 HACK: “It is good to do some meal prep ahead to eat well”. On week days you come home from work and have no time to work on a full meal that otherwise would take a lot of time. To fix that problem, for example, for this meal my prep consisted of cleaning and seasoning the chicken the day before, and cooking a batch of rice that will render 4 meals for 2 people. On meal day, I chop the veggies, microwave the rice and sauté the tenders. Done! Category: Entrée X Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 20 Minutes Approximate Cost: $11.03 or $5.52 per serving Difficulty Level: Easy X Allergens, Other: Gluten Free X Servings: 2 Ingredients 5 large chicken tenders cleaned and slice in 1” ($4.00) 1 tbsp. Roasted Garlic and Herbs (.35) 3 tbsp. of Angie’s basting oil (1 tbsp. for the rice, 1 tbsp. to marinate, 1 tbsp. to saute veggies (.80) 1 c. broccoli ($1.00) 5 garlic cloves, chopped (.30) 1 large onion chopped (.45) 1 long scallion (.10) 2 Tbsp. soy sauce or to-taste (.15) 2 c. Basmati Rice ($2.00) 3 c. beef broth ($1.88) Salt to-taste (0) Directions Prep the tenders the day before, season well with Roasted Garlic and Herbs and 1 tbsp. Angie’s basting oil. Refrigerate. To cook the rice, the day before, bring 4 c. of beef broth to a boil, add 1 tbsp. of basting oil, add the 2 c. rice, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes. Rinse, drain the broccoli and cut into small pieces, about an inch. Peel, slice the onion and chop the garlic. In a sauté pan add 1 tbsp. of basting oil, sauté the tenders until half way cooked. Remove, set aside. In the same skillet, sauté the veggies in the same basting oil until somewhat golden. Add the chicken tenders and stir until the tenders cook completely and add soy sauce to taste. Microwave the rice, when ready, you are good to start plating. Garnish with chopped scallion. Done. My link: Angie’s Basting Oil: www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil
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 This is a day to celebrate the people that you love. To me that should include everyone; your husband, wife, children, neighbors, co-workers and anyone in between. Why not taking a batch of these cupcakes to your nearest homeless shelter for women and children? That’s an awesome idea. Time to bake my friends, from scratch! SMILE. Category: Dessert Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 40 Minutes Approximate Cost: $5.67 or .32 cents per muffin Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Contains Gluten Servings: 18 Ingredients 1 ½ c. Flour (for gluten free cupcakes, please use the 1 to 1 GF flour) ($1.00) ¾ c. white sugar (.40) 2 egg whites (whisked) (.32) ¼ c. applesauce (.25) 2 tsp. melted unsalted butter @ room temp. (.15) ½ tsp. vanilla extract ($1.00) ½ tsp. almond extract (.20) 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder (.15) ½ tsp. baking soda (.15) ½ tsp. ground nutmeg (.15) 1/8 tsp. regular salt (10) 1 c. mashed banana (.50) ½ c. butterscotch chips (.65) ½ c. chocolate chips (.65) Directions Preheat oven at 375 F. degrees. Use muffin liners inside your muffin baking mold for easy cleaning, smile. In a med size bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground nutmeg, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients: First, mash the bananas. Mix in the egg whites, the applesauce, melted unsalted butter at room temp, vanilla and almond extracts and add them to the bananas. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened and incorporated. And now the fun part. Divide the mix into 3 separate small bowls and mix into each bowl the chocolate chips, the butterscotch chips and leave one bowl without chips to have 3 different options to offer to your families. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes depending on your oven calibration. ENJOY!  Dover Sole is a delicate sweet and tender flaky fish that has a buttery flavor. Even though it is a versatile fish to cook, (you can bake it, fry it and God forbid, even microwave it), it works best when you pan-sauté it. This time I decided to make it with a scampi sauce. Category: Entrée Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 20 Minutes Approximate Cost: $15.08 or $5.03 per serving Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free Servings: 3 Ingredients 1 lb. Dover Sole filet ($6.99) ¼ c. Angie’s basting oil ($1.80) 1 tbsp. drained capers (.50) 1 tsp. Angie’s dry seasoning (.40) 1 tsp. Roasted garlic and herbs (.25) 6 garlic cloves, chopped (.30) 1 tbsp. lemon to garnish and for juice (.50) 3 black bean salad as sides from yesterday recipe ($3.84) 2 handfuls of kale leaves (.50) Directions Clean, pat dry and season the filet with Angie’s basting oil, Angie’s dry seasoning, Roasted garlic and herbs and chopped garlic cloves. In a skillet over medium, sauté the fish until a golden color, add the lemon juice and capers. Place the beans salad in small bowls, garnish with a lemon slice, Kale leaves and serve. 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  True, either a side for a meal or as a salad for lunch you will never go wrong. To begin with, there is the protein element of the black beans. Then, the other nutritious ingredients make this dish nothing else but a keeper, don’t you think? Smile. Category: SALAD or SIDE Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 15 Minutes Approximate Cost: $3.84 or 1.92 per serving Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free and Vegetarian Servings: 2 lunch salads (or) 3 small sides Ingredients 1 can black beans, drained, rinsed and spin dry (.99) 1 fresh corn ear cooked and detach from the husk (.45) ½ a mild jalapeno rinsed, seeds and veins removed (.15) 2 garlic cloves, chopped (.10) ½ small onion, finely chopped (.25) 2 tbsp. salad olives (.25) 3 tbsp. lemon juice (.40) 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar (.25) 3 tbsp. olive oil ($1.00) Directions Prep all the ingredients, i.e., chop garlic and onion, cook the corn for about 10 minutes in high, when done, detach the kernels from the corn, and extract the lemon juice. In a med-size bowl, mix all the chopped ingredients. Add the lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Stir well and refrigerate until time to serve it. Done! TOMORROW: MY SEAFOOD RECIPE TO USE THIS DISH AS A SIDE!  This is my first 2020 new post. My blog was unresponsive, each time that I selected a photo from my photo collections for a post, the system instead selected at random a total unrelated photo from any given file. Hopefully, this post will be alright and I will be able to continue creating new materials for my 5-page Blog. Smile. OK, I travel around Florida a lot and I also love to take photos of nature that are EYE-CATCHING to me. During my morning walks, I enjoy the many gardens available throughout he whole state. Florida climate reminds me so much of the Island that I was born, raised, married and have my amazing children, Puerto Rico. So, let’s just enjoy the gift what Mother Nature designed for us. After all, you can enjoy these scenarios anywhere in Florida, all-day long, for free!  I had no choice but to go to my garden and harvest the annual herbs before the early first frost. (Seriously, this year we moved from summer to winter and barely had fall.) OK, since I have an abundance of herbs, as I always do, process some of them with beef broth and freeze in cubes. Furthermore, I tried to come up with some sort of herbs combination to make a fresh sauce to use with my seafood or poultry dishes. End result, I came up with a tasty sauce that can be used to marinade any protein and also, can be used as a side sauce. Winning! Category: Meat/Seafood Marinade or Side sauce Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 10 Minutes Approximate Cost: $4.50 or $1.13 per serving Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free, Vegetarian Servings: 4 individual servings or 2 to season meats and seafood Ingredients ½ c. parsley (chop a bit) (.50) ½ c. cilantro, (chop a bit) (.50) 1 small Rosemary spring (only use the needles) (.15) 3 sage leaves (.10) ¼ tsp. Italian oregano (.15) 1 garlic clove (.05) ¼ tsp. curry powder (.15) 1 tsp. smoked paprika (.15) ½ tsp. Roasted Garlic and Herbs Seasoning (.15) 1 ½ tsp. balsamic vinegar (.15) 1 tbsp. Soy sauce (.15) ½ c. of Angie’s basting oil ($1.80) ¼ tsp. brown sugar (.05) Directions Rinse, pat dry and prep all the herbs. Add all the aforementioned ingredients to a food processor or blender. Process/pulse until the sauce looks smooth and runny, just like a chimichurri sauce consistency would look like. Pour it into a glass jar or any Mason Jar with lid and refrigerate until use. It’s good for about one to two weeks. Note: This combination of spices and herbs worked very well together and although it is not chimichurri sauce, it can be used instead of it and as marinade over raw proteins. The best news is that I used all the herbs harvested and nothing was wasted. NEXT WEEK: MY CILANTRO-PARSLEY SAUCE WITH PAN SEARED TILAPIA, OVEN ROASTED CARROTS, RIPE PLANTAINS AND AVOCADO. My Link: Angie’s Basting Oil: www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil  All I need to do is to purchase a large bag of pre-washed Brussels Sprouts at Costco, Sam’s or the such.
Now, I’ll give you a recipe tomorrow, to use some of this marvelous veggie.  I hard boil 6 eggs for the week. When they are cold I place them in an air tight container with a paper towel inside to absorb any moisture, then I refrigerate them. That gives me the advantage to have cooked eggs during the week to use in salads, or breakfast without having to cook them at the time I need them. And trust them, they stay fresh for that length of time.
Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 7 MINUTES Approximate Cost: .96 CENTS Difficulty Level: X Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced Servings: 6 Ingredients 6 eggs (@ .16 cents each =) (.96) Tap water to cover the eggs (.0) Directions Fill the saucepan with fresh, not hot water. Add the eggs and bring to a boil. Time to cook is 7 minutes. Turn off the stove and leave the eggs in the pan until the water is warm. Remove most of the water and start bouncing the eggs in the saucepan until the shells crack completely. To peel the eggs, submerge in warm water and the eggshell should come off easily in few pieces, as you can see in my photos. Now, go to your kitchen, boil some eggs and use them in any recipe you wish.  In case that you got carried away with turkey, turkey tacos, turkey soup and sandwiches and your sweetie don’t want to see “gobble-gobble” for a while, then, there’s no better excuse than to surprise him/her by making my version of surf and turf. Category: Entrée Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 30 Minutes Approximate Cost: $27.24 or $13.62 per serving Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free Servings: 2 Ingredients 2 Filet mignon steaks ($14.16) 6 Scallops ($9.00) 2 Sweet potatoes Oven roasted, about 40 minutes) ($1.98) ¼ c. Angie’s basting oil ($1.80) 1 ½ tbsp. Roasted garlic and herbs (.30) Directions Pre-heat the oven at 400 degrees. Rinse, pat dry the sweet potatoes and wrap in foil paper. Season the scallops and filet with my basting oil and roasted garlic and herbs. 10 minutes before the sweet potatoes are done, get a skillet over med-high and sea the scallops until golden brown. Remove and set aside. In the same skillet, sauté the filet until golden brown outside and med-well inside. Remove and allow to rest. Ready to plate your meal. Enjoy!  There is a time when you want to indulge, however, don’t want to overdo it. There’s also a time when you want to entertain few friends and want to make a simple dessert that doesn’t need to be sliced. That’s when my BABY OREO CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESECAKES come handy. They are prepared and cooked in few minutes, and they are easy to serve. Oh, did I mention that they taste amazing? Smile. Category: Dessert Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 35 Minutes Approximate Cost: $6.38 or .64 cents per Baby Cheesecake with ice cream Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free Servings: 10 small servings Ingredients 1 8oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese ($1.99) ¼ c. white sugar (.20) ½ c. melted dark chocolate chips (.63) 1 egg (.16) ¼ c. sour cream (.20) 1 tbsp. cocoa powder (.20) 10 Oreo cookies ($1.00) 10 + scoops of ice cream ($2.00) Directions Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Prep. Your cupcake wrappers & drop 1 Oreo in the bottom. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave (30 seconds at-a-time) In a med size bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Add the sour cream and cocoa powder and mix until blend. DO NOT OVER MIX. Use an ice cream scoop to drop I full scoop over the Oreo cookies. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes (as always depending on your oven), until they rise and crack in the middle. Remove from oven when done and allow to cool. To serve, remove the wrappers, place in a nice plate, add a scoop of chocolate ice cream and enjoy! Note: Traditionally, you bake cheesecakes in Bain-Marie (or Baño de Maria) which is nothing else than to place your cheesecake mold inside a larger mold fill half way with water. Just like you would do to bake a Flan. No Bain-Marie with my recipe. It’s ok to crack, since these babies will have ice cream on top, smile. |
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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