Carne Con Papas (Cuban Beef Stew) recipe

By know you can probably tell two things about my cooking 1. I love cooking Cuban Food & 2 I love using the crock pot. This recipe is no exception! Great for a cold winters day or can be the perfect fixit and forget it meal.
As with any recipe there are millions of ways of cooking this recipe but this one is the best that suites my families needs as well as mine :)
You will need:

• 2 lbs stew type beef
• 1/2 cup oil (I use olive oil)
• 2 bay leaf
• 1 onion

• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 green pepper
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 cup dry wine
• 1 cup water
• 2 lbs potatoes
• 2 packages of Goya seasoning

What I do is chop and mix everything together in the crock pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours.

I use Sason Goya for seasoning but you can use Culantro & Achiote spices as well as salt and pepper.  

 Fix and forget!

 Serve over a bed of rice :)

Poppin' some fun!

I had always been a microwave popcorn kinda gal until I began reading about all the dangerous stuff it has as well as all the bad stuff it's causing. Ever vigilant of our kids health(and ours of course) we began popping our own popcorn. It's so simple to do and so much fun (and of course cheaper)that it will quickly replace those crummy little bags of junk they try to pedal our way!

Step 1 Get girl with excited face to hold Popcorn bag!

Step 2 Pour Vegetable oil in deep pot

Step 3 Carefully test if oil is ready for some poppin fun then throw the little suckers in!

Shake em all around!

Tada!

Make sure and share!

Crockpot Cuban Fricase de Pollo (Cuban Chicken Fricassée)

This is *my* version of Cuban Fricase that I altered for the Crockpot, that I think even my Aba (grandmother) would have liked. Something interesting to point out with Cuban cooking and even Cuban culture in general is that it's not your typical Caribbean fare you would find say in Jamaica or Bahamas because a lot of Cuban cooking is influenced by both Spanish and French cultures. My Great Grandmother was actually born in France and came to Cuba at an Early age where her family owned much of the land around the Guantanamo Bay area(which was sold off at the beginning of the Depression). My dad always comments on how my Great Grandmother use to speak Spanish with a French Accent. This comes to show you the various cultures that are part of the small little Island of Cuba.


Because my life is so hectic sometimes I want a meal I can throw in the Crock pot with the added taste and culture of my Cuban heritage without the time spent slaving over the oven. So I came up with this Crock Pot Fricase de Pollo (Cuban Style). I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs chicken (legs,quarters,etc..)
6 garlic cloves, cut up
1 lg onion sliced
1 lg bell pepper sliced
1 Cup of Chicken Broth (original recipe doesn't call for this but It helps keep things moist in the Crock pot
1 Cup of tomato sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup Olive oil(usually calls for Vegetable but I love using EVOO0
1/4 cup sliced pimiento filled olives
1 tsp capers
1 cup dry Cooking wine
1 lb potatoes, peeled and quartered

and my secret ingredient

You can find this in any international foods section( we found it in KS so I'm sure you can find it anywhere) If you can't find it it's fine just gives it a more authentic and flavorful taste :) also you can add (half a cup of lime juice and half a cup of orange juice,a teaspoon of Cuin,oregano and garlic salt)

This is the simple part chop everything up throw in the crockpot. Give it a good mix.

Cook for 5-8 hours on low and serve over a bed of rice. This recipe is so simple and you can leave it cooking in the morning or do like I do cook on high for 3-4 hours(until chicken is cooked).

Serve over a white rice (cooked with a few bay leaves that are removed before serving,veg.oil,salt and pepper)

This will definitely be a family favorite!

*The original recipe also calls for peas and raisins but that's up to your personal preference)

Strawberry Bread

I wanted to share a recipe for this delicious strawberry bread I made today. My husband brought home a lot of strawberries...and I mean a lot! So I thought I would make a bread with it. This recipe makes 2 loafs so if you just want one (which is what I should have done because chance are I will eat both) you can half it. It really is a tasty & fast treat.Enjoy!



Ingredients
Bread
1 cup butter
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup milk
5 cups flour
4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon salt
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
Preheat oven to 350.
Prep all your ingredients ahead of time. This will help to make sure you have all the ingredients you need for the recipe and to help make things move faster. In a large bowl combine the butter and the Ricotta cheese together and beat till well mixed.Then add sugar,and one egg at a time. Add Condensed milk,Milk and vanilla and stir all together. In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients(flour,baking powder,soda,etc..)and then mix all ingredients together. Fold in the fresh sliced strawberries and pour out into 2 greased 9x5 loaf pans. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 60-65 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. If you are using a heat thermometer you want it to read between 180F to 185F. Allow to cool in the loaf pans for 10 minutes before removing and cooling on a wire rack.

You can glaze it with powdered sugar glaze,condensed milk,or try your own. Anyway this is a delicious treat! Enjoy!