I really love this combination a lot. First, it takes no time to prepare. Second, the flaky cod dissolves in my mouth and finally, the asparagus and the Mapén Tostones with pesto are second to none. Boom!  
 
Category:  Entrée  
Approx. Prep and Cook Time: Under 30 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $11.05 or $5.53 per serving
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free     
Servings: 2+
 
Ingredients
2 large pacific cod filet cut in bite size pieces ($4.00)
1 ½ tbsp. Angie’s basting olive oil (.45)
Roasted garlic and Herbs (.15)
½ tsp. garlic powder (.10)
1 tsp. Spanish Smoked Paprika (.10)
½ lb. fresh asparagus ($1.75)
½ bag of Goya Breadfruit (Mapén) Tostones ($2.50)
¼ c. olive oil to fry the Tostones (.75)
1 Avocado (1.25)
Few spoons of my pesto (Optional) (or store purchased) (link provided at the end of this post)
 
Directions to prepare and Sear the Cod: Pat dry the Cod, place in a shallow plate slice in bite size pieces and season with my 1 tbsp. of basting oil, Roasted Garlic and Herbs, smoked paprika and ground garlic. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
Later on, when the asparagus are ready, add at least ½ tbsp. of basting oil to a skillet on med high, place the cod fish and cook until golden brown. Remove and let the filets rest.    
 
Directions for the asparagus: Rinse well and cut all the tough bottoms of the asparagus. Place in a shallow skillet with about ½ c. water and salt to taste. bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and steam until tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Drain the water if any and serve immediately with a drizzle of my basting olive oil as needed.
                      
Directions for Tostones: Add ¼ c. of olive oil to a sauté pan to fry the TOSTONES until golden brown, just as you would do French fries, or you can follow the bag directions if you prefer. Then remove from the pan and allow them to drain any excess olive oil over paper towel. Optional: If you have Pesto in the fridge, place a tiny amount on top of each Tostón.
 
Now is time to slice the avocado and begin your plating.
  
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

​YEAH, YEAH, I hear you. You’ve seen my Sofrito posts many times in my blog. Also, as a true Puertorriqueña, I made Sofrito a million times before. However, this one is a crazy one because it goes non-traditional miles away. Why? Because I used every possible herb I had in my garden and more. The outcome? Sofrito OFF-THE HOOK!
 
Category:  HERBS/PEPPERS CONDIMENT TO FLAVOR YOUR MEALS
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:   10 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $3 to $4
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free   ____   Vegetarian ____ 
Servings: 12 (cupcake mold size portions)
 
Ingredients (for this recipe, you eyeball the ingredients, see my slide portions smile)
Rosemary
Sage
Basil
Italian Oregano
Cuban Oregano
Cilantro
Culantro
Ajicitos Dulce (P.R sweet peppers) (Cachucha)
1 Garlic head
1 onion
 
Directions
In a strong blender or food processor add the ingredients in small amounts. So that they don’t get stuck, add water to help the blend/process. The final product will look smooth but not liquid. When done, simply pour the Sofrito into the mold as best as you can and freeze.
​
Once frozen, taken them off the mold and place in a Ziploc bag to use as needed in your cooking. BOOM!

I told you this story before. I was born and grew up in Puerto Rico, where I learn to eat all kinds of seafood as a little girl; conch, oysters, crabs, sword fish, octopus and the such. We passed the tradition to our son, (my twins weren’t born yet) whom as a little boy could easily eat 1 dozen plus of oysters by the ocean dock, where fishermen came with fresh oysters from the Caribbean Sea and open them for him.  I love to buy this kind of seafood in the markets, then run home to cook it. My daddy, (who loved to fish as a hobby,) brought me fresh octopus but I did not touch it, he had to put it in the boiling water pot, smile. Sweet!
 
Category:  Entrée  
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:    30 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $17.13 or $8.57 per serving
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free     
Servings: 2+
 
Ingredients for the Sautéed Octopus ($13.44)
½ lb. of cooked octopus, (2 large tentacles) cleaned (Costco sells it @$21.99) ($10.99)
1 tsp. Angie’s dry seasoning (.25)
1 tsp. Angie’s basting olive oil (.40)
1 lemon (.50)
1 avocado ($1.30)
 
Ingredients for the Orzotto ($3.69)
1 c. Orzo (.99)
2 c. chicken stock ($1.35)
4 dried shitake mushrooms (.70)
1 tsp. Angie’s dry seasoning (.25)
1 tsp. Angie’s basting olive oil (.40)
In a saucepan over medium heat add the basting olive oil, 1 c. of orzo, the dry seasoning and sauté briefly. Then add the shitake mushrooms and carefully, add the 2 c. beef broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes to soften the grain. It will be moist, not dry at all.
 
Meantime, in spite of the fact that the octopus is already cooked and clean, I still like to rinse and pat dry it before seasoning it and sauté it in a skillet, with 1 tsp. of my basting olive oil. I sauté the octopus’s tentacles until golden brown. 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

It doesn’t cost much to eat healthy and portion control is another concern if we want to stay healthy. This dish took me a few minutes to make and I almost go out to dinner because I was so tired. However, I said to myself, self, you got this, get your energy back and cook something simple and quick, hence, this seafood bowl!
 
Category:  Entrée  
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:  under 30 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $9.95 or $4.98 per serving
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free     
Servings: 2
 
Ingredients for the Salmon ($6.40)
2 small med size salmon steaks (@$2.25 ea. ($4.50)
2 tbsp. Angie’s Basting Olive oil for everything (my link below) (.65)
1 tsp. Angie’s Dry Seasoning (.40)
1 tsp. Toasted sesame seeds (to sprinkle over final dish) (.20)
1 tsp. Sesame Oil (to taste to drizzle over the final meal) (.40)
Handful of a cilantro bunch to garnish (.25)
 
Ingredients for the Quinoa ($3.55)
1 c. quinoa ($1.00)
2 c. of beef or chicken stock ($1.50)
1 tsp. Angie’s Dry Seasoning (.40)
1 tbsp. Angie’s Basting Olive oil for everything (my link below) (.65)
 
Directions
Cook the Quinoa according to the pack directions (about 15 minutes). Instead of water use 2 c. beef broth my basting oil and my dried seasoning listed.
Next, clean and pat dry the salmon and season with 2 tbsp. of my basting olive oil and 1 tsp. of my dry seasoning.

Finally, chop the cilantro and set aside.

When the quinoa is ready, sauté the salmon filets until golden brown.
Then get 2 med-size bowls and add some of the quinoa to each, place the salmon filets on top of the quinoa, sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle a little of the sesame oil to taste, since a little goes a long way.
Done, enjoy your meals!
 
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

Stews are definitely awesome meals to make during the cold weather months, because they are yummy and are traditionally designated as comfort food. Furthermore, the healthy component of cleaning the meat of all animal fat, and adding assorted fresh veggies makes it super awesome!
 
Category:  Entrée  
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:    1 hour (And it’s so worth it!)
Approximate Cost:    $16.02 or $5.34 per beef stew bowl
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free     
Servings: 3+
 
Ingredients
1 ½ # beef for stew cut in 1” pieces ($4.97/lb.)
1 tsp. Bohio Adobochon (.10)
1 tsp. Curry powder (.10)
¼ c. Basting oil ($1.80)
3 peeled, rinsed, and cubed red new potatoes (.60)
3 Carrots, peeled and sliced lengthwise ($1.00)
1 corn cut in slices (.35)
6 Garlic cloves, chopped (.30)
2 sofrito frozen disks (or ½ c. chopped cilantro) (.55)
3 c. Beef stock ($1.50)
3 bay leaves (.10)
½ (8 oz. can) of tomato sauce (.50)
½ c. of good red wine ($2.90)
1 avocado ($1.25)
 
Directions
Clean the meat of all fat, cut in about 1” cubes, season with basting oil, Adobochon, and Curry powder. and refrigerate.
Prep all the following ingredients; the corn, carrots, chop the garlic, peel, rinse, and cube the red potatoes. And set aside.
In a Dutch oven or a medium pot, over med-high, brown the meat. Remove set aside.
In the same Dutch oven add the garlic, and cook until transparent.
Then add the potatoes, corn, beef stock, wine, bay leaves, beef and a bit more of Adobo.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to med-low and cook covered for 45 minutes to an hour until the meat is tender. (A faster way to cook it is with a pressure cooker or instant pot)
After 30 minutes cooking the meat in med-low, uncover, add the tomato sauce, stir and cover again for 15 or 20 more minutes. Check frequently to ensure the dish is done, potatoes are soft, the gravy has not dried out and the meat is tender. You will know it when the meat is tender and also, look and make sure that the sauce is thick and yummy. For more liquefy sauce, add more beef or chicken stock to taste.
 
Now what’s left is to slice the avocado and boom, you are…Done!
Enjoy!
  
 Angie’s Basting Olive Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil

Yeah, why bother, it will all cook perfectly and will taste amazing in no time.
 
Category:  Entrée 
Approx. Prep and Cook Time:  20 Minutes
Approximate Cost:    $8.09 or $2.70 per serving
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  Gluten Free    
Servings: 3+
 
Ingredients to make the Lentil Stew
2 cups of organic green dried lentils ($1.89)
8 cups of homemade chicken stock (0) or purchased ($1.25)
1 Sazón seasoning envelope (.30)
1 ½ tsp. Sazón Tropical (.20)
1 ½ tsp. Roasted Garlic and Herbs (.20)
2 frozen Sofrito cubes (.50)
2 tbsp. minced dried onion (.65)
2 Rotisserie chicken breasts, skin and bones removed ($2.00)
1 ½ tbsp. basting olive oil (.35)
3 to 4 Goya Tostones to thicken the soup (.75)
 
Directions
In a med-size pot add the softened lentils and all the above mentioned ingredients.  Taste to adjust the salt, you may keep it as is, or add more seasonings as you want. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to med low and cook for 10 minutes. You are ready to plate.
  
Angie’s Basting Olive Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil