Pupusas

Pupusas are a Hispanic dish originating from El Salvador. This is made from corn FLOUR (NOT cornmeal) and water. People put different things in them. For my first try, I thought I'd copycat an old friend's idea of black beans and cheese. We topped it with red enchilada sauce (store-bought) and more cheese. The kids loved them.

Other toppings include:

Chicharron (cooked pork meat ground into a paste consistency)

Refried beans

Plain cheese

Many also serve pupusas with curtido, which is a fermented cabbage slaw. It may sound gross, but I hear curtido is pretty good.

Recipe:

2 cups corn flour

1 cup warm water

Mix the flour and water and knead dough. Add more water until the dough is soft and moist (but not sticky). The dough shouldn't crack when you push on it.

Shape a bit of dough into a ball, make an indent with your finger and add some filling. Close it back up and shape it into a flat disc. Cook on an ungreased skillet on med-high heat until slightly browned and blistered on both sides. 

Note that the dough gets dry quickly- so work quickly!

This is my first try ever at making these. I probably have a lot to learn about it, so if you're an expert, share the knowledge.

Aromatic Black Beans & Rice

Oh boy did this smell awesome. The spices in the recipe are an incredible combination! And I have to say that Brian is pretty reserved when it comes to dinner compliments. With this dish he said, "Marisa. This is very good." Normally it's a nonchalant, "It's good," or "It's okay."And my kids ate it up! 

Hooray!

Recipe Source: My Kitchen Cafe

*Serves 4-6

4 teaspoons olive oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 (16-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4-5 cups hot, cooked white or brown rice

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic and saute, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft and tender. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, chicken broth, thyme, bay leaf, oregano and water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a tablespoon or two of hot water to thin to desired consistency.

Stir in the fresh cilantro and season with salt and pepper; discard the bay leaf. Serve over the hot rice.

Apple Crisp

One of my friends just asked me for a good apple recipe. This is my favorite thing to make in the autumn time, so I am sharing it because Marisa said I could. ;)

Apple Crisp

4 medium cooking apples, sliced (4 cups)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup butter (softened)
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1. Heat oven to 375. Grease bottom and sides of a square pan, (8x8x2) with shortening.

2. Spread apples in the pan. Mix remaining ingredients and sprinkle over apples.

3. Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

*I use about a cup of sugar and a full stick of butter, but that is why I will never be skinny. I have also been able to make this work when I only had 2 apples. (For a Sunday dessert when I couldn't go shopping.)

Orange Chicken

A very tasty meal! We served this with brown rice and asparagus. I did not use a whole 2 pounds of chicken. I thought that was quite a lot of meat. I think I probably used about 3/4 of a lb. for the 4 of us (2 adults and a pittance from 2 kids).

Recipe source:  My Kitchen Cafe

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2″ cubes
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons oil or butter

1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons green onion
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flour, garlic powder and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.

Pour oil (or melt butter and pour) in a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine water, fresh orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest and whisk over medium heat for a few minutes. Then stir in brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onion and let it come to a boil. Combine cornstarch with water and let it dissolve and add it to the sauce until thickened.

After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour 1/2 sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes basting frequently.

Serve chicken over rice with extra sauce on the side.

Ritz Chicken Fingers

My kids don't eat meat. I mean, rather, they won't. But, this, they ate right up. A miracle, folks.

Recipe source: Cooking on Clover Lane. (I love this woman's blog.)

1 roll of Ritz crackers, crushed
1 cup of mayo
1 tsp. dried mustard
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (or one container...you know what I'm talking about...usually about 1# and 1/2.)
Smoosh the crackers and set in one bowl.
Mix the next 3 ingredients together and set in another.
Cut up chicken in strips or nuggets.
Coat chicken in mayo mixture. (I usually get lazy and just dump all the chicken in the mayo bowl and mix up good.)
Then coat chicken piece by piece in Ritz crackers...be generous...this is the best part.
Set on a WELL OILED cookie sheet. (About 2 TBS.)
Bake for 20 minutes at 350 or till done.

Katie's Kid-Friendly Pad Thai

Uh, so this is my new favorite meal. It is so delicious. And I was excited that it's vegetarian. I first had this at a good friend's baby shower-potluck.

1 Tbsp sesame oil

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb tofu, diced (or shrimp)

2 Tbsp tamari (increase this slightly)

1/3 C peanut butter (decrease this slightly)

1/4 C honey

1/8-1/4 C water

1 1/2 tsp brown rice vinegar (increase this slightly)

1 large sweet red pepper, finely diced

1 small-medium zucchini, finely diced

1/4 C peanuts, coarsely chopped

1/2 lb dry linguine, cooked

optional: chives, lime juice

Saute tofu, with salt and pepper to taste, in sesame oil until brown.  Add garlic towards the end.  (~10 minutes)  Mix tamari, peanut butter, honey, and vinegar.  Add water to thin.  Pour 1/2 of the sauce in pan with tofu, add vegetables and cook 3-5 minutes.  Add to cooked pasta, toss, and add rest of sauce and chopped peanuts.  Sprinkle with chives and fresh lime juice.

Salsa

First time I had this, my family and I finished hiking up to and touring Timp Caves (Utah). We were ultra hungry and this hit the spot. Comes from my older sister Janna.

-1 can corn niblets (there is also seasoned corn niblets which is good too)
-1 can black beans (you could add any other type of beans if you want too. I sometimes I add pinto beans)
-2 to 3 diced avocados (adding some lemon juice helps them from turning brown)
-2 to 3 diced tomatoes
 
Drain liquid from corn and beans and mix in a bowl. Dice up avocados and tomatoes and add to the corn and beans. Season with garlic salt and pepper and mix all together. You could serve them with chips or I use this recipe for tostadas. I put a small corn tortilla in the oven on broil until it is lightly brown on both sides, cool for 1 min and then add salsa mix on top of the tortilla and add feta cheese, rancho cheese or mozzarella. Serve up & Enjoy!