I make this meal often and never get tired of it. It is good looking, healthy and easy to make.
Category:  Entrée  
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:   under 30 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $10.95 or $5.48 per serving
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free    
Servings: 2
 
Ingredients
2 med. size cod fish filet ($3.00)
3 c. of med size shrimp ($3.75)
1 tbsp. Angie’s dry seasoning (.35)
2 tbsp. Angie’s basting olive oil (.40)
1 avocado, rinsed, pat dry, peeled, sliced ($1.20)
1 lemon (.50)
1 simple salad for 2 people ($1.75)
 
Directions
Pat dry the fish and shrimp, season with basting olive oil and my dry seasoning to-taste, refrigerate until you finish to make a simple salad for 2 people. Then, refrigerate the salad.
In a skillet with some of my basting olive oil, sear the shrimp briefly, remove, set aside.
In the same skillet sear the cod filets and now you are ready to plate. see my photo gallery as an idea.
  
Angie’s Dry Seasonings: http://www.angieslifehacks.com/family-life/oven-roasted-bacon-chicken-and-angies-seasonings
Angie’s Basting Olive Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil
Angie’s Homemade Pesto   http://www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/angies-homemade-basil-pesto-sauce

​You will only need 5 ingredients and 40 minutes to get this meal done; chickpeas, pork tenderloin, ñame, Angie’s dry seasoning and Angie’s basting olive oil.
 
Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: Under 1 hour
Approximate Cost: $6.29 or $1.58 per serving
Difficulty Level:     X    Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced
Servings: 4
 
Ingredients
½ can chickpeas (.65)
1 pork tenderloin any fat removed ($3.24)
5 pieces of ñame, cubed ($1.00)
1 ½ tbsp. Angie’s dry seasoning (.55)
2 tbsp. Angie’s basting olive oil (.85)
 
Directions
Bring a saucepan with salted water to taste to a boil, add the ñame pieces and cook until tender.
Clean the tenderloin of any fat, place in a baking mold, season with my dry seasoning and my basting olive oil and add ½ can of rinsed and drained chickpeas. Refrigerate for about 1 hour to soak in the seasoning the flavors.
Bring the oven temperature to 400 degrees and cook the tenderloin uncovered for about 40 to 45 minutes depending on your oven calibration. About 30 minutes in, add at least ½ cup to 1 cup of the ñame water and bring back to the oven. Remove and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

When the tenderloin is done, add the name pieces and stir to soak them in the sauce.
Ready to serve, you can accompany this roast with a nice salad, rice or pasta. Enjoy!

My Links
Angie’s Dry Seasonings: http://www.angieslifehacks.com/family-life/oven-roasted-bacon-chicken-and-angies-seasonings
Angie’s Basting Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil  
 

​I never get tired of making my own broth/stock because I know what ingredients I am using and after done, I freeze it and then remove all traces of fat. That makes it healthier. This time I am using a combination of chicken and turkey bones and some meat. The end result was so good.
 
Category:  HACK
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:  35 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $4.60 or $2.30 per broth container for soups, stew, etc.
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free  
Servings: 2 containers to use in soups, stew, etc.
 
My recipe changes often, depending on which aromatics, herbs, etc., that I have at home or in my garden at the time.
I make fresh chicken stock every time that I purchase a rotisserie chicken. Why? Because most of the time I debone and skinned the chicken to make the best rotisserie chicken stock that one can have. Then I use the shredded chicken in chili’s bowls, soups, enchiladas, tacos, well, you get the idea.
Therefore, these are the ingredients that I had available when I made this batch. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS (Approx. Total Cost: $4.60)
All the bones and dark-skinned parts of a Lemon Pepper Rotisserie Chicken ($2.00
All the bones of turkey wings and some of the bones ($1.00)
3 Celery stalks with leaves, chopped (.25)
2 large Rosemary stems (.10)
1 large spring of Sage (.10)
10 to 12 cups of water (0)
4 to 5 stems of Italian Oregano (.10)
6 to 8 large Cuban Oregano leaves (.10)
6 to 8 Culantro leaves (.10)
 Fresh Cilantro to taste
1 large Onion chopped (.45)
8 Garlic cloves (.40)
 
DIRECTIONS
Debone and skinned the rotisserie chicken and remove all fat. I only use super roasted brown skin for less fat and more flavor.
Sauté in olive oil the onion, celery and garlic until golden, then add the bones and skin.
Carefully add the water, all the herbs, bring it to a boil and then bring the heat to low to simmer covered for 30 minutes.
Allow the stock to cool and then strain to obtain your golden flavorful stock.
Divide into several containers, freeze and remove any fat on top. Then finally keep freeze what you are not using that day.

Absolutely not your traditional taco but is it my style and sooo yummy! YESSSSS!
 
Category:  Entrée  
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:   under 40 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $4.90 or $2.45 per serving
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  NOT Gluten Free    
Servings: 2+
 
Ingredients
2 c. Shredded-boneless-skinless rotisserie chicken ($2.00)
2 spinach-herb tortillas ($1.00)
½ c. corn, boil until tender, drain (.20)
2 limes (.50)
1 avocado to garnish, rinsed, pat dry, sliced ($1.20)
My 3-Side dishes I posted yesterday
 
Directions
Add the 2 c. of Shredded-boneless-skinless rotisserie chicken to a med. size bowl.
Add the 3-Side dishes and corn that I posted yesterday, mix well.
Meantime, in a skillet, heat the tortillas over medium heat for about 10 to 15 seconds per side, place in a serving plate, add some of the 3 sides mix in the center, roll it as a taco, garnish with half a lime and avocado slices or anything you like and you are ready to serve,
  
Angie’s Dry Seasonings: http://www.angieslifehacks.com/family-life/oven-roasted-bacon-chicken-and-angies-seasonings
Angie’s Basting Olive Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil
Angie’s Homemade Pesto   http://www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/angies-homemade-basil-pesto-sauce

Today you are getting three of my side recipes that can be used independently or combined in your dishes. They are Pico de Gallo, Guacamole and Pickled Purple Yautia (Malanga)
​
TOMORROW, I WILL POST MY RECIPE TO USE THESE 3-SIDES.
 
Category:  SIDES
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:  45 Minutes to 1 hour         
Approximate Cost:    $10.50 or $3.50 per side dish
Difficulty Level:  Intermediate to advanced
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free   __X__   Vegetarian __X__ 
Servings: 2+
 
SIDE #1: PICO DE GALLO – INGREDIENTS ($2.65)
1 large Roma tomato (.50)
½ small red onion (.30)
2 large garlic cloves (.25)
1 med. size lemon for its juice (.50)
1 cup of chopped cilantro (.40)
1 small Jalapeno (Optional, I did not use it today) (.30)
2 to 3 tbsp. Angie’s basting olive oil (.30)
1 tsp. Adobo Goya (or your favorite seasoning) (.10)
PICO DE GALLO DIRECTIONS
Rinse and pat dry the tomato and cilantro and jalapeno if you are using it.
Chop tomatoes and onion
Peel and finely mince the garlic cloves.
Slice jalapenos lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, membrane and chop.
Chop the cilantro discard the stems if you like.
Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl, squeeze lime juice over and season with Adobo (or my dry seasoning) and basting olive oil (or salt and ground black pepper to taste).
 
SIDE #2: GUACAMOLE – INGREDIENTS (3.40)
1 large Roma tomato, (rinsed, pat dry, chopped) (.50)
½ small red onion (peeled, chopped) (.30)
2 large garlic cloves (smashed, peeled, minced) (.25)
1 cup of chopped cilantro (rinsed, pat dry, chopped) (.40)
2 tbsp. Angie’s basting olive oil (.20)
1 large avocado (rinsed, pat dry, peeled and cubed ($1.25)
1 small size lemon for its juice (rinsed, pat dry cut in half for the juice) (.40)
1 tsp. Lemon Pepper seasoning (or to taste) (.10)
GUACAMOLE DIRECTIONS
Follow the instructions given under the ingredients list above. In a med size container, add all the drained/rinsed/chopped/ minced ingredients. You can also add, if you like, a seeded and finely chopped small jalapeño. Taste the guacamole and adjust with more lemon pepper or lemon juice. If you are not using it immediately, cover it and refrigerate.
 
SIDE #3: PICKLED PURPLE YAUTIA EN ESCABECHE ($4.45)
(ALSO KNOWN AS MALANGA or TARO ROOT)
INGREDIENTS
1 large Purple Yautía (Malanga) (peeled, rinsed, cut up into 1” or less cubes (1.50)
½ small red onion (peeled, sliced) (.30)
7 garlic cloves, (peeled and chopped) (.50)
2 tbsp. Goya Salad Olives (drained) (.40)
1 tsp. of peppercorns (.10) 
2 roasted red bell peppers, drained and lightly chopped (.50)
2 Bay leaves (0)
1 ½ c. Angie’s basting olive oil (.80)
¼ to 1/3 c. of vinegar (either white or apple cider) (.25)
Adobo Goya to-taste (or your favorite seasoning) (.10)
PICKLED PURPLE YAUTIA EN ESCABECHE DIRECTIONS
Boil the Yautia/Taro root cubes in salted water just until tender but not mushed, drain and set aside.
In a skillet, with 1 tbsp. of my basting olive oil, sauté the onion lightly, then add the garlic and sauté briefly.
Now add the Goya Salad Olives, peppercorns, roasted red bell peppers, Bay leave, my basting olive oi, the vinegar (either white or apple cider) and Adobo Goya to-taste (or your favorite seasoning).
Simmer for about 5 minutes and then add the Yautia/Taro root cubes and mix well. I usually allow it to site for about 30 minutes to increase the flavors, or overnight then serve it warm or cold.
 
Angie’s Dry Seasonings: http://www.angieslifehacks.com/family-life/oven-roasted-bacon-chicken-and-angies-seasonings
Angie’s Basting Olive Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil
Angie’s Homemade Pesto   http://www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/angies-homemade-basil-pesto-sauce

Nowadays, you don’t have to go fishing for octopus. Local markets and fishmongers provides good quality seafood almost everywhere you live. I found octopus at Costco years ago and I have been using it. So, look for this delicious seafood in your local areas and then, cook it like I did. You will not regret it!
 
Category:  Entrée
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:  under 45 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $26.14 or $13.07 per serving and so worth it!
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free  
Servings: 2
 
Ingredients
1 pk. of Nuchar Cooked Octopus ($21.99)
4 small beets ($1.20)
½ lb. asparagus ($1.50)
2 tbsp. Angie’s basting olive oil (.60)
1 ½ tsp. Angie’s dry seasoning (.15)
1 lime (.60)
2 tbsp. chopped Italian parsley (.10)
1 recipe of AIOLI Sauce (I will post the AIOLI recipe tomorrow)
 
Directions
Rinse the beets, pat dry, wrap in foil and cook at 375 degrees until tender, about 35 minutes. Wait until not too hot and peel the skin.
Rinse the asparagus, cut the bottoms and steam in little water for about 10 minutes and still firm and green.
Remove the octopus from the pack, pat dry with paper towel, drizzle a little basting oil, and sprinkle a little dry seasoning. (They are pre-cooked and already come bit salty)
When the beets are done and peeled, sauté the octopus until golden brown, remove to a paper towel to drip any basting oil.
To plate, season the asparagus and beets to taste with both, my basting oil and dry seasoning.
Have the AIOLI sauce already prepare the day that you are making this dish. Therefore, bring it out of the fridge and get ready to assemble the whole meal. Enjoy
 
Angie’s Dry Seasonings: http://www.angieslifehacks.com/family-life/oven-roasted-bacon-chicken-and-angies-seasonings
Angie’s Basting Olive Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oi

No kidding, this dish reminded me of moussaka. Purple Chinese eggplant, purple onion and purple cabbage, only 6 ingredients and there you have it, dinner is ready. You can also add avocado and red bell peppers if you like, smile.
 
Category:  Entrée  
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:   40 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $8.24 or $2.75 per serving
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free 
Servings: 3
 
Ingredients
½ lb. 98% fat free ground chicken ($2.99)
1 ½ tbsp. Sazon Todo en Uno con Achiote Seasoning (.25)
3½ tbsp. Angie’s basting oil ($1.15)
1 large red onion (1/2 for the eggplant and ½ for the chicken) (.50)
1 Chinese eggplant ($1.55)
1 small purple cabbage (.55)
 
1 avocado (optional) ($1.25)
 
Directions

1. Chop ½ the onion for the ground chicken and slice the other half.
2. Rinse, pat dry and slice the eggplant in disks.
3. Add ½ tbsp. of basting oil to an oven safe baking pan, add the ½ sliced onion and top with the eggplant discs.
4. Drizzle 1 tbsp. basting oil over and add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Bake at 400 degrees until caramelize and golden brown (about 20 minutes) and when done, stir, and add ½ spoon of Sazon Todo en Uno con Achiote for flavor and extra color.
6. Meantime, in a skillet, add 1 tbsp. or basting oil, add the chopped ½ onion and while it cooks, (about 5 minutes,) season the chicken with 1 tbsp. of Sazon Todo en Uno con Achiote.
7. When the onion is golden, add the chicken and cook until done stirring constantly so it doesn’t chunk up.
8. By now, the eggplant is cooked, therefore, to plate add a spoonful of chicken to a nice plate, top it with another spoonful of the eggplant and if you like, slice an avocado and throw it there as well.
9. I also made a simple salad of shredded red cabbage with 1 tbsp. of basting oil, salt and pepper to taste. Boom.

  
My Link:
Angie’s Basting Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil

What a simple side and easy to make. You only need sweet potatoes, culantro leaf’s rosemary and my basting olive oil. It may take between 45 minutes to one hour but it is so worth it!
 
Category:  Side
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:   1 hour +
Approximate Cost:    $5.25 or $1.31 per serving
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free   __X__   Vegetarian __X__ 
Servings: 4
 
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, (or 2 med size), rinsed, pat dry and cut lengthwise ($2.75)
8 Culantro leaf’s, rinsed and pat dry (.80)
4 rosemary springs, rinsed and pat dry (.50)
¼ c. Angie’s basting olive oil ($1.20)
 
Directions
Follow the directions on the sweet potatoes, smother with my basting olive oil, add the culantro and rosemary on top, wrap in aluminum foil paper and oven baked for about 45 to 1 hour, depending on your over calibration.
Serve them with pan roasted salmon or cod, or chicken, any protein you love.
 
Done, Bon Appetite!
 
Angie’s Basting Olive Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oi

I was looking to make something sweet for my granddaughters for Christmas and found a simple Cinnamon Sugar recipe online. As I always do, I decided to add more to those two ingredients for flavor.  Even though the name is Cinnamon Sugar, check out all the ingredients that I added.
 
Category:  HACK
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:  Just few Minutes
Approximate Cost:     Almost nothing!
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free   __X__   Vegetarian _X___ 
Servings: Cup ½ or almost 2 cups (I do a lot of eyeballing, smile)
 
INGREDIENTS
1 ¼ cup granulated sugar (I used Organic Cane Sugar)
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. Vanilla Powder
1/16 OR About 1/8 of a tsp. of ground Nutmeg
1 tbsp. Granulated or ground Ginger
 
DIRECTIONS
1. Add sugar, ground cinnamon, Vanilla Powder and Granulated or ground Ginger and Nutmeg to a small size bowl.
2.Stir until all is well combined.
3. Store in a spice jar or airtight container.
 
DIFFERENT WAYS TO USE CINNAMON VANILLA SUGAR
These are some ideas for you to use the Cinnamon Vanilla Sugar:
 
Use as Topping for:

• French toast, Pancakes, Waffles, Donuts, Muffins, Yogurt, Ice cream

Add to Baked Goods:

• Coffee Cake, Pie crust, Oatmeal cookies, Cinnamon rolls, Fruit cobbler

Stir into Beverages

• Spiced Apple Cider, Hot chocolate, Coffee, Tea, Warm milk, latte, Smoothies

 
Cinnamon Toast

1. Toast your favorite type of bread.
2. Spread it with butter, it should melt.
3. Then, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

The Holidays are over and guess what? It will still be time to do a lot of baking! Smile. I just found out last year that instead of paying that much money for real vanilla, I can actually make it at home. You can use my post or just Google how to make it, so you can do the same. if you have the ingredients at home or even if you don’t, just purchase them. It is also a lot of fun to give it away to family and/or friends. However, it takes a long time to be ready, tons of months, therefore, start it earlier.
​
 TOMORROW: I WILL POST MY CINNAMON, VANILLA SUGAR, wait for it!
​
Category:  HACK
Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $15 for the vanilla beans mostly
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free     
Servings: 1 1/3 Cup (my 2 bottles size), (select your bottle size and measure vodka accordingly)
 
Ingredients
5 to 6 whole vanilla beans that I cut in half to fit in the bottles. (You can use more)
1 1/3 cups vodka (based on my bottles size, yours may be different)
 
ADVISE BEFORE YOU START:
The Vodka must be 40% alcohol, 80-Proof or less for a neutral flavor to allow vanilla to dominate instead of the alcohol.
The Vanilla Beans must be Grade B. Is a better value since A are significantly expensive.
Vanilla Beans are not sold in all stores, are expensive, just Google and purchase online.
You will have to shake the bottle(s) really good daily.
This recipe is not instant, and it will take 6+ months. Therefore, be Patient!
 
DIRECTIONS

• Cut the vanilla beans in half lengthwise carefully with a sharp knife and leave the

ends on or off if you like, cut the beans to make them fit in your jars as necessary.

• Place the beans inside your selected size jar.
• Cover with the vodka completely, close the lid and shake it really well.
• Place in a cool dark place, allow it to remain there for at least 6 months or better yet more. The longer the vanilla sits, the stronger the flavor will be.
• Finally, don’t forget to shake your jar/bottle(s) weekly to make sure that the beans release their goodies and that you will end up with a darker vanilla at the end of the 6 plus months