Green Bell Peppers Stuffed with Rice and Ground Beef ( Ajies Rellenos con Arroz y Picadillo)

Bell peppers, green, red yellow or orange can be stuffed with pretty much anything you like; chicken, beef, pork meat, sausage, chorizo, ham etc. This recipe is stuffed with white rice and ground beef Cuban style. There are many ways to make these, some people stuff them with the rice and beef raw and allow them to cook in the sauce, but I cheated a bit and cooked the rice and beef first and then stuffed them. Then I placed them in a pot with a tomato based sauced and let them simmer for 20 minutes in low heat.



Ingredients

One whole stuffed pepper should be about 1 serving, so make one for each guest.
 4 whole bell peppers (the color of your choice)
1 pound of ground beef ( or any meat you prefer)
1 whole medium size red or yellow onion
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
2 culantro leaves
1/2 cup of dry cooking wine
8 ounce can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup of mojo criollo (spanish marinade, if available)
1 Tbsp of complete seasonin ( Sazon completa- If not available, use any meat seasoning mix)
1/4 cup of chopped garlic

Season the meat with the spanish marinade, seasoning mix, and add the chopped cilantro. Let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Make white rice and set aside. Cut the top of the bell peppers but do not discard. Remove the seeds and the heart of the pepper with a knife of kitchen sheers. Once the meat is well marinated and seasoned, heat 1 to 2 tbsp of olive oil or the oil of your choice in a deep pan. Sautee the beef until thoroughly cooked. You can add olives capers and raisins if you wish so. Once the meat is cooked, add 4 ounces of tomato sauce and the dry cooking wine and salt to your taste. If it is too dry add 1/4 cup of water Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. In a pot large enough to fit all 4 peppers, heat some olive oil, add 1/4 of chopped onions and a bit of chopped garlic sautee until fragrant and then add the rest of the tomato sauce.  Remove from the heat and set aside. Fill the bottom half of all the peppers with white rice and the top half with ground beef. Place the top back on the peppers and introduce them in the pot with the sauce, then add sufficient water to reach about half way up the peppers. Place on the stove on medium-low heat, cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes. Before serving top with the cheese of your choice place in the oven until the cheese is melted and serve hot!

Enjoy

Papas Rellenas de Queso o Picadillo ( Stuffed Potatoes- Cheese or Ground beef)

I haven't made these in a very long time, probably because they are not the healthiest or lowest in calories, but they are deeeelicious!
It is a little time consuming because the ingredients have to be prepared separately but it's worth it.









Ingredients

2 Pounds of potatoes (any type you prefer)
1 bag of cracker meal or bread crumbs ( I used cracker meal)
1/4 pound of ground beef ( you can use ground turkey)
1 small onion, yellow or red finely chopped
Raisins ( for the ground beef if desired)
2 whole eggs
Shredded cheese (any type desired)
1 tbsp of butter (more if desired)
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
1/4 cup dry cooking wine
1/4 cup of tomato sauce or paste

Instructions
Peel and cut the potatoes place in a large pot with boiling water and boil until tender.  Place in a large bowl and mash adding 1 tbsp of butter. On a separate pot heat 2 tbsp of olive or canola oil. Add the ground beef to the hot oil and cook on high for about 7 minutes or until brown. Add the raisins if desired, oregano salt and pepper you your taste, the dry cooking wine and the tomato sauce or paste.
So let's start the actual process of stuffing the potato...........
Place a small amount of the mashed potatoes on one hand and flatten it by lightly tapping and spreading it on the palm of your hand. With a teaspoon scoop an adequate amount of ground beef (or cheese) and place in the center. Take some more of the mashed potatoes and place on top of the ground beef and then work it into a ball.Take two bowls, on one  place a generous amount of cracker meal (or bread crumbs) and on the other one crack open two eggs and beat vigorously. Once you work the stuffed mashed potatoes into a rounded shape, dip in the eggs and then cover with cracker meal  (or bread crumbs) compress with both hands while making it to a rounded shape. In a deep frier, heat sufficient oil to
cover the potatoes completely, and fry until they are nice and brown.
 Remove from the oil cut in half and serve hot. I like putting a bit of ketchup over the potato. Enjoy!

Arroz con Bacalao (Yellow Rice with Codfish)

Cod fish is a very traditional Cuban dish, part of the Spanish traditional cuisine brought to the island by Spanish settlers. Usually the typical dish is Bacalao a la Vizcaina, which is cod fish in a tomato base sauce with onions and potatoes, then served over steaming white rice. Today I decided to combine the codfish with the rice and make dish which is somewhat more Portuguese than Spanish so here it is.

Ingredients
2 lbs Codfish (fresh or salted. If you choose to use salted, make sure you rinse well under cold running water and brush lightly with a vegetable brush to remove as much salt as possible. Then place in a pot, cover with water and boil for about 7 to 10 minutes. Discard the water and rinse well with running cold water)
1 medium size onion, I prefer red ( you can use yellow)
1/4 Chopped scallions
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup Chopped green or red bell pepper
1 tsp of dry oregano

1 tbsp of complete seasoning (Sazon completa, I prefer Badia brand, if you can find it in your area substitute with a mixture of  black pepper, oregano, garlic, rosemary, and thyme.)
1 small can of tomato sauce or paste
About a tbsp of capers (or more if you want)
1 cup of dry white cooking wine
I can of sweet peas
Saffron, Annatto or any yellow coloring for rice ( I use Goya packets with Saffron or annatto)
1/4 cup of Spanish Marinade ( Mojo Criollo)
4 1/2 cups of your favorite rice

Instructions
Once you have cleaned ( and boiled if you used salted cod) the fish, cut into chunks and place in a bowl. In a large pot sautee the chopped onion and green pepper in about 2 tbsp of olive or canola oil. Add half of the chunks of the fish and leave the rest for later, remember that the fish will break down into very tiny pieces when cooked with the rice so we stir in the other half when the rice is ready. Sautee the fish with the onions and green pepper for approximately 2 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the can of tomato sauce or paste, the spanish marinade, powder seasoning (sason completa) the scallions and half the chopped cilantro, leave the other half for later. Stir well lower the heat to medium and simmer for about 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, add the rice, cooking wine and sufficient water to cover the rice, salt to your taste. Lower the heat to medium, cover and cook. When the water is consumed fluff with a for and check to see if the rice is cooked. Stir in the left over chunks of fish, the chopped cilantro and the can of peas. Serve with your favorite white wine and Enjoy!

Buen Provecho!!

Caribbean Seafood Soup with Dumplings and Coconut Milk

I have always been a soup type of guy (except chicken soup, only have it when I'm sick) and fish/seafood soups and chowders are my favorite. This recipe of fish soup is not really a Cuban recipe, we really don't cook with coconut milk, it is more Afro-Caribbean and Central American. Nevertheless it is great, I realy love the flavor and texture that coconut milk adds so here is my version of this soup.





Ingredients
Vegetables and Seasonings

2 Lbs of potatoes, cubed ( you can also use canned potatoes)
1 1/2 Lbs of Yucca ( if not available in your area replace with  another root vegetable)
3 to 4 sliced carrots
Celery ( I don't really like it to much so I just used 1 stick of celery finely chopped)
Pumpkin Squash, cubed
1 onion  finely chopped (red or yellow)
1/2 cup of chopped scallions
1/2 cup (or more) chopped cilantro

 Green bell pepper ( I just put a small piece, for seasoning)
1 small can of tomato sauce or paste
2- 13.5 oz cans of coconut milk
2  tbsp of Complete seasoning ( If Badia complete seasoning is not available in your area, replace with a spice mix of your choice)
2 fish Boulion cubes
2 tbsp of fish sauce (if available)
2 cups of angel hair noodles or any other type you prefer

Seafood
2 lbs of crab legs
Fish- You can actually use the fish of your preference, I used fresh tilapia. I used about 5 filets.
Seafood mix- octopus, scallops,clams, squid, shrimp etc. You can buy these individually or most grocery stores  or fish markets carry carry frozen mixed seafood bags.

Dumplings

Dumplings are really easy to make:
2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 table spoons of cooking oil
pinch of salt
Water (as needed)



Mix all ingredients and knead until the dough is smooth and it bounces back when you poke it with your finger. Tear small chunks and roll in your hand in 1 1/2 inch pieces and then flatten and set aside.

Directions
In a large stock pot bring water to a boil, add the root vegetables, except the pumpkin squash and also add dumplings. Boil until all the veggies and dumplings are tender.
On a separate pot, add a bit of cooking oil, sautee the onions, scallions, and cilantro on high for about 2 minutes. Then add the seafood mix (scallops, octopus, squid, shrimp) and sautee for a about 4 minutes, stirring often.  Add the tomato sauce or paste and all the spices and 1/2 cup of water, lower heat to medium and cook 5 to 7 minutes. Remember seafood cooks very quickly.

Once this mix is well cooked, add the whole thing to the stock pot where the root vegetables have been boiling. As you add the seafood mix, stir well and then add the two cans of coconut milk.

 Add the crab legs and angel hair noodles to the stock pot and salt to your taste. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes.




At this point you can add the pumpkin squash because it cooks very quickly.
You don't want to add it with all the other root veggies that take a substantially longer time to cook. Once the noodles are tender you are ready to enjoy this delicious soup.

Beef Curry and Cous Cous

By now you all might have noticed that I love curry, vegetable, chicken, seafood and beef curry dishes. The wonderful thing about curry dishes is that, besides the spices, there are really no rules or restrictions on what ingredients make up your curry dish. This particular one is pretty similar to the other curry recipes I have posted before, there are some slight variations, like this time I used red curry paste instead of green and I also added snow peas. Other than that the prepping is pretty much the same and all of the other ingredients as well.

Instead of making Jazmine or Basmati rice to accompany the curry, I made cuscus, just trying something new. It turned out to be pretty good.

So the ingredients again are:



1 to 2 lbs of Lean strips of beef

2 cans of sliced water chestnuts
2 cans of bamboo shoots
2  8oz cans of coconut MILK (not to be confused with coconut CREAM)
1 medium size red onion or whatever type of onion you like.
3 to 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 medium size red or green bell pepper ( this time i used thinly sliced Cubanel Peppers)
1/2 cup of sliced green onions
2 Tbsp of fish sauce
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1,  8 oz can of sweet peas
2 cups of snow peas
Salt and pepper to your taste

The cooking instructions are the same as the Chicken Curry recipe so I'm just going to repost those.











Instructions

Slice the beef in about 1 1/2" strip or cube them, your choice.  Sprinkle curry powder generously all over the beef strips, add salt and pepper, rub the curry powder vigorously on the beef to ensure coverage of all the pieces, and a 1/4 cup of rice vinegar. You can do this the night before but if that is not possible try to at least marinate it between 30 minutes to 1 hour. Heat some peanut oil or vegetable oil in a wok or large pan. Add and stir fry until fully cooked.

Add the garlic onion, green onion, bamboo,  water chestnuts and snow peas.If you choose to also use canned sweet peas, add those at the very end before you serve. Because they come already pre-cooked, if you add them at the beginning with all the other veggies, the peas will most likely disintegrate. Mix thoroughly and lower the heat to medium and cover and cook for 10 minutes. In a separate container pour the coconut milk and a the amount of your choice of spicy curry paste, green, red or whatever type of curry paste you like. You can omit the spicy curry paste if you wish but i always add even a very small amount. You can used mild curry paste or powder. Add the fish sauce to this mix, as well as the soy sauce and stir until all the ingredients are well mix. By this time the beef should be well cooked and the vegetables also.

Slowly pour the coconut milk into the wok or large pan containing the beef, add the red bell pepper  and then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the sweet peas, stir and serve.

The cuscus I like is the  5 minute cuscus that comes in a small box. You can buy the plain cuscus or it also comes in flavors like roasted garlic and other flavors. Just follow the instructions on the box. It usually takes about 5 minutes to make.

 

Enjoy!

Home Made Veggie Burger

I have always liked veggie burgers but the ones you buy frozen at the supermarket are not cheap, so why not make your own? yes make your own, they are very easy to make and you choose the veggies you want to use and you can even season them any way you want. The best way to make them is to use fresh raw vegetable, especially those with low water content so that when you grind them in your food processor they don't get mushy and pasty.

Another reason I recommend fresh raw veggies is because if you use frozen ones when they thaw they absorb all the water.

Here is a list of the vegetables i used:

Broccoli
Cauliflower
carrots (pre-cooked and well drained)
Chickpeas (you may use canned chickpeas)*
baby corn
red bell peppers
White onions

2 egg whites and a bit of bread crumbs, white flower or cracker meal for consistency.

* If you use canned chickpeas, drain all the water put them in a bowl line with a couple of sheets of paper towel to drain as much of the water as possible.


Directions:

Put all the veggies in the food processor with the chopping blade. Once they are finely chopped, add 1/4 cup of either bread crumbs, cracker meal or flower, you can also use matzo meal and mix thoroughly. You may add salt pepper and any other seasoning you like. Proceed to add the egg whites and mix well. Make the patty shape by hand or using a mold. You can either bake these or pan fry in a bit of olive or canola oil. Serve with or without bread and enjoy a guilt free pleasure!

Want to lose a few pounds? Try this Cabbage Soup for 7 Days!

For a long time I have seen many people do those quick 7 or 10 day diets to lose a quick 10. I decided to try, and let me tell you that I have lost a pound per day so far and the soup is not bad at all, I am actually really enjoying it. I don't know how much I will enjoy it after 7 days but anyway, here it is.

Ingredients

1/2 of a head of cabbage
4 carrots
6 green onions
1 green bell pepper
As much celery as you want
2 cups of mushrooms whole or sliced
2 8 oz cans of whole or diced tomatoes (you can use fresh tomatoes as well)
2 chicken or beef bouillon cubes
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
Salt to your taste.

Remember that you will need to make sufficient soup to last you 7 days, eating twice a day, so add sufficient water, and you can also add more of the veggies. In a large stock pot bring the water to a boil and then add all the ingredients. Add the oregano salt and reduce heat to medium-high and cook until the vegetables are tender. Taste the soup and adjust the salt and spices according to your need.

Have the soup for lunch and dinner, accompany with salad or fruits except bananas. Do not eat anything else.

Even though this is diet soup it is very tasty, it can accompany any meal even if you are not on a diet.

Enjoy

Fried Chickpeas (Garbanzos Fritos)

This one of my favorite dishes because you can eat the fried chickpeas with rice or by themselves. One of the best things about this Cuban dish is that it is very easy to make. If you are using dried uncooked chickpeas, it will take  a bit longer to make because you are going to have to pull out your pressure cooker , but you can always use canned chickpeas.

Ingredients

1 Lb of chickpeas
One medium size red onion (you can use any type of onion you like)1 red, yellow or green bell pepper
about 1/2 lb of Chorizo (spanish sausage)
1/2  lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 pound of Serrano ham (cubbed)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup of dry white cooking wine 
1 tbsp of dry oregano
1/4 cup of Mojo criollo (spanish marinade)
1 tbsp of chopped garlic
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro


Directions
 If you are using dried chickpeas, cook them in a pressure cooker on high for 30 minutes, then check to see if they are tender. If they are still hard cook for an additional 10 minutes or until tender.

Cut the chorizo in slices and set aside. You can purchase the ham already cubbed. Cut the chicken breasts in small pieces of about an inch in length. In a large sauce pan heat up some oil, you can use olive oil or whichever type you prefer. I normally cook with canola oil. Once the oil is very hot add the chorizo, the chicken and the ham. The only thing you need to make sure that cooks well is the chicken. The ham and chorizo are already cooked. As the meats cook, add the chopped onion, bell pepper, garlic and chopped cilantro and stir. Then add the tomato sauce, cooking wine, spanish marinade and dried oregano. Lower heat to medium and cook for approximately 30 minutes occasionally stirring.

Add salt to your taste. As I said before you can eat this alone but you can also eat with your favorite rice recipe. Buen Provecho!!!!