Avgolemono - Lemon Rice and Chicken Soup Recipe

Hola Amigos! How is this Polar Vortex treating you? Today was supposed to be back to school after Christmas vacation, but school was cancelled leaving kiddo more time to do this:

With temperatures getting lower literally by the hour, only something hot and creamy will do the trick to bring the body back to an "I'm ready to go outside and do more shoveling" state of mind!

This is one of my favorite soups and the I get it every Friday (the only day they prepare it) at the Farmer's Restaurant by my house. I'm not 100% sure my version has all the "magic" ingredients they put on theirs, but is quite close, and will do for as long as we remain snowed in!

You can have it with pita bread on the side or like me, open your oyster crackers and have fun. I always keep a big bag or 2 at home.

My soup has a bit more rice therefore thicker than the Farmer's version, but as you all know, I just love rice, maybe as much as I love chocolate , lol...crazy I  know!

I sure hope you are not part of the 140 million Americans feeling the effects of the "Freeze" as the Weather Channel reports. But if like me you are stuck right in the middle of the whole thing, this is your soup to have! Trust me, you will thank me after several bowls! stay safe, stay warm and remember everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Avgolemono - Lemon Rice and Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

1 Large Whole Chicken Breast,  Chopped (around 1 1/2-2 cups)

5 Cups Chicken Broth (for more wholesome flavor use the broth where you cook your chicken)

1/2 Cup Rice (I use 3/4 Cup since I like my soup thick and with lots of rice)

1 TBSP Butter or Olive Oil

1 Cup Onion, Diced

1/2 Cup Carrots, Diced 

1/2 Cup Celery, Diced

3 Eggs

1 Large Lemon, Juiced

1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

Salt to taste

Lemon slices for garnish

Pita Bread or Oyster Crackers 

Directions:

In a pan, melt the butter on a little bit of oil for it not to burn or heat olive oil alone and saute veggies until onions and celery are translucent, around 5 minutes. Set aside.

On a large pot add chicken broth bring to a simmer and add rice. Cook until rice blooms (opens), add sauteed veggies and chicken. Add red pepper flakes and salt if needed. Keep cooking for flavors to integrate, about 5-10 minutes.

Now comes the tricky part, in a separate bowl beat eggs and while doing this add the lemon juice. Keep the whisking going, now slowly add a ladle at a time of the soup mixture to temper the eggs, you don't want to end with an omelette in you soup. Add one or two ladles full, I don't mind if rice or veggies get into it, the idea is to bring the eggs at the same temp of the soup in the pot.

Pour the egg-lemon mixture into the soup pot keep  mixing  and remove from heat. Serve hot with lemon wedges, oyster crackers or pita bread, enjoy!

Prep Time: 10 Minutes                           Cook Time 30 Minutes                            Serves 6

Sharing my tangy hot soup at these Fabulous Parties:

Smart School House, Ginger Snap Crafts, All She Cooks, Lady Behind the Curtain, Ducks' n a Row, Kitchen Meets Girl, My Girlish Whims, Memories by the Mile, My Snippets of Inspiration, Gina's Craft Corner, Little House Living, Feeding Big, Love Bakes Good Cakes

Rice and Beans with Coconut Milk Recipe

Hola Amigos! I really wanted to make the first post of 2014 memorable! Perhaps an awesome and gooey dessert or a 5 star meal, but after getting and digging a foot of snow the first 2 days of the year and with temperatures today -5 without windchill, the only kind of food I can think of is good old fashion comfort food, nothing fancy, just good!!!!

This rice is very common in the Atlantic Coast of my country. Folks there eat it as part of their daily diet with saucy chicken or spicy escovitch fish! I had mine with a hamburger patty in a spicy onion and mushroom sauce, my 1-2-3  version of Salisbury steak!

Add extra beans with butter if you want! I know, not the leanest and healthier thing to eat but it's good I tell ya! On the plus side, it's a side dish rich in fiber!

You can taste the sweetness of the coconut on every bite but by no means the rice is sweet, just a hint!
As a side, serve it with something definitely sweet, yellow plantains, mine I soaked in coke, that's why they are a bit on the dark side.

Now that we all had a taste of the sunny Caribbean, let's go out and do some more shoveling! (hopefully not)! I hope you guys are having a wonderful first week of the year! Remember that everything could be memorable and taste even better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Rice and Beans with Coconut Milk Recipes

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cup Long Grain White Rice

1 Can Coconut Milk

2 Cups Chicken Broth

1 Can Red Beans, drained

1 Can Pinto Beans, drained

1 Chicken Bullion (dissolved in broth)
2 Cloves Garlic Minced
1 tbsp Butter

Directions:
In a large pot on medium high heat, melt butter and toss minced garlic until slightly golden. Remove from pot. Add rice, coconut milk, broth and beans. Stir Cook uncovered until the liquid evaporates. Cover, low the stove temperature to medium and cook for 12 minutes. Stir the rice first with a large spoon and then with a fork to separate the grains. Cook for another 15-20 minutes until grains are soft. Serve as a side and enjoy!

Total Cook Time: 30 minutes

Sharing my Homeland's Caribbean Cuisine at these Fabulous Parties:

Tartertots and Jello, Th Best Blog Recipes, Home Maid Simple, The Shabby Nest, Six Sister's Stuff, What's Cooking with Ruthie, Made from Pinterest,Swe Licious Home Decor, Becoming Martha, Walking on Sunhsine, Flamingo Toes, 504 Main, Navy Wifey Peters, Twigg Studios, Nifty Thrifty Things, Will Cook For Smiles, Suburbs Mama, Lines Across, The Chicken Chick, This Gal Cooks, I Should be Mopping the Floors, Smart School House, Ginger Snap Crafts, All She Cooks, Lady Behind the Curtain, Ducks' n a Row, Kitchen Meets Girl, My Girlish Whims, Memories by the Mile, My Snippets of Inspiration, Gina's Craft Corner, Little House Living, The Princess and her Cowboys Love Bakes Good Cakes

My Hand Will Go On Halloween Meatloaf Recipe

Hola Amigos! Today sharing a macabre twist on a favorite of most, Meatloaf...one thing though...after today, I'm not quite sure you will look at this dish the same way!
We all have meatloaf recipes. I don't have a particular one...is one of those meals that you put together as you go and with whatever you find at hand!

As I've said before, everything you cook on everyday basis could be transformed into the spookiest looking dish ever. It just takes a little patience and imagination. (Noticed the bent fingers on this creepy pic) lol

My little one was all hands on when it came to prepare it! And things got even better when he got the chance to literally pull the finger of the meatloaf and have a bite!

My hand here even has a bone...oh yeah...for those of you who like eggs in your meatloaf! They have the perfect color and even come with marrow..yikes!

I know you are probably thinking what the heart has to do with anything...well...I was just trying to give the meatloaf something to grab on while in the oven.

Cooking is about having fun my friends, when you have to do it everyday of the week, you better get creative with flavors, colors and even shapes when possible. Have a Happy day and Bon Appetit (if you can, lol) and remember everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

My Hand Will Go On Halloween Meatloaf Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Groud Beef ( I use 90/10)

3/4 Cup Mild Chunky style Salsa

1/2 Cup Onion and Garlic Refried Beans (or any other you have handy)

1 egg (slightly beaten) 

2 small bags of Doritos Cool Ranch Crushed

2 Coocked Eggs

salt and pepper to taste

4 Slices on Bacon cut in little 1 inch squares.

For skin texture

1 Cup Ketchup + 1/2 Cup BBQ

1/4 Cup Dijon Mustard + 1/4 Cup Honey Mustard Dressing 

Directions:

Pre Heat Oven at 365

To make the meatloaf mix beef , salsa, refried beans, slightly beaten egg, salt and pepper and crushed Doritos. Once is mixed. Place the mix on a parchment covered cookie sheet. and shape it as a hand if you choose to do this particular one, using yours as the model, Manipulate it at little into fingers, hand, Radius and Ulna (not much, just a little bit of these last). To make the Radius and Ulna make an indentation on the meat mold and place the eggs in this indentation one next to the other. Cover them with more of the beef mix.

Cover hand with little bacon squares.

Cover the entire hand with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Once the 45 minutes are done, pull it out, remove aluminum foil brush your hand with a mix of ketchup and bbq sauce. After is all covered, brush very lightly on the Mustard mix. 

Place back in the oven and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Serve on a bed of rice. Enjoy!

Prep time 20 minutes                   Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes                          Serves 6-8

Sharing my Creepy Meatloaf at these Fa-Boo-lous Parties:

Real Housewives of Riverton, Maid in a Day, SNAP, All She Cooks, The Everyday Home, Real Coake, Made to be a Momma, Sew Much Ado, White Lights on Wednesday, Pink Recipe Box, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Glitter, Glue and Paint, The Shady Porch, Creative Geekery, The Brambleberry Cottage, Artsy Fartsy Mama, Living Well Spending Less, My Turn (for Us), The Best Blog Recipes, Craftionary, Tidy Mom, Home Maid Simple, One Tough Mother, 504 Main, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Happy Hour Project, Living Better Together, Food Done Light, Dear Creatives, The Wondering Brain, Cheerios and Lattes,Or So She Says, It's Overflowing, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Suburbs Mama, Twig Studios, Nifty Thrifty Things, Flamingo Toes, Navy Wifey Peters, Spatulas on Parade, VMG206, Titi Crafty, Cooking For the Seven Dwarfs, Who Needs a Cape, Summer's Scraps, Twelve' O Eight, The Velvet Moon Baker, Your Homebased Mom, My Mixing Spoon, Bowdabra, Craft-O-Maniac, The Chicken Chick, This Gal Cooks, Cupcake-n-Bake, A Pinch of Joy, Jembllish, Boogieboard Cottage, Keep It Simple, Alderberry Hill, DIY Home Sweet Home, Say Not Sweet Anne, Lines Across, Flour Me With Love, Under the Table and Dreaming, Ms. enPlace, Between Naps on The Porch, Rain on a Tin Roof, The PandP Kitchen, The Tumbleweed Contessa, Claire Justine oxox, Cozy Little House, The Blackberry Vine, Mad Skills, Love Grows Wild, Home Stories A to Z, Hun...what's for Dinner, Table for 7, LadyBug Blessings, I Gotta Create, Chef In Training, Mandy's Recipe Box, Nap Time-Creations, A Southern Fairytale, Huckleberry Love, Jam Hands, Not just a Housewife, This and That, Ducks 'n a Row, Lady Behind the Curtain, Ginger Snap Crafts, Dessert Now, Dinner Later, Made from Pinterst, Call Me PMc, Frugal Foodie Mama, Foodie Friends Friday

Easy Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja Recipe

Hola Amigos! This is a super easy, crock it and forget it recipe for Flank Steak. It's based on a traditional Latin dish called Ropa Vieja or Ragged Clothes. My mom makes the best Ropa Vieja ever, and for 10 years now I haven't had the "real stuff" like I like to call it, sad, I know. No matter how much I've tried I just can't make it exactly like hers, so I gave up and decided to wait till my mami cooks some for me and made my own recipe.

There are numerous versions to this dish, mine has only a few ingredients and that is what I really love. Lots of flavor, very little effort. The key is the day before you know you are going to cook your Flank Steak, Season it! It will pay up with taste I promise you!

My other favorite ingredients are easily found on the Latin isle of your grocery store, Mojo Criollo, Sazon with Coriander and Annatto and Recaito (cilantro base). These ingredients will put the Latin flavor to your beef and every meal without the typical Mexican seasonings most people are used to.

The best way to eat this savory dish is with a side of rice and a side of black beans and plantains! I couldn't find any plantains at my store when I was about to make it (now there's a ton) but just the black beans and rice are heavenly.

Now if you are my husband, then you skip this and go straight for a bun and cheese! Hey, I won't argue, as long as it gets eaten I'm good...(he wouldn't be able to do this to my mom,  though,  lol )

Have a great weekend friends and remember everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!  and the hubs just added...and a bun!

Besitos,

Lizy

Easy Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja

Ingredients: 

1 (1 1/2) Flank Steak

1-2 Cloves Garlic mashed

Salt, Pepper

1 Large Onion, sliced

1 Orange Bell Pepper, diced*

1 Yellow Bell Pepper, diced*

1/2 Cup Goya Mojo Criollo

3/4 Cup Beef Stock

1 Flavor Packet Sazon Goya with Coriander and Annato (Achiote)  

1 TBSP Goya Recaito (Cilantro Base)

1 TBSP Ketchup

Cooked white or dirty rice

Cooked Black Beans 

* Red is ok too.

Directions:

The day before you are going to cook your Ropa Vieja, season the flank steak  by rubbing it with the mashed garlic cloves salt and pepper, put a zip lock bag in the refrigerator until the moment you are ready to cook it.

The next day, put your flank steak in the crock pot with sliced onions, orange bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, Mojo, stock, Sazon, Recaito and ketchup. Place lid and cook for 4 hours,

Once it's done, shred the beef using 2 forks and mix it up with the remaining of the cooking sauce. Garnish with some diced peppers and serve with a side of rice and beans. Or if you choose on  a bun with cheese.

Prep Time: At last 3 hour seasoning          Cook Time: 4 hours                 Serves 4

Sharing some Latin Flavors at these Fabulous Parties:

The Best Blog Recipes, Home Maid Simple, One Tough Mother, 504 Main, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Simply Designing, The Answer is Chocolate, Living Better Together, The Jenny Evolution, The Pin Junkie, Not your Ordinary Recipes, A Peek into my Paradise, Sunny Simple Life, Diana Rambles, Tatertots and Jello, The Wondering Brain, Nap Time Crafters, 30 Handmade Days, Just Us 4, Five Days 5 Ways, Frugal Fit Family, Six Sister's Stuff, It's Overflowing, A little Claireification, Be Different Act Normal, What's Cooking with Ruthie, Serenity You, Funkie Junk Interiors, Angles Homestead, Sewlicious Home Decor, Spatulas on Parade, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Twigg Studios, Flamingo Toes, Suburbs Mama, EMM, Twelve O Eight, Under the Table and Dreaming, VMG206, Titi Crafty, The Chicken Chick, Pursuit of Functional Home, Lines Across, Huckleberry Love, Craft-O-Maniac, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Say Not Sweet Anne, Flour Me with Love, DIY Home Sweet Home, Alderberry Hill, Boogieboard Cottage, Sew Can Do, This Gal Cooks, jembellish, A Pinch of Love, Hun..what's for Dinner?, Adventures of a DIY Mom, The Shady Porch, Lady Behind the Curtain, I Gotta Try That, Table for Seven, Memories by the Mile, With a Blast, Not Just a Housewife, All She Cooks, Kitchen Meets Girl, Thank You Honey, Smart School House, Ginger Snap Crafts, The Everyday Home, My Girlish Whims, Cozy Little House, Clean and Scentsible, Shaffer Sisters, White Lights on Wednesday, The 36th Avenue, Fluster Buster, This Silly Girl's Life, Polkadots on Parade, 733 Blog, SNAP, What is Cooking Love?, The Real Housewives of Riverton, The Mandatory Mooch, Real Coake, Made to be a Momma, I Gotta Create, Live Laugh Rowe, Lamberts Lately, Creative Geekery, The Brambleberry Cottage, 52 Mantels, Saving 4 Six, Food Done Light, The Crafty Blogstalker, Considered Me Inspired, Jennifer Rizzo, Simple Dream and Create, House of Hepworths, The Girl Creative, Cindy's Recipes and Writings, My Turn (for Us), Rattlebridge Farm, Chef in Training, My Mixing Spoons, Home Stories A to Z

Other Panamanian dishes you might like:

Ensalada de Fiesta

Cheesy Rice Hominy and Chicken Casserole Recipe

Hola Amigos! Happy Weekend! It's been a while since we have a quicky  Friday. In case you have forgotten quicky Fridays are all about recipes you can make for the whole family in less than an hour!
This one is pretty simple and of all places I found it on the  back of a can of soup.
I usually do not keep or have can soups in the house, not that there's nothing wrong with them, but for some reason every time I have one I end up chewing on a couple of anti-acids! Yeah I know..yucks...so to avoid that I don't have any. This time it seemed to me that due to the other ingredients it wouldn't be too bad so I gave it a try. This is my version of the canned soup recipe...I changed it a little to fit my taste but it's basically the same thing!

Cheesy Rice Hominy and Chicken Casserole

1 Pound Chicken Thighs

1 Cup White Rice

1 Can (15,5 oz) Hominy

1 Can (10 oz 3/4)  Cheddar Cheese Soup

1 Can Chicken Broth

1/3 of the Hominy Water

1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

 Heat up your oven at  375 F. The next step is totally optional, I like my chicken browned. So instead of just putting the chicken in the baking dish, I've previously seasoned it and browned it. This again is totally optional and the results I'm pretty sure are the same without this step. 

In a baking dish distribute the cup of rice, Place your chicken on top, Add the hominy. 

In a separate mixing bowl, mix soup, chicken broth and hominy water. Pour this mix on top of the chicken rice and hominy baking dish preparation. 

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes or until the rice is soft and chicken is thoroughly cooked. 

Remove from the oven and sprinkle the cup of cheese. Let it settle for 10 minutes and enjoy!

Serves 4
Listo

It is good, cheesy (the best part) and a meal in one, just the way I like it!

I love the earthy taste of the hominy, such an unappreciated grain! Not anymore!

You can add all can of veggies to make it fit your family's taste, and why not Bake 2 and Freeze 1!!! This recipe freezes well!

Thank You for stopping by today! Wishing you all a fun weekend...just keep in mind always my friends,
than everything tastes better, with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,
Lizy

Sharing my cheese casserole at these Fabulous Parties:

This and That, In The Kitchen with Jenny, Cheerios and Lattes, What's Cooking with Ruthie, Serenity You, Lovely Crafty Home, Too Much Time, Angels Homestead, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Spatulas on Parade, Frugal Foodie Mama, Ms.enPlace, Under the Table and Dreaming, Judy H-J's Thoughts, The Princess and Her Cowboys, Cooking for the Seven Dwarfs, A pinch of Joy, The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen,
Jam Hands, Boogie Board Cottage, Mad in Crafts, Making the World Cuter, Feeding Big, Hun, What's for Dinner, Love Grows Wild, The Blackberry Bush, Pint Sized Baker, Coastal Charm, Sugar Bee Crafts, Today's Creative Blog, My Mixing Spoon, I Gotta Try That, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Cozy Little House, Smart School House, Thank You Honey, Daisy Cottage Designs, Ducks'n a Row, Ginger Snap Crafts, Twin Dragonfly Designs, Worthing Court, Life with the Crust Cut Off. Real Coake.com, 52 Mantels, Lady Behind the Curtain

SPAM Loco Moco, Grandma's Recipe

Hola Amigos! It's still raining cats and dogs here and it will be for the rest of the weekend, not complaining, just saying...you all know how I feel about the white stuff so I prefer Rain to Snow anytime!
My creativity levels are down in the dumps and I'm hoping to play with my glue gun soon..till then I'm just cooking up little recipes here and there that make me happy!

For dinner tonight and leftover breakfast tomorrow I'm preparing my Grandma's Loco Moco! Oh yeah baby...nothing more comforting on a rainy afternoon than SPAM!!!...I know...the mystery meat..but once in a while it doesn't hurt! My grandma and my mom use to make this for us once in a while as a treat and it was so good...I could have eaten the whole thing by myself! Exactly what I'm doing today...

This is a house divided though, the hubs is a purist and he likes his Spam just fried, the kids on the other hand go either way, oh and another fact...there is a rule when it comes to SPAM, "you use a can, you replace a can", see, my hubs firmly believes that SPAM is the #1 Survival Food for Doomsday! We will be able to survive for months on Spam and water alone, LOL...I guess It could be worse, right? Anaywhooo...

Here is the super easy, super fast recipe for the tastiest treat ever!

Grandma's Loco Moco with SPAM

1 Can of your favorite SPAM
Half a Large Onion sliced
Half of a Bell Pepper, any color, diced
2 TBSP Tomato Paste
6 oz Diced Tomatoes. I used Rotel with Lime and Cilantro. It's spicy so if you don't like it spicy feel free to  use a different brand.
1 Cup Chicken Broth
Pinch of Sugar, salt, pepper and Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

Cut your spam in stripes and fried in pan until golden outside. Set Aside
In a separate saucepan, with a little bit of oil saute the onions and bell peppers until the onions are transparent. Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes and chicken broth. Cook for 5 minutes. Add sugar, salt, pepper and pepper flakes if you choose and cook for another 15 minutes until the sauce begins to thickens.
Add the previously fried Spam to the sauce until is heated up thoroughly.
To serve
1  Cup Jasmine Rice
1 Can Coconut Milk
Salt
Cook your Jazmin rice according to instructions, just replace the amount of water that you usually will used for the coconut milk with salt to taste.
1 Egg, Cooked or Fried
Grilled Pineapple Slices
Listo!

This is so good, salty, spicy and sweet at the same time.

With a cooked egg or fried it's delicious, it's just a matter of how you like them!

You can always serve it with more sauce or like we call it "Sofrito" on the side!

The Jasmine Rice brings the dish together and makes it a satisfying meal for adults and kids!
Thank You for stopping my friends and for sharing a taste of my  homeland comfort food with me today.

 Remember everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!
Besitos,
Lizy

Wishing a Happy Weekend to folks at these Fabulous Parties:
This and That
The Best Blog Recipes
Savvy Southern Style
Mom's Test Kitchen
With a Blast
The Tumbleweed Contessa
The Dedicated House
A Pinch of Joy
Hun...What's for Dinner
Couponing and Cooking
My Turn (for Us)
Diana Rambles
Sew-licious Home
Your Homebased Mom
Spatulas on Parade
Will Cook for Smiles
The Domestic Fringe
Like on Lakeshore Drive
Frugal Foodie Mama
Judy H-J's Thoughts
Under the Table and Dreaming