Category: Cook’s Treat from Caridad

Caridad loves to cook and is sharing these recipes and cooking tips for you!

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Delicious Papa Rellena Recipes

It was such a treat whenever my grandmother made papa rellenas for us! Funny thing is, it’s often a treat made from leftovers like the ones in the photo. The potatoes in that stuffed potato were from some “mashed browns” from PJ’s Pancake House. Normally the papa rellenas are made from plain boiled potatoes but I’ll tell you two little secrets about making them easier. For starters, bake or microwave the potatoes. That helps control the moisture (also true for making gnocchis). Second secret: have some instant mashed potato flakes handy. I also use them to thicken soups and sauces when needed instead of either corn starch or flour. Normally the potatoes are stuffed with picadillo which is a tasty ground beef with peppers, onions, olives, and tomato sauce. But feel free to make these your own! Substitute some Sloppy Joe mix. Maybe add some cheese. You name it. The hardest part is making the potato patty (unless you follow my two secrets). Another secret: You can totally air fry or bake these to make them healthier. Papa Rellenas were once only appetizers but are now usually served as a meal with rice on the side. Make a dip with mayochup or a remoulade. I use Yummy Yummy sauce because it’s so – lol – Yummy! P.S. This is totally the kind of recipe that the Gonzalez family from the South Beach Security series would have for a meal. To learn more about them, check out the first book in the series Lost in Little Havana. You can download it at https://amzn.to/48MZZ8U.

Ingredients

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (baked or boiled)
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp butter
2 cups picadillo (or other stuffing)
1-2 eggs, beaten
2 cups regular Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup regular Panko bread crumbs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Oil for frying

Directions

Make the picadillo or prep whatever other stuffing you want to use. I make the picadillo ahead and let it cool because it’s easier to handle and also not as wet when it’s cooled.

If you’re boiling the potatoes, peel, cook until fork tender, drain and mash. You may want to let the mashed potatoes cook a little more on the flame to dry them.

If you’re baking or microwaving, leave them in their skin, cook until fork tender, and then cool. Scoop out the insides and mash. Bonus: You can make something else with the potato skins.

Add the cornstarch and butter to the mashed potatoes and mix. The mix should be stiff enough to form a ball and if not, add those magical instant potato flakes. Oil your hands to make forming the patties and balls easier. Form a ball with the mashed potatoes and then flatten it into a patty a little larger than the palm of your hand.

Fill the center of the patty with your filling and then bring all the sides of the potato patty up and around the filling. Smooth out the ball, roll it around in the beaten egg, and then roll around in the bread crumbs (mixed regular and Panko), making sure that the entire surface is covered.

I air fry mine so I place them on the creased wire basket that goes with my toaster oven. I give all sides a spray with vegetable oil.

If you’re baking them, place on a greased baking tray, crank up your oven to 400 degrees and make sure you turn them about halfway through the bake (10 minutes or so).

If frying, heat the oil to about 350 and deep fry until golden brown.

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Chicken a la Paprikash: Dish fit for a Prince

Today’s Tuesday Tip is a recipe for Chicken a la Paprikash! Why not just Chicken Paprikash? I took some liberties by adding mushrooms since I’m trying to boost how many veggies we’re eating as well as using a mix of red and yellow peppers. This is a relatively easy dish to make and oh-so-tasty. Definitely a dish fit for a prince like Alexander from The Prince’s Gamble! I can definitely see Alexander having something like during a trip to Hungary and offering it up to the guests in his Atlantic City Casino. You can read more about Prince Alexander at https://amzn.to/3uuJkZE. For now, here’s the recipe for Chicken a la Paprikash!

Ingredients

16 ounces chicken breast, sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
6 mushrooms, sliced
4 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
14.5 ounce can Hunts Fire Roasted Tomatoes (drained)
1.5 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Heat butter and oil in pot and add peppers. Sauté until slightly softened. Add chicken and brown. You can make this by just cooking the chicken in the sauce later, but I find browning it adds more taste to the dish.

Add the mushrooms and onions and sauté until softened. Add the 4 tbsp paprika to bloom the spice. I was able to get some wonderful paprika from Budapest but if you can’t, Simply Organic’s paprika is wonderful. Make sure it’s sweet paprika and not hot paprika.

Sauté for a few minutes and then add the tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a low simmer and reduce the liquid by half.

While the liquid is reducing, mix the 2 tbsp of flour into the sour cream. This will help keep the sour cream from splitting when you add it to the hot mixture of peppers, chicken, etc.

Cook for another 10 minutes or so. Salt and pepper to taste. I served it over rice because I love rice but paprikash is traditionally served with Hungarian dumplings, known as nokedli. Nokedli are very similar to spaetzle and if you can’t get either of those, egg noodles make a great substitute.

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Arroz Con Pollo-Scrumptious and Easy

Yesterday I mentioned that Escape the Everglades was a slow burn kind of book because the hero, ex-marine Carlos Ruiz, is a single dad. I can totally picture Carlos cooking up a big batch of chicken and rice because it’s easy to make, keeps well if you’re running late, and also makes for great leftovers. Did I mention it’s not all that expensive to make as well? So, today I’m sharing my recipe for chicken and rice. I’ve found that the easiest way to make this dish is in the oven, although you start it on the stove. If you have Corning Ware, Le Creuset or some other stove to oven cookware, even better. Who wants to spend time cleaning pots? If you want to find out more about Escape the Everglades, please visit https://amzn.to/3HqJHaN.

Ingredients

One fryer chicken, cut into pieces (Alternatively, 4 thighs and 2 breasts cut in half)
Olive oil
2 small cans tomato sauce
1 cup chopped red & green peppers
1 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups white rice
2 cups water
1 cup white wine
1 tsp BIJOL (this is a coloring agent you can find in the Latin cooking section of your market)
1 Spanish chorizo (also in the Latin section)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

In your pot, put in a little olive oil and brown the chicken. Remove chicken from the pot and set to the side.

In the same pot, add the red and green peppers and sauté for about 5 minutes. Then add the chorizo and the onions. Sauté for another 5 and add the garlic for just a minute. Then add the tomato sauce, bay leaves, oregano and wine.

Simmer for about 15 minutes to get rid of the raw tomato taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then add the 2 cups water and also, the Bijol. Give it a stir and add the rice. Stir again to mix and then add the chicken pieces. Arrange the chicken pieces so they are spread throughout the pot.

If you don’t have stove to oven cookware, make it in a regular pan and then move it a large enough rectangular aluminum foil pan.

Place the mixture in the oven and cover tightly. Cook for about 30 to 45 minutes until all the water is absorbed.

To serve, fluff the rice and top with canned sweet peas and some sliced roasted red peppers.

If you can’t imagine eating peas straight out of the can, you can add frozen peas to the mixture in the oven during the last ten minutes of cooking. I’ve actually started using only the frozen peas. They hold up better and keep their color better.

Spanish Chicken and Rice

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Caldo Verde

On a cold winter day, there’s nothing better than a bowl of nice, hot soup. One of my favorite soups is a Portuguese soup called Caldo Verde. We have a large Portuguese population in New Jersey and you’ll find this soup in many of the Portuguese restaurants in the Ironbound section of Newark and some of the towns along the water. My hero in Never a Bride, Carlos da Costa, is Portuguese and his family lives in the Ironbound. I had fun showing that culture in the story and sharing his strong family ethic which is something the heroine, Emma, has never had which is why she’s shy of marriage even though she’s a wedding planner. LOL! You can find out more about Never a Bride at https://amzn.to/47QkK3n. If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear what you think!

Ingredients

2 chourico sausage (or Spanish chorizo sausage – not fresh Mexican chorizo)
32 ounces Chicken Broth (paper container)
16 ounces water
2 cups chopped Tuscan Kale (or regular kale)(Ribs removed)
2 cups Yukon Gold potatoes (cut into medium chunks)
1 large onion chopped
4 tablespoons virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Slice chorizo into 1/4 rings. Heat olive oil in pot. Add chorizo and cook through. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add onions to the oil and cook until soft. About 4 or 5 minutes.

Add potatoes, chicken broth, and water and simmer until potatoes are fork tender.

In the traditional recipe, you would blend this potato, onion, and liquid for a smooth consistency. I prefer it chunky, but leave it up to you and your own taste.

Add kale and cooked chorizo and simmer for another 5 or so minutes. Serve and make sure each bowl gets some chorizo.

Serve with a nice hard roll or Italian bread and maybe some Manchego cheese and red wine. A perfect winter meal!

If you can’t get chorizo, use kielbasa or a similar sausage. Don’t like kale? Substitute swiss chard or spinach!

caldo verde

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Tasty Kielbasa Pig in a Blanket

We love having pigs in a blanket as an appetizer for Christmas Eve, but this year my daughter found a new recipe for a variation on the traditional cocktail frank with crescent roll recipe. This tasty variation substitutes kielbasa for the dog and instead of the crescent rolls, you use sheets of pie crust. To make it even tastier, you roll the pie crust in everything bagel topping! The pigs in a blanket were delicious and everyone loved them.

I know what other dogs you might love – the ones in Decoy Training which you can find for free on Kindle Unlimited. You’ll love this story about a military hero trying to rebuild his life and train the dog who saved him in Afghanistan to do Search and Rescue.

Ingredients

1 Kielbasa sausage (14 oz rope sausage)
1 package pie crust sheets
Everything Bagel Topping

Directions

Remove the pie crust sheets from the wrappers and let them warm until they are soft enough to work, usually about half an hour.

Preheat oven to 375.

Cut kielbasa rope sausage in half (not the long way, just in the middle). Roll a pastry sheet around one half of the keilbasa. Repeat with the other half.

Sprinkle everything bagel topping on the pie crust. You may want to sprinkle the topping on a cutting board and then roll the pastry-covered kielbasa in it to make sure you have enough topping on it.

Slice the pastry-covered kielbasa into 1/4 inch slices. Place the pastry-covered kielbasa slices on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with either ketchup, mustard, or honey mustard depending on your taste!

pig in a blanket

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Ripe Plantains – Tasty Maduros

Plantains are a staple in Cuban cooking and there are so many ways to eat them! When they are green you can boil them and then mash them or make tostones, which are flat and crispy. When they are yellow – or pinton (half-ripe) they are often used in soups or stews. My family’s favorite way to eat them is when the skin gets black, just like with an overripe banana. They are very sweet then and you just cut and fry them in slices. Nom nom. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t loved these sweet plantains that we call maduros and they are super easy to make. If you’re in Miami like the crew from the South Beach Security series, you’d find maduros at every Cuban restaurant! P.S. – If you haven’t read the series yet, it’s not too late to start it before the first K-9 Division spinoff releases in late May. I think you’ll love seeing what’s happening with Trey, Mia, and Ricky, the Gonzalez siblings. Download the series at https://amzn.to/3QBMj9J.

Ingredients

2 ripe plantains
3-4 tablespoons olive oil for frying

Directions

The most important thing is to make sure the plantains are ripe. They are just like regular bananas, going from green to black when they are the ripest. It may take a couple of weeks for a plantain to go from green to ripe, so you’ll have to be patient.

First thing, cut off the hard ends at either side. Then slit the skin lengthwise to expose the orangey flesh beneath. Slice on the bias to have nice long slices.

Put the olive oil in a non-stick skillet (or cast iron). Heat the oil until shimmering and then add the banana slices. Cook on one side until golden and caramelized then flip and cook the other side. Remove from heat and immediately salt to taste.

Mexicans also eat plantains and one tasty variation is to drizzle some Mexican crema and cotija cheese over the ripe plantains, but they are tasty just as they are also!

cuban maduros

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Tasty Corn Casserole

With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, I thought I’d share a couple of my fav dishes that I love to have on our Thanksgiving table. Ages ago my sister gave me a recipe for a corn casserole that’s incredibly easy to make, has only six basic ingredients, and is absolutely packed with flavor. I hope you’ll try to make it yourself and if you do, I’d love to hear what you think about it!

Carmen’s Corn Casserole

One 15 ounce can cream corn
One 15 ounce can kernel corn drained
One pint low fat sour cream
One stick melted butter
One package Jiffy corn muffin mix
One cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine first 5 ingredients. Grease casserole or brownie pan with butter. Pour ingredients into pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes until firm.

Sprinkle cheese over the top and melt the cheese for about another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let casserole sit for 10 minutes. (If you can wait that long! LOL) Enjoy! If you want some variations on this, add some chopped roasted jalapeno peppers for some heat or double up on the cheese by mixing some into the batter. If you like it “sweeter”, add chopped roasted red peppers to the batter.

corn casserole

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