Yes, again, I was walking down the aisles at Trader Joe’s and I catch a product that I’ve never seen before; Organic Chickpea and Red Lentil RISONI. As the box indicates, it’s a legume-based grain alternative, nice to use instead of rice. So I picked a box and went home. Once at home, I decided to cook it my own way and the end result was very tasty, smile. Therefore, these are my ingredients.
 
Category:  Entrée  Side
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:  15 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $3.85 or $1.93 per serving
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free
Servings: 2
 
Ingredients
1 c. Organic Chickpea and Red Lentil RISONI ($2.99/box=6 servings) ($1.00)
5 dry Shitake mushrooms cut in half (.70)
1 ½ c. Organic beef broth ($1.25)
1 envelope of Sazón (.25)
1 cube of frozen Molido-Sofrito (.25)
1 tbsp. Angie’s basting olive oil (.40)
 
Directions
In a medium size saucepan, bring 1 ½ c. Organic beef broth to a boil with the mushrooms, Sazón, basting oil, and frozen molido-sofrito.
Stir in 1 c. Organic Chickpea and Red Lentil RISONI, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 9 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover, remove from heat and let it stand for 5 more minutes.
DONE!
 
TOMORROW, CHECK OUT MY RISONI WITH SALMON MEATBALLS POST!

Again, it works to do the prep for your weekly meals to save time. I usually get a bag of beets from my favorite store. Peel them, rinse them, pat dry them and roast them in the oven with my basting oil. Then I use some whole, others I slice and finally, I get some cubed and use in salads. The bonus? They last me a week in the fridge in a vacuum sealed bag and I don’t have to start my oven in hot days several times a week. Winning!
 
Category:  Side Dish
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:   50 to 60 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $5.75 or .96 cents per serving of this nutritious veggie
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free and Vegetarian  
Servings: 6+
 
Ingredients
1 lb. bag of organic beets ($4.50)
¼ c. of Angie’s basting oil (see my link below) ($1.25)
 
Directions
Start your over at 400 degrees.
Peel the beets. (Warning, they stain your hands, kitchen towels and anything else that comes in contact with the peeled beets.)
Rinse and pat  them dry them.
Roast them in the oven whole with ¼ c. of my basting oil for 1 hour. Allow to cool and cut to your taste or leave them whole.
Done!

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

In sync with my veggies week, today I am posting one of my favorites, roasted asparagus. A simple side dish that only takes two ingredients and 10 to 15 minutes to deliciousness.
 
Category:  Side Dish
Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 10 to 15 minutes until tender (depending on your oven)
Approximate Cost:    $2.70 or $1.35 per serving
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free X   Vegetarian X 
Servings: 2
 
Ingredients
½ lb. of thick asparagus spears ($2.00)
2 tbsp. Angie’s basting olive oil (see my link below) (.50)
1 tbsp. Roasted Garlic and Herbs (.20)
 
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and start prepping the asparagus.
Clean well and cut the bottoms, about 3 to 4 inches and discard. (Today, I used a veggies peeler since they were too thick, however, sometimes I don’t to keep the fiber.
Coat the asparagus with my basting oil, sprinkle with Roasted Garlic and Herbs seasoning.
Roast them until golden brown and tender. (Again, depending on thickness and your oven)
 
NOTE: If you prefer a more full-bodied side, just sprinkle fresh parmesan cheese or Feta on top and bring back to the oven for few minutes until the cheese melts all over.
Done!
 
My Link:
Angie’s Basting Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil

Pumpkins like this brings back sweet memories of me growing up. I always crave this kind of dish when I was feeling under the weather with a cold or something. Therefore, when I ate mashed pumpkin (Calabaza) with butter or olive oil, it gave me the soothing feeling that no medication can give to anyone. Smile. Today, I am making a simple vegetable side dish to go with any meal of your choice, even though, this pumpkin can be used to make a long list of dishes, including desserts.
 
Category:  Side Dish
Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 20 Minutes or less
Approximate Cost:    $3.27 or .82 cents per serving
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free and Vegetarian  
Servings: 4
 
Ingredients
3 lb.  Hard Skin ($2.07)
¼ c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil ($1.20)
 
Directions
Wash the pumpkin well, cut into about 2” pieces. (keep the skin if you prefer, is edible. I peeled mine off this time.)
​
In a saucepan with water to cover the pumpkin pieces, bring the water to a boil and cook until tender. About 4 to 5 minutes.

Drain immediately, plate and drizzle with olive oil to taste.
 
Enjoy!

This is a nice idea that makes everyone happy. When you have friends coming over for dinner, they will be happy to see their dessert is in control portions and they will eat just what’s in the jar, plus is adorable to serve dessert in these jars to your guests. The bonus for me? I just pull the flans from the fridge, take the lids off, serve them and don’t need to worry about dessert plates, or slicing a large flan. Boom!
 
Category:  Dessert
Approx. Prep and Cook Time: 1 hour
Approximate Cost:    $11.22 or $1.12 per serving
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free   
Servings: (4 mason jars) (and 1- 8 x 4 loaf baking pan= 6 slices) 10 servings total
 
Ingredients
1 can condensed milk ($1.45)
1 (13.5) can of Goya Coconut Milk ($1.99))
1 tbsp. Swiss chocolate almond Liquor (.90)
1 vanilla bean pod for the seeds (cut lengthwise to scrape/remove the seeds from pod use) (.90)
6 whole eggs (.80)
 
1 ½ cup of white organic sugar for the caramel (.50)
4 half-pints (8-oz.) mason jars and an 8 x 4 loaf baking pan ($4.68)
 
Directions
Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.
Add sugar to a skillet on med-high until it melts and turn to light color caramel. (Don’t burn it)
Carefully, pour the caramel into the 4 mason jars (and the 8 x 4 loaf baking pan) set aside.
Pour hot water in a large baking pan. Place the 4 mason jars and loaf pan inside the water pan and set aside.
In a blender, add all the ingredients in the order they are listed, including the vanilla seeds without the pod and blend. (discard the pod)
Add the blender mixture into the caramelized jars and loaf pan.
Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Check if they are done in the middle by inserting a toothpick, it  must come out clean. The flans will jiggle.
Remove from the oven and let them cool completely.
Keep the flan in the jars. To plate the large flan, run a knife around the border to detach it. Place a larger plate over the flan pan and making sure the flan is completely detached from the sides, carefully turn it upside down to remove from the pan easily.
 
HACK: Serve the flan in the jars with whipped cream. Garnish the larger flan with berries.

You only need 2 med size salmon filet and few more ingredients to cook and enjoy this cute bowl. Oh, did I mention that it is super healthy and yummy? Smile.
 
Category:  Entrée  
Approx. Prep and Cook Time: Under 40 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $12.75 or $6.38 per Poke bowl
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free    
Servings: 2
 
Ingredients
2 small salmon steaks, cubed (@$2.25 ea. ($4.50)
3 tbsp. Angie’s Basting Olive oil for everything (my link below) (.65)
2 tsp. Roasted Garlic and Herbs Seasoning (.40)
1 c. Basmati Rice Medley (when cooked renders about 3 cups) ** ($1.25)
2 ½ c. Organic beef broth ($1.50)
1 large (approx. 1 lb.) sweet potato, washed, peeled and cubed (.90)
1 jalapeno, sliced (.25)
½ c. chopped cilantro and parsley (.50)
3 large radishes (.30)
2 avocados ($2.50)
Salt and pepper to taste if needed for the avocado (0)
 
Directions
Cook the basmati rice medley according to the pack directions (30 minutes). Instead of water use 2 ½ c. beef broth, 1 tsp. of Roasted Garlic and Herbs and ½ tbsp. of my basting oil.

Cube the salmon steaks, season with 1 ½ tbsp. basting oil and ½ tbsp. of the seasoning.
Chop the parsley and cilantro, slice the radishes and jalapeno and set aside.

Rinse, peel and cube the sweet potato and set aside.

Shortly before the rice is done, sauté the sweet potato cubes until golden in 1 tbsp. basting oil. Remove set aside.

In the same skillet, sauté the salmon cubes until golden brown in their own basting oil.

Get 2 medium size deep bowl. Scoop the rice in the middle and add the salmon cubes, cilantro, parsley, radishes and avocado around it. (Sometimes, I drip any basting oil left in the skillet where I sauté the salmon, all over the bowl for extra flavor. Smile.)

In a small separate bowl, serve the pan sautéed sweet potatoes.
Time to enjoy the meal!
 
**I purchased the Basmati Rice at Trader Joe’s.
 
My Links:
Angie’s Basting Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil

This is not my first post about prepping salmon for the weekly meals. However, since this fish packs so much nutrition, you and I will continue prepping and eating it weekly. So, here we go again, I am prepping mine for this and next week, how about you?
 
Category:  Entrée  
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:   15 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $4.42/2 piece per serving or $2.21 per salmon piece
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free  
Servings: 8 servings
 
Ingredients
1 pk. wild sockeye salmon ($17.68)
 
Directions
Open the pack, clean the back skin and pad dry the whole salmon piece.
With a sharp knife, slice the thin portion under the filet, remove the skin and cube it.
Cut the remaining portion is med-size filet to your taste.
Place in Ziploc bags, date the bags and freeze the portions you are not using that day.
Done!
 
TOMORROW: MY SALMON POKE RECIPE
​

​MY SURPRISINGLY AWESOME TRADER JOE’S FINDING; a “SEASONAL MAPLE PECAN COOKIES AND CAKE MIX”, SERIOUSLY? YEP! 
​
As I always do on a weekly basis, I went to Trader’s Joe’s last fall to get my goodies. Suddenly, I came across a huge display of baking mix indicating it was a seasonal product.  Out of curiosity, I purchase 2 boxes to test the product at home. I never came across a cake mix that you can use to make cookies as well. So, I made the cookies and I was so thrilled with the product that I decided to go back to the store to get more boxes that same week. They not only ran out of the product in my nearby store, but in all the stores in the Washington Metro Area. It was that good and I just missed it until next Fall. Auughhttdds! 
 
Category:  Dessert
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:  20 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $4.86 or .20 cents per cookie
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Contains Wheat, Nuts and Eggs 
Servings: Approx. 24
 
Ingredients
1 pkg. Trader Joe’s Maple Pecan Cookie & Baking Mix ($3.29)
2 eggs (.32)
1/3 c. oil ($1.00)
½ c. powdered sugar (.25)
 
Directions
Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.
In a med-size bowl mix the eggs and oil to combine. Add baking mix and stir to incorporate into a dough.
Form dough into 24 balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Roll each ball into powdered sugar and place them 2” apart on parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until lightly brown. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer cookies to cooling rack to cool completely.
 
Done! 

As I promised yesterday, I am using my new sauce with flaky Tilapia today. It's Good Friday and although meats and poultry are not permissible today, seafood is. Enjoy the meal with your love ones and pray for a quick end of this terrible Pandemic, COVID-19. STAY SAFE, STAY AT HOME!
 
Category:  Entrée  
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:   under 30 Minutes
Approximate Cost:   $8.99 or $4.50 per serving
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free  
Servings: 2
 
Ingredients
2 tilapia filet ($2.83)
6 to 10 maduros-sliced plantains ($1.00)
6 cooked pan-roasted carrots ($1.00)
1 tbsp. Angie’s basting oil (.40)
1 tsp. Angie’s dry seasoning (.25)
2 servings of my new Cilantro-Sage-Parsley sauce ($2.26)
1 avocado ($1.25)
 
Directions
Pat dry the fish and season with 1 tbsp. basting oil and my seasoning. Refrigerate.
 
Boil the carrots in salted water to-taste, drain, pan-roast them in a skillet until golden.
 
Remove the plantains from the box, place in a microwave safe baking dish and cook according to box directions for few minutes until warm enough. Set aside.
 
In a skillet, in with the own marinade, sauté the tilapia until done-golden. Don’t over cooked, about 3 minutes per side.
 
Peel, slice the avocados add salt & pepper to taste.
Serve and don't forget to garnish with my sauce in a small bowl. 

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 had no choice but to go to my garden and harvest the annual herbs before the early first frost. (Seriously, last year we moved from summer to winter and barely had fall.) OK, since I have an abundance of herbs, as I always do, I processed some of them with beef broth and froze them 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 Spanish 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 harvested herbs and nothing was wasted.
 
TOMORROW: 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