 To begin explaining, the name of this dessert entails two delicious dessert; Flan and Bizcocho, (which means Flan and cake in English). So, whoever created this popular dessert (so many years ago), merged Flan with the last five letters of cake in Spanish (cocho) and came up with the cute name. If you make it with chocolate, then the name change to CHOCOFLAN. I have been making this dessert for so many years it is insane. Today, I decided to share it with you. The Flan recipe is always the same, unless you want to alter the flavors; vanilla or chocolate, or almond, etc. The same goes for the cake, therefore, you can select any cake box flavor of your choice to use in this recipe. Today, I am using the traditional recipe with my twist, and with the box cake (although I also make it with my homestead cake from scratch as well). Category: Dessert Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 1hr. 30 Minutes Approximate Cost: $10.55 or $1.32 per serving Difficulty Level: Intermediate Allergens, Other: Gluten Free Servings: 8+ Ingredients 1 cup Granulated Sugar for the Caramel (.50) 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk ($1.20) 1 can Evaporated Milk, ($1.30) 4 ounces Cream Cheese, softened ($1.00) 3 to 4 large Eggs (.80) ½ tsp. powdered ginger (.10) 2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract ($1.20) 1 tsp. of Frangelico liquor (.50) oil spray for the baking pan (0) Directions for the Cake: 1 box Vanilla Cake Mix, or yellow cake mix plus 3 eggs ($3.95) Ingredients listed on the Box the you purchase, some ask for milk, others water, etc. Directions for the Flan 1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prepare a large baking pan with water for a water bath. Next, oil spray a large 12-cup Bundt or cake pan and place inside the larger baking pan with water. Set aside. 2. Melt the 1 cup of sugar for the caramel until completely dissolved in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Watch carefully so it does not burn. You may swirl the pan to stir. Remove from heat when it becomes amber or golden color. 3. Pour the melted sugar into the bottom of the Bundt cake pan, working quickly before it hardens. Set aside. 4. In a blender, combine the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, 4 ounces Cream Cheese, softened, 3 to 4 large or jumbo Eggs, ½ tsp. powdered ginger, 2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract and 1 tsp. of Frangelico liquor and blend until smooth. Pour into the pan over the caramel sauce, set aside. 5. Next, in a bowl with a mixer, prepare the cake mix according to the package instructions. Carefully pour over flan mix until the pan is about 3/4 full (if you end up with extra batter, just used it to make cupcakes). DO NOT stir the flan and cake batter together. When they are baking in the oven, the cake batter will sink to the bottom of the pan. 6. Pour hot water into large baking dish so that water comes halfway up the sides of the Bundt pan. Bake for 1 hr. depending on your oven, do not open the oven before that. Check for doneness after the 1 hour. A toothpick inserted near the center should come out clean. 7. Remove cake from water bath and cool on wire rack. DO NOT UNMOLD. For best results, refrigerate overnight before unmolding. Place a serving plate over the cake mold and flip over carefully, right side up. Remove cake pan and serve. Done.
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 You already decide on a main course protein for dinner, however, the block comes deciding what to make for sides, either a salad, a veggie, pasta, rice, well, is almost always an issue. Today, I am posting ideas for easy sides. Simply rinse them cut them and bake them. BOOM! Category: SIDES Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 30 TO 45 Minutes Approximate Cost: $5.20 or .87 cents per serving Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free __X__ Vegetarian __X__ Servings: 6 TO 8 Ingredients 1 large sweet potato (rinsed, pat dry, slice lengthwise) ($1.10) 1 large Idaho potato (rinsed, pat dry, slice lengthwise) ($1.00) 3 large beets (rinsed, pat dry, peeled, quartered and wrapped in aluminum foil) ($2.60) ¼ c. Angie’s basting olive oil (you can use less than this amount) (.40) A bit of seasoning of your choice to sprinkle over (.10) Directions Start your oven at 425 degrees. Follow the directions listed under Ingredients above. Pour basting olive oil to taste, just enough to moist the potatoes. Place the veggies inside a baking pan to roast/bake (all together, since the beets will not bleed) Place the baking pan in the oven and do not open to check until 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the beets and check the potatoes for doneness, since each potatoes size will vary. If not done 100% then put them back for few more minutes until done. 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-oil Angie’s Homemade Pesto http://www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/angies-homemade-basil-pesto-sauce  Yes, you can purchase canned beans, the easy way to eat these tasty grains. However, the can beans contain preservatives and if you can avoid that, you should. I also use the canned beans every now and then, but I drain them, rinse them, drain them again and then cook with them. Category: HACK Approx. Prep and Cook Time: Few Hours and overnight Approximate Cost: ( Under $2.00) Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free ____ Vegetarian ____ Servings: 4 to 5 cups Ingredients 1 lb. of dry beans of your choice Enough water to boil until softened Directions
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  Recently, I posted my Chocolate Mug Cake. Today though, I was craving vanilla cake, so I did what smart girls do, I made my new flavor Vanilla Mud Cake. SMILE. It is so easy and take about one minute. Boom! Category: Dessert Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 3 TO 4 Minutes Approximate Cost: $3.80 Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: for Gluten Free use 1 to 1 GF Flour Servings: 1 INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS In a large microwave-safe mug, stir together the flour, baking powder, vanilla powder, sugar, and salt. Add the milk, peanut oil, vanilla extract and stir until well combined and smooth. Stir in some butterscotch chip and sprinkle the top with the remaining chips. Microwave on high for 60 to 90 seconds or until the cake is puffed and the center looks dry. (Remember, all microwaves work differently as well). Let cool for a few minutes before eating. NOTES:
 ACHIOTE (ANNATTO) is a natural dye to give color naturally to your meals. Today, I am using it to color my rice. This is such a simple yet warmth and yummy side. You can use it in beef stews, stewed beans, lentils, etc. Category: SIDE Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 25 Minutes Approximate Cost: $1.40 Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free __X__ Vegetarian __X__ Servings: 4 Ingredients 1 c. parboiled rice (.50) 2 c. of room temperature water (.10) 1 tbsp. of my dry seasoning (or the one of your choice or just plain salt) (.30) 1 tbsp. of Achióte Oil (See my Notes below to get my Achióte Oil recipe) (.50) Directions for the Rice Add 1 tbsp. of Achióte to a skillet or saucepan over med-high. Once is warm, add the rice and seasoning. Sauté it briefly. Ever so carefully, add the water, stir, bring it to a boil, reduce to low, cover and cook for 25 minutes. Done. Directions to Make the Achióte In a saucepan over medium low, heat 1 cup of vegetable oil (I use EVOO) and add ½ cup of the Achióte seeds. Simmer for about 20 minutes to get a strong color. Remove from stove, allow it cool, then strain the oil into a glass container with lid. You can store it at room temperature or in your fridge. Use it as you would use oil in your meals to color your beef stew, meats, stews, rice, seafood, etc. in the same amount you would use plain oil in your recipe. 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-oil Angie’s Homemade Pesto http://www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/angies-homemade-basil-pesto-sauce  Fall is already here and at times it gets real cold. Therefore, this is the time when I prefer to make lots of soups and stews because they keep me warm. Don’t you think? Use my selection of herbs or your favorite herbs, dried and/or fresh. Category: HACK Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 30 to 40 Minutes Approximate Cost: $3.00 Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free __X__ Vegetarian _X__ Servings: 6 to 7 cups (maybe more) Again, this is my idea to make a flavorful stock/broth: Step 1: go purchase a rotisserie chicken. Step 2: remove all the meat to use in salads, sandwiches, soups, etc. Step 3: most importantly, keep the carcass to make my chicken stock. It’s so good. Ingredients 1 tbsp. Dried oregano (.25) 1 tbsp. Dried parsley (.25) 1 tbsp. Dried thyme (.50) fresh Cuban oregano (my garden) (0) fresh Rosemary (my garden) (0) fresh cilantro (my garden) (0) fresh sage leaves (my garden) 1 tsp. Cumin (.15) 1 tsp. Black pepper (.10) 8 to 10 cloves of garlic, smashed (.50) 1 large onion with the skin on cut in cubes (.50) 2 celery ribs with the leave cut in 4-5 pieces each (.20) All the bones/carcass from a rotisserie chicken (0) 2 carrots, cut in pieces (. 25) 2 tbsp. Angie’s basting olive oil or the one of your choice (.30) 6 to 7 cups of water Directions Brown the rotisserie chicken bones in 2 tsps. of olive oil in med high. Chop a large onion in cube pieces, no need to peel it add it to the pot. Add 10 cloves of smacked garlic, no need to peel them, keep browning these ingredients. Add the dried spices, (most of the time I use dried because the flavor is more intense). Add the water. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 to 35 more minutes. Wait until it cools down, then strain to remove the ingredients and obtain the liquid stock. Before freezing your rotisserie chicken stock, remove any fat that built up on top of the stock and discard. Then distribute in freezer saved containers, and freeze them until time to use. 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  I was craving cake, oh well, good chocolate cake. However, we are empty nesters and I don’t want to bake a whole cake because then I’ll have to eat it all, SMILE. So, I look at my old recipes notebook and found my old mug cake recipe for 1, is not rock science. Boom! Category: Dessert Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 3 TO 4 Minutes Approximate Cost: $ Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: for Gluten Free use 1 to 1 GF Flour Servings: INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS In a large microwave-safe mug, stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, cocoa, and salt. Add the milk, peanut oil, vanilla and stir until well combined and smooth. Stir in most of the chocolate chips and sprinkle the top with the remaining chips. Microwave on high for 60 to 90 seconds or until the cake is puffed and the center looks dry. (Remember, all microwaves work differently as well). Let cool for a few minutes before eating. NOTES:
 Recently, since I had such a great cherry tomato season in my garden, I decided to develop my own cherry Tomato Sauce and gave you, my recipe. Today, I am posting a delicious dish that I made using lean ground chicken for mini burgers over my Orzotto Tomato Sauce. I hope that you like it and make it, smile. Category: Entrée Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 30 Minutes Approximate Cost: $8.15 or $2.72 per serving Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: NOT GLUTEN FREE Servings: 3 Ingredients for the mini burgers ($4.50) ½ lb. 98% fat free ground chicken ($3.00) 1 ½ tsp. of my dry seasoning or to-taste (.30) 1 tsp. of my basting olive oil (.40) ½ chopped med. size onion (30) 3 large garlic cloves (.20) ¾ c. Panko (.30) Ingredients for the Orzotto ($3.65) 1 c. Orzo (.50) 1 ½ tsp. of my dry seasoning or to-taste (.30) 1 tbsp. of my basting olive oil (.45) 1 ½ c. chicken broth/stock (.90) 1 ½ to 2 c. of my Cherry Tomato Sauce ($1.50) Directions Add to a bowl all the mini burgers ingredients, mix well and make the small burgers. Sautee them in basting olive oil until golden brown and fully cooked, remove set aside but keep them warm. In the same skillet, with more basting olive oil, sauté the orzo pasta briefly, carefully add 1 c. of chicken broth/stock, reduce the heat too low, stir, cover and keep adding broth/stock when it dries up until the orzo is tender. Once the Orzo is tender, add my cherry tomato sauce as needed to-taste, until it looks creamy, stir. Now for plating, add the creamy Orzotto to a plate, bring the warm burgers back and place 3 over the pasta. If you want. you can sprinkle some Parmesan Romano cheese over and 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-oil Angie’s Homemade Pesto http://www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/angies-homemade-basil-pesto-sauce  There are so many ways to prepare eggplants. So this time, I chose to slice it diagonally, about lees than ½ “thick, sear in a skillet fill them with my chicken rolls and roll them. They sure look pretty but better yet, the taste was better, smile. Category: Entrée Approx. Prep and Cook Time: under 45 Minutes Approximate Cost: $5.20 or $2.60 per serving Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free Servings: 2+ Ingredients 1 large eggplant, rinsed, sliced diagonally in ½ “thick ($1.50) ½ lb. 93%fat free ground chicken breast, seasoned and roll into sausages like ($2.50) Chicken Seasoning: (Granulated Onion and Garlic, Paprika, Adobo and my seasoning to-taste) (.60) ¼ c. (or 2oz.) Angie’s basting olive oil (for the skillet and to rub the eggplant slices (.60) Directions Follow the instructions given under the ingredients list. Season the chicken, wet your hands and scoop some in your palm to make rolls, then cook them and set aside. Rub some of my basting oil on the skillet and place the eggplant slices. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Remove from skillet and place over paper towel to absorb any unnecessary basting oil and /or pat dry. Place one chicken roll over the eggplant slice and carefully begin to roll it. Once you are done with all of them, you can warm them up in the microwave before serving. Serve them with a nice salad and toasted garlic bread slices. Done. 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  Do you want turkey meatballs to taste interesting? Just fill them with Feta cheese, a tangy, salty combination that tastes delicious. My meal today comes with sautéed kale and a Tri-Color Couscous side. A super tasty and healthy dinner to enjoy! Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 30 Minutes Approximate Cost: $17.64 or $5.88 per serving Difficulty Level: X Intermediate Servings: 3 Ingredients 1 pk of ground turkey breast, makes approx. 12 to 14 turkey meatballs ($3.99) 1 egg (.15) 1 ½ tsp. Paprika (.15) 1 ½ tbsp. Onion flakes (.35) 1 tsp. Ground garlic (.15) ½ cup Feta cheese ($1.55) ¾ cups of Panko (.75) 1 tbsp. Olives, chopped (.20) 1 ½ tsp. Adobo (or to taste) (.35) 6 cups of fresh Kale (chopped in large size pieces ($3.80) 3 tbsp. Olive oil (.70) 1 bag of Tri-Color couscous ($2.50) Salt and pepper to taste if needed 2 avocados ($3.00) Directions Add the following ingredients to the ground turkey; 1 egg, Paprika, onion flakes, ground garlic, ½ tsp. of olive oil, chopped olives, 2 tsps. Of Panko and Adobo to taste. Mix until all ingredients blend. Make small meatballs with an ice cream scooper or just roll them in the palm of your hand. Put your finger in to make a dent to fill with some Feta cheese. Roll again to keep the Feta inside the ball. Put more Panko on a plate and roll the balls in to cover with Panko completely. Refrigerate. Cook couscous according to the bag directions. Meantime, add 1 ½ tbsp. of olive oil into a skillet in med. high. Add the mini turkey balls and sauté thoroughly until golden brown. Remove from the skillet and set aside to rest for about 4 minutes. In the same skillet, add more olive oil if needed and sauté the kale. When it turns bright green, sprinkle Adobo to taste. Slice your avocados and you are now ready to plate. Enjoy! |
ABOUT THE AuthorI am a blogger, a photographer, a jewelry designer, a gourmet cook, and a recipe book writer. I am also a flea market flipper, an avid gardener, an interior/ outdoors designer, an avid golfer and traveler. Categories |
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