 My second herbs hack uses oregano with salad olives and chicken stock. This is a great flavor combination to season your soups, beans, ground beef or chicken and any stew. Cuban Oregano: Or Oregano Brujo, is a succulent plant known with many names in different countries and believe it or not, it is not really oregano. Furthermore, it’s a member of the mint family. Word of caution, Cuban Oregano is stronger than the other “real” oregano’s, smile, therefore, use one of my disks at a time unless you are making a huge stew. Category: MEAL SEASONING Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 10 Minutes Approximate Cost: $2.80 or .23 cents/per frozen disc Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free and Vegetarian Servings: 12 Ingredients 2 c. Cuban oregano leaves ($1.25) 1 c. organic chicken stock ($1.25) 2 tbsp. salad olives (.30) Directions Rinse the oregano in abundant water until the water comes out clear. Drain it in a strainer. Chop the leaves (discard the stems) in smaller pieces and add it to the food processor. Add the salad olives and pour enough chicken stock to make it liquid. Process until the pieces are small for easy pouring into a mold. Pour into your molds of choice and freeze it. (I used a regular cupcake mold, larger) The next day, remove from the freezer and allow to rest over the counter for few minutes, until the frozen oregano discs detaches from the mold. Place the frozen discs into a labeled plastic bag or container and freeze immediately. Just use them to your stews as needed.
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 If there is one type of ingredient that can elevate the flavor of my cooking to no other, I must say HERBS. They add that sense of freshness to any dish I make. Herbs are very perishable and since I use them a lot, I developed my own flavor combinations and method to prevent wasting them. Is no rocket science and I am sure that many of you do the same, like I am sure that most of you freeze sofrito molido like I do, since we were teenagers, smile. However, I will go over it one more time to make sure that no one have to discard or waste these precious babies ever again. I freeze the heck out of all my herbs in different flavor combinations, therefore, I never run out of herbs. ROSEMARY-GARLIC and EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (Rosemary, a Mediterranean herb, is a woody-stemmed plant with needle like leaves) USES for my Frozen Discs: Warm in a skillet for under a minute and pour over baked potatoes. Add to a skillet and sauté meats, pork and seafood. Add to a skillet and make omelets, sunny side up or plain fried eggs. Add to a pot and season soups, stews, casseroles, etc. Category: MEAL SEASONING Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 10 Minutes Approximate Cost: $3.05 or .13 cents/per frozen disc Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free and Vegetarian Servings: 24 discs Ingredients 4 or 5 twigs of rosemary, needles detached from stems ($1.25) 6 to 7 garlic cloves (.30) 24 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil ($1.50) Directions Remove the needles from the stems and add to the bottom of each mold. Chop the garlic in med-size pieces and add to the rosemary needles. Pour 1 tbsp. of olive oil into each mold. Freeze overnight. Next day, work quickly to remove from the molds, they begin to thaw in seconds. Place in a bowl or labeled plastic bags and re-freeze again until time to use. TOMORROW I WILL DO A SIMILAR PREP. HOWEVER, I WILL USE OREGANO, SALAD OLIVES AND CHICKEN BROTH. BOOM!  Such a simple dish and so special, since the peppers are from my garden. I am sure that most of you also have a veggies garden at home. So, time to put these amazing produce to good use, smile. Category: Entrée Approx. Prep and Cook Time: Under 30 Minutes Approximate Cost: $15.50 or $7.75 per serving Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free Servings: 2 + Ingredients 1 red bell pepper from yesterday post (you can use 2 if you prefer) ($1.67) 2 Mahi-Mahi filet ($5.99) 1 large Rosemary twig (.25) 1 ½ tsp. Roasted Garlic and Herbs seasoning (.35) ½ tsp. turmeric (.15) 2 tbsp. Salad olives drained (.30) ¼ c. Angie’s basting oil to season the fish and add to the sauce (link listed below) ($1.80) 1 bag Quinoa & Brown Rice ($2.29) 3/4 c. chicken broth (.75) 2 tbsp. chopped dry onion (.50) 1 tbsp. of tomato sauce (.10) Avocado ($1.25) Parsley to garnish (.10) Directions
My Link: Angie’s Basting Oil: www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil  You all know this, by now we all have an abundance of fresh, organic, homegrown peppers. The question is what to do with them? Well, you can use them in salads, stews, or stuffed them with any protein of your choice. However, another idea that is quick, delicious and simple is to roast them in your burner to turn them into fresh fancy pimientos. Yes, just like the ones you buy at the store, but these ones are even better and if you prefer, you can do this at a moment time, fresh. Overall, you can roast them as you need them or refrigerate for a couple of days to use in sandwiches, stews, and anything else you want to add them to. Enjoy! Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free and Vegetarian Servings: one pepper can serve 2 (stuffed) or cut in smaller pieces for stir fry or stews Ingredients Red peppers from your garden (or the grocery store @ $1.67ea. or 3x$5.00.) Directions
 Yes, I somewhat love to transform the good old Duncan Hines cake box when I am in a hurry. I was summoned for jury duty, then they canceled, then went grocery shopping, then rush hour, then a text from one of my daughters to go to her home that afternoon, and it all happened the same day. Time to get creative in the kitchen, and in a hurry, smile. Category: Dessert Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 30 Minutes Approximate Cost: $5.25 or .88 cents/4 baby cupcakes + a whole free sheet cake Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Contains wheat, eggs, milk, peanut Servings: 6 plus @ 4/serving and a sheet chocolate chips cake. Ingredients 1 box white Duncan Hines white cake mix ($1.25) 1 c. evaporated milk (.75) 1/3 c. peanut oil ($1.00) ½ c. Butterscotch chips (.65) 1 c. Chocolate chips ($1.30) 1/3 c. Powdered sugar (.30) Directions
 As you know by now, this is my zillion post about pan-roasted salmon filet and my oven roasted veggies. Why, because this is a meal that I make an effort to cook and eat weekly. The nutritional value is amazing, the salmon is cooked in no time and the veggies, in spite of the fact that they take longer to cook, you can cook them once and use them for your whole week. Category: Entrée Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 15 Minutes Approximate Cost: $8.65 or $4.33 per serving Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free Servings: 2 Ingredients 2 salmon filet ($4.50) 1 ½ tbsp. Angie’s basting oil (.60) Roasted garlic and herbs seasoning (.30) Yesterday’s oven roasted: Brussels sprouts, garlic and cauliflower ($2.00) 1 avocado ($1.25) Directions For the oven roasted veggies, go to my site and look at my post from yesterday. For the salmon, pat dry, add and rub with basting oil and roasted garlic and herbs. Refrigerate until time to cook it. You will be pan-roasting it on the salmon’s own marinade. Slice the avocado and boom, dinner is ready!  Again, I am working on my oven roasted veggies for this week. Is so easy to clean, peel and roast the veggies of your choice at one time. It’s a big saving on electricity, gas, whatever you use, and a convenient way to cook a meal fast during the week. Stay tuned for tomorrow and you’ll see what I mean. Category: Entrée-Side Dish Approx. Prep and Cook Time: Under 1 hour Approximate Cost: $7.70 or $1.93 per serving Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free and Vegetarian Servings: 4 Ingredients 1 small cauliflower head broken into medium size pieces ($2.45) 5 carrots ($1.00) 1 garlic head (.50) 2 c. whole Brussels sprouts, cleaned and outer leaves removed ($1.50) ½ c. Angie’s basting oil ($2.00) 1 tsp. Roasted garlic and herbs (.25) Directions Peel the carrots and cut them in half if they are too long for your baking pan. Cut the Brussels sprouts ends and remove all the outer leaves. Slice the garlic in half. Place all the veggies in a baking mold, and drizzle with my basting oil and Roasted garlic and herbs seasoning. Rub them well ensuring that the basting oil covered them all over. Cover with foil paper and roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. ** Remove the cover and continue to roast until the veggies turn golden to your taste. **The veggies will cook faster if they are cut in similar sizes. Also, adjust your oven heat accordingly, all ovens work differently. TOMORROW’S POST, HOW I WILL USE SOME OF THESE VEGGIES WITH SALMON STEAKS!  Even though my pound cake is simple, uncomplicated and super yummy, I have my little tricks that makes it unique, delicious, and moist. This is not your frozen Sarah Lee pound cake. Is not that dense, therefore, is easy to eat, smile. Lovely! Category: Dessert Approx. Prep and Cook Time: Under 1 hour Approximate Cost: $7.88 or .79 cents per serving Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens: To make it Gluten Free use only RED MILL GLUTEN FREE FLOUR Servings: 10 Servings Ingredients for the Cake 1 stick + 4 tbsp. of softened unsalted butter (or ¾ c.) ($1.80) 1 cup white sugar (.50) 3 eggs (lightly beaten) (.48) 1 ¾ c. all-purpose flour (sifted) (.60) 1 tsp baking powder (.15) ½ tsp salt (.15) 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract ($1.00) 1 ½ tsp. Amaretto Disaronno ($1.00) ¾ c. evaporated milk (.70) Ingredients for Godiva Chocolate Simple Syrup ½ c. water (0) ½ c. white sugar (.50) 1 tbsp. Godiva Chocolate liqueur ($1.00) Directions:
Finally, you can eat my pound cake as is with a cup of coffee or tea, or you can serve it as dessert with the ice cream of your choice, or you can sprinkle powder sugar all over or finally, you could prepare a powder sugar vanilla glaze and drizzle it all over. Delish!  I grew up eating this dish basically weekly. It was always served with white rice and pink stewed beans. As I grew older, I graduated to more healthy ingredients, hence, I use other types of rice, like today, I used ancient rice from Trader Joe’s and Organic broth for this post. Category: Entrée Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 1 hour Approximate Cost: $10.72 or $2.68 per serving Difficulty Level: Intermediate Allergens, Other: Gluten Free Servings: 4 Ingredients 1 lb. beef for stew meat cut in 1” pieces ($4.97/lb.) ½ cup of Angie’s Basting oil (see my link below) to season & sear the meat and add to rice ($1.55) 1 ½ tbsp. Adobo con Sazon (.30) 2 cups of organic beef broth ($1.25) 3 tbsp. tomato sauce (.20) 5 cloves garlic, minced (.25) 1-onion (.40) 1 handful of Cilantro leaves and stems, chopped (.35) 1 ½ c. of ancient rice (1.20) Sazón (.25) Directions Season the beef with ¼ c. basting oil and Adobo seasoning. Set aside. In a cooking pot over medium high, brown the beef. Add the chopped onion to the meat pot and cook until transparent and light golden. Add minced garlic, stir. Add beef broth, tomato sauce and chopped cilantro, reduce the heat to med low, cover and cook for about 35 to 40 minutes or until the meat is soft and tender. Meantime, to cook the ancient rice, add about 1 tbsp. of my basting oil to a pot, add the rice and stir until is all covered. Add 3 c. of water, one Sazon envelope and ½ tbsp. Adobo con Sazon. (if you need saltier rice, add salt to taste) Bring it to a boil and wait until the water is absorbed a lot. Once that happens, bring the heat to low, cover and cook until the rice is tender and done. Enjoy! Angie’s Basting Oil: www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil  When talking about nutritional foods, pigeon peas are right there in the front row. They are loaded with potassium, to regulate high blood pressure, they are packed with protein to help us grow, help muscles and bones, prevent anemia, reduce inflammation and better yet, they taste amazing. Time to make my recipe. Category: Entrée Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 35 Minutes Approximate Cost: $9.70 or $4.85 per serving Difficulty Level: Easy Allergens, Other: Gluten Free Servings: 2 Ingredients 1 Orange Roughy filet cut in 4 pieces ($3.00) 1 Salmon filet, chopped, seasoned and rolled into 4 small balls ($2.00) ¼ cup Angie’s Basting Oil or EVOO ($1.25) 1 ½ tbsp. Angie’s dry seasoning (.20) 1 large onion, sliced (.40) 3 large elephant garlic (.35) 1/8 cup of Red Wine Vinegar (.25) 1 can (15 oz.) green pigeon peas, drained and rinsed ($1.50) 1 tsp. dried Oregano powder (.15) 2 tbsp. of pitted manzanilla salad olives (drained) (.35) 1 tsp. Peppercorns (.15) 3 Bay leaves (.15) Directions
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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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