Fluffy Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Today I'm making Chocolate Chip Pancakes for breakfast!
I usually only have fruit for breakfast, but whenever I don't feel like eating fruit I make Pancakes! Today I'm sharing my favorite recipe with you!

Ingredients:

2 cups  all purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups of milk
1/2 tablespoon of baking soda
and a pinch of salt
plus maple syrup to serve
cooking spray for cooking

Mix all the dry ingredients together: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda an a pinch
salt.  Once all the ingredients are combined, add the milk, the eggs, and 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix well until all ingredients are incorporated

Add the chocolate chips and mix well.

Spray some cooking spray onto your pan or griddle once the griddle is hot,  start making your pancakes, make them as big or small as you want. Cook the pancakes for about 2 minutes or until
bubbles form on the surface, turn and cook for another 2 more minutes or until the pancakes are completely cooked.
 
Keep on repeating this step until you are done with the batter. Keep them warm in the oven until you are ready to serve.

Serve with a bit of butter and some maple syrup, add some fresh fruit or enjoy by themselves.

Enjoy!

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Citrus and Fresh Herbs Oven Roasted Chicken

Today I'm bringing you a special dinner to celebrate anything you want! This one is perfect for any kind of occasion, if you change the chicken for turkey, it will definitely make a terrific Thanksgiving Dinner or Christmas Dinner!

It might not be as easy as the rest of my recipes, but it is worth the extra time and effort! Your family, friends and/or guests would be very surprised with this dinner! This one is under $15 dollars, and will feed up to 6 persons! I hope you like it!
Chicken was $4.99 potatoes were .99c a pound and the corn were 3 ears $1. Herbs were 1.99 for the 3 of them.

Serves 4-6
Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary
1 1/2 tablespoons of thyme
1 tablespoon of sage
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
3 whole cloves (optional)

1/3 of cup of unsalted butter, soften
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Zest and juice of one orange
Zest and juice of one lemon
tablespoon of smoked paprika

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Optional
3 ears of yellow corn cut in quarters
1 pound of red and white potatoes cut in quarters (half a pound of each)
1 large red onion chopped in big chunks

Chop the fresh herbs, rosemary, thyme and sage.

In a bowl combine the butter with the olive oil, the fresh herbs and minced garlic. Add in the orange zest, lemon zest and 1/2 cup of orange juice plus 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Season with 1/2 tablespoon of each, salt, ground black pepper and smoked paprika. Stir everything together. Taste for flavor, add more salt and pepper if needed. Set aside.

Rinse the chicken with cold water, rinse it inside and out. Pat it dry with some paper towels.

In order to get all the flavor into the meat and not only the skin, loosen the skin from the body a little bit. Place your index finger in between the skin and the meat
and start working your way up to the neck and sides of the chicken. Push between the skin but be careful not to remove the skin or tear it apart. Continue doing this until you have loosen the skin from the whole chicken.

Using a knife, poke the chicken several times, this is just to make sure, all the flavors will be absorbed into the rest of the meat.

Rub the butter mixture under and on the skin. Make sure to massage it really well under the skin first. We want all those delicious oils from the fresh herbs and the rest of the flavors to fully impregnate the meat making it just as delicious as the skin itself. So rub the mixture under the skin really well.

Pour whatever is left on the chicken, and rub it very well on the skin
don't forget to do the back as well and also rub some of the mixture inside the chicken cavity.

Season with salt, ground black pepper and paprika, about 1/2 tablespoon of each on each side, give it one last rub. Refrigerate for 4 hours before cooking. (Overnight will be better)

Optional
This extra step takes less than 5 minutes and it will make the chicken 10 times more
delicious and juicy.

Fill the chicken cavity with one half of the orange that we used earlier, also add the remaining half of the lemon and 3 garlic cloves and if you have any left over herbs also insert them in the chicken cavity. Refrigerate for 4 hours before cooking. The flavors would be even better if you refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 400° for 30 minutes. Turn around and continue to bake for 25-30 more minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked.

If roasting potatoes and corn with the chicken
Bake the Chicken at 400° for 30 minutes. Turn around, add the potatoes, corn and onions, season with extra virgin olive oil, salt and ground black pepper. Continue to cook for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

Transfer the chicken to a serving plate, remove everything you put inside the chicken cavity: orange skin, lemon wedges, herbs, garlic, etc.

Stir (bathe) the potatoes, corn and onions in the chicken juices, then transfer to the same serving plate with the chicken and that's it, enjoy!

To watch this video recipe click HERE!

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Cheddar Biscuits!!!

I Love, like seriously, I really do love Cheddar biscuits, and I could eat them every single day of my life!! When I created this recipe I was trying to recreate Red Lobster's Garlic and Cheddar biscuits, but seriously this recipe is way better! Click HERE to watch my video recipe

makes 6-8 large biscuits!
Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour


• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese


• 3/4 cup heavy cream


• 1/3 cup butter


• 2 teaspoons baking powder


• 1 teaspoon Garlic powder


• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning


• a pinch of salt


• + 4 tablespoons of butter and 1tspn garlic powder and 1tspn Italian seasoning.

Preheat the oven at 450°F.

In an electric mixer, at slow speed, we will mix all the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.

Once all the dry ingredients are mixed together we will cut in 1/3 cup of butter and continue to mix for about a minute or so. (mix for more time if needed)  We want our dough to have the texture of coarse crumbs.

Add the heavy cream and mix together till we get a soft  yet firm dough.  Add the cheddar cheese, mix with your hands, till the cheese is completely incorporated with the dough, get ready to start forming your biscuits!

 

Just grab some of your dough and roll it with your hands into a ball.... keep doing this till you have all your biscuits ready.

In a small bowl melt 4 tablespoons of butter and add  1tspn garlic powder plus 1tspn Italian seasoning, mix together and brush your biscuits with this garlicky butter.

Bake your biscuits for around 15 to 18 minutes at 425°F

(all ovens are different, cook for longer if needed, also if you oven heats like crazy, you can cook this at 400° for 20-25 or 375°F for 22-25 min.) 

Enjoy!!!

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Peach Upside-Down Cake

Hi Everyone I just reached 200 subscribers on youtube! YAY!! To celebrate I baked this delicious and super easy to make Peach Upside-Down Cake!

Ingredients:

4-5 Large peaches
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 sticks unsalted butter, soften
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2/3 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/4 cup nut or almonds (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°.

Simmer the peaches in boiling water for 2 minutes to soften their skin. Drain and set aside to cool.

Combine cake flour, salt, nutmeg, and baking powder, mix well and set aside.

Melt 1/4 of the butter and pour it into a baking pan, tilt the pan to make sure that all the sides are covered in butter, add 3/4 of the brown sugar and spread it evenly all over the bottom of the pan. (if you are adding nuts or almonds, sprinkle them all over the brown sugar.)

Remove the skin from the peaches, and cut the peaches into 1/4 inch slices.

Arrange the peaches slices over the bottom and around the sides of the pan. Decorate the pan with the peaches any way you want it. Set aside.

In an electric mixer, cream the butter with the remaining brown sugar and granulated sugar. Blend at medium low speed for about 2 minutes or until  everything is incorporated into a creamy batter.

Add the eggs, one a time and continue to blend for another minute or until the eggs are completely blended with the rest of the batter.

Add the vanilla extract and also add 1/3 of the flour mixture.
(we are going to incorporate the flour in 3 parts. alternating between flour and liquid, to make the cake extra fluffy)

Add the orange juice and the second part of the flour mix, right after that, add the cream and the rest of the flour mixture. Beat at high speed for 2 minutes.

Spoon the batter carefully over the peaches, shake the pan a little bit to make sure the batter has settle down in the pan.

Bake at 375° for 45 to an hour or until the cake is cooked.

(to know if the cake is cooked, insert a toothpick in the center and if it comes out clean, then the cakes is ready.)

Let it cool for 15 minutes and then transfer to a plate.

And that's it, you are ready to eat!

Add some whipped cream if you like! :D

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Flour Gorditas

!!
Flour Gorditas are a very popular Mexican dish, we call this kind of food an "Antojito" or a "Crabbing", you  can find this kind of food on a food truck, or even at the most fancy Mexican restaurant.  A Gordita is similar to a South American Pupusa!  In the Mediterranean it will be known as a  Pita bread... 

In Mexico we have flour Gorditas and Corn Gorditas, both of them are delicious and the best part is that you can fill them up with anything you want.
Flour Gorditas are cooked on a griddle and Corn gorditas can be cook on a griddle or they can also be fried! My favorite are Fried Corn Gorditas! Maybe I will share the recipe soon!

Ingredients:


2 cups all purpose flour (16 ounces)
2 tablespoon vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup warm water (some times flour is drier than usual so you might need a little more water) (115°-120°)

Special equipment:





Tortilla Presser







Gordita Presser







Griddle

I'm going to be kneading my dough on my counter top, you can blend everything using an electric mixer, but I'm going to do it the way my mama does. 
Combine flour, salt and baking soda.  
Empty the flour mixture onto the counter top, and bring everything into a pile, cut in the vegetable shortening and mix with your hands until you get the texture of coarse crumbs. 

Once the vegetable shortening is completely incorporated with the flour, gradually add the warm water onto the flour to form a soft dough.
 (you will need about 1/2 to 2/3 cups of warm water)

 
Add as much water as you need to create a soft yet firm dough.
Once the dough  has the right texture, knead it for about 2 or 3 minutes. And let it rest for about 20 minutes before start making
the gorditas.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel.

To make the gorditas you will nedd a Tortilla presser, if you don't have one, you can use a rolling pin to roll out the gorditas.

 After 20 minutes you can star making your gorditas, grab a little bit of dough and roll it into a ball. The size of the gordita depends on you, you can make it as big or as small as you want.
My Gordita balls are going to be about 2 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick.  Once you have all the gordita balls, we are going to press them down with a tortilla presser. (like I said before, if you don't have one of those, you can use a rolling pin to roll out the gorditas.

 Once the gorditas are pressed they will be about twice as big. Mine are about 4 inches in diameter and about 1/2 inch think. Cook the gorditas on a hot griddle, and as soon as you set it on the griddle, place a gordita presser on top of your gordita...

I don't have a gordita presser, so I'm using a small sauce pan filled with some water to press my gorditas down.
And that's about it, cook for about 2 - 3 minutes on each side.

As soon as the gorditas are ready, we w ill cut them open.. grab a small knife, deep it in some water and start cutting your gorditas open. Slice about half way around the gordita to create a pocket. And that's it!
You are ready to fill your gorditas with your favorite filling and  eat them!! Enjoy!!!

I filled my gorditas with some shredded chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, onion and I'm going to top it all with my favorite salsa!

You can filled them with beans, meat, veggies, anything you want! Be creative and enjoy!!!

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