Back to Basics (beans and rice)

For me, beans and rice are comfort food at its best. While everyone went fishing at Castaic Lake, I stayed home and decided to get some chores done and have food ready when the family got home. I wanted to make something that didnt require me going out to the store. So I found some beans and the left over ham bone from the Christmas dinner and I knew what was coming next. You can't have beans without rice so I dug into the pantry and pulled out long-grain rice and a can of tomato sauce. Then for the salad there was a head of lettuce in the fridge, a few radishes and a couple of tomatoes. And of course I added some cilantro. My sister-in-law brought over some lemons from her tree and I squeezed some of the juice onto the salad with a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper. Simple but oh, so good. The only thing missing was home-made flour tortillas.

I got my biggest pot and filled it up with water and added probably 3 or 4 cups of clean and rinsed beans. I added the ham bone and cooked the beans for 3 hours. I added the salt (2 teaspoons) at the last half hour of cooking time. Normally I use 1 tablespoon of salt but since I added some ham and the ham bone, I figured I didnt need as much salt.

For the rice I sauteed it with garlic and some onions. I used 2 cups of rice to 4 cups of water, added a can of tomato sauce , 2 tsp. of salt and simmered it for about 25 minutes.

And don't forget the pickled jalapenos or if you have the time to make a salsa of your own.

Buen provecho!!!

Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies
Easy To make, Made with the most Basic ingredients, and perfect for any Holiday with the right cookie cutter!

Equipment:
Mixing Bowl
Spoon
Measuring Cup (1)
Teaspoon
Rolling Pin
Cooking Sheet
Cooling Rack
Spatula
Cookie cutters

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
Extra flour & sugar for rolling

Method:
Cream butter & sugar
Add eggs & vanilla
Mix flour & baking Powder into mixture
Chill
Roll & cut out
Decorate cookies with sprinkles & Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes

*Extra Tip* Take ¼ cup of the dough and mix water into it until it reaches the consistency of frosting and color with food dye, then put the dough in a piping bag to decorate your cookies. You can pipe messages onto your cookies or decorative patterns with different colors! Examples shown Below:

commie bowls

To make traditional chow mein you can pick up wonton noodles at the Chinese section in the super market, or you can just use plain old spaghetti like me. We always have a spaghetti pack or two laying around, but I'm not always in the mood for Italian, or were out of spaghetti sauce, or the ingredients to make it. It's also great to stretch out a small amount of meat or chicken. And in this case it was a small piece of ham. So small that I even thru in a couple of scrambled eggs. Chow mein doesn't usually have egg, but fried rice does. So I said what the hey.

So i scrambled the egg and then threw in chopped ham, garlic, jalepenos and green onion and sauteed it. Then I threw in the noodles and added a little more oil. Then I shredded a carrot, and added soy sauce, and brown sugar. Plus I added a little vinegar, garlic powder, hot sauce, and red pepper flakes. Then stirred it and served it.

I basically throw in whatever's around. Cabbage, and bean sorouts are always good. And any kind of meat, be it chicken, beef, or pork.

Recommend Music: Carl Douglas-Kung Fu Fighting

chicken tortilla soup

So my Dad baked a chicken last night for dinner and the leftovers were put in the fridge for today, but there were just bones and scraps left. Not enough for the whole familia. In those types of cases, casseroles or soups are in order, and since the weather has been cold, soup seemed much more appropriate. So I decided to make chicken tortilla soup!

Chicken tortilla soup is basically just a mexican chicken soup with fried tortilla strips thrown on top. And mexican chicken soup is basically just chicken soup with chile in it. So to begin i usually sautee onion and garlic then add a couple small handfuls of rice ( optional) then the liquids. In this case it was half a container of vegetable broth and the rest water ( about half the pot) . Then i threw in the chopped scraps of chicken and a can of chopped tomatoes. Raised to a boil, then lower flame and let simmer for about 20 minutes. For chile i added a few chopped jalapeno slices from a jar and also added about a teaspoon of chili powder. Also i added some garlic powder to make sure i got enough garlic flavor and salt and even a tablespoon of brown sugar, and some tumeric powder. Now tumeric powder is mainly an Indian spice, but it works well with mexican cooking and it very benificial to your health as it has anti-inflammitory qualities.

Fry the tortilla strips till brown and crispy and shred some cheese as well. And if you have an avocado to dice that would be great tambien. If your wondering how it turned out. i had three bowls. Ay,ay, ay!

The Greatest Chocolate Chip Cookies!

The Greatest Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Equipment:
2 bowls
1 teaspoon
Measuring cups (1, ¼, ¾ )
Big spoon
Baking Sheet(s)
Parchment Paper (optional)
Cooling Rack
Spatula

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi Sweet choc chips or more!
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

Leave out butter beforehand to soften if you refridgerate your butter.
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Gradually beat in flour mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool on baking sheets for a couple of minutes

remove to wire racks to cool completely.

ENJOY!

Notes:

Feel free to add extra chocolate chips for even tastier cookies! i usually add an extra cup and sometime i add extra vanilla ( That is supposed to be a secret trick i read somewhere for better cookies!)

You can also add walnuts, cranberries, white chocolate chips, m&ms, raisins or whatever else you like in a cookie!

Also if you have a family like mine double the recipe if you want to have a cookie for breakfast the next day!

crazee potatoes 'n eggs too! haha

Taste great! and more filling! Leftovers for breakfast. So my pops baked some potatoes last night, and some yams and made chicken tacos....so i sautee some onions n garlic and chop the potatoes, a yam , and a taco baby!!! brown it. then toss in some cheesy cheddar, throw in an egg or two and enjoy.....f'in yummy...ask carmen.

Monster Biscuits

Monster Biscuits: A simple yet Scrumptious Recipe!

Tools:
1 Large Bowl
Baking Sheet(s)
Measuring Cups (1, 1/4)
Measuring spoons (1, ½)
1 Fork
1 Knife
Parchment paper (optional)

Ingredients:
6 cups flour
7 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 cup shortening or butter
2 ¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon salt

Procedure:
1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease with butter.
2. Mix the Dry ingredients. (Flour, Baking Powder, Salt)

3. Cut in the Shortening or butter with the fork and knife until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal.
4. Add the milk and blend with fork until the dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
5.Form large discs of dough about the size of the palm of your hand and space evenly onto the prepared Baking sheet 6. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown around the edges and tips of the Biscuit. Enjoy!
Notes:
I like to put butter and jam on mine and enjoy with a nice cup of tea.

For smaller biscuits simply put smaller amounts of dough on the pan but note that they will cook faster. You may also divide the ingredients by three to make a smaller batch.

Also for neater more uniformed biscuits you may roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out with a biscuit cutter.

Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce

For Thanksgiving at the Erives house we normally just open a can of cranberry sauce. But this year I made sure we had the real stuff. So I googled recipes and found that they were all very plain; the recipes only called for water, cranberries, and sugar. Then I saw a show on Food Network where Bobby Flay made a Cranberry sauce with rum. So I did more searching and I found the following recipe. And it turned out to be a great hit!

Cranberry Sauce

12 oz. bag cranberries

3/4 c. O.J.

2/3 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. sugar

2 oz. gold rum

1. Rinse cranberries

2. Combine all ingredients in sauce pan.

3. Cook on medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring often.

4. Let cool, refrigerate, and serve chilled.

the turkey tornado

The ultimate leftover sandwich. Stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey, ham, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce all stuffed into a whole wheat dinner roll that was dressed with a honey mustard sauce. I'd like to thank my Aunt, and my Mom, for making it all possible, and I'd like to thank my sister Carmen, who made the cranberry sauce, using fresh cranberries, orange juice, and rum. Delicious! Gobble, gobble. Serve cold.

Bird's Nest/Huevos Rancheros

Bird's Nest is a new take on Huevos Rancheros. Originally, this recipe was made by Moi but many agree that I perfected the plate. Though it is never the same each time I make it, there are a few esstential ingredients to make it, and the rest are up to the cook.

THE MAIN INGREDIENTS:

2 tortillas, sliced

2 large onion rings

2 eggs

1 garlic, sliced

jalapeno slices

................................................

OTHER GOOD INGREDIENTS:

1 roma tomato, diced

bell pepper, sliced, diced, or rings

cilantro

cheese [i usually use cheddar, but any cheese will do]

................................................................................................

STEPS:

1. prepare the ingredients.

2. when the oil is hot lay the strips of tortillas in the pan, criss-crossing them so that they create a "nest" for the other ingredients. add the onion rings, garlic, bell pepper, and jalapenos.

3. when the tortillas begin to get crispy, crack the eggs into the onion rings. you may need a spoon to splash the oil onto the egg for it to cook fully.

4. after the egg is cooked place the birds nest on a plate and add the tomatoes, cilantro, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. [sometimes if i have the ingredients I like to make a pico de gallo]

5. I also like to add cholula to make it even spicier.

6. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken with Mole Wine Sauce

Ok, so what do you do when you got only about 1 cup of cabernet left in the bottle and a frying pan with leftover bacon fat? Simple you refry some pinto beans in the bacon fat and use the leftover wine to enrich your mole sauce.

Like usual I use Dona Maria mole sauce. It asks for about 4 cups of water or broth to mix with it. But I put 1 cup of red wine, 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, and 2 3/4 cups of water. Then I brush it on the chicken when its almost done. While the chicken was grilling I sprinkled it with a little garlic salt. Then I pour some more sauce on the chicken when serving.

If you don't happen to have bacon fat laying around, simply fry one or two strips, and chop and add to the beans for an even greater flavor. I didn't have a pot of beans handy today, so I just used a large can of Sun-Vista pinto beans.

Margaritas mandatory, and overall, very rich.

Recommended Music: Manu Chao

Bacon Eggplant Spaghetti

I love to cook with leftovers and scraps. One, so that they don't go to waste and two, so that I have a chance to invent and create something new and interesting. And in this case there was 4 extra pieces of bacon and a medium-size eggplant that was about to get old.

This was very easy since I used Prego sauce, and didn't have to make the sauce from scratch. I just chopped the eggplant into bite-size pieces and then sauteed it in olive oil until soft. A couple a cloves of fresh garlic would have been great to chop and saute as well, but I was out.

The bacon I cooked until slightly crispy and then diced into tiny bits to spread the flavor throughout the dish. Then i mixed it with the sauce along with the cooked eggplant. And it was delicious. Parmesean and wine optional.

-Recommended Music: Dean Martin

World Famous Enchiladas

Okay, so these are not the World Famous Enchiladas, but they were pretty damn good. (pardon my French) But how 'bout some espanol ? Se van a enchilar con estas enchiladas. Yes these enchiladas are true to the word and are chile hot!
I love to make enchiladas. One beacause they taste so good, and two because their quick and easy to make. Usually I use Las Palmas red enchilada sauce, but in this case I was out. We did have a couple cans of the green sauce, but I don't like the way it taste, plus it has monosodium glutamate; aka MSG. So I simply got a can of chipotle peppers in adobe sauce and blended it with water (about a cup) until it had the same consistency as regular enchilada sauce. CAUTION: Although delicious, these enchiladas are on the spicy side.
Okay lets talk cheese. I usaually use both mild cheddar and monterey jack, but in this case I just used the cheddar. The cheese that goes in the enchilada i chop into finger-size rectangles. (approx. 1/2" X 1/2" x 3-4") Then shred the rest to sprinkle on top. Also dice a brown or white onion, and slice a can of black olives.
Pre-heat the oven to about 350 degrees, and put the tortillas in the microwave for a couple minutes and flip them halfway thru. This is so they wont crack while rolling. Before rolling pour a little sauce on the bottom of the pan and spread with the backside of a spoon, so that it coats the entire bottom of the pan.
Now roll the the enchiladas with the cheese in it, and place each one in order, so that they don't roll open. Also be careful not to burn your fingers, as the tortillas may be hot. When your done pour the rest of the sauce evenly over the enchiladas, and use the spoon to smooth out the rest. Then sprinkle the cheese, onions and olives on, and place in oven for about 15 min. or until the cheese has melted.
If you have extra cheese, onions or olives, simply place in a sandwich baggie and save for other uses. Serve the enchiladas using a spatula. And don't forget to add dallop of sour cream!
Beans and Rice
The perfect sides for an enchilada dish! And all you need is a Mexican mother, who always has a pot of beans and rice handy. When I was little I used to complain about my Mom always cooking beans and rice, but now I see how lucky I was, and still am.
World Famous Enchiladas
To make the World Famous Enchiladas, instead of putting cheese in the enchilada you put mole chicken, and instead of sprinkling olives you sprinkle jalepeno slices (from a jar) along with the shredded cheese and diced onion. To make the mole I use Dona Maria mole sauce and warm it in a pan with shredded chicken. You can boil chicken legs or thighs in a pot and then shred it when its done, or you can buy a cooked chicken and shred that, as well.

Otras cosas

-chipotle means roasted jalepenos

-enchiladas montadas are enchiladas with a fried egg on top!

-Gaby style(my younger brother) is an enchilada made without any sauce. He wasn't a fan of chiles.

Also look for corn tortillas without any perservatives. Just corn and lime.

-Recommended Music: Pedro Infante, Trio Los Panchos, or Linda Ronstadt( Canciones de mi Padre).