Broccoli Cheddar & Potato Soup

It's been a long time since my last recipe, this one is inspired from when I worked in a restaurant but mainly it's inspired from God the Father and Jesus the Son and the Holy Ghost, ie the Trinity

Ingredients list:

⅓ cup All Purpose Flour

⅓ cup Vegetable Oil

1 medium Shallot (minced)

1 Tbsp Crushed Garlic

Fresh Cracked Black Pepper and Sea Salt to taste

½ Gallon 2% Milk

4 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

3 prepared stalks of Broccoli

3 Medium/Large Red Potatoes

Putting it together:

Prepare the broccoli by trimming the stalks into good bit size pieces. you should end up with about 4 cups of broccoli.

Peel and cut 3 potatoes again to bit size pieces and rinse then put in a separate pot and boil for 10 minutes the turn off the heat and put on a lid leaving them in the pot.

When your potatoes are on the stove start your Roux by heating the oil in a stockpot on medium heat, once it's hot sprinkle the flour in stirring constantly. After about 5 minutes add your minced Shallot and crushed Garlic, continue to cook the mix until the shallot is very soft and the roux is starting to brown to a light tan color. Now add the milk slowly while stirring with a whisk to thicken the sauce, save about a cup of milk to add later, once the milk has been added turn the heat down a little so you don't scorch the milk, when the sauce is hot start adding the shredded cheddar cheese slowly till it's all melted. When the Cheese sauce is all melted and thick add your Broccoli pieces and the cooked potatoes along with the Salt and Pepper. Put a lid on and simmer for about 30 minutes. your can serve the soup in a bread bowl or a glass bowl add more shredded cheese to the top and stick it in the oven broiler to toast the top. there are many ways to serve this meal but the one thing to remember is to give thanks to our Lord Jesus who provides.

Gluten Free Pineapple upside down cake

After getting to know about some of my friends, I've learned that they are gluten intolerant, so I have decided to bake a pineapple upside down cake using "Arrowhead Mills" Gluten Free Cake mix. First I started with the Pineapple mix, this time I use 2 x 20oz cans of Pineapple tidbits, 1 cup organic light brown sugar, ¼ cup spectrum organic canola oil ,1 Tbsp organic vanilla extract, dash of cinnamon cloves and nutmeg - drain the pineapple well then mix in sugar, oil, vanilla and spices, set aside and mix cake according to directions only add dash of same spices used in pineapple mix and replace water with 1 cup of goya coconut water. 

lets get baking, you should have preheated oven to 350°, I like to line the cake pan with parchment paper after greasing, spread pineapple mix evenly in a 9" x 13" cake pan then pour cake mix on top.      -Yes, it really is that easy.

I hope you enjoy this weather your gluten intolerant or not.

.MP

Pineapple Cobbler

All around one of my favorite deserts and the Pineapple is definitely my favorite fruit.

Let's start making the Pineapple Cobbler.

The Pineapple

2 x 20oz cans of Pineapple - 1 crushed and 1 tidbits

¼ cup light brown sugar

¼ cup cane juice sugar

dash of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg

1 Tablespoon organic vanilla extract

2 tablespoons corn starch

Drain pineapple and set aside juice for cake.

In a bowl combine ingredients and stir well, set aside and start on cake.

The Cake

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground sea salt

2 tablespoons corn starch

dash of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg

1 Tablespoon organic vanilla extract

2 Eggs

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2/3 cup Pineapple juice

In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients with whisk then add eggs, oil, pineapple juice and vanilla - using a electric beater mix for 2 minutes till smooth.

The Crunchy Topping

½ cup old fashioned Oats

½ cup whole wheat flour

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon Anise seed

dash of cloves and cinnamon

combine oats, flour, anise, cloves and cinnamon then cut in butter till small pea size bits form

Now in a 8" x 8" x 2" non-stick cake pan grease bottom with spray pam or butter.

Spread Pineapple mix - evenly pour cake mix on top then sprinkle on the crunch topping.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350° for 35 minutes or until a tooth pic is inserted in the middle and comes out clean. be careful not to burn crunch topping. Cool then enjoy.

see twitpic of final yummy goodness

http://twitpic.com/16ijb

.

Chik'n Molé with Spanish Rice

Up till now I have been posting Deserts, lets do some real food!

This is Chik'n Molé with Spanish Rice. Lets start with the rice, it's long grain rice cooked with a can of Herdez Salsa Casera or crushed tomatoes (1) your choice. Get that simmering then move on to the Chik'n. Your probably wondering why I'm spelling it that way, I'm using a product by (2) Quorn called naked Chik'n cutlets. It's a very versatile food, there is so much you can do with it. For this dish you could either sauté it or grill it. While the Chik'n is browning get the sauce ready, Mole can be bought from the mexican section at your grocery store, I use (3) Doña María brand Mole. Directions call for 1 part Mole to 4 parts water or broth so I use ¼ cup Mole in 1 cup broth - make broth first with any vegetable base and one MiniCube of Knorr Chipotle Seasoning, then while broth is hot stir in Mole and whisk in until melted and thick like (4) gravy. By now your rice should be (5) fully cooked and your (6) Chik'n should be done as well. Take the Chik'n out of the skillet and (7) refry the rice in olive oil to give a little crunch. Put the rice on the plate and the Chik'n next to it then spoon some Mole sauce over the Chik'n and Enjoy.

click on (numbers) above for links to step by step pictures 

My Grandmas Biscochitos

This is my most favorite cookie in whole wide world.

I was taught how to make this cookie from the womb.

Most families have their recipe, this one is mine.

4 cups Flour

2 teaspoon Baking powder

1 ½ cups Sugar

1 ½ cups Shortening

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 tablespoon Anise seed

2 Eggs

¼ cup Orange Juice

First sift together Flour and Baking powder in a medium bowl then in a large bowl cream together the Sugar and Shortening after a minute add the Vanilla, Anise and Eggs. Using a wood spoon, stir in Sifted Flour and Orange juice a little at a time. You'll have to eventually use your hands to mix the rest. It will be thick and flaky. Roll out the dough about a ½" thick and cut with cookie cutters of your choice, traditionally we used a round glass.

Lay out the cut cookie dough on a non-stick baking sheet 1" apart and bake in a preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes at 350°, when done immediately sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas.

Pineapple up side down cake

This cake has been one of my favorites since I was a child.

I have reinvented the whole thing, be creative, after all it's a recipe not a formula.

What you'll need.

15 oz can of Crushed Pineapple in it's own juice

1/3 cup of Light Brown Sugar

1/8 cup of Corn Starch

1 tbsp Vanilla extract

dash of Cinnamon

1 box of Yellow or Vanilla cake mix

1 can of Goya Coconut Water

3 Eggs

Butter or Spray Pam for bottom of cake pan

Get the mixer out!

Mix together the can of Crushed Pineapple, Light Brown Sugar, Corn Starch, Vanilla and Cinnamon in a bowl until it looks smooth and creamy, it will not stay that way, you'll have to stir it again before adding it the the cake pan.

Now the cake mix, just follow the directions on the box but replace the plain water with Goya Coconut Water - it's that easy.

To the Cake Pan, I use a 13" x 9" cake glass can pan but you should use a dark non-stick cake pan, I'm going to get one soon. grease the bottom of the cake pan with butter or spray Pam, first stir then pour in the Pineapple mix, then pour on top the cake mix.

The Pineapple mix will be liquidy so pour the cake mix in evenly.

Bake in pre-heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes at 350° until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. let the cake cool then with a knife separate the edges and flip up side down on a plate. and say BAM 'cause that looks good!

fruit pie with crunchy top

The pie is a very flexible recipe.

Start with the bottom crust, if you like to make your own crust that's awesome.

Here's mine.

1 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

½ tsp Sea Salt

½ Tb ground Cinnamon

½ cup Chilled Shortning

¼ cup Chilled Unsalted Butter

3-5 Tb Chilled Water

Place flour, salt, cinnamon, and in medium-size, chilled bowl. Break up chilled Shortning and butter and cut into flour mixture with a fork or a pastry blender until there are pea-sized pieces of dough.

Slowly add ice water one tablespoon at a time and blend with fork. Do not overwork; blend until just mixed and dough holds together.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Remove from refrigerator at least 1 hour before handling.

Now the filling.

I used canned fruits, there is a unlimited combination of fruits you can mix.

use 2 cans of fruit, drain and put into a bowl then stir in ¼ cup of corn starch and ¼ cup of sugar. Set this mix aside and prepare topping.

The topping is another easy one but this must be made from scratch.

You'll need  -

¼ cup Whole Wheat Flour

¼ cup Brown Sugar

½ cup Whole Grain Oats

dash of Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Clove powder - dash to taste use a lot or use a little, your choice.

6 Tbsp room temperature Butter

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl then cut in butter till it looks crummy.

I use my hand to mix this, just remember to wash your hands before and after.

Now pour fruit mix into pie crust, and sprinkle on crumb topping and bake in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes at 400°.

Cool your pie in the refrigerator for a couple hours, the serve. your can reheat pie in oven or microwave.

Cooling the pie is important, it allows the filling to thicken, so you don't end up with a runny mess.