California Iced Tea

Thursday, August 20, 2009

We had this drink in Baltimore in May and I fell in love with it. This iced tea/lemonade mixture a nice refreshing drink on a hot day. If you want to spice it up a little, just add a shot of vodka to your glass.

You can use any type of regular tea for this recipe. I used Earl Grey Tea and it tasted great.

California Iced Tea

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemons (about 5 lemons)
4 tea bags
8 cups of water (4 c. hot and 4 c. cold)
1/2 cup sugar

Boil 4 cups of water and add tea bags. Let them sit for about 10 minutes. Remove tea bags and let tea cool.

Juice lemons and add to a big pitcher. Pour 4 cups of cold water and sugar to pitcher. Stir. When tea has cooled, add to pitcher. Refrigerate for at least an hour or until cold.

Serve with ice and a slice of lemon.

Enjoy!

Beans in Stew (Habichuelas Guisadas)

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

When my husband and I got engaged, my mother in-law invited me into her kitchen and taught me a few things about Spanish cooking. To this day, I cannot make arroz con pollo for the life of me and have not mastered making white rice. If you don't have time to make white rice or have issues like I do, purchase a rice cooker (it's my new best friend) or stop by your local Chinese restaurant and pick up a quart of rice.

Anyway, this is a great side dish to go along with chicken, steak or even pork chops.

Beans in Stew (Habichuelas Guisadas)

1 tbsp. oil - either Canola or Olive Oil
2 tbsp. Sofrito

1 envelope Sazon Goya

1 envelope/cube chicken bouillion

4 oz Goya Tomato Sauce

1 medium potato - peeled and chopped into small cubes

1 15.5 oz. can small red kidney beans - drained and rinsed

1 cup water

2 cups cooked white rice

On low heat in a medium pot, heat oil and sofrito. Add Sazon Goya and chicken bouillon - cook for about 2 minutes. Add tomato sauce and potato cubes and simmer for 2 minutes. Add beans and simmer for about 5 minutes. Raise heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover pot. Cook for about 10-15 minutes. If sauce is loose, uncover pot and cook for additional 5 minutes.

Serve over white rice.

Enjoy!

Sofrito

Sofrito... one of the staples in Spanish cooking. This was one of the first recipes my mother in-law taught me because it goes in just about EVERYTHING!! The best thing about it, once you make it, throw it in a big container and freeze it. Then, when you need it, chop off what you need and it'll thaw right in the pan.

Sofrito

2 green peppers

1 bunch cilantro

3 medium spanish onions

2 bulbs of garlic, peeled

Chop onion and garlic into chunks that will fit in a food processor or blender. Add all ingredients to blender and blend until well combined.

Pour in a freezer proof rectangular 13x9 container and cover with plastic wrap. Store in freezer.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Are you sick of just regular meatballs and spaghetti? I wanted something a little different and played with my mother's recipe of regular meatballs. This is what I came up with. For the mozzarella, you can use boccaccini mozzarella (the little balls) or you can just buy fresh mozzarella and cut it into bite size pieces.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

1 lb. ground sirloin

1/2 c Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 c parmesan romano cheese - grated

1 egg

2 tbsp grated onion

2 garlic cloves - minced

6 boccaccini fresh mozzarella cheese balls

Mix all but mozzarella in a large ball. Take about a handful of mixture and flatten it out in palm. Add mozzarella ball and form 'meatball' around cheese. You should have about 6 medium meatballs or 8 small meatballs - depending on the size you like.

Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat. Before adding meatballs to oil, wet hands with water and roll meatball with hands. I find this helps keep a tight seal and the meatballs are less likely to leak. Fry meatballs until brown and drain on paper towel.

Serve with spaghetti of choice and some sauce. Enjoy!

Santa Fe Chicken Egg Rolls

Monday, August 17, 2009

Here is another recipe I recreated from a restaurant. The combination of black beans and corn are very pleasing to the palate. This recipe makes six egg rolls - you can easily double or triple.

Santa Fe Chicken Egg Rolls

1 c. cooked and shredded chicken
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. black beans
1/4 c. frozen corn

1 package egg rolls
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Shred cooked chicken. Melt butter over low heat in small pot. Add chicken, beans and corn. Cook on low for about 5 minutes or until corn has thawed.

Take 1 egg roll wrapper and place on dry cutting board. Wet boarder of wrapper with a little water. Put 2 tbsp of filling on wrapper and add 1 tbsp of cheddar cheese. Wrap egg roll according to instructions.

Deep fry egg roll in oil until golden brown on all sides. Drain on paper towel. Serve with ranch dressing with some carrots and celery.

Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls

I love trying to re-create a meal that I've had at a restaurant. These chicken egg rolls are heaven. They are very easy to make and are very yummy. You can either boil a chicken breast with some spices or take the easy way and buy a rotisserie chicken.

Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls

1 c. cooked and shredded chicken

1 tbsp. butter

1/4 c. Texas Pete Hot Sauce

1/4 c. chopped carrots

1 package egg rolls

Crumbled blue cheese

Shred cooked chicken. Melt butter over low heat in small pot. Add chicken, carrots and hot sauce. Cook on low for about 5 minutes.

Take 1 egg roll wrapper and place on dry cutting board. Wet boarder of wrapper with a little water. Put 2 tbsp of filling on wrapper and add 1 tbsp of blue cheese. Wrap egg roll according to instructions.

Deep fry egg roll in oil until golden brown on all sides. Drain on paper towel. Serve with blue cheese dressing with some carrots and celery.