Fluffy Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Today I'm making Chocolate Chip Pancakes for breakfast!
I usually only have fruit for breakfast, but whenever I don't feel like eating fruit I make Pancakes! Today I'm sharing my favorite recipe with you!

Ingredients:

2 cups  all purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups of milk
1/2 tablespoon of baking soda
and a pinch of salt
plus maple syrup to serve
cooking spray for cooking

Mix all the dry ingredients together: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda an a pinch
salt.  Once all the ingredients are combined, add the milk, the eggs, and 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix well until all ingredients are incorporated

Add the chocolate chips and mix well.

Spray some cooking spray onto your pan or griddle once the griddle is hot,  start making your pancakes, make them as big or small as you want. Cook the pancakes for about 2 minutes or until
bubbles form on the surface, turn and cook for another 2 more minutes or until the pancakes are completely cooked.
 
Keep on repeating this step until you are done with the batter. Keep them warm in the oven until you are ready to serve.

Serve with a bit of butter and some maple syrup, add some fresh fruit or enjoy by themselves.

Enjoy!

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Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles is one of my favorite Mexican dishes...is really easy to make and delicious!

This dish is usually served for breakfast! But it is also perfect for lunch or dinner! It's really simple, it consists of  cold  (old) tortillas, salsa and cheese.  You can fancy it up by adding some shredded chicken to it. It can be served by itself, or you can add some eggs and re-fried beans to make this a truly Mexican breakfast!


Ingredients:
Cold tortillas 20-30 (serves 4)
3 cups of your favorite Salsa ( it can be homemade or from the grocery store)
1 cup shredded cheese or Queso Fresco (which ever cheese is your favorite)
1 onion (cut in slices)
sour cream to garnish
fresh cilantro to garnish
vegetable oil for frying


For this recipe I like making my own salsa, so the ingredients for the salsa are:


Jalapeno peppers (as many as you want, it depends on how spicy you want it)
2 large tomatoes
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons onion
1/3 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

To make the salsa:
Simmer the jalapeno pepper and tomatoes in boiling water for about 5 minutes or until soft. Blend with the cilantro, garlic, onion and water.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Cut the tortillas into bite size pieces and heat up about 1 cup of vegetable oil. Once the oil is really hot, fry the tortillas until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels and keep on repeating this step until  you are done with the tortillas.

Cut the onion into slices and fry them in the same oil you fried the tortillas. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

In a large skillet, bring half of the salsa into a rapid boil. If you have any left over chicken, it will go great with your Chilaquiles, so if you  have some, grab it and cut it or shred it into the salsa and heat up until the chicken is warm.

Add the fried tortillas and add more salsa if needed. Sprinkle with plenty of cheese and cook for about one minute. And that's it, you are ready to serve.

Garnish with the fried onions, sour cream and fresh cilantro! Enjoy!

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Green Enchiladas (Enchiladas Suizas)

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Hi everyone!
Today's recipe is one of my favorite Mexican dishes, Green Enchiladas or as we call them in Spanish "Enchiladas Suizas", which means Swiss Enchiladas, according to an article I read somewhere, Swiss immigrants in Mexico were the ones who came up with the idea of baking this dish to get the cheese to melt, creating a beautiful white bed of cheesy goodness over the enchiladas, that's why we call this dish Enchiladas Suizas.

Serves4-5
Makes 15
Ingredients:

For the green salsa:
1 lb. Tomatillos
4 jalapeno peppers (more or less if you want)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

For the Enchiladas:
2 (20oz) chicken breasts cooked and shredded=(2 1/2 cups of shredded chicken)
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Corn Tortillas (3 per person)
Vegetable oil for frying
Green onions for garnish
Salsa Verde (ingredients above or if you prefer, buy your favorite brand)

Simmer the chicken in salted boiling water for about 15 minutes or until cooked.
(if you have any leftover chicken, feel free to use that instead.)

To make the salsa:
In a large skillet, heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil and saut

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

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Hi everyone, here you have a super easy and delicious appetizer for any kind of party or celebration! 

Ingredients:

1lb shrimp
3-4 pieces of turkey bacon
3 mini sweet peppers or jalapenos peppers
1 teaspoon smoke paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon dry oregano
zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400oF.

Wash and devein the shrimp. Set aside.

Cut the mini peppers into thin slices. Also cut the bacon in slices.

Mix together the rest of the ingredients: paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, salt, crushed red pepper, dry oregano, lime zest and oil, mix until well combine. Set aside.

Butterfly the shrimp, covered with the oil mixture.

Grab a shrimp, 1 mini pepper slices and a piece of bacon. Place the mini pepper inside the shrimp and wrapped everything together with the bacon. Keep on repeating this step until you are done.

Bake at 400oF for about 12-15 Minutes or until completely cooked!

Serve with Shrimp sauce or BBQ Sauce, garnish with lime-lemon wedges and fresh parsley!

Enjoy!

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Chicken Tortilla Soup

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Hi Everyone!
I hope you are all doing great! It is getting pretty cold in my side of the world, the summer is gone and this fall is starting to feel more like winter, so to warm me up I decided to make a delicious, and super easy Tortilla Soup! I hope you like it! This is one of my favorite Mexican's soups!

Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
2 cups chicken broth
1 can Chipotle in adobo sauce
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1 onion
4-5 small potatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tablespoons chicken bouillon seasoning
1 15oz can corn kernels
Limes for garnish
Avocados for garnish
Corn tortillas about 2-3 per persons.
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
Vegetable oil for frying the tortilla chips or cooking spray for baking them

Roughly chop the onion and mince the garlic. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Chop the potatoes into bite size pieces.

In a large saucepan, heat up 1/2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, cook the garlic and onion for about 3 minutes or until the onion becomes transparent. Add in the chicken, season with 1 1/2 tablespoons of chicken bouillon seasoning and some of the Chipotle in Adobo sauce, (I usually add 2 Chipotle peppers and about 2 tablespoons of the sauce, but you can add as many or as little as you like.  A Few teaspoons of the Chipotle sauce are good enough to add tons of flavor without adding any heat.)
Stir together and let the chicken cook for 4 minutes, the chicken will be almost cook, but not completely.  Add in the carrots, the celery and the potatoes, season with 1/2 teaspoon of each, ground black pepper and salt, stir together and add 2 cups of chicken broth and about 4 cups of water, add the cilantro and the corn kernels, stir again, cover with a lid, let it cook for about 15 minutes or until it comes to a boil.

Cut the tortillas into bite size pieces, to make some tortilla chips. Fry them in vegetable oil until golden brown and crisp. Drain them on paper towels, sprinkle with salt. ( or you can also bake the tortilla chips at 400o for about 8-10 minutes, don't forget to spray them with cooking spray and sprinkle them with salt before they go into the oven!)

When the soup comes to a boil, taste the flavor and add more salt or chicken bouillon if needed. (If you do add more seasoning, let it continue to boil for about 2 more minutes then serve.)

Serve your soup in a bowl, garnish with chopped avocado,fresh cilantro and a squeeze of  lime juice, add more of the Chipotle sauce if you want to.  Top it with the tortilla chips and that's it!  Enjoy!

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Citrus and Fresh Herbs Oven Roasted Chicken

Today I'm bringing you a special dinner to celebrate anything you want! This one is perfect for any kind of occasion, if you change the chicken for turkey, it will definitely make a terrific Thanksgiving Dinner or Christmas Dinner!

It might not be as easy as the rest of my recipes, but it is worth the extra time and effort! Your family, friends and/or guests would be very surprised with this dinner! This one is under $15 dollars, and will feed up to 6 persons! I hope you like it!
Chicken was $4.99 potatoes were .99c a pound and the corn were 3 ears $1. Herbs were 1.99 for the 3 of them.

Serves 4-6
Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary
1 1/2 tablespoons of thyme
1 tablespoon of sage
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
3 whole cloves (optional)

1/3 of cup of unsalted butter, soften
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Zest and juice of one orange
Zest and juice of one lemon
tablespoon of smoked paprika

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Optional
3 ears of yellow corn cut in quarters
1 pound of red and white potatoes cut in quarters (half a pound of each)
1 large red onion chopped in big chunks

Chop the fresh herbs, rosemary, thyme and sage.

In a bowl combine the butter with the olive oil, the fresh herbs and minced garlic. Add in the orange zest, lemon zest and 1/2 cup of orange juice plus 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Season with 1/2 tablespoon of each, salt, ground black pepper and smoked paprika. Stir everything together. Taste for flavor, add more salt and pepper if needed. Set aside.

Rinse the chicken with cold water, rinse it inside and out. Pat it dry with some paper towels.

In order to get all the flavor into the meat and not only the skin, loosen the skin from the body a little bit. Place your index finger in between the skin and the meat
and start working your way up to the neck and sides of the chicken. Push between the skin but be careful not to remove the skin or tear it apart. Continue doing this until you have loosen the skin from the whole chicken.

Using a knife, poke the chicken several times, this is just to make sure, all the flavors will be absorbed into the rest of the meat.

Rub the butter mixture under and on the skin. Make sure to massage it really well under the skin first. We want all those delicious oils from the fresh herbs and the rest of the flavors to fully impregnate the meat making it just as delicious as the skin itself. So rub the mixture under the skin really well.

Pour whatever is left on the chicken, and rub it very well on the skin
don't forget to do the back as well and also rub some of the mixture inside the chicken cavity.

Season with salt, ground black pepper and paprika, about 1/2 tablespoon of each on each side, give it one last rub. Refrigerate for 4 hours before cooking. (Overnight will be better)

Optional
This extra step takes less than 5 minutes and it will make the chicken 10 times more
delicious and juicy.

Fill the chicken cavity with one half of the orange that we used earlier, also add the remaining half of the lemon and 3 garlic cloves and if you have any left over herbs also insert them in the chicken cavity. Refrigerate for 4 hours before cooking. The flavors would be even better if you refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 400° for 30 minutes. Turn around and continue to bake for 25-30 more minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked.

If roasting potatoes and corn with the chicken
Bake the Chicken at 400° for 30 minutes. Turn around, add the potatoes, corn and onions, season with extra virgin olive oil, salt and ground black pepper. Continue to cook for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

Transfer the chicken to a serving plate, remove everything you put inside the chicken cavity: orange skin, lemon wedges, herbs, garlic, etc.

Stir (bathe) the potatoes, corn and onions in the chicken juices, then transfer to the same serving plate with the chicken and that's it, enjoy!

To watch this video recipe click HERE!

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Cheddar Biscuits!!!

I Love, like seriously, I really do love Cheddar biscuits, and I could eat them every single day of my life!! When I created this recipe I was trying to recreate Red Lobster's Garlic and Cheddar biscuits, but seriously this recipe is way better! Click HERE to watch my video recipe

makes 6-8 large biscuits!
Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour


• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese


• 3/4 cup heavy cream


• 1/3 cup butter


• 2 teaspoons baking powder


• 1 teaspoon Garlic powder


• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning


• a pinch of salt


• + 4 tablespoons of butter and 1tspn garlic powder and 1tspn Italian seasoning.

Preheat the oven at 450°F.

In an electric mixer, at slow speed, we will mix all the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.

Once all the dry ingredients are mixed together we will cut in 1/3 cup of butter and continue to mix for about a minute or so. (mix for more time if needed)  We want our dough to have the texture of coarse crumbs.

Add the heavy cream and mix together till we get a soft  yet firm dough.  Add the cheddar cheese, mix with your hands, till the cheese is completely incorporated with the dough, get ready to start forming your biscuits!

 

Just grab some of your dough and roll it with your hands into a ball.... keep doing this till you have all your biscuits ready.

In a small bowl melt 4 tablespoons of butter and add  1tspn garlic powder plus 1tspn Italian seasoning, mix together and brush your biscuits with this garlicky butter.

Bake your biscuits for around 15 to 18 minutes at 425°F

(all ovens are different, cook for longer if needed, also if you oven heats like crazy, you can cook this at 400° for 20-25 or 375°F for 22-25 min.) 

Enjoy!!!

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Peach Upside-Down Cake

Hi Everyone I just reached 200 subscribers on youtube! YAY!! To celebrate I baked this delicious and super easy to make Peach Upside-Down Cake!

Ingredients:

4-5 Large peaches
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 sticks unsalted butter, soften
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2/3 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/4 cup nut or almonds (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°.

Simmer the peaches in boiling water for 2 minutes to soften their skin. Drain and set aside to cool.

Combine cake flour, salt, nutmeg, and baking powder, mix well and set aside.

Melt 1/4 of the butter and pour it into a baking pan, tilt the pan to make sure that all the sides are covered in butter, add 3/4 of the brown sugar and spread it evenly all over the bottom of the pan. (if you are adding nuts or almonds, sprinkle them all over the brown sugar.)

Remove the skin from the peaches, and cut the peaches into 1/4 inch slices.

Arrange the peaches slices over the bottom and around the sides of the pan. Decorate the pan with the peaches any way you want it. Set aside.

In an electric mixer, cream the butter with the remaining brown sugar and granulated sugar. Blend at medium low speed for about 2 minutes or until  everything is incorporated into a creamy batter.

Add the eggs, one a time and continue to blend for another minute or until the eggs are completely blended with the rest of the batter.

Add the vanilla extract and also add 1/3 of the flour mixture.
(we are going to incorporate the flour in 3 parts. alternating between flour and liquid, to make the cake extra fluffy)

Add the orange juice and the second part of the flour mix, right after that, add the cream and the rest of the flour mixture. Beat at high speed for 2 minutes.

Spoon the batter carefully over the peaches, shake the pan a little bit to make sure the batter has settle down in the pan.

Bake at 375° for 45 to an hour or until the cake is cooked.

(to know if the cake is cooked, insert a toothpick in the center and if it comes out clean, then the cakes is ready.)

Let it cool for 15 minutes and then transfer to a plate.

And that's it, you are ready to eat!

Add some whipped cream if you like! :D

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Flour Gorditas

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Flour Gorditas are a very popular Mexican dish, we call this kind of food an "Antojito" or a "Crabbing", you  can find this kind of food on a food truck, or even at the most fancy Mexican restaurant.  A Gordita is similar to a South American Pupusa!  In the Mediterranean it will be known as a  Pita bread... 

In Mexico we have flour Gorditas and Corn Gorditas, both of them are delicious and the best part is that you can fill them up with anything you want.
Flour Gorditas are cooked on a griddle and Corn gorditas can be cook on a griddle or they can also be fried! My favorite are Fried Corn Gorditas! Maybe I will share the recipe soon!

Ingredients:


2 cups all purpose flour (16 ounces)
2 tablespoon vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup warm water (some times flour is drier than usual so you might need a little more water) (115°-120°)

Special equipment:





Tortilla Presser







Gordita Presser







Griddle

I'm going to be kneading my dough on my counter top, you can blend everything using an electric mixer, but I'm going to do it the way my mama does. 
Combine flour, salt and baking soda.  
Empty the flour mixture onto the counter top, and bring everything into a pile, cut in the vegetable shortening and mix with your hands until you get the texture of coarse crumbs. 

Once the vegetable shortening is completely incorporated with the flour, gradually add the warm water onto the flour to form a soft dough.
 (you will need about 1/2 to 2/3 cups of warm water)

 
Add as much water as you need to create a soft yet firm dough.
Once the dough  has the right texture, knead it for about 2 or 3 minutes. And let it rest for about 20 minutes before start making
the gorditas.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel.

To make the gorditas you will nedd a Tortilla presser, if you don't have one, you can use a rolling pin to roll out the gorditas.

 After 20 minutes you can star making your gorditas, grab a little bit of dough and roll it into a ball. The size of the gordita depends on you, you can make it as big or as small as you want.
My Gordita balls are going to be about 2 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick.  Once you have all the gordita balls, we are going to press them down with a tortilla presser. (like I said before, if you don't have one of those, you can use a rolling pin to roll out the gorditas.

 Once the gorditas are pressed they will be about twice as big. Mine are about 4 inches in diameter and about 1/2 inch think. Cook the gorditas on a hot griddle, and as soon as you set it on the griddle, place a gordita presser on top of your gordita...

I don't have a gordita presser, so I'm using a small sauce pan filled with some water to press my gorditas down.
And that's about it, cook for about 2 - 3 minutes on each side.

As soon as the gorditas are ready, we w ill cut them open.. grab a small knife, deep it in some water and start cutting your gorditas open. Slice about half way around the gordita to create a pocket. And that's it!
You are ready to fill your gorditas with your favorite filling and  eat them!! Enjoy!!!

I filled my gorditas with some shredded chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, onion and I'm going to top it all with my favorite salsa!

You can filled them with beans, meat, veggies, anything you want! Be creative and enjoy!!!

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Baked Tilapia

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1 1/2lb Fresh Tilapia
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400oF.

In a skillet add the butter, oil and garlic, cook on very low heat for about 5 minutes or until the butter is melted and the garlic is transparent. (DO NOT BURN OR BROWN THE GARLIC, if you do, Your fish will have a very strong garlic flavor)

Once the butter is transparent, remove the skillet from the flame, and remove the garlic from the butter, just dispose the garlic, the butter should be infused with all the flavor now, so we don't need the garlic at all. Add the fresh parsley to the garlic butter, season with salt and ground black pepper, mix well and cover the fish with this butter.

Let the fish marinate in this butter for about 10 minutes before baking.

Bake at 400o for about 12-15 minutes or until cooked.

Served with a bed of salad greens or white rice.

Enjoy!

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Chicken Fajitas

To Watch this Video Recipe please click HERE!

Hi Everyone! I hope you are all doing great!

Today's recipe is another Mexican Dish! I know two in a row? Well, I am Mexican after all and I love Mexican food! Anyway, today's recipe is Chicken Fajitas!

Ingredients:

4 large chicken breasts
1 white onion
1 red onion
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
2 jalape?o peppers
2 limes
1 lemon
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
3 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon dry oregano
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/4 tablespoon ground cumin
flour or corn tortillas
1-2 avocados for garnish (1 is enough for 2 persons)
lime wedges for garnish
more cilantro for garnish

Mince the garlic place in a big plastic bowl (big enough to marinate the chicken)
Slice 1 jalapeno pepper (lengthwise), remove the seeds and mince 1 half of the pepper, combine in the same bowl with the mince garlic.

Slice the rest of the jalapeno in thin strips, also slice the second jalapeno, place in another large container.

Finely chopped the cilantro and mix it in the same bowl with the minced garlic and jalapeno, cut the lime and lemon in half, and add the juices to the garlic mixture, also add in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with 1/2 tablespoon of each salt, ground black pepper and dry oregano also add a 1/4 of a tablespoon of ground cumin. Stir all together, give it a taste, add more seasoning if needed.

Slightly cut the chicken breasts, Do NOT cut all the way through, just cut enough so the marinate can get into the whole breasts, and not only on the surface.
(If you prefer, you can cut the chicken in thin strips, Fajitas are usually served on a tortilla, so to serve the fajitas we will eventually cut the breast in thin strips.)

Marinate the chicken in garlic mixture for about 30 minutes, longer if you have time. The flavors will only get better by the minute. The longer you marinate, the better it will taste.

Slice the rest of the ingredients. Cut the onions in half and then into 1/4 inch slices.
Also slice the bell peppers, lengthwise, remove the seeds and veins, and slice into 1/4 inch slices.

Combine all the vegetable in a large bowl, and marinate with the juice of 1 lime plus 1 1/2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, season with 1/2 tablespoon of each: Salt, ground black pepper and dry oregano. Mix everything together and refrigerate until ready to use. (for aobut 15 minutes or until the chicken is ready to be cooked.)

Preheat the oven to 400oF, 20 minutes before baking the fajitas.

This recipe is great for grilling so if you have a grill, grill the chicken for about 4-6 minutes on each side. Grill the vegetable until they become somewhat tender.

I'm going to be baking my chicken at 400°F for about 15 or until the chicken is cooked.
Bake the peppers for about 12-15 minutes.

Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes before you slice it. Heat up the tortillas and you are ready to eat! You can serve with corn tortillas or flour tortillas, serve with avocado, garnish with fresh cilantro and lime wedges.

If you prefer, you can serve the whole chicken breast over a bed of bell peppers and a side of white rice, garnish with avocado, lime wedges fresh cilantro.

And that's it! Enjoy!

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Lemon Cupcakes

To watch this video recipe Click HERE!
Hi Everyone!

Sorry about the delay in this recipe! My vacations are a week away and I'm very busy making sure everything is ready.Also my microphone broke, so I had to get a new one! I hope you like this recipe! Enjoy!

Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter soften
1/4 cup sour cream
3 eggs room temperature
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Lemon Cream Frosting: (makes enough to frost 6 cupcakes)
8 ounces cream cheese, soften,
1/2 stick unsalted butter, soften
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Chocolate Mousse Frosting (makes enough to frost 6 cupcakes)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate sprinkles for garnish
(this Mousse frosting needs to be refrigerated before using as a frosting)

Preheat oven to 325oF.

Combine flour with baking powder, salt and the zest of the lemon, mix together and set aside.

In two different bowls, separate the egg whites from the yolks and set aside.

In an electric mixer blend butter, sugar and sour cream together until well combined and fluffy, for about 2-3 minutes on medium high.

Reduce the speed to low and add the egg yolks one at time,make sure to beat each yolk for about 30 seconds before adding the next one, scrape down the sides if you need it to, reduce the speed to medium low and add the lemon and vanilla extract, also add in the lemon juice. Blend for 30 seconds, on medium high.

Reduce the speed to the lowest and add the flour mixture a little at a time, scrape down the sides again if you need to. Once the flour is thoroughly combined you can remove the batter from the mixer, and set aside for a minute, remember do not over-mix your batter,
if you do over-mix, the cupcakes will be hard as a rock, and we don't want that.

In an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until very think and fluffy. Once the egg whites are ready, we are going to combine them with the cake batter. Add a third of the egg whites into the batter and slowly fold them together, take your time, this step will make the cupcakes super moist and delicious so do not skip it. By folding the egg whites into the batter we will have a perfect cupcake, rich, moist and fluffy in the inside. Continue to slowly fold in the egg whites with the batter until you are done.

Spray your cupcake pan with cooking spray and pour the batter into the pan, bake at 325o for 25-30 minutes. When you insert a toothpick in the middle of your cupcake, you want the toothpick to have little crumbs on it, if it comes out clean, it means you over cooked your cupcakes, and they will just get drier as they cool. So just cook your cupcakes until the top feels springy and toothpick comes out with few crumbs on it.

Let them cool completely before you put on the frosting.

Chocolate Mousse Frosting:

Microwave 1/2 cup of the heavy cream for about 40 seconds, mix in the chocolate chips, stir together for 15 seconds, cover the cream and set aside, for 5 minutes so the chocolate continues to melt completely. If the chips do not melt completely, you can microwave again
for about 30 seconds.

In an electric mixer, blend the rest of the heavy cream, vanilla extract and the powdered sugar, blend until the heavy creamy is light and fluffy, for about 3 minutes on high speed.

Now we are going to fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, make sure the chocolate is cold and completely melted. Add 1 third of the whipped cream into the chocolate
and slowly fold them together with small circular motions, keep on doing this until the whipped cream is well combined with the chocolate, refrigerate for about 20 minutes before frosting the cupcakes.

Lemon Cream Frosting:

In an electric mixer on medium, blend the cream cheese and the butter blend until well combined, for about3 minutes.

Add the lemon juice, and the the vanilla extract, blend for 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add in the powder sugar, blend at low speed until the sugar is
completely dissolved, for about 2-3 more minutes.

That's about it, the frosting is done, now we have to make sure the cupcakes are cold before frosting them.

You can decorate your cupcakes any way you want... you can use a pastry bag
a Ziploc bag or a butter knife to decorate the cupcakes. It is all up to you,

I'm using my pastry bag with a large round decorating tip.

Fill the pastry bag with the frosting, and start frosting from the outside and swirl into the center of the cupcake. So start on the outer edge, and slowly circle the cupcake until you reach the center. That's about it. Keep on repeating this step until you are done!

I garnish the lemon cream frosting with lemon zest and garnish the chocolate frosting with chocolate sprinkles.

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Shortbread Bloody Witch Finger Cookies

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Makes 2 dozens.
Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 sticks unsalted butter, soften
1/2 teaspoon salt
Bakers semi sweet baking chocolate squares (4), melted (for the nails)
Almonds (for nails optional)
Strawberry preserves or marmalade for garnish

Combine flour and salt, mix well and set aside

In an electric mixer,cream the butter at medium speed, blend until smooth and creamy,
scrape down the sides if you need to. Reduce the speed and slowly add the powdered sugar
blend until well combined. Add the vanilla extract, continue to blend for 1 more minute.

Reduce the speed to the lowest and slowly add in the flour. Blend until all the ingredients come together. Do not over mix.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350oF

Grab about 1 tablespoon of the dough and roll it with your hands to form a finger shaped cookie. If you are using almonds as finger nails, press down the almond into one end of the cookie.

 If you are making the nails with the same dough, form the nail using a toothpick.

Make the nails big and chunky, they are witch fingers, they don't have to be pretty at all.

Fingers are not straight, to give the impression of knuckles, squeeze the cookie bellow the nail, and squeeze again near the end. For a more finger-like appearance make some marks onto the cookie below the finger nail and near the end.

Bake at 350oF for about 15-18 minutes or until slightly golden brown.

Let the cookies cool a little bit.

Melt the chocolate squares. (instructions are in the back of the package)

Using a small knife, cover the finger nails with the melted chocolate. Repeat this step until done.

Dip the end of cookie in the strawberry marmalade for a bloody presentation.

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Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya...

One pot meal! Easy to make and easy to clean:

Ingredients:

• 6 pieces chicken (or one whole chicken cut in pieces)


• 2 1/2 cups sausage, sliced


• 1 cup chopped turkey ham


• 1 tomato, diced


• 1 bell pepper, diced


• 1 1/2 cup white drice


• 1/2 cup chopped onions


• 2 garlic cloves, chopped


• 2 cups of chicken stock


• 1 cup of water


• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil


• 1 teaspoon dry thyme


• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper


• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce


• salt and pepper to taste


• chilly powder (optional)

Soak the rice in some water and set aside.

Season the chicken with some salt, black pepper and chilli powder, add a tablespoon of olive oil and rub the seasoning and oil all over the chicken.

In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, we just want to get a nice brown color on it..it will finish cooking later. Remove the chicken from your skillet and set aside.
Add the ham, sausage, onions, green pepper, tomato, and garlic, stir together and add thyme, cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper, stir again and cook for 5 minutes.

Drain the rice and add it to your skillet, also add the Chicken stock plus 1/2 cup of water and a dash of hot sauce, stir together and bring the chicken back into the skillet, taste to check the seasoning, add more salt and pepper if needed.

Cook at low heat for around 30-35 minutes until the rice is tender and the chicken is completely cooked.
Feel free to add more liquid (water or chicken stock) if needed.

Garnish with some parsley and you are ready to eat!

Enjoy!

Watch my Video Recipe HERE

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Greek Salad

Hi everyone!!
I'm trying to lose some pounds, so I will be posting some more salad recipes! Enjoy the first one, Greek Salad! Perfect for this summer and delicious and substantial for a healthy diet!

Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
2 bell peppers, different color would be nice,
1/2 A red onion
2 cups of black olives
4 small tomatoes, (campari)
1 cucumber
1 lemon
iceberg lettuce.
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley
3 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 garlic clove finely minced.
Feta cheese for garnish.

Dressing:
Combine the fresh parsley with the minced garlic, the lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil,
season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper and set aside..

Wash all the veggies!

Chop the lettuce in big chunks. Cut the bell peppers in 1/4 inch slices.
Quarter the tomatoes, Slice the red onion and also slice the cucumber.

In a large bowl mix all the veggies, garnish with the black olives and the feta cheese. Pour the dressing on whenever you are ready to eat.

I prefer to have all the ingredients in a separate plate, like a salad bar kind of thing, and I will just build my salad whenever I'm ready.

The first layer of my salad is the lettuce,  on top I will add the cucumbers followed by the bell peppers, tomatoes and the red onions. garnish with black olive ans feta cheese. Add the dressing before eating. and that's it.

Enjoy!

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French Toast

French Toast:
Serve 4

Ingredients:

1 French Loaf, sliced in 1 1/2 inch slices.  (1 -2 days old preferably)
1 cup milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1-2 teaspoon Cinamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

powder sugar (optional)
maple syrup or favorite syrup. (to finish it up)

Whisk the milk, cream, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract. Whisk well until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. 

In a large skillet, melt 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter.

Soak the bread into the milk mixture and sautee in the melted butter for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown.  (add more butter if needed)

Keep your bread warm in the oven until you are finished saut

Apple Crisp Pie

Hi everyone!

Today's recipe is a Delicious and super easy Apple Crisp Pie. I'm making everything from scratch, but feel free to buy the pie Crust if you don't want to make one!

I hope you like this one. This is my family's favorite recipe!

Ingredients for the Pie Crust (Feel free to buy yours at the grocery store if you want)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1 stick cold unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 to 6 tablespoons of cold water

Ingredients for the filling:
4-5 green apple
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of Cinnamon
pinch salt
1 pinch ground all spice
1 pinch ground nutmeg
zest of 1 lemon
1-2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup apple juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Crisp:
1 1/2 cups old fashion oats
3 tablespoons  flour
1 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter

Crust Preparation:

In a large bowl mix the flour, salt, sugar and cinnamon. Mix until the all the ingredients are well combined and then add in the butter cut in pieces, also add the vegetable shortening, mix with a fork or with your hands until the flour gets the texture of coarse bread crumbs. (mix in an electric mixer if you prefer). Slowly add the cold water and knead until all the ingredients come together to form a soft dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.(use a electric mixer if you want.)

Filling Preparation:

Wash, core and slice the apples in 1/4 inch slices. In a large bowl, combine the apple slices with the lemon zest and the lemon juice. Season with the sugar, flour, cinnamon: and a pinch of each: salt, nutmeg and all spice. Also add in the Vanilla extract and the apple juice. Mix all the ingredients together and set aside until you are ready to fill the pie.

Crisp Preparation:

Melt the butter.

Combine the old fashion oats with the flour, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix together, and add in the melted butter. Stir all the ingredient until well combine and set aside until you are ready to use.

Time to make a pie:

Preheat the oven to 400°F

Spray pie pan with cooking spray.

Divide the dough into two equal size sections. Roll out one of the sections on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out enough to line your pie pan. (Half the dough should be enough to cover a 9-in pie pan.) Freeze the rest of the dough or use it to top the pie instead of the crisp. Dough can be frozen for up to 10 days.

Line your pan with the dough and fill with the apple mixture and dot with 2 tablespoons of butter.

Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and bake the pie for 35 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Top the apple pie with the crisp and dot with 1 tablespoon of butter. Continue to bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until the Crisp is golden brown.

It can be serve warm or cold and if you want you can serve with some ice cream or whipped cream.

Enjoy!

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Rice and Black Beans

Hi everyone! Today's menu includes Rice and Black Beans, Cajun Chicken and Corn-bread Muffins! Yumm!

Let's start with the Rice and Black Beans. This is a very easy recipe and a fast way to make Rice and Black Beans, but I assure you, it is full of flavor!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 cup of white rice
1 can of black beans
2 cups of chicken broth
1 tablespoon of chicken flavor seasoning
1 tablespoon of chopped dried onions
2 garlic cloves

2 cups of warm water
salt to taste
and 2 teaspoon of dry oregano

Soak the rice in the warm water and set aside for about 5 minutes. (Soaking the rice in warm water, will allow the rice to cook evenly in less time.)

In a large skillet, add 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil and cook the garlic until golden brown. (for about 3-4 minutes on medium low heat.)
By doing this, we will be infusing the oil with tons of garlic flavor.

Once the garlic becomes golden brown, remove it from the pan.

Drain the rice and fry it in the garlic oil for about 2 or 3 minutes, until it becomes slightly transparent. Season with 1 tablespoon of chicken flavor seasoning and 1 tablespoon of chopped dry onions. Stir well and add two cups of chicken broth, stir again and cover with a lid, let it cook for about 10 minutes on low heat.

Rinse and drain the black beans, season with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of dry oregano, taste for flavor and add more salt if needed. Transfer to the pan with the rice and sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of oregano, stir with the rice and cover with a lid, let it cook until the liquid is completely gone and the rice is tender. (for about 20 more minutes) Add more liquid if needed.

That's it! Garnish with fresh parsley and you are ready to eat!

Enjoy!

!

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Tostada Salad!

Hi everyone, today I'm making another salad for my diet! Hopefully you will like this one! This is one is one of my favorites, but again, I really do love salads! so I think I will just keep on talking about how much I love every salad I post here...

I have two more salads to come, Tuna salad and steak salad... like this one, they can be serve as a main dish! Enjoy!

If you are looking for more healthy recipes please check out Anna from EZglutenfree
her recipes are really easy and delicious and if you are not in a gluten free diet, her recipes can be
easily modified to meet your own diet or not diet at all!  Visit her blog HERE!!!

Serves 4-6
Ingredients:

for the salsa vinaigrette dressing:
1/3 cup of red onions
1/3 cup of chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
1 chopped jalapeno pepper
1 garlic clove finely minced
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
salt and black pepper to taste
3/4 of a teaspoon of ground cumin
juice of 1 lime, (about 3 tablespoons)

for the salad:
1/2 an iceberg lettuce, chopped in big chunks
1 bell pepper, chopped, any color
3 ears of yellow corn, (or 1 can of corn kernels)
2 Avocados (1 is enough for 2 servings)
1/2 cup of shredded cheese, (I'm using a Mexican blend but use your favorite cheese)
1 can of black beans
Tostadas (2 per serving, you can make your own or buy them at the store)

For the tostadas:
Corn tortillas (2 per serving)
pinch of salt, black pepper, and chili powder
1 tablespoon of olive oil.

If you are making your own tostadas, preheat the oven to 400°.
Brush the corn tortillas with olive oil and season with a pinch of salt, black pepper and chili powder on both sides, bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Set aside. (skip this step if you bought the tostadas at the grocery store!)

Simmer the corn in boiling water for about 15 minutes or until tender, remove from the heat and set aside to cool. (if you are using a can of corn kernels, skip this step)

Dressing:
Combine all the ingredients together: tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno pepper and garlic, season with half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of ground black pepper, and 3/4 teaspoon of ground cumin, plus two teaspoons of dijon mustard,
the juice of one lime and 1/2 cup of olive oil, mix all the ingredients together and set aside.

Salad
Wash the lettuce and cut it in big chunks.
Rinse and drain the black beans and set aside.

Once the corn is cool enough to handle, remove the kernels from the Cob with a paring knife. Set aside.

Once you have all the ingredients ready, it is time to assemble the salad.
You can go ahead and combine all the ingredients in a big serving bowl. (do not add the tostadas to the bowl). Add the dressing just before you are ready to eat.
Serve the salad on top of a tostada and garnish with another tostada on top.

I prefer to assemble my salad just before eating, I do not like mixing all the ingredients together, so, I place a tostada on my plate, top it with about 1/2 cup of lettuce, 2 tablespoons of black beans, 2 tablespoons of bell peppers, 1 tablespoon of corn kernels, add some left over chicken, sprinkle with some cheese, garnish with 1/2 an avocado, and top it with tortilla chips or another tostada, add the dressing just before eating and that's it!  Enjoy!

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Chicken Kebabs Hawaiian Style

Makes 10 kebabs 3 pieces of chicken each

2 large chicken breast, cut in bite size pieces
2 bell peppers cut in big pieces (any color you want)
1/2 cup red onion chopped in chunks
1 1/2 cup pineapple chunks or 1 8-ounce can pineapple
1/2 cup pineapple juice (if using can pineapple, you can use the juice in the can)
1 large lime
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chilli powder
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1tablespoon fresh thyme
 wooden skewers or metal skewers.

Combine the chilli powder, salt, black pepper and cumin. Set aside.

Season the bell peppers with a tablespoon of olive oil plus a tablespoon of the chilli mixture, rub the oil and seasoning all over the peppers and set aside.

Season the pineapple with 2 tablespoons of lime juice plus 1/2 tablespoon of the chilli mixture, set aside.

Season the onions with 1 tablespoon of lime juice plus salt and pepper and set aside.

Season the chicken with 2 tablespoons of the chilli mixture, plus 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1/2 cup pineapple juice, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary and fresh thyme. Rub all the ingredients all over the chicken and refrigerate for about 20-30 minutes. (more, if you have more time, overnight will be perfect, but 20 minutes is good enough).

Turn on the oven on broil. (This recipe is also great for grilling, but I don't have a grill :( )

If you are using wooden skewers make sure to soak them in water for about 20-30 minutes to prevent them from catching on fire...

Grab a skewer and start building your kebabs as you please. E.a.  1piece of onion + chicken +bell pepper + pineapple + chicken, bell pepper, onion, pineapple, chicken and bell pepper... and so on...

Continue to build the kebabs until you are done... Broil in the oven for about 10-12 minutes. Or grill for about 4-5 minutes on each side. You are done.

Serve with white rice and garnish with some parsley! Enjoy

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