Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Rolls) (Gluten-Free)

Prep time: Very easy

Source: Adapted from Our Best Bites

Two or three years ago, I made this recipe as the original instructions indicated—using cheddar and parmesan cheese. Neither Mahon nor I were especially blown away by them, and I never made it again. Last summer, we went for the first time to Tucano's, a local restaurant chain that serves Brazilian churrascuro (grilled meats & veggies) and fell in love with their pao de queijo. In trying to figure out why we'd loved the Tucano's rolls so much more than the ones I'd made a few years before, I did a bunch of research and found that most of the recipes online call for only parmesan, rather than parmesan and cheddar. Although I was skeptical that parmesan could be the cheese in the Tucano's rolls, which are very mild-tasting, we decided to give it a try and adapted the recipe from Our Best Bites to use only parmesan. To our surprise and TOTAL delight, we had hit on exactly the right cheese! Our rolls were even better than the ones at Tucano's, since we ate them straight out of the oven and they were incredibly fresh and light. I'm embarrassed to say that between the two of us, we downed the whole batch in one night!

1 large egg

1/2 c milk

1/4 c canola oil

1 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)—don't substitute this! Every recipe I read agreed that the tapioca flour is what makes these rolls unique and authentic.

1/2 t kosher salt

1/2 cup grated (fresh) parmesan cheese
Any other desired spices for topping

Preheat oven to 400. Grease two mini muffin tins and set aside. In a blender, add all ingredients except cheese and blend until smooth. Add cheese and pulse 2-3 times. Immediately pour into your prepared muffin tins. (We found that filling them 1/2-2/3 of the way worked the best, though the batter is thin and tends to pour faster than you expect!) You can top with a sprinkle of extra cheese, a bit of kosher salt, or any other herb or spice you'd like! (Rosemary is also DELICIOUS.)

Bake 15-20 minutes or until the rolls have puffed up (they will puff quite a bit!) and are just barely golden on top. Ours took exactly 15 minutes. According to the original recipe, the yield varies depending on how full you fill your muffin cups; we ended up with about 20.

Serve immediately. These made a great companion to a meal of Black Bean Soup (also a Brazilian recipe originally from OBB!).

Pupusas

Prep time: Medium

Source: Inspired by my friend Sacha, who introduced me to them, but the recipe is really my own

For as many recipes as I have on this blog, there is one whole category of meals which we make frequently that is conspicuously missing! My dad served his LDS mission in Mexico, and fell in love with authentic Mexican food while he was there. Because of that, I grew up with him frequently making dishes (like fresh tostados—still one of my absolute favorite meals!) from masa harina, or Mexican corn flour. When I got older, he taught me how to make a good masa dough to be used in recipes like corn tortillas, tostados, and gorditas. However, my dad's method—and now mine—of cooking with masa is very much "a little bit of this, then just enough of that to get the right consistency," so since none of my recipes use actual proportions, I've never typed them up! However, I'm determined to get my favorite masa recipes on this blog.

Because pupusas are El Salvedorean and not Mexican, I'd never heard of them until my friend Sacha asked me to teach her how to work with masa so that she could make some pupusas for her husband. Soon after that, I started making them as well, and Mahon and I were hooked! We now make these frequently, and I've never met anyone who doesn't love them. Since they're an all-in-one kind of dish, they also make exceptionally good picnic or traveling food! In El Salvador, they're often topped with curtido, which is a type of fermented cabbage salad, but if we don't have that we just top them with sour cream.

Like tamales, you can fill these pupusas with just about anything you like—meat, beans, cheese, or a combination of all three! I usually use whatever we happen to have on hand, and will often make them meatless. The recipe I'm including here is one of our favorites.

A note on the yield with this recipe: As I said above, I really don't usually measure any of this! These are all rough guesstimations, so feel free to play around with any of the proportions if they don't feel right to you. I am guessing this recipe, followed closely, would yield 12-16 pupusas, which is normally about how many I try to make (enough for the two of us to have for dinner and lunch the next day—so it essentially serves four).

4 cups masa (you can find this is the Latin aisle of any grocery store)

1/2 t salt (I like using kosher salt—it's a little more of a zing!)

2-3 cups warm water

1 chicken breast, boiled and shredded

1 cup pinto or black beans

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1 t salt

A dash of chili powder

1/4 t cumin

Preheat a griddle or ungreased skillet to about 375 degrees. In medium mixing bowl, combine masa and salt. Add warm water and mix with a wooden spoon or your finger (my preference) until the masa dough is roughly the consistency of wet sand. In separate bowl, mix together shredded chicken, beans, cheese, and spices.

There are a few different ways to assemble your pupusas. I actually made a video demonstrating these different ways a few months ago, but for some reason I can't get it to do anything, so I'll have to hope I can describe each method adequately!

The first way is to separate your masa into balls a little smaller than golf balls and roll them out (or smash them with a tortilla press) into small tortillas. Take two of your tortillas and layer them on top of each other, with a generous scoop of filling in between. Pinch the edges of the tortillas together to seal in the filling and cook for a few minutes on each side until done. 

The second way is to take a ball of masa about half the size of your fist and gently flatten it out with your hand until it fills your palm. Cup your hand a little to create a little bowl shape, and then press a spoonful of filling into the crater and gently work the edges of the masa dough up around the filling until the edges meet and you end up with a ball of masa dough with filling encased inside. Gently roll this ball out or smash with a tortilla press (you will be able to see filling through the sides—that's just fine), and then cook on both sides til done.

The third (and most authentic) way, which is actually our favorite way of doing it because it produces by far the best texture (and is kind of fun, too!) is to follow the first few steps of method #2 until you  have your ball of masa with filling encased inside. Then, instead of rolling it out like you would a tortilla, gently "slap" the ball back and forth between your palms, rotating it around as you go to keep it circular. This can take a little practice, but it's really pretty fun once you get the hang of it! (And don't worry—ugly pupusas still taste fantastic!) After a few slaps back and forth, your pupusa should be a disk about 1/4" thick. Press this gently onto your pan or griddle and cook on both sides til done. (This method will take a little longer to cook than others, since it produces thicker pupusas—I let it cook on the first side until the edges of the pupusa start to look dry, and then flip it and cook 3-5 minutes on the second side as well.)

Serve hot with sour cream and salsa or contido.

Black Bean Soup

Prep time: Easy

Source: Adapted from Our Best Bites

You may be able to tell from reading this blog, but I really like soup! This is another favorite we've made a lot over the last year or two.

About 1 T EVOO

4 cloves garlic, diced

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1-2 celery ribs, diced

1/2 medium onion, diced

2 cans black beans (or about 6 cups home-cooked beans), drained and rinsed

1 large anaheim pepper or 1/2 bell pepper, diced

4 cups beef or chicken broth (I never seem to have beef on hand so I usually use all or part chicken)

1 t kosher salt

1/8 t black pepper

1/8-1/2 t chili powder, depending on how strong your chili powder is and how spicy you like things

1/4 t cumin

1/2 t dried oregano

1 bay leaf if you have them

In a large saucepan or stock pot, saute onions, carrots, garlic, and celery for a few minutes (until onions are translucent garlic is browning). Add beans, anaheim or bell peppers, broth, and spices. Simmer (without a lid) for 30-60 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Remove bay leaf (if you happened to not have run out of them, which I always do!) and purée soup with stick blender or in batches in regular blender. Squeeze in the juice of one lime (or add about 1 T bottled lime juice). Top with chips, cheese, sour cream, and more lime juice, if desired. 

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Prep Time: Medium (typical for a soup)

Source: MelsKitchenCafe.com

I was shocked when I went to find my recipe on this blog earlier tonight and realized I'd never posted it! This is one of my favorite soups. I like to make it on a day when I've just made chicken stock and have a lot of hot stock ready to use! I definitely recommend springing for the "real" chicken broth for this recipe, or making your own. It's really just not the same with buillon cubes!

1/2 cup butter

1/2 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

About 1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional—we're both mushroom haters, so we leave these out)

1/2 cup flour

6 cups chicken broth

 2 cups cooked wild rice (1 cup uncooked=2 cups cooked)

1 t salt

1 t yellow curry powder

1 t ground mustard

1 t dried parsley

1/4-1/2 t black pepper

 1 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream

(You can also use 2 cups half-and-half, but I never have that and always have cream.)

In a large pot on medium heat, melt butter and sautee chicken and veggies for about 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add flour and stir until bubbly; add chicken broth and all spices. Allow to heat through for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it has thickened somewhat. Pour in milk and cream, cover, turn heat to medium-low and allow to very gently simmer for 30-60 minutes. The original recipe says at least 1 hour, but I'm never that patient and it always turns out fine! You don't want the soup to boil, but if it does, just give it a good stir and turn down the heat some. Mine has boiled several times and always been delicious anyway!

Freezer instructions: Add all ingredients except cream/milk/half-and-half; add those when cooking after freezing.

Baked Chicken & Spinach Flautas

Prep time: Medium (mostly because they are time-consuming to roll)

Source: Healthy-delicious.com

This is one of the great recipes I've found on Pinterest. We had these for dinner last night and loved them! We'll definitely be introducing this into our rotation. 

I made a number of changes to the original recipe, for various reasons (making it alcohol free and a little easier to assemble, as well as using the ingredients I had on hand). I also did about twice the amount of filling recommended, so that we'd have enough for leftovers. It made enough for about 4 adults.

2 large chicken breasts

1/2 cup chicken broth

5 or 6 handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped or torn into smallish pieces

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp coarse salt (or about 3/4 tsp regular salt)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped

Another 1/4 cup chicken broth

About 2 cups grated mozzarella or monterey jack cheese

10 8" soft taco sized flour tortillas (I'd also like to try this with my homemade tortillas, which are about 6")

Olive oil

Put chicken breasts and first 1/2 cup broth in a medium saucepan; fill with enough extra water to cover the chicken by about 2 inches. Boil for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. 

Once chicken is cooked, preheat oven to 450. Grease a rimmed cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan with cooking spray. Shred chicken (for a super easy and fun way to do this, see this link! I love Pinterest!). Mix together spinach, peppers, chicken, spices, and remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth together. Cut tortillas in half. Spoon a bit of the filling onto each tortilla half and top with cheese; roll them up starting from the flat side (I found it helpful to tuck the corners in before I rolled it up as well, although it's not quite as authentic!) and tuck them together, roll-side down, on the cookie sheet. We also have used this recipe with whole tortillas, which makes them more chimichanga-style but is a little easier to prepare. Brush tops with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes at 450, then use tongs to turn flautas over and cook for 10 more minutes on the other side (or until the exposed sides are a dark golden-brown). Serve hot, with salsa if desired.

Tortilla Talk (And a 2nd Flour Tortilla Recipe)

So, I've seen a lot of (identical) recipes floating around the Internet lately that advertise themselves as "fresh tortillas just like Cafe Rio!" I admit, this bugs me every time, because friends—that recipe is NOT anything like the tortillas you will get at Cafe Rio, or any other similar restaurant. Here's why:

The most popular online recipe for flour tortillas calls for four cups of flour and two teaspoons of baking powder. Years ago, when I started making my own tortillas (before I even got married), I tried this recipe. And what I ended up with was a number of rounds of big, puffy flatbread. Even when I rolled them out as hard as I could, the amount of baking powder in the recipe was so large that it caused the tortillas to puff up into something more like Indian naan than Mexican tortillas.

Eventually, after some playing around with the proportions, I adapted that ubiquitous recipe in the flour tortilla recipe that I shared on this blog. My main change was to dramatically decrease the baking powder to just under 1/2 teaspoon. Still, if I let the tortillas sit too long they were apt to get too thick, and because of the baking powder in the recipe and the way it interacted with the dough I couldn't use my tortilla press to smash them—which meant that making flour tortillas was a time-consuming and laborious process involving liberal use of the rolling pin.

And, as much as I loved my tortillas, they weren't like the ones I'd had at Cafe Rio. There was something different about them that I couldn't put my finger on. Earlier this year, when I was in North Carolina, I went to a Relief Society activity where a dear friend gave a demonstration on making fresh tortillas. When I tasted hers, I realized that they were much more texturally similar to the Cafe Rio tortillas I remembered eating. And she made hers using a tortilla press! Once I saw her recipe, I realized the difference—there was no baking powder at all!

Intrigued, I started some more experimenting. At first, I took my own favorite recipe and adapted it so that it didn't use any baking powder, but did involve a dough resting time of 30 minutes (as my friend's recipe instructed). It turned out great, and worked terrifically in my tortilla press (cutting down on the inconvenience factor a LOT!). Then one night, I was impatient and didn't want to wait for my tortilla dough to rest. So I went ahead and made the tortillas without any resting time. And guess what? They turned out perfectly! (The only difference between a resting time and no resting time was that the ones that didn't rest had a little less developed gluten in the dough, which meant that they were a tiny bit more prone to breaking before they were cooked and didn't stretch as well.)

Now, at least once a week we make flour tortillas using this new-and-improved recipe. And yes, friends, this is VERY similar to what they use at Cafe Rio. So don't believe that one going around on Pinterest! THIS is the recipe you want.

(Also, a troubleshooting tip: Tortillas need to cook at a relatively low heat for a longer time. If your tortillas—flour or corn—are breaking or crumbling, it's because you cooked them too hot. I usually set my griddle between 300 and 325.)

One of these days, I'll actually post my corn tortilla recipe too....

Cindy's Flour Tortillas, Version 2.0

4 cups flour (I typically 75%-100% whole wheat)

2 t salt

1/2 cup canola oil

1 1/4-1 1/2 cups hot water

Heat pan or griddle to 325-ish (do not grease). In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Stir in canola oil. Add water gradually (I usually start with 1 cup, mix, and then add the water about 1/4 cup at a time after that) until dough is moist and holds together without being sticky. Knead with hands for a minute, then divide into balls about the size of a ping-pong ball or smaller. (Your dough balls can be bigger if you are rolling out by hand and not using a tortilla press.) In a tortilla press lined with a sliced-open plastic bag (to prevent sticking), press balls twice (I usually press, pick up the tortilla, flip it over, and press again). Cook tortillas 3-5 minutes on each side. Fill with your favorite taco or fajita fillings.

Tamales

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Hard (but really, not that hard!)

 Don't let everything you read about tamales being "tricky" scare you. These take some prep work, but they turned out perfect the first time I made them! This recipe is my own, after I spent about a day reading everything Google had to say about making perfect tamales.

4 cups masa harina (Mexican corn flour)

1-2 cups broth (I used beef broth made from roast drippings and my rotisserie chicken stock—and then when I ran out I used a little whey from the queso fresco I'd made earlier that day!)

1 t salt

1 1/3 cup softened/room temperature butter (or lard, if you have it!)

2 t baking powder

1 package dried corn husks

You can use whatever fillings you like, honestly. Traditional tamales usually have some sort of meat and chilis, but the possibilites are endless. They even make sweet tamales in Mexico. I did two fillings when I made them, both very simple and easy to whip up—for the first one, I took about 1/2 of a leftover pot roast and mixed it together with some queso fresco. Done! For the other filling, I boiled a chicken breast and then shredded it, added in about 2 ounces of cream cheese, and some seasonings (chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, black pepper, salt). They both turned out great! I don't like things very spicy, so if you want a "hot" tamale, use spicy peppers or more dried chili powder/cayenne pepper!

Put about 2 dozen corn husks into a bowl to soak. In a large bowl or stand mixer (I used my Kitchenaid with the paddle attachment, but a sturdy set of hand beaters would work too), cream together butter and salt with about 1 tbsp broth until it's smooth and beginning to look "fluffy." Add in masa, baking powder, and about 1 cup broth. Mix on medium until everything comes together. The final consistency you are looking for is sort of like dry peanut butter - it won't be greasy, but it will be soft and spreadable. Add more broth as needed. You will want to keep "whipping" the tamale dough for several minutes even after you have the right broth ratio; the more you whip your dough, the lighter and fluffier your tamales will be. To test if the dough is ready, take a small ball of dough and place it in a cup of warm water. If the ball floats, it's done. If it sinks right to the bottom, you need to keep whipping. (I probably whipped for about 4-5 minutes total). 

Unwrap soaked corn husks and spread out on the counter. Take a spoon (or wet hands) and spread tamale dough, about 1/4" thick, on the lower (wider) half of the corn husk (you'll want 1/4-1/2" of room on all three sides). Place a generous tablespoon of filling in the center of the dough. Bring one side of the husk and fold it over the filling (you'll want it to just barely cover the filling). Bring the other side of the husk over the filling as well, so that the sides meet or just barely overlap. (I actually was pretty meticulous and made sure that my dough seamed together on my tamales, but you don't have to be that anal if you don't want to!) Fold long (narrow) end over so that it covers the seam you've just made and makes it a nice little package. Place open side up in a steamer (you want them to all be standing up vertically, packed together). Note: The corn husks are all different sizes—at least mine were. So don't expect your tamales to be totally uniform in size!

Steam for about 40 minutes. The tamales should not be standing in any water, however, MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE REPLENISHING YOUR WATER IN THE BOTTOM REGULARLY. Probably more often than you think you need to! I thought I got to it soon enough, but I ended up MELTING THE BOTTOM OF MY POT! So if you're not using an actual tamale steamer, be sure you're not too far away from the stove!

Serve with sour cream and, if desired, salsa (and/or chili sauce, which is the traditional topping—but remember, I don't like spicy!). This recipe yields somewhere in the vicinity of 2 dozen.

Rice And Beans

{Picture coming soon!}

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

This spring, I've been trying to incorporate a few meatless meals into our lives for health and budget reasons. So far, this is the only meatless meal (it's not really "vegetarian" since it has chicken stock in it) that my meat-and-potatoes husband approves of. It's a simple dish, but one so packed with flavor that it's hard to stop eating! It would also make a great filler for tacos or stuffed peppers.

1 clove garlic

1 T olive oil

1 cup rice (I always use brown—you can also replace the rice with quinoa, which is delicious!)

2 cups chicken stock

3 cups black beans

1/2 cup corn (cooked)

1 bell pepper, chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp. chili powder or mexican spice blend (I use a tex-mex blend that has chili powder, cayenne pepper, and other things)

1 T lemon or lime juice

1/2 t dried cilantro

Finely chop garlic. In medium saucepan, sautee garlic in olive oil until garlic is just barely beginning to brown. Add rice and sautee for a minute, then add chicken stock. Allow everything to come to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low (it should be higher than a simmer, but not a full boil). Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Add all other ingredients and cook for another two or three minutes. Serve hot.

Chiles Rellenos

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

I had this meal this summer in Utah and loved it! I knew Mahon would like it too, so once I got back I made it for him. We've now had it a few times, and I can tell it is one that will become a favorite in our rotation!

Crock pot roast

Mild long green peppers, such as Anaheim or banana (the larger the better)

1 egg

1 T flour

Monterey Jack, Mozarella, or Parmesan cheese

Oil for sauteeing

In crock pot, cook roast according to your crock pot's settings with about 1/4-1/2 cup water and your desired blend of Mexican-esque spices. When roast is well-done and falling apart, shred and set aside. In bowl, combine egg and flour. Wash peppers and slice off tops and bottoms. Slice down the middle to open them, and remove seeds and membranes. Fill peppers with shredded beef and cheese (stuff them as full as possible, but not to the point where the stuff is falling out, or it will make your life harder during the next step). Heat skillet to medium-high and drizzle with oil or butter. With pastry brush, coat outside of peppers with egg mixture. Place in hot pan and fry until egg is cooked and pepper is tender (1-2 minutes). Transfer peppers to baking dish and sprinkle with more cheese. Broil for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese starts to brown. Enjoy! We had this tonight for dinner along with roasted chickpeas and apples and let me tell you, we were licking our plates!

Chicken Fajitas

Rating: 5 (million) stars

Prep time: Easy (it is less easy, but yummier, if you pair this meal with fresh Flour Tortillas)

This has been our favorite new meal this summer. We can't get enough of it! It's also good with a bit of zucchini or yellow squash. 

2 chicken breasts (marinated with Soy-Citrus Marinade)

1 bell pepper

1 medium onion

2 large carrots

Olive oil

Heat outdoor grill or stovetop grilling pan (depending on the weather!). In medium skillet, heat about 1 T olive oil over medium-high heat. Chop pepper and onion into large pieces and add to pan. Peel carrots and julienne and add to pan. Season with salt, black pepper, and chili powder. Sautee pepper and onion until tender and browned. While pepper and onion are cooking, grill chicken until cooked through and slightly blackened. When chicken is done, remove and slice into thin strips. Fill tortillas with a few pieces of chicken and some of the pepper/onion mixture. Top with desired toppings (i.e. cheddar cheese, salsa, sour cream, etc.). Roll up and enjoy!

Flour Tortillas

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Medium... at least compared to the tortillas you pull out of a bag!

Growing up, I LOVED it when my mom made fresh flour tortillas. Fresh flour (I can't believe I initially spelled that "flower"! yikes!) tortillas + crock-pot cooked pinto beans was my idea of heaven. These tortillas have so much more flavor than tortillas from a bag! Now, we make them once every week or two. In this particular picture I used 1/2 wheat 1/2 white flour, but I sometimes do all white flour—they are both good in different ways.

4 cups flour

2 t. salt

1/2 t. baking powder (err on the side of too little or you will end up with puffy flatbread instead of tortillas)

1/2 cup shortening or butter

1 1/4-1 1/2 cups hot water

Heat pan or griddle to about 325 (do not grease). In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. With pastry blender, cut in shortening or butter (tip: if you are using refrigerated butter, slice before adding to flour mixture for easier blending). When shortening/butter is mostly blended, add water gradually (I usually start with 1 cup, mix, and then add the water about 1/4 cup at a time after that) until dough is moist and holds together without being sticky. Knead with hands for a minute, then divide into balls a little bigger than a golf ball. On VERY VERY lightly floured surface, roll balls as flat as possible and transfer immediately to hot griddle or pan (otherwise they will puff up). Cook a few minutes on each side, until tortilla is just beginning to have golden-brown spots but still flexible. Fill with your normal taco filling.

Tres Leche Cake

Rating: 5 amazing stars

Prep time: Medium

Source: The Pioneer Woman (slightly altered by me)

We will be serving this at birthdays, Cinco de Mayo celebrations, and every other place we can think of for the rest of our lives. Period.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

5 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 t. vanilla

1/3 cup milk

1 cup evaporated milk

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 pint heavy cream (I just used what was rest after subtracting that 1/4, and it was plenty)

1 1/2 T sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; spray 9x13 cake pan. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Separate eggs. Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed, until yolks are thick and pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour yolk mixture over flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.  

Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Continue to mix while pouring in remaning 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry. Fold egg white mixture into batter very gently until just combined. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean. (The original recipe says to bake 35 minutes minimum, but I did that and my edges were definitely overcooked. Next time I would start checking at 25 minutes.) Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter (or, if you are ghetto like me, a rimmed cookie sheet!) and allow to cool completely. The cake will not be as thick as a normal cake—this freaked me out at first, but once it was iced with lots of whipped cream, I decided it was actually a good cake-to-whipped-cream ratio. However, if I wanted to serve more than 12 people, I would probably do 1.5 times this recipe to make a thicker cake.

When cake is cool, combine sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and 1/4 cup heavy cream. Pierce surface of cake with fork several times. Slowly drizzle ALL of the liquid onto the cake—I stopped too soon last time, and the middle of my cake was too dry. This cake can hold a LOT more liquid than you think it can! Next time I will saturate the cake in installments... drizzle some liquid, wait 10 minutes, do some more, wait 10 minutes, etc. That way it can all soak in. (Note: the Pioneer Woman's recipe says to discard 1 cup of the liquid, but that offends my miserly sensibilities, so I just subtracted 1 cup of the liquid to begin with.) Cover cake with plastic wrap and chill until you are almost ready to serve it (at least 30 minutes). Don't ice it until you're ready to serve it—that way the cake won't absorb the whipped cream frosting.

To ice the cake, place remaining whipping cream in mixer with 1.5 T sugar and beat on high speed until very thick and fluffy. Spread generously over top and sides of cake. Top cake with maraschino cherries (a la the Pioneer Woman) or chopped strawberries (our preference!). Try not to eat the whole thing! This cake yielded 12 slices for us.

Southwest Eggrolls

Rating: 5 stars
Prep Time: Medium


These Southwest Eggrolls are a lot like the ones you get from Chili's.

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 large bell pepper, chopped

1 can (or equivalent) black beans

1 can (or equivalent) corn

2 large chicken breasts, boiled and cubed

2-3 generous handfuls fresh baby spinach (or 1 package frozen)

1 package won ton wrappers OR soft taco size flour tortillas (if you do tortillas, you will need toothpicks as well)

Spices (see below)

Vegetable oil for frying

In a large skillet (and I really do mean large!), sautee onions and peppers in butter until lightly browned and tender. Add beans, corn, chicken, and spinach. Season to tase—I use Emeril's seasoning blend, which according to this recipe has paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, onion powder, oregano, and thyme. Cook on medium-high heat until all ingredients are hot and spinach (if fresh) is moist and wilted. Remove mix from heat. In skillet (I usually empty the filling into a bowl, rinse the skillet, and reuse it) heat vegetable oil with your stove set to just above medium heat. You want enough oil so that it will cover at least 1/2 of your wrapped eggrolls. (Oil will pop a lot when it is ready to use.) While oil is heating, fill won ton wrappers or tortillas with filling. Won ton package will tell you how to seal the wrappers; if you are filling tortillas instead, use toothpicks to keep them closed. Once oil is hot, place sealed eggrolls in skillet. Fry until lightly browned on each side; remove with tongs and let drain on a plate covered with a paper towel.

Serve hot. For a dip, mix equal parts Ranch dressing and salsa. Enjoy—these are seriously addicting!

Black Bean Tortilla Soup

This is one of my favorite super-easy recipes. It comes together in exactly as long as it takes your chicken to boil! I usually boil the chicken separately and start the soup at the same time, so that when the chicken is done it can quickly be cubed and added to the soup and served immediately. It also can stand a lot of abuse. The last two times I've made it I have left out a crucial ingredient—the first time it was the chicken, the second time it was the tomato sauce! Both times we hardly even noticed!

Rating: 4.5 Stars
Prep Time: Very Easy!


3 cups chicken broth
3 cups beef broth
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 small can tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can black beans
2 chicken breasts, boiled and cubed

Sautee onion and pepper in butter. Combine all ingredients in large saucepan and heat over medium-high for 10-30 minutes, depending on how much time you have! Serve topped with cheddar cheese and tortilla chips. (And, if you're like Mahon, sour cream.)