Puerto Rican Style Corned Beef Hash

I seriously can't get enough of this exotic cuisine!

5 Tbsp canola oil

1 potato, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup chopped onion

10 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup red bell pepper, minced

1 packet Sazon

1 packet chicken bouillon

1/4 tsp Adobo

1 8-oz. can Iberia Spanish-style Tomato Sauce

6 oz. beef broth

1 can corned beef

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

Serve with white rice.

In a non-stick large sauce pan, fry chopped potato in canola oil at medium high heat.  Once lightly browned, remove potato from pan and drain on paper towel.  Add onion, garlic, pepper, and seasonings to pan.  Cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add tomato sauce and beef broth; bring to a boil.  Add corned beef; lower heat to simmer. It will probably be necessary to break up beef with fork.  Cover and cook at least 15 minutes.  Stir in potato and green onion; cook additional 5 minutes. 

Buen Provecho!

Basic Pizza Dough

We make this dough almost weekly!

1 tsp. instant or active dry yeast

1-1/2 c warm water

4 c. all purpose flour or you can do half white and half whole wheat flour

1 tsp. salt

1/3 c olive oil

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.

Note: it’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

When you are ready to make the pizza, grab HALF the pizza dough (recipe makes 2 crusts) and squeeze the dough toward the bottom to form a nice, tight, pulled ball. You can roll out the pizza with a rolling pin if you’d like, but sometimes it’s just as easy to throw it around and pull and stretch till it feels right. And when the crust is nice and thin, lay it on an oiled baking sheet or pizza pan. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and spread it with your fingers. Very lightly sprinkle some salt on the crust.

Top your crust with your toppings of choice. Then bake for 15 to 17 minutes at 500 F., or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.

For the NY style baked pizza dough in pic above:
I preheat oven to 500 F. with the pizza stone heating and then when it's very hot, evenly with metal spatula, evenly coat stone with corn meal and skip oiling process above.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe is so easy and kid friendly!

1 lb. cooked chicken, cubed

3 c. of your preferred veggies( I use carrots, potatoes, peas, green beans and corn the most)

1 can of chicken broth

flour

butter

Pillsbury pie crusts

Boil chopped carrots and potatoes. At the same time, sautee 1 medium onion and a couple sticks of celery in a generous amount of butter.  Add flour little by little to make almost a paste in your saute pan. Whisk in chicken broth (about 1-2 cups).  Let broth simmer while putting chicken (I used a rotisserie one) in the bottom of a already made pie crust. 
Dump in frozen veggies.  Pour some sauce over.  Add carrots and potatoes.
Pour rest of sauce over everything. Put the other pie crust on top. 
Bake at 375 for about 35 minutes give or take.

Tortilla Espanola

(This recipe can be adjusted according to the size of your frying pan.  This is for a 12 inch pan.)

3 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced1 small onion, diced6 eggsSalt and pepper to taste 

Olive oil for frying (NOT vegetable oil)

Mostly cover the bottom of a frying pan in olive oil.  Heat on medium.  Add potatoes and onions.  Cook thoroughly and stir as needed with a spatula (20 min).  Add salt & pepper to taste.  Remove potatoes/onions from pan and put in a separate bowl.  Don't need to be super careful about draining potatoes well (of the oil).  Drain oil from frying pan, but don't wipe clean.  In another bowl, beat eggs until frothy.  Add eggs to potatoes.  Stir just til potatoes are coated.  Heat about a tbsp. more of oil on medium heat in frying pan.  Pour mix into frying pan.  Cook 3-4 min. on first side until eggs are mostly cooked.  Place plate over frying pan.  Here's the fun part!!!  Flip tortilla over onto plate and slide uncooked side back into pan.  Cook about 3 min or until tortilla is cooked through.  Slice into pie wedges.  Serve immediately.  Chill remaining tortilla and eat leftovers either chilled or reheated. 

Pasta Bake

Okay, these pasta bake instructions are amazing!  

I got the recipe from the Food Network magazine for this month and it is to die for and full of fresh goodness!

Rich and Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

I made this amazing recipe last night and am thrilled it turned out so good!  

It's also delicious with a pastry puff added on top. 

Now I don't have to go to my favorite Italian restaurant for my favorite soup!!

4 tomatoes, seeded and diced (if you don't use the freshest tomatoes it is best to use 2 cans of diced tomatoes)
4 c. tomato juice
14 leaves of fresh basil
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. butter
salt and pepper to taste

Place tomatoes and tomato juice in a stock pot over medium heat.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Puree the tomatoe mixture along with the basil leaves, and return the puree to the stock pot.  Place the pot over medium heat, and stir in the heavy cream and butter.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat, stirring until the butter is melted.  Do not boil.

French Dipped Sandwiches with Au Jus

Is there a more basic yet delicious sandwich than this?!

I always feel guilty when I make these because they are so good but almost effortless to make!

1 lb. beef, thinly sliced from the deli

4-6 french bread or hoagie rolls

1 packet of Au Jus sauce

1/2 lb. swiss cheese

Toast rolls in oven, open faced with swiss.  Follow packet Au Jus sauce instructions on the stove, when hot add beef to sauce.  Assemble sandwiches with Au Jus served on the side for yummy dipping!!

Breaded Pork Chops with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

My family loves it when I make these!

6 pork chops
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
2 eggs, beaten
¼  cup all-purpose flour
2 cups Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
½  cup milk
⅓ cup white wine


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste.  Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl. Dredge the pork chops lightly in flour, dip in the egg, and coat liberally with bread crumbs.  Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side, or until the breading appears well browned.  Transfer the chops to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and cover with foil.  Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.  While baking, combine the cream of mushroom soup, milk and white wine in a medium bowl.  After the pork chops have baked most of the way, cover them with the soup mixture.  Replace foil, and bake for another 15 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 150 F. (will reach a perfect 160 F. after it is pulled out).

Indian Fry Bread (for navajo tacos)

Navajo tacos are my favorite meal at the Olson's house when we visit Utah! This is a quick recipe; and Sometimes, when we don't have time, I put a couple cans of chili on the stove and start making this dough!

4 c. flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. powdered milk
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. hot water

Stir dry ingredients together, mix in water and knead until soft (5 minutes). Squeeze off a golfball size piece and roll it out flat. Cook in hot oil (canola is best), turn once, until golden on both sides. We put chili, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, sliced olives, salsa and sour cream on our Navajo tacos.

My Mother-in-law gave me this amazing recipe!

N'Orleans Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Pasta

This is an amazing recipe!

2-4  skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

12 oz.  linguine, cooked al dente

6 tsp.  cajun seasoning

4 tbsp.  butter

1  bunch of green onions, thinly sliced

1 1/2- 2 c.  heavy whipping cream

4 tbsp.  sun-dried tomatoes, julienne cut

1/2 tsp  salt

3/4 tsp.  dried basil

3/8 tsp.  black pepper

3/8  tsp. garlic powder

3/4 c.  parmesan cheese, grated 

Cajun Seasoning Recipe:

2 tsp. white pepper

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. black pepper

Place chicken and cajun seasoning in a bowl and toss to coat.  In a large skillet over medium heat, saute chicken in butter until chicken is tender and fully cooked, about 5-7 minutes.  Reduce heat add green onion, heavy cream, tomatoes, basil, salt, garlic powder, black pepper and heat through.  Pour over hot linguine and toss with parmesan for about 5 minutes on low heat.

*We make ours a little differently, I use olive oil instead of butter and used extra cajun seasoning to the chicken for extra kick.  I love the the taste of sauted scallops so I added it in with the chicken towards the end instead of adding into the sauce, and I did half shrimp and half chicken.   So yummy!!

Lasagna

Our favorite lasagna recipe!  
It's also very easy to add in your favorite vegetables.

1 box of lasagna (I like Barilla)

2 jars of spaghetti sauce (we use Prego tomato basil)

1 pound of bulk Italian sausage or ground beef, cooked and drained

1 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese

4 c. mozzarella, shredded

1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions, drain and separate. Combine cooked meat and 1 1/2 jars of sauce in a large saucepan. Combine eggs, ricotta, 3 1/2 c. mozzarella and parmesan cheese in large bowl. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 3/4 c. sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Place 5 lasagna noodles over the bottom, slightly overlapping. Spread half of the cheese mixture over noodles and cover with 1/2 of the meat sauce. Repeat layers. Cover last layer with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8

Poppy Seed Chicken

I'll never forget the time my friend Kimberly brought this delicious dish over to my house after having my child.
This is so easy and yummy!

6-8 chicken breasts
1 1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tubes Ritz crackers crushed
1 can of cream of chicken
2 cubes of butter
1 Tbsp poppy seeds


Jasmine white rice

Wrap chicken breasts in foil and bake at 350 for 45 min. After chicken is baked cut it in small pieces and place in the bottom of a 9x13in casserole dish. Mix cream of chicken with sour cream and spread over the chicken. Melt butter in a bowl and add poppy seeds and Ritz crackers spread over chicken. Bake for 30 minutes.


We like to eat it with Jasmine rice prepared as directed.

Green Chicken Enchiladas

My family loves Mexican food what can I say?!

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can olives, sliced

4 oz. canned green chilies

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 pint sour cream

1-2 c. Monterrey jack cheese (we like ours smothered)

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

8-inch flour tortillas
28 oz. can of green chile enchilada sauce

salsa

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix soups, chicken, chilies, onion, olives, sour cream, half the can of enchilada sauce and cheese together to make a thick sauce, in large sauce pan. Dip tortillas in sauce on both sides. Scoop chicken mix into tortillas and roll up. Place filled tortillas in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Repeat until pan is filled. Add any extra sauce you'd like and smother the tops of enchiladas with cheese. Bake 25-35 minutes.

Serves 6-8

Cafe Rio Salad

This is a recipe for one of my favorite places to eat in Utah when we visit. I've worked my tail off in search for the perfect copycat and LOVED these!  If you've never had Cafe Rio, you'll fall in love with this recipe!

Cafe Rio pork

3 lbs pork roast (shoulder or butt)
16 oz chunky salsa
1 can coke
2 cup brown sugar
Place pork in crock pot and fill half way up the side of the pork with water. Cook on high for 4 hours. drain water. Cut pork into thirds, then mix sauce (coke, brown sugar, and salsa) and pour on top. Cook 4 more hours on low. shred pork. Mix back in with sauce if you want it saucy or not.

Click on the links for recipes:

Cafe Rio lime-rice

Dressings:
Cilantro-Lime vinaigrette
Cafe Rio creamy cilantro tomatillo salad dressing 

Black Beans
(I just use a can of black beans without anything else, but this recipe is good too)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 cup tomato juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

burrito

tortilla
rice beans
pork
shredded cheese
any other toppings wanted
roll it up

(I found a chicken recipe if you would like to substitute chicken instead of pork) 
Cafe Rio Chicken
1 small bottle of kraft zesty italian dressing
1 tbs chili powder
1 tbs cumin
3 cloves garlic-minced
5 lbs chicken breast

Cook all together in a crockpot for 4 hours on high, shred, then cook for an additional 1 hour.

salad- order of assembly
tortilla - I use the land o lake brand of uncooked flour tortillas from costco or sams. They are awesome and taste like cafe rio's homemade tortillas

shredded colby and monterray jack cheese
rice
beans
pork
lettuce
pico de gallo - [or chopped tomatoes, diced onions, cilantro, lime juice]
guacamole
feta cheese crumbles
cilantro
lime wedge (or lime juice)
tortilla strips (I just made my own by baking a finely shredded tortilla until crispy)
cilantro tomatillo dressing

ENJOY!

Gingers Famous Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

This is a big favorite in my house, hope you enjoy it!!

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves-cut into cubes
6 tablespoons butter, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 pound fettuccine pasta
1 onion, diced
1 (8 ounce) package sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup flour
1 tablespoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 cups milk
1 cup half and half
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces shredded Colby-Monterrey Jack cheese
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup sour cream

In a large skillet over medium heat combine chicken, 2 tablespoons butter, garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside. Set aside. melt 4 tablespoons butter in the skillet. Saute onion, 2 tablespoons garlic and mushrooms until the onions are transparent. Stir in flour, salt and pepper, cook 2 minutes. Slowly add milk and half and half, stir until smooth and creamy. Stir in Parmesan and Colby-Monterrey Jack cheeses, stir until cheese is melted. Stir in chicken mixture, tomatoes and sour cream.

Stuffed Zucchini

Yummy yummy yummy!

6 zucchinis

4 Italian sausages or 1 lb. ground beef (we like Kielbasa in this recipe)

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp. white wine or cooking wine

1/4 tsp. Italian herb seasonings

1 egg

1/2 c. grated mozzarella

1/4 c. grated parmesan

salt and pepper

oil 

optional:

fresh basil and/or oregano

Slice zucchinis in half lengthwise.   Use spoon and scoop out insides leaving the zucchinis about 1/4 inch thick.  Sprinkle the insides of zucchini with some salt to draw out excess moisture.   Chop the scooped zucchini insides and set aside.  Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in skillet over medium high heat.  Brown sausage or ground beef

and break it up into small pieces.  Remove from heat and put into a mixing bowl and set aside.  In skillet , add chopped zucchinis, drained tomatoes, garlic, white wine, Italian herb mix, add salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until all of the moisture has absorbed.  Mix in the browned sausage and wait until the filling has cooled.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Drain any moisture that may have come out of the filling before mixing in the cheese and egg.  Also, drain any moisture that has been drawn out of zucchinis.  Mix the egg and cheese into the filling and scoop generously into zucchinis. Bake for about 20 minutes until the zucchini has softened  .

We serve ciabatta rolls with it!

Carne Asada Marinade

This is the best marinade ever!  I just made this this yesterday and finally got to have it for dinner!

  It takes a little work but it's well worth it.  

It makes a lot!

3/4 c. orange juice

1/2 c. lemon juice

1/3 c. lime juice

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c. soy sauce

1 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. paprika

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tbsp. black pepper

1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 c. olive oil

3 lbs. flank steak, sliced

Combine the orange, lemon, and lime juice in a large bowl along with the garlic, soy sauce, chili powder, ground cumin, paprika, oregano, black pepper, and cilantro.  Whisk in the olive oil until marinade is combined.  Remove one cup of marinade, cover and refrigerate for after the meat is cooked.

Fork steak (for the marinade to absorb).  Put steak and marinade in a large 1 gallon freezer bag and allow to marinate for 24 hours.

Preheat grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.  Grill to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium rare.  Discard used marinade.  Pour the one cup of reserved, unused marinade over the hot meat and serve. 

Stuffed Peppers

This is so good and can be made surprisingly quick!

4 Bell peppers, hollowed out

1 box of spanish rice (we use Near East) and follow package instructions

1/2 - 1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained

1/2 c. grated cheese

1 sm. can of tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 350 F. One rice is finished cooking and you've browned and drained your beef, mix them together.  Stuff peppers with mixture then sprinkle cheese over the tops of each pepper.  Neatly top with tomato paste and bake for 25 minutes.  Voila!!

Teriyaki Chicken

A great, easy recipe to make in a dutch oven while camping. The cheater's version is to buy a really good teriaki sauce ( Very Very Teriyaki)and use it instead of all the ingredients below... except the chicken.

10 chicken thighs
1 c. soy sauce
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. mirin (Japanese rice wine)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. freshly shredded ginger

I love adding chile oil or red chile rooster sauce for a kick!

Combine all ingredients into large pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover then reduce heat and allow to simmer until the liquid becomes concentrated( about 30 minutes). Take the chicken out of the pot while still hot. The remaining liquid can be used as gravy if desired or you can freeze it. Serve it with a good sticky rice (we sometimes just use regular brown or white 15 minute jasmine rice). You can also make it spicey by adding Duck Chile Sauce.

Gregory's Hot Jambalaya

One of the tastiest meals you will ever eat!

Seasoning mix: 

4 bay leaves

1 t. salt

1 t. white pepper

1 t. dry mustard

1 t. cayenne pepper

1/2 t. cumin

1/2 t. black pepper

1/2 t. dried thyme

4 T. margarine

6 oz. smoked ham, diced (we use a large 12 oz. Kielbasa sausage instead of using ham)

6 oz. smoked sausage, diced

1 1/2 c. chopped onions

1 1/2 c chopped celery

1 c. chopped bell pepper

1 1/2 t. garlic, minced

2 c. uncooked rice

4 c. chicken stock

Combine seasoning mix in small bowl, set aside. Melt margarine in large heavy skillet over high heat. Add ham and sausage (or just the Kielbasa), cook 5 minutes while stirring. Add onions, celery, peppers, seasoning mix, and garlic. Stir well, and cook until browned, 10-12 minutes. Scrape pan bottom well. Stir in rice and cook 5 minutes. Add stock and stir well. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until rice is tender. About 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy!