Cuban Style Black Beans

Cuban style black beans using the stove top pressure cooker or an Instant Pot are soooooo easy to make. 

Thanks to my friend Nydia for asking me to write this down, and sharing her photos!

Ingredients:

• 1 LB bag of dry black beans (rinsed, do not soak overnight)
• Water 
• 1 Green bell pepper- cut into quarters and dice 3/4 of it.  Cut the other quarter into 3 chunks.
• 1 large onion (softball size)- cut into quarters and dice 3/4 of it.  Cut the other quarter into 3 chunks.
• 1 head of garlic
• 3-4 dry bay leaves
• 4-6 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp white granulated sugar 
• 6-8 tbsp olive oil
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp Cumin powder 
• 1/4 cup dry oregano

Instructions:

Open and pour dry beans into pot.  Inspect for any stones or debris.  Rinse with cold water 3-4 times to get rid of any dirt and sand.   Water may be a little dark (that's okay), but make sure there's no dirt floating around. After rinsing the beans pour enough water into the pot to reach the halfway mark.  If you double this recipe in the future do not ever have a pressure cooker  more than 3/4 full.  The contents will expand and it could explode.  You don't want that!

Throw in 1/4 of an onion cut into large chunks, 1/4 bell pepper  cut into chunks, Garlic powder,  cumin, bay leaves,  and 3 cloves of garlic crushed.  These items are your aromatics.  They can be discarded after you cook or left in the soup in their chunky  glory.  Stir.

Cover the pot with the pressure cooker lid.  If cooking on a stovetop pressure cooker set burner to high.   The pressure is much higher and the cook time is less.  Once the pot has pressurized  (made crazy sounds) cook for 20 minutes.

In an electric pressure cooker  (i.e. instant pot) press  manual  button and set timer for 25 minutes.  If you want to eat the beans sooner and don't mind a more liquid broth set time to 30 minutes for a softer bean. 

While beans are cooking place a sauté pan with olive oil on low heat.  As the oil warms up add the remaining onion, bell pepper,  and garlic finely diced. Then add dry oregano, 1 tsp of salt and black pepper to taste.   Cook on low heat until onions are soft and translucent.  This stuff actually tastes amazing on toast... so if you need a snack try it!

When your timer goes off:

• Stove top cooker: take pot off burner, place in sink, and run very cold water over the pot.  This will help the pot to release pressure more quickly  Once pressure is gone remove lid.  Wipe water off bottom and sides of pot with a towel and  place back on burner (medium heat) without lid. 

• Instant pot: do quick release and open pot when depressurized (can take up to 20 mins).  Remove lid carefully.   Press cancel button and then press sauté button to continue cooking beans. 

Look at the consistency of the beans. You can add more liquid if needed If you prefer beans that are more brothy.  If you like a thicker/viscous broth don't add more liquid, as the beans will thicken as you continue to cook uncovered.

At this point add 4 tbsp of red wine vinegar and sugar.   Add 1 tbsp salt.  Add the sautéed vegetable mixture.   Stir and taste.  Cuban beans should have a sharp acidic flavor in the background.   If you need to make the broth taste more sharp add more vinegar.  If it's  too acidic add a bit more of the sugar.   Increase salt and  black pepper as needed.  Once you have the flavor you like cook uncovered until you reach desired consistency.   I usually cook for an additional  hour stirring occasionally.  If the beans start to get too thick you can add some water... if you do this you may need to re-season to taste.

Once beans are at your desired consistency turn off burner/instant pot and cool down before storing.

Serves 8

Keeps in fridge 1 week 

Freezes very well for 6 months! 

**If planning to freeze double the recipe and freeze in quart size freezer bags! 

Irish Car Bomb Cake

Every year for his birthday my husband asks that I make him Irish car bomb cake.  This is the recipe we love because it's not a chocolate cake base, and uses a cake mix and lots of booze!  The link to the original recipe is here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/218743/boozy-irish-cake/.  Mostly I am posting this here so I don't lose the recipe.  It's that good!

Boozy Irish Cake
Recipe By:CinfulySwt

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) package French vanilla cake mix
10 1/2 tablespoons water
3/4 cup Irish whiskey, divided
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar

1 (15 ounce) can dark Irish stout beer (such as Guinness(R))
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur (such as Baileys(R))

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake pans.
Place the cake mix into a large mixing bowl. Pour the water into a 2-cup measure, and add enough Irish whiskey to total 1 1/3 cup of liquid (about 10 1/2 tablespoons). Reserve remaining whiskey. Beat the whiskey and water mixture, vegetable oil, and eggs with an electric mixer on low speed just until cake mix is moistened; increase speed to medium, and beat until the batter is smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour batter into the prepared cake pans.

Bake in the preheated oven until the cakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

While the cake is baking, pour remaining Irish whiskey (about 1 1/2 tablespoon) into a saucepan, and stir in 1/4 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, until sugar has dissolved; boil until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
When cakes are done baking but still hot, poke holes all over the cakes (the end of a chopstick works well for this) and drizzle the whiskey syrup into the holes. Return the cakes to the oven, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
Remove cakes from oven, allow to cool in pans for 15 minutes, then remove from pans to finish cooling on wire racks.

To make caramel sauce, mix the Irish stout beer with 1/2 cup of sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer the mixture until thickened, about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, and allow to cool.
To make frosting, beat 1 cup of softened butter in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, then gradually beat in confectioners' sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time. Beat in salt, then add the Irish cream liqueur, beating until the frosting is light and fluffy.

To assemble the cake, place a layer onto a cake serving dish; pour the Irish stout caramel over the first layer, allowing the caramel to drip down the sides of the layer. Place the 2nd cake layer on top, and top with the buttercream, swirling the frosting into decorative waves. Do not frost sides of cake.

Tomasita’s Torticas de Morón

Tomasita’s Torticas de Morón

 

On December 25, 2004 I was invited to Abuela Tomasita’s kitchen where she taught me how to make her famous torticas de Morón.  I felt very privileged to have this opportunity as she closely guarded this particular recipe.  Abuela had me sit as I took notes in my green notebook, and showed me how she made the cookies directly on her kitchen table.  She didn’t use a recipe (she had it memorized), used a coffee mug to measure, and mixed the dough with her bare hands. 

These tasty sugar cookies were originally created in the city of Morón, in the province Ciego de Ávila in Central Cuba. Abuela came from a family of bakers, so it can be assumed that this was something that her family baked for the family business.  She would often make huge batches of these cookies and give them as gifts for Christmas.  I am sure that Abuela Tomasita would be happy to know that we are still enjoying her cookies during the Christmas season.

 

Picture of my Abuela Tomasita with my niece Danielle on November 5, 2005

Ingredients:

·       1 ½ Lb. (24 oz) of white granulated sugar

·       1 Lb. of Vegetable Shortening (such as Crisco)

·       3 egg yolks

·       1 pinch baking powder

·       2-3 coffee cups of flour

·       Sprinkles, sanding sugar, or white sugar (to decorate)

·       *1/2 teaspoon salt (Annette’s addition)

·       *1 tsp vanilla extract (Annette’s addition)

·       Line cookie sheets with 3 layers of brown paper bags and newspaper cut to fit

 

Directions:

Create a mound of sugar (reserve at least a cup to add as needed) with a hole in the middle of your work surface.  Put half the can of vegetable shortening in the center of the ring of sugar.  Add the three egg yolks, baking powder, vanilla, and salt.  Start mixing by hand, keep one hand clean so you can slowly add other ingredients.  Once the ingredients are mixed start slowly adding at least two cups of flour.  You want to achieve a soft almost playdough texture.  

 

You will now form the dough into small balls.  Take a tablespoon of dough and form the dough into a golf ball size ball.  Place the balls either on a cookie sheet or in a container.  Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or freeze up to a month.  

When you are ready to bake preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line pans with paper and newspaper, you will want at least three layers to absorb the oil from the cookies as they bake. 

The balls never get too solid, so when you are ready take them out of the cold and dip the top of each ball in sprinkles, and place on your lined cookie sheet.  Even though the dough is formed into small balls they will flatten out as they bake.  If you flatten them now they will melt in the oven and make a puddle.  Lower oven temperature to 300 and bake until the tops of the cookies look cracked and lightly browned 40-45 minutes. 

 

 

Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:
3 cups old fashioned oats
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar stevia
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped cashews
2 tsp baking powder
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1tbsp vanilla extract

**coconut oil to grease muffin tins, or you can use cupcake liners.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix all wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine and mix thoroughly.

Recipe makes 12 muffins, scoop batter into a well greased tin using the 1/4 cup measuring cup. And bake for thirty minutes

Chicken Sliders

The idea for chicken sliders came about when I was thinking of a cooked meal I could make for my son that I could freeze, and have ready in a few seconds after a quick defrost in the microwave.  So voila, the idea for homemade chicken sliders came about.  I ground the meat for these sliders at home, so there's no ammonia or pink goop in them.  There's no salt and can be frozen so they're great for babies.  However, these sliders taste awesome to my adult palette, and would be a fantastic appetizer If served with a dip, or served on a cute Hawaiian bun with some toppings would be an awesome little meal.

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts, partially defrosted

1 small onion chopped

3 medium carrots 

1 cup of cooked white rice (brown rice, quinoa, or cooked barley would work well)

1 egg

1 tsp garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt (optional)

Directions:

Break the carrots into small chunks and place in food processor.  Pulse carrots until they're chopped, and place in a bowl. Repeat this step for onion, or chop by hand.  Place veggies in a bowl.

Cut the still partially frozen chicken into large chunks, and place in food processor.  Pulse for about 15 seconds and scrape sides of bowl.  Pulse for ten more seconds or until chicken looks crumby (you want to avoid making chicken paste). Scrape sides of food processor and place the chicken in same bowl as veggies.

Add egg, spices, and rice to chicken and veggie mixture.  Mix with a spatula until combined.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.  After time has passed, divide mixture in bowl into four sections.  Take about a tablespoon and a half of the mixture and roll into a small ball.  Squish the ball flat into a patty and place on a plate.  You should be able to make 7 patties per section (about 28 total patties).

Pour about a tsp of olive oil in a sauté pan and heat on high.  Place about six to seven patties in the pan and brown.  Flip the patties, drop the heat to low, and cover sauté pan.  Cook patties until they reach internal temperature of 165 degrees.  Place cooked patties on a plate. Wipe pan with paper towel before sautéing each batch of patties in a fresh teaspoon of oil.

 If not serving immediately allow patties to cool down, and place in a large freezer bag and freeze for later use.

Serve with ketchup, BBQ sauce, or spicy mustard.

Thanksgiving Stuffing...Cuban style!

This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe found in an ancient 1950's Cuban cookbook by Nitza Villapol called "Cocina Criolla."  I actually bought the edition that's being sold on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cocina-Criolla-Nitza-Villapol/dp/0681265558, but it's missing this recipe.  My mother would always reference this book whenever she made certain dishes, and Cuban women of her generation all knew Villapol as she could be likened to the Julia Child of Cuba.  

These days Thanskgiving is usually celebrated at my sister's house, with all of the major dishes split up amongst different relatives.  I have been making this particular stuffing since I was in high school, as it is usually my assigned job.  A few other people have tried to duplicate this stuffing, but supposedly it doesn't come out the same way.  I think it's just an excuse to not have to chop all those veggies, which is the most intense thing about making this dish.  Here's the recipe so you can give it a whirl.  

Below is my version which I am making for a HUGE Thanksgiving celebration with about 30-40 people, so if you're making it for a much smaller group you'll have to shrink the recipe accordingly.

Ingredients:

4 bags of Pepperidge farms bread cubes (2 cubed, 2 crushed)

4 sticks of unsalted butter

4 tablespoons of olive oil

3 pounds of ham (ground in a food processor, low sodium, any type of non-sweet ham.  I used Serrano for this recipe)

1 bottle of pear nectar

4 cups of milk (any kind will work)

1 bottle of pear nectar (if you can't find any, use unfiltered apple juice)

4 apples ( a sweet variety, these were gala) these were peeled and chopped into large cubes the size of dice.

1 cup of raisins

8 oz slivered almonds without the skin (I'm actually allergic to almonds  and sometimes leave it out)

4 onions finely diced

8-10 carrots finely diced

6 stalks of celery finely diced

1 1/2 heads of garlic finely chopped

***Salt, pepper, garlic powder (only as needed, I didn't have to add any as I thought the seasoning in the bread cubes and salt content of the ham was perfect.)

I needed to use two large pots to cook this amount of stuffing.  After I finished cooking it, I let it cool down, and then loaded the stuffing into 4 large gallon freezer bags which I labeled and placed flat in the freezer so I could transport it to Miami (a four hour drive from Orlando).  

In each pot I poured two tablespoons of olive oil and one stick of butter. And let the butter melt over low heat while I chopped all the veggies in a food processor.  I divided all of the veggies (onions, garlic, carrots, celery) evenly between the two pots, and raised the heat to medium to sauté until the onions were translucent.  As the veggies cooked, I noticed the pot was looking dry so I added half of a stick of butter to each pot.  I then cut up the ham in large cubes, ground the ham in the food processor, and split it evenly between the two pots.  I then added the raisins to both pots, and began peeling and chopping the apples into large cubes and added it to the pots.  

I stir the mixtures in both pots, and add the remaining sticks of butter evenly to both pots.  I do. Not allow the apples to cook very much, as I want them to keep some of their density.  I then add the almonds (these are optional, I usually don't add the as I am allergic to almonds).  

Now it's time to add the bread cubes (one bag of crushed and one bag of cubed to each pot).  I mix the bread and the ham mixture together with a very heavy wooden spoon, and begin adding equal parts milk and pear nectar.  The amounts of liquid mentioned above are only estimates as you're looking for a particular consistency to the stuffing.  I know this sounds gross, but the consistency you want is that of raw meatball or meatloaf mix...really dense , and the breaking should have absorbed all of the liquid and have melded with the meat and veggie mixture.  Some yars I feel as though I'm over doing it with the nectar  and milk, or it just tastes too sweet or too salty, so I will sometimes replace the liquid with water.  You will need to just taste a lot during this last step, this would also be a great time to check the seasoning of your mixture and add any salt, pepper, garlic powder that you feel is necessary.

Turkey Zucchini Greek-style Tacos

So what do you make when the AC is busted, and the temperature in your home is 90 degrees?  No, you don't start a boy band, you make these Greek-esque tacos.  

For t sauce:

1 English cucumber peeled, seeded, and finely diced or shredded

1 cup of unflavored yogurt (you can use low fat or Greek style)

6-8 cloves of garlic finely minced (you can increase or decrease the garlic)

Kosher salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Fresh dill finely chopped (this can be optional)

Combine all ingredients, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour (overnight preferred).

For the filling:

1 LB ground turkey or chicken

2 zucchini diced

1 onion finely diced

1 tomato finely diced

1 tbsp Olive oil

2 tbsp garlic powder

1tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

1/4 cup white wine

*1 tsp dried oregano (optional)

*lemon juice (optional)

In a large sauté pan heated to medium-high heat add olive oil and sauté the onions, zucchini, and tomato.  As vegetables become soft add spices and stir.  As the veggies start to change color, push to side of pan, raise heat to high, and add turkey or chicken.  Allow meat to brown, and then stir with vegetables. Continue to stir, and drop heat to medium, and add wine.  Cover, and allow to cook for about five to ten minutes. After this time,check to make sure meat is cooked, turn off heat and add lemon juice.  

Serve in a flour tortilla, garnished with fresh tomato slices, and tsatziki sauce.

Cuban Style Lentils with Smoked Pork

Yummy lentils are super quick to cook in a pressure cooker and one serving provides 15% of your needed amount of iron and 8grams of protein.

Chicken Florentine

I remember a million years ago when I was a kid Italian restaurants would carry a dish called Chicken Florentine...essentially it was fettuccini Alfredo tossed with spinach and grilled chicken.  It's probably not very Italian, but it is really good. I think the last time I had it, or even seen it on a menu was probably early 2000.  Today I decided to make it, and damn was it good.  If even say it was the best pasta fish I have EVER made, aside from my awesome pea pesto spaghetti.

Ground chicken quesadilla & chopped salad

The salad has a base of spring mix (50% spinach 50% spring mix) with various veggies on top.  Today I put some diced tomato, diced cucumber, diced onion, and corn.  I also added sliced hard boiled egg and a swirl of Rooster sauce.  

The quesadilla had some leftover ground chicken that I had cooked the night before with some chili powder, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper.  I also added diced onion and green bell peppers and a bit of BBQ sauce.  

I warmed up two corn tortillas in a pan, and added a tbsp of shredded reduced fat cheese added the leftover meat and some spinach leaves and more cheese.  I topped this with the other tortilla.  I allowed the cheese to melt and flipped the quesadilla.  unfortunately the non stick coating in my pan has worn out so my quesadilla got stuck and somewhat fell apart, but it was amazing nonetheless.   I cut it in half and served with the salad.

You can also drizzle any dressing you like or top with salsa and sour cream.

Ridiculously easy Granola and it's low-fat too!

I found the inspiration for this recipe from this Bon a petit recipe.  However, I've made quite a few changes that reduce the fat and sugar content.  

www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/06/everyday_granola

Ingredients:

• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup coarsely chopped cashews
• 3 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

**original recipe calls for pecans, but I only had cashews on hand, and these are lower in fat anyway.  Also, recipe called for unsweetened coconut, which unless you want to make a special trip to Whole Foods or an Asian grocery it is per hard to find.  So I didn't add it, and you know what, coconut is about ten grams of ft per serving....so that also lowers the fat content as well.

• 
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 300°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. Mix first 7 ingredients in large bowl. 
  
  
  Stir honey and oil in saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture; toss. 
  
  
  Spread on prepared sheet. Bake until golden, stirring every 10 minutes, about 25-30 minutes. 
  
  
  Store in airtight container.
  
  

1 serving=1/4 cup (20 servings per batch). Nutrition info is below (I calculated it using spark people).

**Original recipe says to add 1cup of any dried fruit after the granola cools, I did not (this decreases the sugar content quite a bit.  However, if you go for the fruit I still think 1 cup is over kill. Try 1/3 cup of craisins, raisins or chopped dates instead.

Original recipe: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/06/everyday_granola#ixzz2ZobtGP00

Before placing granola in oven:

After taking granola out of oven:

This was after 25 mins stirring every ten minutes.

And now for the food porn...

Verdict...it is super tasty and crunchy.  You can eat it solo, sprinkle over yogurt, or make your own fancy breakfast cereal and mix it it with Cheerios or cornflakes.

1 serving=1/4 cup (20 servings per batch)

I

Peach and cream cheese stuffed waffles

Freshly made waffles with cream cheese and fresh peaches.  This would be even better had the cream cheese been sweetened with some honey.