Grandma Gallarza’s Oh So Yummy Spanish Rice

Dec 12, 2014

This recipe can be used for so many dishes. Breakfast burritos, tacos, grilled chicken etc… Isabella loves to have a small bowl for a snack.

My favorite…squeezing fresh lemon juice to add a little kick!

Ingredients

1 – 15 oz can tomato sauce, I like to use Contadina

2 cups basmati or jasmine rice

2-3 tablespoons Knorr chicken flavor bouillon

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 cups filtered water

salt and pepper

Now let’s get to cookin’!

In a large saucepan on medium heat, add the vegetable oil. The bottom of your saucepan should have a nice even layer of oil. Once the oil is heated, slowly add the rice. Brown the rice until it becomes a nice golden color, 3-5 minutes. Stirring frequently as you don’t want the rice to burn. Trust me when I say, I have burnt rice many a times! Silly me!

Using a measuring cup, measure 1 cup tomato sauce and 1 cup water into a bowl. While using the measuring cup, slowly add 1 cup water to the rice; stir as you pour. Stand back a little from the stove and don’t get your hand to close to the pan. Steam will rise and you don’t want to burn your hand. Now pour in the tomato and water mixture. Stir until mixed well. I like to add water to the tomato sauce can so that I don’t waste any sauce. Pour the remaining tomato sauce into the rice mixture.

Add the Knorr chicken bouillon, salt and pepper and mix well. Continue to cook the rice on medium heat until it reaches a boiling point. You will notice little bubbles in the middle of the pan. Lower the heat to simmer and cover the rice with a lid. Wrapping the lid with a kitchen towel and then covering will help create a nice fluffy rice. Cook for about 25-30 minutes or until rice is nice and fluffy.

You can get creative and add vegetables to this dish. I will sometimes add chopped tomatoes, carrots, corn, peas and onion. Most of the time my grandmother made this recipe as described above. My father is kinda picky, so she would often times scoop out a little onto the side and then add the vegetables.

If you only wanted to make a small portion of rice use the following ingredients: 1 cup rice, 1 8oz can tomato sauce and 1 cup water. Cut back on the oil and bouillon.

A helpful kitchen hint…don’t wash or soak the rice before cooking, it just doesn’t work here at all!

Enjoy and Happy Cooking Friends!

Yours Truly with Love and Peace in my Heart,

G-

Traditional Stuffing…Mixing it up with Apples, Pecans and Golden Raisins

Nov 27, 2014

Ingredients

1 bag or bunch of celery, chopped

2 yellow onions, chopped

4 Granny Smith apples, chopped

1 package fresh Sage leaves

2 eggs

½ cup pecan pieces

1 cup golden raisins

3 bags Mrs. Cubbison’s Classic Dressing, Seasoned flavor – purchase 2 boxes

1-1 1/2 cups turkey stock

4-6 tablespoons ground sage

3 sticks salted butter

Salt and pepper

Without further ado…Let’s get to stuffin’!

In a food processor (Cuisinart is my favorite) chop the celery, onions, sage leaves and apples. In a large bowl mix these ingredients together.

In a large saucepan melt 2 sticks of butter on medium heat. Make sure the bottom of the pan is evenly coated with the melted butter. Add 3/4 of the chopped veggies to the saucepan to sauté. Sautéing the vegetables until they start to caramelize, this adds a nice subtle flavor to the stuffing.

Once nicely sautéed, mix in together with the raw vegetables. Add the Mrs. Cubbison’s stuffing mix and 1 stick melted butter; mix well. Slowly add the turkey stock and 2 eggs; mix well.

Add the pecan pieces and golden raisins. These ingredients are optional however, I believe this is what makes this recipe so incredibly special. Slowly add the ground sage, salt and pepper. Taste the stuffing often and add more seasonings if needed. Mix all ingredients well. I know, I know a lot of mixing in this recipe but look at it this way…it’s a great arm work out! Reserve 2-4 cups of stuffing for the bird. Some will say that this is not safe but our family is well and alive!

Transfer the stuffing to a casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. A nice golden brown top will indicate readiness.

Since I was a small child the turkey stuffing is absolutely my most favorite part of the Thanksgiving feast! A very special thank you to my mother Holly Ann for sharing this family recipe. She has been making this dish for years and always makes just a tad bit more Just for Me! Cooking side-by-side with her all these years has given me my passion for cooking, forever grateful!

TeamBandG get silly while trying to make a stuffing video! Check out our YouTube clip:

Happy Cooking!

Yours Truly with Love and Peace in my Heart,

G-

Sharing is Caring…Please leave me a comment as I would love to answer any questions you might have. I have a passion for learning so if you have a kitchen tip please share. Thank you!

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Gobble Gobble Turkey Stock

Nov 27, 2014

Making your own turkey stock is super easy and adds the most incredible flavor to the stuffing.

Ingredients

Turkey giblets and neck, found inside of the fresh turkey

4-6 carrots, unpeeled

1 large yellow onion, cut-up

4-6 celery stalks

1 bunch fresh sage leaves

1 bunch fresh rosemary

Salt and pepper, to taste

How to prepare the stock:

In a large stockpot add filtered water ¾ full. Add the turkey innards, carrots, onion, celery, sage leaves, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 hours.

This is a cooking step that our family prepares the day before Thanksgiving. This makes a great stock for turkey soup using the leftovers from the feast. You can also freeze this stock for a cold winter day. Having reserved stock handy is a must and makes for a quick and easy soup!

Happy Cooking!

Yours Truly with Love and Peace in my Heart,

G-

Candied Chicken…A Definite Crowd Pleaser!

Nov 25, 2014

Ingredients

Chicken options, with skin and bone-in:

1 cut-up chicken

6 chicken breasts

1 package thighs and legs

Salt and Pepper

Olive oil

Paprika

Candied Sauce:

½ cup honey

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup ketchup

4 tablespoons brown sugar

3-5 garlic cloves, crushed

It’s as easy as One, Two, Three! Let’s get to cookin’!

If I have the time, I will usually refrigerate the chicken for a few hours before cooking. This allows the flavors to soak into the chicken pieces.

Place the rinsed chicken parts in a glass Pyrex dish. Season with olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika. Sprinkle garden herbs, my favorite to use here is French thyme, on the chicken; set aside.

In a large bowl combine the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar and crushed garlic. Mix these ingredients well. Pour half of the candied mixture on top of the seasoned chicken. Reserve some sauce for basting.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remember to baste the chicken often. I will usually set the kitchen timer for 15 minutes, a nice reminder to baste. Oven temperatures and cooking time varies, so use a meat thermometer to check for readiness.

If time allows, bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 30-40 minutes. The slow cook method will make the chicken fall nicely right off the bone, delicious!

This is a great recipe when serving a large crowd. For my single mamas’ crew, this is a great dish that can be served in a few different ways once cooked. Cut the chicken pieces into bite size and make: chicken and cheese quesadillas, chicken salad, chicken sandwiches or chicken/veggie rice mix. This recipe will make a few meals for the munchkins and gives mama less fuss and clean-up on those “What a day” kinda days!

A very special thank you to my dear friend Jackie Rosenthal, who taught me this wonderful family recipe. She is a mother like figure in my life, Isabella’s Grammy, and is always teaching us recipes and beautiful table décor to share with you all. Family recipes is truly what I enjoy blogging and sharing the most! Love you Grammy!

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Yours Truly with Love and Peace in my Heart,

G-

Sharing is Caring…Please leave me a comment as I would love to answer any questions you might have. I have a passion for learning so if you have a kitchen tip please share. Thank you!

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Carroll Shelby’s Chili…Make it Hot or Not!

Nov 23, 2014

This is one of my favorite chili recipes and is perfect for a cozy Sunday night!

Ingredients

1 package Carroll Shelby’s Chili Mix

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 green peppers, chopped

6-8 garlic cloves, crushed

1 can whole kernel corn

1 can organic tomato sauce

2 cups filtered water

2 cans white kidney beans

1 can organic pinto beans

2 lbs ground beef or turkey

2-3 sprigs of garden herbs on-hand, rosemary, French thyme or winter savory

It’s chili makin’ time folks so let’s get to cookin’!

In a large stockpot, on medium heat, brown the crushed garlic cloves. Slowly add the ground beef (or turkey) and garden herbs. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon. Brown the meat until evenly cooked. Drain some of the fat juices from the meat mixture. I like to leave just a tad as this is where most of the flavor comes from.

In a food processor chop the green peppers and onions; set aside. You can chop these ingredients by hand but it is much faster using a chopping device. The Cuisinart mini-prep is a great tool to use here.

Slowly add the tomato sauce and water to the meat, stirring until ingredients are combined. Add the chopped peppers, onions and kernel corn. Add the kidney and pinto beans and stir well.

Once all the ingredients are fully combined, add the Carroll Shelby’s spices including the masa. The masa will make the chili become thicker in consistency. You can always add a little water to the pot if you feel that it is too thick. If you’re looking to make a mild chili batch, my advice is to only add half of the cayenne pepper packet. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Setting up a toppings bar is a super fun way for children to try different veggies. Toppings I like to offer are: sliced avocado, chives, sour cream, shredded mild cheese, chopped onion and chopped tomato.

Most of these items can be purchased at one of my favorite shopping spots, Trader Joe’s. You can find the Carroll Shelby’s chili mix at any major grocery store. For the single mamas, freeze any leftovers you may have. Like I often say, you’ll be glad you did on those “What a day” kinda days! A batch of chili is great to make the day before you plan to serve. This will allow time for the flavors to meld together. Warm buttered tortillas or a nice fresh green salad work well for side dishes.

Watch our YouTube videos on our channel: GinaMisty – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RNf4FN5rMw

Happy Cooking Friends!

Yours Truly with Love and Peace in my Heart,

G-

Granny Smith Apple Pie…With A Twist!

Nov 18, 2014

A little twist to the traditional apple pie recipe is always a big hit in our family!

Ingredients

1 9-inch pie shell

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

3 tablespoon flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, for sliced apples

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla bean extract

½ cup sour cream

4-5 medium apples (4 cups), pared, quartered, cored, and sliced; Granny Smith (green)

½ cup flour

4 tablespoons sweet butter, softened

1 egg

Now let’s get to bakin’ this delicious apple pie!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil as this makes for an easy clean up. Sometimes the juices from the pie will overflow and it can get pretty sticky.

Once your apple slices are cut, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice (1 quarter lemon) to prevent from browning. This also adds flavor to the apples.

In a large bowl mix the granulated sugar and ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, salt and vanilla extract. Make sure to break up any lumps in the brown sugar.

Add the sour cream and apples to the sugar mixture. Spoon the apple mixture into the prepared pie crust and set aside.

In a medium bowl mix together the ½ cup flour and ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar. Cut in the butter with a fork until mixture is crumbly. This mixture becomes your pie topping. Sprinkle this topping on top of the sliced apples. Use your finger tips to pat down the sides of pie with the crumble topping. Make sure the pie is completely covered with topping, no holes around the crust.

Using an egg, glaze the pie crust with a cooking brush. This technique creates a nice golden crust. I always cover my crust with Reynolds non-stick foil to prevent from burning.

Bake the pie for 40-50 minutes. When the juices from the middle of the pie are bubbling your pie is done. For best results let the pie chill for 3-4 hours before serving. This time allows the pies flavor to settle and for the juices to soak into the apples. Because this pie is made with sour cream, don’t leave this out on the counter for too long. It’s best to refrigerate after you are done serving, just a little tip!

Remember friends that sometimes pies don’t always look super fabulous once you cut into them. I say “Hey who cares what it looks like as long as it tastes delicious!” This is for sure a pie that you might say this saying…at least I do!

Happy baking friends!

Yours Truly with Love and Peace in my Heart,

G-

Albondigas Soup…A Witchy Weather Favorite!

Nov 12, 2014

This is a wonderful soup recipe that will get children to eat their vegetables!

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds ground beef, 85% works just fine

1 cup fresh bread crumbs or store bought

1 egg, beaten

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

6-8 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons minced fresh mint

3 teaspoons salt

½ cup all-purpose flour

4-6 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 green peppers, seeded and diced

3 medium yellow or sweet onions, diced

6-8 carrots, sliced

6-8 celery stalks, sliced

1 quart water

1 ½ cups red wine (optional)

2 cans chopped tomatoes or 2 cans tomato sauce

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1-2 teaspoons dried oregano

Let’s get to cookin’! How to prepare this tasty soup:

Line a baking sheet with non-stick Reynolds wrap and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the ground beef, broken into bits with a fork, bread crumbs, egg, parsley, 3 crushed cloves garlic, mint leaves, and 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Mix the ingredients with a fork or your hands.

Lil Chef Making Meatballs!

Form the meatball mixture into balls about 2 inches in diameter. Roll each ball lightly in the flour and set on the baking sheet. In a large sauce pan cover the bottom of pan with olive oil. Brown the meatballs over moderate heat for about 10-12 minutes. Remove the meatballs and set aside.

Remove some of the meatball drippings out of the saucepan and throw away. Brown the remaining crushed garlic in saucepan. Sauté the green pepper, onions, carrots and celery for about 8-10 minutes.

In a large stockpot add the water, tomatoes or tomato sauce and stir together until mixed. Add the red wine, vinegar, sugar and dried oregano and mix well.

Slowly add the meatballs to the soup mixture. Mix all the ingredients together well. Cover the skillet and simmer the soup for 1 ½ – 2 hours. The longer the soup cooks the better the flavor!

You can use pre-made bread crumbs or make your own. I use fresh bread crumbs whenever possible.

Give it a try…make your own bread crumbs:

Take 4-5 slices of fresh bread and remove crusts. Cut bread slice in half. Using your hands crumble the bread slices into a medium size bowl. That’s all, pretty simple!

I love to serve warm tortillas, buttered if desired, as a side dish. A fresh green salad also works wonderfully here. Don’t forget the fresh vegetables for salad toppings. This soup also makes for great leftovers. Single moms, freeze the leftover soup and take out when you have “One of Those Days!” You’ll be glad you did!

The red wine gives this Albondigas soup a very gourmet taste. If entertaining for adult guests, I would definitely add the red wine. Some children may not like the wine flavor as much so add a tad more water, if you choose to omit the wine.

Happy Cooking Friends!

Cozy nights call for yummy soup!

Yours Truly with Love and Peace in my Heart,

G-

Ginger Pumpkin Bread

Nov 4, 2014

This simple yet wonderful quick bread is perfect for holiday entertaining.

Ingredients

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (1 ½ sticks)

1 cup Swan’s cake flour

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2-3 small pinches ground cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 cups fresh pumpkin purée, or 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

If you don’t want to use the Swan’s cake flour then use 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour.

For coating loaf pans:

Wrappers from the butter sticks

2-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

How to prepare this ever so tasty pumpkin bread:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Using the wrappers of the butter, coat the loaf pans with butter and flour. Use two 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch loaf pans. I often use my larger loaf pan if I’m giving away as a gift.

Using a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Flour, baking powder, ginger, cloves and salt. Using a medium bowl, whisk together, pumpkin purée, melted butter, eggs and vanilla extract.

Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir until the batter is completely combined.

Divide pumpkin batter into the coated loaf pans. Bake for about 50-60 minutes. To test readiness, insert a toothpick into the center of the loaves. When the toothpick comes out clean the loaves are ready to be removed from the oven. Let cool for about 15 minutes and serve.

I like to drizzle a sugar glaze on top. It looks beautiful and tastes fabulous. You can serve this quick bread in the morning with a cup of coffee or tea. This super tasty pumpkin bread also makes a great late night snack!

Ginger Pumpkin Bread

How to prepare the Sugar Glaze:

1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar

3-4 tablespoons filtered water

Using a small bowl, mix together the confectioners’ sugar and water. Using a whisk, combine until mixture is smooth and thick. Transfer glaze to a measuring cup and drizzle over the loaves. This sugar glaze will make enough to glaze two pumpkin loaves.

Happy baking friends!

Yours truly with Love and Peace in my heart,

G-

Spaghetti with Vegetable Meat Sauce…all covered with cheese!

Nov 2, 2014

A Fabulous Fall Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients

3 lbs Roma or On the Vine tomatoes

1 28oz can Roma tomatoes (unsalted)

1 package white mushrooms

2 green peppers

1 lb carrots

1 large yellow onion

I bunch fresh basil

8 garlic cloves (minced)

Salt and pepper, to taste

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

Sprigs of garden herbs: rosemary, winter savory, French thyme (for sauce and meat)

2 lbs ground beef, 85% works fine

1 16 oz ( 1lb) packaged spaghetti noodles

Parmesan cheese, grated

Little Isabella mixin’ it up!

I love to cook this recipe for the little munchkins. It’s a great way for them to eat fresh vegetables without even knowing it. If you own a food processor, Cuisinart, this tool will come in very handy to mince the vegetable melody.

How to prepare this wonderful comfort food:

In a large stock pot add ¾ water and bring to a boil. Score tomatoes and place them into the boiling water. Boil for about 5-10 minutes. You will begin to notice the skins of the tomatoes starting to peel off. In a large bowl prepare an ice bath (water and ice cubes). Drain the water from the tomatoes and transfer them to the ice bath. When cool to touch, peel the skins off. Place the peeled tomatoes in the food processor. You should get a nice liquid sauce. Transfer tomato sauce to a large bowl.

In a food processor mince the mushrooms, green peppers, onion, basil, 4 garlic cloves and garden herbs. You can combine the vegetables together in processor to save time. Transfer the chopped vegetables to a medium bowl and set aside.

Place the remaining minced garlic and garden herbs in a sauce pan on medium heat. Brown for about 3 minutes. Add the ground beef and brown until thoroughly cooked. Drain the juices as needed. I always leave a small portion of meat juice as that is where the flavor comes from.

Add the browned meat and chopped vegetable melody to a large stock pot. Slowly add the tomato purée to the meat sauce. Add the olive oil stirring until fully combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low for at least one hour. The longer the better for maximum flavor.

Boil the spaghetti noodles according to the directions on the package. Drain water and place noodles back into the pot. Gradually add the meat sauce to the noodles. Sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese on top of your spaghetti as much as your little heart desires. In our family we sprinkle a lot!!!

Garlic bread or a garden salad make fantastic side dishes. Most of these ingredients you can purchase at Trader Joes. This is a great dish for leftovers. You can also freeze any meat sauce that remains. Frozen sauces come in super handy when a mom has “one of those days!”

Enjoy this fun video of my dear Isabella using her Cuisinart skills in the kitchen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_7o1iBQbZQ

Yours truly with Love and Peace in my heart,

G-

Pumpkin Crumb Cake

Oct 14, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oMvfXE0QIU

While visiting the pumpkin patch this past weekend we bought several fairytale pumpkins for recipes that call for pumpkin puree. For fall recipes I generally will roast about a dozen pumpkins and freeze the puree for later use.

Ingredients for the crumb topping:

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt (kosher optional)

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature preferred

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup pecans, chopped

Pumpkin Crumb Cake Ingredients

Ingredients for the cake:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt (kosher optional)

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature preferred

1 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs, brown preferred

2/3 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup sour cream

Roasted pumpkin sprinkled with brown sugar

Now let’s get mixing!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter (or Pam baking spray) a 9 inch cake pan.

Preparing the crumb topping:

Whisk together the sugars, cinnamon, salt and softened butter in a medium bowl. Add flour and chopped pecans to the sugar mixture. This combination should resemble thick, cohesive dough. Set aside for later use when topping the cake.

Preparing the cake:

Using a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Using a hand mixer (electric mixer with flat beater) beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed. Once thoroughly combined, beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the pumpkin puree and sour cream and mix well. Slowly mix in the flour mixture. The batter will became slightly thick.

Pour batter and spread evenly into pan. Top the cake with the crumb topping. Place cake on middle rack and back for 45 minutes. Using a toothpick, insert into the center of the cake. The cake is finished baking once the toothpick comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 15 minutes. Remove the cake slowly using a butter knife to loosen the cake from the edge of the baking pan. Remember to always allow time for your baked goods to cool. It truly is a Golden Rule.

This is a great crumb cake to serve in the morning with coffee or tea to your holiday houseguests. Happy baking!

I like to use Swans Down cake flour instead of the all-purpose flour. I really love how this flour bakes and it always adds extra fluffiness.

Swans Down Cake Flour

Yours Truly with Peace and Love in our Hearts,

Bella Gwen and Gina Misty

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A Taste Of Homemade

Category Archives: Recipes

Grandma Gallarza’s Oh So Yummy Spanish Rice

Traditional Stuffing…Mixing it up with Apples, Pecans and Golden Raisins

Your message has been sent

Gobble Gobble Turkey Stock

Candied Chicken…A Definite Crowd Pleaser!

Your message has been sent

Carroll Shelby’s Chili…Make it Hot or Not!

Granny Smith Apple Pie…With A Twist!

Albondigas Soup…A Witchy Weather Favorite!

Ginger Pumpkin Bread

Spaghetti with Vegetable Meat Sauce…all covered with cheese!

Pumpkin Crumb Cake