Cocina Al Minuto de Nitza Villapol

Look what my Aunt gave me.  What a treasure, my Tia Nancy recently move to Spain and among all the wonderful things she gave me, she gave me this priceless treasure, well in Amazon it's priced and it's a pretty little penny.  But I would not sell it for all the tea in China.

Not only does it have all of my favorite recipes that Mi Abuelita use to make for me, it was a special gift from one of my favorite aunts.  

Stay tune, going to start cooking my way through it.  Making a few adjustments to make it a little healthier.  Except when it come time to make those Platanos a Tentacion (Temptation Plantains) that is just what they are a horrible, delectable  temptation.

FU FU or Mofungo

Since I'm Cuban it's FuFu for me.  And although not as tasty as the fried version of my Purto Rican friends, this is a little leaner, I think????

Ingredients

3 Green Plaintains (peeled and cut into small pieces).
1 Yellow Plaintain (not riped- peeled and cut into small pieces)
1 Medium Onion (Diced)
1 lb - Chicharon (Pork Grinds) --- (You can substitute masitas de cerdo fritas with mojo - friend pork chucks with mojo- recipe coming soon)
4 to 6 garlic cloves (minced)
2 Limes
1/4 Olive Oil

Preparation:

1. In a saucepan, cover plantains with lightly salted, cold water and bring to a boil.
2. Cook until plantains are soft (about 10 to 15 minutes).
3. Drain and mash the plantains. Set aside.
4. In a frying pan, add the olive oil sauté the diced onion and chopped garlic . Continue sautéing for about 5 minutes. Set aside and add the juice of the 2 limes5. chop the chicharon/pork chunks.
6. Fold all the ingredients together and thoroughly mixed. Transfer to a dish, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

You can serve it just like this, with Bacalao a la viscaina (I will work on this recipe soon) or like I did here with Vaca Frita.

Buen Provecho!!

***I did this one with macitas fritas.  I just had a Root Canal I the dentist must of read my mind because the first food he mentioned that I could not eat was mofungo (he is Puerto Rican).  I wanted to cry, so me being my ingenious self  always thinking how to solve the problem at hand I cheated, I stopped at El Palacio del Jugo and bought one pound of already made masitas fritas and a little mojo.  It was scrumptious 

Re-Inventing Hamburger Patties

The other day I went to Publix and they were cooking something amazing, it tasty delicious, but when I went to look at the ingredients of course it was made with a jar of Alfredo sauce, the bugger was dipped in eggs then it was breaded with a box of Italian Bread Crumbs a HUGE NO NO! at our home.

So how did I re-invent this perfectly delicious meal. Here you GO!

Ingredients

4 lean burger patties
2 eggs
2 cups of Panko break crumbs (Japanesse Bread Crumbs)
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
2 TBS Garlic Powder (got to season those crumbs)
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mock Alfredo Sauce by David Liberman (CLICK HERE)
2 cups baby spinach (uncooked)

Instructions:

Mix together the Panko, Parmesan cheese, Garlic, Salt and Pepper together in a shallow dish.  Mix the eggs add a hint of salt and pepper to the egg, then start breading the burgers.  Once you have all the burgers breaded let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes.  I believe the breading sticks better if you just let them sit for a bit (just my opinion).  Add about 1/4 cup of Olive oil to a saute pan, now you can either saute them in a pan on medium heat  (I do it this way, we all need a little oil) or you can put them in the oven Brush a little Olive Oil on them place in a pre-heated (350) over, for about 15 to 20 minutes depending how you like them cook.

In the meantime place the Alfredo sauce in a large sauce pan in medium heat and add the spinach  just to wilt the spinach once they have wilted remove it from the heat put aside.

Once all the burgers are done place them on a serving tray, pour the Alfredo/Spinach sauce over them, serve with pasta or rice and enjoy.

Blogging Once Again

It's been over one year since I last posted.  I decided to start Weight Watchers again, yes again.  I want to post all the recipe that I make and are worthy of posting.  I am going to go through those 5 or more Weight Watchers cookbooks I have and start cooking.

To do list:
List what's for dinner for the week (imagine not having to think what's for dinner everyday)
Grocery list
Cook

Come back tomorrow.

CHICKEN, CHICKPEA, and PESTO salad

A Family Favorite
Boil the chicken with a little salt and pepper.

In a mixing bowl mix together 2 shredded cooked chicken breast halves. 1/2 large English cucumber, thinly sliced, 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced, and 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained. Add 1/3 cub Basic Basil Pesto and a squeeze of lemon. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper.

358 cal, 18.5 g fat (2.9g sat fat); 21g protein: 27.5g carb; 6.2g fiber.

Pesto

Coarse Salt and Pepper
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
3 cups packed fresh basil leaves
(2 1/4 ounces)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Roughly chop the garlic. Add to a food processor with pine nuts, basil, and 1 tablespoon oil. Pulse until ingredients are finely chopped. With machine running, add remaining oil in a slow, steady stream. Add Parmesan and pulse to combine. Season with Salt and pepper.

Per Tablespoon. 113cal; 11.8g fat (1.7 g sat fat); 1.3g protein; 1g carb; 0.5g fiber.

NOTE: I have done it adding pasta and omitting the cucumber and celery, yummy also.

Grilled Caponata

Oh This one is absolutely delicious. I make it over the weekend and have enough in the fridge to eat during the week. It's yummy hope you give it a try.


Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay


Serves:
4 servings

Ingredients

* 1 medium eggplant, cut in rounds
* 1 large red onion, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
* 4 plum tomatoes, cut in rounds
* Olive oil
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
* 2 tablespoons capers, drained
* 2 tablespoons golden raisins/gran-raisins
* 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted/pistachios
* 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
* 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
* 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
* 2 teaspoons honey
* 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Heat your grill to high. Brush the eggplant, onion slices and tomatoes with olive oil and season each type of vegetable with salt and pepper, to taste.

Grill the eggplant for 6 to 8 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Grill the onions for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown and just cooked through. Grill the tomatoes for 2 minutes per side until charred and slightly soft. Remove to a cutting board and cut into quarters.

Remove the vegetables from the grill to a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Transfer the vegetables to a medium bowl and add the olives, capers, raisins and pine nuts.

Mix together the garlic, red pepper flakes, vinegar and honey in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of olive oil and whisk until emulsified.

Pour the dressing over the vegetables, add the parsley and stir gently to combine. Let the salad sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours before serving.

Tomato, Spinach and Feta Omelet

Per Serving: Calories 176

Fat 10g (56.2% calories from fat)

Protein 14g

Carbohydrate 4g

Dietary Fiber 1g

Cholesterol 358mg

Sodium 512mg



Ingredients

Makes 2 servings

4 large eggs

1 cup baby spinach, chopped

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1 plum tomato, sliced

2 tbsp feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced (optional)



Directions

Combine eggs, spinach, oregano and salt in a medium bowl. Beat until well blended. Lightly coat a 9-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray, heat over medium heat.



Pour egg mixture into skillet. Cook until bottom is lightly browned and firm, about 5-6 minutes. With a spatula, flip the omelet to the other side and cook 3 minutes more. Transfer omelet to a platter. Sprinkle tomatoes and cheese on one half (and onions, if desired) and fold over other half to cover.



Let stand 1 minute to warm tomatoes and cheese. Cut in half.

This recipe is courtesy of Eggland's Best.

I make it for one, use 1/2 the ingredients, use 2 egg whites and one egg instead of 2 eggs.