Puerto Rican Beans

I use this recipe for pinto beans, kidney beans, or any type of beans. George likes Kidney the best. Of course I owe this recipe to my mother in law. I love her dearly for her patience teaching me her wonderful recipes.


4 cups dry beans.
1 onion (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
8 cups water + more
3 TB salt

Boil beans and ingredients in water for about 3 hours till beans are almost soft. watch them and add water as it gets low.

empty water from pot and add

1 cup sofrito (recipe on this blog under seasonings/sauces)
1 can tomato juice
3 TB salt (or to taste)
4 cups water
2 packets Sazon Goya (con culantro y achiote)
1 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves
ham chunks (optional)


boil ingredients again for another hour or 2 till beans are really soft. This makes a lot of beans and I freeze leftovers in ziplock bags for future meals.

EASY VERSION::: On a busy day you can also just throw beans, sofrito, salt, sazon, oregano, bay, ham and water - into a crockpot on high and leave it for the day. (I do about 2 cups beans if I'm gonna leave it) That works great too!!!

Honey mustard chicken

6 chicken breasts/thighs
1/2 C melted butter
1/2 C honey
1/4 C prepared mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder

Do not cook chicken beforehand. Pour mix over chicken in shallow baking dish, cover with foil and bake 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours at 350.

Buca Di Peppo warm Tomato and Spinach Salad

1 red onion ( cut in wedges or slices)
4-6 roma tomatoes
16 oz fresh baby spinach
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Balsamic Vinagrette:

1/2 cup balsamic vinagrette
1 garlic clove (minced)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Place vinager, garlic, and sugar in mixing bowl, whisk rapidly by hand while drizzling in olive oil, mix well. Store in fridge until ready.

Pecans:

1 cup pecans
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Heat oven to 350. melt butter in saute pan, add sugar, cinnamon, salt, cayenne pepper & pecans. Spread pecans on cookie sheet and bake about 5-7 minutes, (watching carefully not to burn) Let cool.

1)Place Red onions and tomatoes in med glass bowl. microwave 2-3 minutes

2)Place spinach on large platter. spoon tomatoes and onion to the side of the spinach. pour dressing over spinach and lightly toss. Sprinkle salad with pecans and goat cheese.

Ham w/ Mustard Glaze

This is a nice glaze that gives the ham a a wonderful flavor without being too sweet.

(for a 10-12 lb. Ham)

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp. dry mustard
2 Tbsp. frozen fruit juice

Combine ingredients and microwave for 1 min. Glaze ham 1/2 way through cooking, and continue to baste until ham is done.

Puertorican Rice (arroz con gandules)

3 T olive oil
1/2 cup fresh or frozen Sofrito - recipe in blog under seasonings/sauces
1 packet Sazon Goya - con culantro y achiote (can be found in latin markets. orange box)
1 T salt
3/4 can tomato sauce
1 can gandules w/water (also found in latin markets)
4 cups rice
5 cups water

coat bottom of large caldero (pot) with olive oil. add sofrito, tomato sauce, fry up for a few minutes to combine. add gandules with water from can, and rice, salt, and water. Bring to boil. then turn on low, cover and simmer for 20 min. making sure to keep the lid tight.

Broiled Asparagus

This recipe is super easy and a nice twist for asparagus - my favorite veggie. It comes out tender on the inside and kind of crispy on the ends - yum!

1 bunch of asparagus
olive oil
salt
pepper

heat oven to broil. Arrange aparagus on a cookie sheet..ends pre cut. drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil for aout 10 minutes...checking often to prevent burn.

Sticky Carrot Pudding

So...I've been bugging my mom to send me her recipe for carrot pudding..it's a family recipe and is devine..she has procrastinated beyond belief..like a few years. So I decided to look for a similiar recipe and I found this one. although it doesn't compare to my moms, it was really good in a different sort of way...almost closer to carrot cake and the toffee sauce was incredilble ..I might have to substitute the sauce out for my moms.

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup boiling hot water
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teasoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamon
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup finely grated carrots
1/3 cup nuts (whatever you have on hand)

Preheat oven to 350. lightly butter 8 ramekins
soak rasins in hot water until plump, about 15 min, drain. Whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and pepper, set aside. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 min. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in vanilla, Reduce speed to low. Mix in flour mixture. Mix in carrots, nuts and raisins. Pour into ramekins filling to 3/4 full. Bake on a baking sheet until just set, about 30 min. Transfer ramekins to wire rack and let cool slightly, turn puddings into dishes. top with toffee sauce.....

Toffee Sauce:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 vanilla bean
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

melt butter in med saucepan over med heat. open and scrape vanilla seeds out of bean. add seeds, add bean, . Whisk in cream, sugar and salt. Bring to a boi, reduce heat to med-low. simmer stirring occaisionally, until mixture is thickened, about 5 min.