Soup & Bread

Here it is, take your darn corn bread!

I have had too many request for Corn Bread this winter. I've been avoiding making this just because. Don't get me wrong....I LOVE CORN BREAD. It's just not my favorite thing to make. ....so without further ado, I present to you.....

Corn bread.....with my favorite wintertime stew sancocho!!

My take on the well loved SANCOCHO STEW!!

Marinate the meat in sour orange juice (naranja agria) overnight if you can or for a 30 mins before you begin cooking.

• Olive oil -- 3 tablespoons
• 1/2 cup recaito
• 1/2 cup of sofrito
  
• Tomatoes, chopped -- 2 cups
• 2 quarts water
  
• Meat, cubed (ox tails/chicken/pork) -- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds
• 2 pounds peeled and cubed Potatoes, yuca, yautía, sweet potatoes, ñame
• 1/2 pound Pumpkin (calabaza), peeled and cubed (to me this is the best veggie in the stew)
  
• 1 Green plantain, peeled and cubed
  
• 4 Corn cobs cut into small pieces
  
• 2 teaspoons of Oregano
• Salt and pepper -- to taste
• Cilantro, chopped
  

Cook it up!

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium flame. Add the meats and sauté until the meat is brown.
   
2. Transfer meat & seasonings to stock pot and add water and root vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 mins.
   
3. Finally add the pumpkin, plantain, corn, oregano, salt and pepper and simmer for another 30 to 45 minutes, or until the meat is tender and the vegetables have begun to break down a bit.
4. Serve hot with whatever you like =^_^=
   

Corn Bread

• 2 boxes Jiffy corn mix
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup melted butter

Blend ingredients, batter will be slightly lumpy. after blending let batter rest rest for 2-3 mins


Cook it up!

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Grease pan well, and sprinkle some of the dry mix on the bottom of the pan (this will give the bread a crunch)
3. Pour in the batter and bake for about 20 mins.

Let bread cool and serve with whatever you like!

*In lieu of Jiffy cornbread mix, it’s easy to make your own mix from scratch:
¾ cup cornmeal
¾ cup flour
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder

Passion of The Pancake!

In my house, Sunday brunch is lovingly known as "I-Mom". (a more economical and tastier version of I-Hop)
The star of breakfast is most usually some well cooked starch. My favorite is PANCAKES!!.....or french toast!

This morning I've decided to continue my use of the in-season CRANBERRY! The taste is soo tart and wonderful, it goes great with most starch and proteins.  I think these pancakes will go well on my Christmas breakfast menu.

What you need....

• Pancake Mix (I used a "complete" mix with blueberries)
  
• *eggs (maybe, depending on the mix you buy)
• Water or *milk (depending on the mix you buy)
• 1/4 cup of fresh cranberries.
• 2 tbs of powdered sugar to sprinkle on pancakes
  
• Butter for the griddle and to top the pancakes

Prepare Pancake Mix (I used a hand mixer, it incorporates more air yielding fluffier pancakes) according to the box directions, adding 1/4 cup finely diced cranberries for each cup of mix used.  (I put them in a blender).

This recipe is really easy. Just add your favorite sides to complete the meal.

Eat & enjoy!

Tri-force of Lemon Goodness!

Technically this is a do-over. The first time I tried making this, I didn't have eggs and opted to create a lemon -cream cheese filling.instead. It turned out OK, however it was no true "lemon bar". Here is how it looked with the cream cheese filling and a swirl of caramel....

My 12yo loved this version after 2 days, but I still craved something tangy and tart, so I decided to take another crack at the Lemon Bars AND add a twist!. This time I have everything I need to make it right.

What I used.....

For the shortbread crust...

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1+1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup chopped FRESH cranberries
  

 For the lemon filling....

• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup chopped Fresh cranberries
  
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar for dusting

Tip........
If you don't have confectioners sugar on hand, just put regular granulated sugar into the blender and process until you have a fine powder!

Heat your oven to 350 degrees F

• Mix the flour and sugar well, then add in the softened butter and berries. Pat dough evenly into 9 inch round cake pan.
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until brown. 

• Combine eggs, white sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and flour and mix until smooth. stir in berries; pour mixture over hot crust.(Mixture will be slightly thin)
• Bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until firm. Let cool completely in baking dish. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and cut into triangles. 

Eat and enjoy!!

Success!

This recipe got a 9 out of 10 from the kids and 9.5 from the adults!