Chicken Thigh Glazed with Chimichurri Sauce

Chicken Thigh Glazed with Chimichurri Sauce is a quick and easy chicken dish that is perfect for weeknight meal. You can serve this with some Spanish rice or Fried Plantains and you are good to go! A Chimichurri is a popular sauce used in many Latin American cuisine. It is used for marinating or seasoning steak, chicken and chorizo sausages. Chimichurri Sauce/ Marinade is a mixture of chopped parsley and other seasonings, including shallots, garlic, herbs, oil and vinegar.

Chicken Thigh Glazed with Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

5 whole Skinless, Bone-in, Chicken Thighs
1 Tablespoon Goya Adobo
4 Tablespoons Chimichuri Sauce (see Note Below)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Chicken Stock (Beer or White Wine)

Cooking Directions:

• Preheat oven at 350°F.
• Clean and wash the chicken thighs thoroughly. Dry with paper towels.
• Season the chicken with the Goya Adobo seasoning.
• Heat a skillet with olive oil at medium-high heat, lightly brush chicken with chimichurri sauce and brown chicken in the skillet in batches, about 5 minutes. Transfer browned chicken to a glass baking dish.
• When done browning the chicken, de-glazed the skillet with your choice of broth, beer or white wine. Be sure to scrape up all the yummy brown bits.
• Pour broth with yummy browned bits over the chicken.
• Generously brush the chicken with the remaining chimichurri mixture.
• Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until juices run clean, basting periodically.
• Serve with steams rice or rice and beans. Some fried plantains will complete your dish.
• Enjoy and share!

Chimichurri Marinade/ Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup parsley, 1 cup cilantro – finely chopped 
• 2 shallots, minced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon of oregano
• ¾ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon of kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup olive oil

Directions:

• Place chopped parsley and cilantro in a mixing bowl. Add all seasonings to taste. Add vinegar, then slowly whisk in the olive oil until the marinade emulsifies.
• Use the sauce to marinate meat before grilling. (Marinate at least one hour; can marinate up to 8 hours or overnight.)
• Remove meat from the marinade and grill.
• If you like, reserve some marinade and puree it for use as a sauce.

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Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread

Everybody has their own favorite version of Banana Bread Recipe. That includes me. But I always love to try new recipes. I made this Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread for the first time and oh boy, it is heaven. This recipe is seriously scrumptious with the cream cheese in it. Besides, everybody knows that anything with cream cheese has to be good. I honestly do not know who to credit with this recipe, because it was a  print out filed in my wish list file, and didn't have any credits attached.

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter or margarine softened
• 8 oz cream cheese softened
• 3 ripe mashed bananas
• 1¼ cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 ¼ cupall purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoon brown sugar
•  cup chopped pecans or walnuts 

Directions:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter/margarine and the cream cheese together. Gradually add the white sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one egg at a time, beating well after each egg. Stir in the mashed bananas and vanilla. Slowly add the brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix until the batter is just moist. (careful not to mix too long after you've added the flour.) Fold in your choice of chopped nuts.
• Pour the batter into two greased/floured 8x4" loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes on middle rack, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
•  Once baked, let loafs rest in pans for 5 minutes, then carefully turn out of pan onto a cooling rack.

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Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken

I call this Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken a quick fix. This is very easy to make and has unique and great flavors. I made it one night when I did not have much time to make dinner and all I had in the fridge was a chicken breast. I looked into my "wish list recipe box" and saw this Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken by Rasa Malaysia. The picture looked inviting so I gave it a try.  It was another successful experiment for me. My husband and I enjoyed it very much and most likely will make it again. Try it for yourself and let me know how it turns out.

 

Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Recipe

 Adapted from : Rasa Malaysia

 Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast/thigh, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 fresh lemongrass stalks, tender inner white bulbs only, minced
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 3 chilies, seeded and minced
• 1 scallion for garnishing ( I used parsley, I have no scallion available)

 Cooking Directions:

•  In a bowl, combine the fish sauce, garlic, curry powder, salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the sugar. Add the chicken meat to coat.
• In a small skillet, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1 tablespoon of the water and cook over high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cook without stirring until a deep amber caramel forms. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Transfer to a bowl.
• Heat a wok over high heat. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the lemongrass, shallot, and chilies and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the chicken and caramel and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is slightly thickened. Transfer to a bowl and top with the scallion. Serve with steamed white rice.

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Lemon-Coconut Bars

These Lemon-Coconut Bars are a perfect treat during Summertime. The marriage of the two main ingredients, coconut and lemon are a match made in heaven. As my husband claims, these Lemon- Coconut Bars are the best dessert bars he ever had! He is my No.1 food critique. He said that in this recipe, the coconut is the key, it provides an out of this world flavor and a bit of chewiness to the butter cookie crust. The filling is as beautifully bright as a Spring day and it is a perfect blend of sweet and tart. A recipe like this is worth sharing, so go ahead and share this to your friends and network.

Lemon-Coconut Bars Recipe
Source: Bon Appétit

Ingredients:

 Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted, cooled
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

  Filling
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon (packed) finely grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar ( I substitute with flaked coconut )

Cooking Directions:

 

For crust

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving overhang. Butter foil. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in processor; blend 5 seconds. Add coconut and butter; process until mixture resembles fine meal and begins to clump together. Gather dough into ball. Press dough evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Bake crust until golden at edges, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare filling:

• Combine 3/4 cup sugar, eggs, lemon juice, lemon peel, flour, baking powder, and salt in processor. Blend filling until smooth.
• Remove crust from oven. Pour filling evenly over hot crust. Return to oven and bake until filling begins to brown at edges and is just set and springy to touch in center, about 30 minutes. Transfer pan to rack; cool lemon bars completely.
• Using foil as aid, transfer lemon bars to work surface. Flatten foil edges. Cut into 16 bars. Sift powdered sugar over. (Can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight in single layer in refrigerator.)

 

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Gallo Pinto ( Costa Rican Rice & Beans )

Gallo Pinto is considered the national dish of Costa Rica. Gallo Pinto is served all throughout Latin America, though each country names it differently. Cubans call it "Congris" and in some parts of Nicaragua it is called " arroz y frijoles"- meaning "rice with black beans".  I had a chance to taste this Authentic Costa Rican dish when we stayed on a very quaint B&B in El, Valle - one of the highlands of Panama. The owner of the B&B place is  a Costa Rican and he served this delicious and hearty breakfast. He said Gallo Pinto means " spotted rooster" , I was expecting a meat but I was amazed to learned that it was actually "meat-free". It is a very tasty rice dish with beans, herbs and spices. I highly recommend this for you to try, it is super easy to prepare. For Asians like me, the cooking technique is like cooking fried rice.  Only, the spices are different.

Gallo Pinto ( Costa Rican Rice & Beans ) Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup white  rice
½ vegetable or chicken broth or knorr cubes
1 cup of black beans
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon  ground coriander
2 dried ancho chilie peppers ( remove seeds or substitute with bell peppers)
1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
1 large onion (finely chopped)
3 cloves garlic ( minced)
1/3 cup cilantro ( finely chopped)
salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Direction:

The Beans

• Soak beans for 8 hours. Refrigerate.
• After soaking, change the water and add 6 cups of water and bring to simmer for around 90 minutes. Check water once in a while. Check beans for doneness. You can do this step on pressure cooker or crock pot.
• Reserve beans with some of the water.

The Rice

• Cook rice with the dissolve broth cubes. ( I used 1 part ratio for rice and cooked in a rice cooker)
•  Refrigerate the cooked rice overnight.

Gallo Pinto

• Heat pan with vegetable oil. When oil is hot, add onion. Sauté for 5 minutes or until onion turns translucent.
• Add garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander and bell peppers. Sauté for another minute. Add more vegetable oil if necessary.
• Add the cooked rice and stir fry for 1 minute, breaking up any chunks.
• Once all the rice change color, add the cooked beans, starting with 1 cup. Make sure the ratio of beans will not over power the rice. Add 2-3 tablespoon of the bean water. Combine the rice and beans evenly and cook until mixture is heated through.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro.
• For breakfast, serve this with scramble egg, fried plantains and chorizo.
• Enjoy and share!

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Chicken Marinated in Wine

This Roast Chicken Recipe with red wine marinade  is good on anything from chicken or turkey breast to chicken thighs. I got this recipe from a Spanish Recipe magazine. It was a challenge for me because I had to find English translations for the ingredients and cooking directions. Well, I made that easy for you now because I am posting the English version. This recipe came out so good, it was super moist and flavorful and very easy to prepare. I will be posting the roasted potato side dish soon. Give this recipe a try and let me know how it turned out.

Chicken Marinated in Wine Recipe

Ingredients:

1  (3-4 lbs) whole chicken
1-½ cup of red wine
1 cup of thinly sliced red onion
1 teaspoon of thyme
2 tablespoon of olive oil
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoon of unsalted butter


Cooking Directions:

• Combine first 9 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator for 4 hours or up to 24 hours; turning occasionally.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Place the chicken on a buttered baking dish. Reserve marinade. 
• Bake chicken for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the juices runs clear.
• Bring the reserve marinade sauce to boil. Let it simmer under low fire  for 10 minutes or until reduced to half.
• Strain reduced sauce and return to pan. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute.
• Add remaining butter to the reduced sauce and stir continuously until butter is melted. Reserve.
• Once chicken is cooked ( should registed 160°F). Remove chicken from the oven and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.
• Serve with the reserved marinade sauce and roasted potato on the side.
• Enjoy and share!

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Basic Crepes Batter Recipe

These sublime crepes are guaranteed to please everyone! From this basic Crepe Recipe, you can create variations depending on what filling you would like that day. There is a lot to choose from, Chocolate or fruit jam , strawberry or banana or simply just ice-cream. The possibilities are limitless. You can stuff anything you want, depending how you want it , savory or sweet. Today, we focus on the Crepes Batter. The Crepes Batter Recipe is super easy--just a couple of seconds on the blender then few minutes of cook time! My husband and I love to have them during breakfast. It is fast and easy and it is the best Crepes we have ever had!

Crepes Batter Recipe

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1¼ cup whole milk
½ teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoon of melted butter
butter, for coating pan

Cooking Directions:

• In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking.
• Heat 2 teaspoon of butter in a small non-stick pan. Pour batter and swirl around to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove when cooked. Cover with paper towel.
• To serve, sprinkle each crepe with sugar or spread jelly or any filling of your choice, fold or roll up.
• Enjoy and Share!

Note:

For Savory Variation : Add ¼ chopped fresh herbs, spinach or sun-dried tomatotes to the batter mixture.
For Sweet Variation  : Add 2-½ tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoon of liqueur of your choice to the batter mixture.

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Pico De Gallo Recipe

This Pico de Gallo Recipe is a colorful and aromatic Mexican condiment. It is served with tacos, fajitas, nachos and tortillas. It can be served as a simple salad as well. It is made with salad vegetables,chili pepper and for fresh flavor- a lime juice is used. The onion and tomatoes are used as base flavor for this recipe but you can always adjust the ingredients for more flavor or according to your taste. This recipe is best eaten the same day and I can't keep it in the house because it get's eaten so quickly. It's a good way to get your loved ones eat their veggies! It is a quick and easy recipe. I will make this again, and again and again.

Pico De Gallo Recipe

Ingredients:

4 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
1 piece of mango, cut into cubes (optional)
1 white onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 or 3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon limejuice ( add more according to your taste)
Salt to taste

Cooking Directions:

• In a bowl, combine all ingredients and chill in the fridge for an hour.
• Serve and enjoy!

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Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Thumbprint Cookies is the easiest cookie recipe I have ever made. You have the luxury of having variations in fillings.  From Peanut Butter to Jam to Chocolate. This recipe can be adapted to suit any theme, flavor preference, season or occasion. These Jam Thumbprint Cookies I made are soft and buttery, flecked with ground pecans, and filled with strawberry preserves. It is very delicious, easy to bake and can be festive. I strongly recommend this for easy "go to" cookie recipe.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies Recipe
(Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine)

Ingredients:

• 14-1/4 oz. (3 cups plus 2 Tbs.) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. table salt
• 3/4 lb. (1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 6 oz. (1-1/2 cups) pecans, toasted and finely ground in a food processor
• 3 oz. (1 cup) confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup red raspberry preserves with seeds ( I used strawberry preserves)

 Cooking Directions:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and salt to blend.
• Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and pecans on medium speed until very soft and light, about 3 min.
• Beat in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until thoroughly combined, about 1 min. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
• With the mixer on low speed, slowly blend in the flour until totally incorporated, about 30 seconds.
• Using your hands, roll the dough into 1- to 1-1/4-inch balls and set them about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Press your thumb into the middle of each dough ball to create a well for the preserves.
• Stir the preserves to loosen and then spoon about 1/2 tsp. into the middle of each dough ball.
• Bake until the cookies are golden brown, about 20 min.
• Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 1 min. before transferring them to a rack to cool.

Note: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for three to four days.

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Semi-Homemade Tahô ( Taho/Tahu)

Tahô ( Soybean Custard) is a common breakfast in the Philippines. Tahô is made of fresh soft/silken tofu, pearl sago ( Tapioca Pearl )  and  brown sugar syrup (arnibal ).This is usually sold by the Magtatahô (taho vendor) in the morning. The Tahô vendor carries two large aluminum buckets hanging from each end of yoke. It is hard not to notice the vendors calling out "Tahoooooô!" while they are passing by your street. In other Asian countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, this food is called Tahu.

For those that are living abroad where there is no Magtatahô vendor -- Here's an easy Semi-Homemade Tahô Recipe for you. I really do not know who to credit on this one because I have seen so many Filipino Taho posting in Youtube.

Semi-Homemade Tahô Recipe

Ingredients:

1 pkg (12 0z)   Silken/Soft Tofu
1 bag of Tapioca Pearl
1 cup brown sugar ( I used palm sugar )
1 cup water

Cooking Directions:

• Cook Tapioca Pearls as per package directions. Set aside.
• For the sugar syrup ( arnibal), the ratio is 1 part water and 1 part sugar. Bring water to boil. Add sugar and mix well. Let it simmer for 1 minute. Set aside.
• Transfer the Silken tofu on a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1  minute.
• In a glass, combine Silken tofu, cooked tapioca pearl and sugar syrup. Voila! Instant Homemade Tahô.
• Enjoy and Share!

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