Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup or Aztec Soup is one of those WOW dishes for me, it is so rich and tasteful, not to spicy but with some kick, with crunchy tortillas and nice creamy avocado: I just love it! It is a really old recipe that has managed to still be present at mexican tables. The original version has no chicken, carrot or zucchini in it but I add it to make it richer and yeah, to "hide" veggies for the kids. (but you can leave them out to make it more traditional)

Ingredients:

• 4 medium tomatoes
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 4 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 kilo corn tortillas 
• 2 tablespoons chopped carrot
• 2 tablespoons chopped zucchini
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped seeded jalapeno or ancho pepper
• 1 bay leaf (if you can get some epazote use it instead)
• 1/4 cup cubed avocado
• 1/4 cup shredded Fresco cheese or some monterrey Jack
• Sour cream for garnishing

Directions:

1. Brush the tomatoes, onion and garlic with 1 teaspoon oil. Roast close to the heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until tender. Peel and discard charred skin from tomatoes; place in a blender. Add onion and garlic; cover and process for 1-2 minutes or until smooth.
2. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste; bake for 5-6 minutes on each side. 
3. Cut the tortillas in fine strips.
4. In a large saucepan, heat remaining oil. Fry tortilla strips until crisp and browned, careful not to burn them; remove and set aside on a paper towel.
5. In the same pan, cook the carrot, zucchini, cilantro, cumin and chili powder over medium heat for 4 minutes. 
6. Stir in the tomato mixture, chicken broth, tomato puree, jalapeno and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
7. Cut chicken into strips and add to soup; heat through. Discard bay leaf. Add the tortilla strips.
8. Garnish with the avocado slices, sour cream and cheese before serving.

Asparagus with feta

This side dish is really tasty and easy to make, yes, you have to find really good asparagus but that shouldn't be a big problem with the spring we had. Just make sure the tips are deep green and you're safe to go!

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch thick asparagus, about 24 spears, ends trimmed
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to high.
2. Place asparagus spears in baking dish and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Put the asparagus on the grill, making sure to place spears perpendicular to grates so they don’t fall through. Cover and cook for about 3-4 minutes, until asparagus spears are nicely browned and tender-crisp. 
4. Remove the asparagus from the grill and place them back in baking dish. Allow them to cool. 
5. Place cut asparagus back in their dish, then add remaining tablespoon olive oil, feta and lemon zest; toss gently and season to taste. 
6. Serve room temperature or cold.

Note: To trim ends, bend one spear near its base to see where it naturally snaps off. Use a knife to trim remaining spears to the same length.

Chewy Granola Bars á la Starbucks!

It is no secret that I am a big fan of Granola Bars, I cannot resist them! I have tried and made many different ones, using all kind of ingredients and even when I LOVE them all, this Starbucks Copycat recipe is my absolute favorite. 

Of course you can try to make the recipe a bit healthier by leaving a bit of sugar out or replacing the nuts with fresh fruit; the result will still be very tasty but you won't get that "this really taste like the ones at Starbucks" feeling! :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats 
• 2 cups crispy rice cereal 
• 1 cup dried apricot, chopped 
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped 
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds 
• 1/2 cup pecan halves, chopped 
• 1/2 cup golden raisin 
• 1/4 cup sunflower seed 
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

SYRUP MIXTURE:

• 1/5 cup brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup corn syrup or 1/2 cup honey *
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1/2 cup peanut butter 

Directions:

1. Prepare a square pan with non-stick spray (or line with parchment paper). 
2. In a large mixing bowl, toss all dry ingredients. Feel free to substitute your preferred nuts or dried fruit. 
3. In a saucepan, combine brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for a couple of minutes. This boiling of the sugars is what keeps the bars together once they have cooled off.
4. After boiling, turn off heat; add vanilla and peanut butter. Pour this hot mixture over the dry ingredients as soon as possible and toss to combine. 
5. Pour warm mixture into prepared pan. Wet your fingers and press the mixture down into the pan to compress the bars so they will slice evenly. 
6. Bake for 10 minutes at 170 C and allow it to cool.
7. When cool, use a sharp knife to cut into 18 bars (1 long lengthwise cut and 9 cuts across). 
8. Enjoy with a hot cup of Starbucks coffee for an authentic experience! 

* You can substitute the Corn Syrup for maple or pancake syrup, the taste will still be amazing but Corn Syrup is a bit better when it comes to holding the bars together, but if you don't mind the crumbliness then maple syrup adds a really nice smokey flavor to them! 

This recipe works pretty good as a no-bake bars too, so you can just skip the baking and allow them to settle and cool of before cutting them.

Easy Blackened Chicken with Cilantro Rice

This is a really great summer dish!! The flavors are amazing and if you use the avocado sauce the combination gets even better! I know that blackening meat can be a bit scary but this is a really easy way to do it without ending with leather stripes in your mouth, or a black kitchen. The trick it to keep an eye on the chicken while in the oven and take it out just in time, that way you'll have a really juicy piece of poultry with a really tasty and spicy crust.

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

• 2 chicken breasts halved
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
• 1/4 teaspon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon olive or vegetable oil

For the rice:

• 1 Cup Rice 
• 2 Cups Chicken Stok
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Juice and Zest from Two Limes
• A Dash of Salt and Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons of Cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Combine all dry ingredients and rub on both sides of the chicken, let it marinate for at least one hour.
3. Add the teaspoon of olive oil to a large pan or skillet. Heat the olive oil for a minute over high heat. Add the chicken breasts to the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side.
4. Place the chicken on a greased baking dish and bake for 5-10 minutes, check it from time to time to avoid drying it out.
5. In a medium sauce pan add the chicken stock, butter and rice. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat and cook for ten to fifteen minutes with the lid on, until all the stock has been absorbed.
6. Add the warm rice to a large bowl. Toss in the lime zest, lime juice, salt and pepper, and chopped cilantro. Mix to combine.
7. Serve the chicken sliced on a bed of rice.

Tip: The chicken can be a bit spicy for some people, you can add a very simple avocado sauce to take some of the heath off: place the flesh from an avocado along with two tablespoons of Greek yogurt (or sour cream) in a food processor and puree until smooth. Pour over the chicken. You can also use the chicken as filling for a nice sandwich.

One Ingredient Ice Cream

Stop the press!!!..............Seriously stop it!! I have just found the easiest and I am sure healthiest Ice cream in the (cyber)world!!! This is great for kids and people with allergies (unless you are allergic to bananas, in which case: SLOWLY STEP AWAY!) because it has no milk, no cream, no sugar, no artificial colors or sweeteners, all you need for this creamy  and tasty ice cream are lovely frozen bananas. Of course you can add a couple of other ingredients to add a bit of a kick, I used a little vanilla and some peanut butter but you can use other fruits, cocoa powder, honey, nuts............just about anything!

The trick here is to freeze the bananas until rock solid and then have some PATIENCE, you don't need an ice cream maker, a simple blender or food processor will do but as I said you need a bit of patience because the bananas need their time to turn into a lovely creamy ice cream!

Here's a step-by-step instructions on how to:

1. Peel your bananas first (duh! right? well I know a few people who would just chop the bananas and trow them in the freezer without this very important step!)
2. Cut them into small pieces (if you don't cut them them it will be almost impossible to blend the frozen monsters!)
3. Freeze for just 1-2 hours on a plate. 
4. Blend, blend, blend - scraping down the bowl when they stick. 
5. Enjoy the magic moment when they turn into ice cream! (at this point you can add pretty much anything you want, I recommend a tablespoon of peanut butter or a few drops of vanilla extract or even better yet: a couple of teaspoons of cocoa powder for a creamy banana-chocolate ice cream)
6. Once the ice cream is ready you can place it again the freezer to harden a bit or grab your spoon and enjoy as it is!

Note: Try to use ripe or overripe bananas to avoid that greenish aftertaste some young bananas have.

Original recipe:thekitchn.com

Baked Churros

As the good Mexican girl that I am, I LUV churros, there is something really comforting and homely about them, it just brings a lot of memories of happy Sundays to me. I have tried to re-live those memories many many times by making my own churros only to end up with soggy, greasy little sticks and a mess of a kitchen!!

But this time around I found out a way to make them in a wink and by baking them instead of deep frying them you save lots of time, mess and calories! 

Ingredients:


• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 
1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup water
• 
1 cup all purpose flour

• 3 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar
• 
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees C.
2. In a medium saucepan combine the butter, salt and water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Remove from heat, add the flour and stir with a spoon to combine. Mixture will thicken and start to resemble the texture of mashed potatoes. 
3. Leave dough in the saucepan, but beat it on low with a hand mixer, adding one egg at a time, mixing well before adding another. After adding each egg, the mixture will become wet and glossy, but after mixing on high for a few seconds it will thicken again, again.
4. When all the eggs are are combined add the vanilla,  the dough will be thick and starchy, that's how you know it is ready.
5. Spoon the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. 
6. Lightly spray a cookie sheet and pipe rows of the dough with at least 2 cm between each churro (the size of the churro is up to you, you can make large ones or baby ones for the kids here).
7. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown, and when a toothpick comes out clean. 
8. Spray churros lightly with cooking spray, transfer them to a square tupperware, or shallow baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. 

Baked Potato with a Twist

I live in Potato Land (well actually it should be "Potato Continent"), everywhere you go you see potatoes, potatoes in every shape, form, color and sizes! 
Potatoes are one of the 3 or 4 basic main ingredients not only in Holland but in all of Europe. To me, that was a big change in eating habits, I never used to eat that much potatoes, French Fries and Baked Potatoes were a real treat for me and here they are just an everyday snack! Don't get me wrong, I love my tatters, they are very versatile and I really enjoy them but sometimes it is hard to come up with new ways to prepare them............lets face it: you CAN (and you will) get tired of mashed potatoes, believe me!!!

I love baked potatoes but I am in a constant fight when it comes to the baking time, my oven tends to take way much longer time than pretty much any other oven in the world and I either end up with a raw potato casserole or a bunch of blackened french fries! 

I came across this really cool looking potato recipe the other day and I just knew I had to give it a try: a really simple yet amazing take on a baked potato. The great part is that it doesn't take that much time to bake as a normal tin foil potato and it looks so much better!

  




Ingredients:

• 6 Medium Size Potatoes
• 2 - 3 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 30 g Butter
• Sea Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 220˚C 
2. Put the potato on a chopping board, flat side down. Start from one end of the potato, cut almost all the way through, at about 3 to 4 mm intervals.
3. Arrange the potatoes in a baking tray and insert the garlic in between the slits. Scatter some butter on top of each potato. Then drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Bake the potatoes for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh is soft.

Tip: You can add some grated parmesan or any other kind of cheese at the end or add a bit of sour cream.