Arroz de Forno / Chicken and Rice Casserole

Whenever we had chicken left overs at home we would have 'Arroz de Forno' for the next meal. We loved it so much that we didn't want to eat the whole chicken in a given meal just to have some left overs for the delicious 'Arroz de Forno'. It is basically a mix of rice, vegetables, chicken left overs of course. and the magic ingredient, Parmesan cheese.

Open Face Cheese Sandwich

I don't know why I like open face sandwiches so much. Probably because as much as I like bread I like the inside of sandwiches more and I like eating them with knife and fork.

Healthy Ramen? Yes, it it possible!

Ramen! The most popular college food! And it can be a ridiculously easy to make healthy meal. I will show you how.

Fabulous Chocolate Sauce

This chocolate sauce is really good!
It has a thick consistency and it goes well with ice cream or cakes.

Wine Poached Pears

This way of poaching pears is delicious. The addition of cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf add an amazing bouquet and exotic flavors. The addition of orange juice also adds a fruity touch to the sauce. You can serve it with heavy cream, ice cream, and or simply with its sauce as it is so rich and flavorful.

Oatmeal in the Morning

Have you ever had one of those days when you woke up, had a very healthy light yogurt for breakfast, felt great : ) and at 9:00 you were so hungry that you ate half of your refrigerator and of course felt horrible : ( 

You can avoid this terrible, guilty ridden experience by eating oatmeal with dried fruits and nuts for breakfast. Oatmeal really fills you up. It is also a great snack.

Cook the oatmeal according to the package direction, use milk instead of water, then add your favorite nuts and dried fruits. You can use any kind of milk really and even half milk and half water.

According to an article from Active Beat you will control your appetite if you have oatmeal in the morning. Check out the article >  http://www.activebeat.com/diet-nutrition/10-natural-appetite-suppressing-foods/

Here are excerpts from the article:
For breakfast have "a bowl of slow-digesting oats and you’ll feel full well into the lunch hour.  That’s right, oats contain a hunger-satiating hormone, called ghrelin, and they are also extremely low on the glycemic index. Just stick to plain oats and add your own natural sugars from honey, apple butter, vanilla, cinnamon, agave syrup, or a touch of real maple syrup.
I use cinnamon on everything—in my coffee, on my oatmeal, and on fruit and yogurt. Sure, the no calorie spice tastes great, but it also helps lower your blood sugar levels, thus curbing your appetite!"

Here are my favorite combinations:

Oatmeal with sunflower seeds and raisins.

Oatmeal with pistachios and dried blueberries.

Oatmeal with walnuts and dried cranberries. mmmmm!




I always buy salted nuts instead of unsalted. I know it is not the healthiest option but I love the contrast between the sweetness of the dried fruits and the salt from the nuts.
I do not add sugar or salt to my porridge. If you like to add sugar to your porridge consider using the healthier substitutes Stevia or agave syrup.
Occasionally I add cinnamon.

Spinach Pots

This is a great side dish but it can also be a good afternoon snack you just need to warm it in the microwave.

What You Need:

• 1 bag frozen spinack or 12 oz fresh spinach
• 3/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup shreded Parmesan cheese plus some more cheese to gratinate
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 clove garlic minced or crushed
• 1/4 tablespoon garlic salt (or simply salt)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Optional: 1/4 tablespoon onion powder

What To Do:

Preheat oven to 400F and butter 6 ramekins
Gather your ingredients

Thaw and drain the spinach squeezing it in a colander to remove excess water

Chop the spinach really fine.
Beat the eggs.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Divide the mix among the 6 ramekins.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

After it's ready put Parmesan on top.

Broil for 2 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned.

Serve warm in the ramekin

or remove it, (careful, it's hot)

and place it on the plate.

Easy Chicken in Beer

A lot of people get scared when they look at a recipe and there are more than 6 ingredients. Well this does not happen in this recipe unless you want to get creative, which I did a tiny little bit.

What You Need:

• 1 lb chicken cut in small pieces (you can also use legs and thighs)
• 1 packet of onion soup
• 1 can beer - I like Coors Light but any light beer works
• 1 tablespoon butter to fry the chicken

Optional:
Add baby carrots after you put the beer and let it cook together.
After the chicken cooks add 1 small can of mushrooms drained and 1 tablespoon dried parsley, or fresh of course. I love to add parsley to this dish because it adds color besides taste.

What To Do:

Gather your ingredients.

 Melt the butter in a large saucepan over high heat.
Let it brown but not too much.

Add the chicken.

Keep stirring to cook the chicken in all sides.

Cook until the all the pieces turned from pink to beige. As the chicken cooks it might release a little bit of liquid, which is normal. Do not wait for the liquid to dry to add the onion soup.

Add the onion soup and mix.

Add the beer. It will bubble.

Let it boil then reduce the heat to low.

Cover the pan leaving a little gap. Let it cook for 35 minutes.

The liquid will reduce.
Add the drained mushrooms and the parsley and it's ready.
It is really easy.

Serve with rice and a vegetable of your choice.
In the picture the chicken is served with whole grain basmati rice and Spinach Pots.

Bon Appétit!

Avocado & Strawberries Smoothie

Smoothies are a great way to start your day and they are also a healthy snack.

The orange juice in this smoothie along with the strawberries give a wonderful fresh taste and the avocado gives the perfect consistency.

What You Need: for 1 serving

• half avocado
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries

Optional:
- 1/2 cup ice cubes
- sweetener


What To Do:
Just put everything in a blender and blend until smooth.

Notes:
You can use any berries instead of strawberries, like blueberries, raspberries, etc, or a combination of different berries.

If you are really inspired squeeze some "fresh oranges" for this smoothie : )

Dungeness Crab Meat Appetizer / Casquinha de Siri

This is my favorite Brazilian appetizer. It's typical of Bahia but you can find it anywhere on the coast. It has a rich and exotic blend of flavors.

The traditional way of serving this appetizer is inside real crab shells 

or in large sea shells. 
I bought Irish Deep Scallop Seashells from Naples Sea Shells Company. I was very happy with their service and the quality of the shells. click HERE to go to their website.


It is hard to find dendê oil in the US markets. The palm oil you find in Indian stores tastes different than the Brazilian palm oil, so don't use it. The 'malagueta' pepper is also very typical of Brazil cuisine and it has a scent and taste that take your palate to an exotic trip. The best substitute in my opinion is cayenne pepper or tabasco.

What You Need:

• 6 seashells or crab shells or ramekins
• 8 oz  (250 gr) dungeness crab meat chopped or shredded by hand 
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon dendê oil (Palm oil) (if you don't have it don't use any substitutes)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1 roman tomato chopped with no seeds or peel
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper finely chopped
• salt to taste
• Malagueta pepper to taste (Cayenne or tabasco are substitutes)
• 1 tablespoon flour dissolved in 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley *
• 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs mixed with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan to top the 'casquinhas'.

FYI: if using dry cilantro or parsley use 1/2 tablespoon

What To Do:
Note: In the pictures you will see small quantities of the ingredients as I am making 'casquinhas' for 2 people only.

Put olive oil, butter and dendê in a saucepan to warm.

Add the onions and garlic and sauté.

When the onions are soft add the tomatoes and red pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes.

Add the crab meat and cook for a minute.
Add flour dissolved in coconut milk, salt, and cilantro and cook until the mixture has thickened.

Place a large scoop of the crab mix in each crab shell or ramekin.

Top with the bread crumbs and Parmesan mix.

Before serving place the shells or ramekins in the oven to 'broil'.
Serve while hot.
Serve with lime wedges.





Updated July 6, 2013

Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Once you start making salad dressing from scratch you will have difficulties buying the ready made ones. 

Makes a little over 2 cups.

If you think extra virgin olive oil imparts too strong of a strong flavor then use half olive oil and half salad oil or light olive oil.

 What You Need:

• 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell peppers (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil (see note for a lighter version)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots or red onion

Note: for a lighter version of this recipe use 1 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup water. You will end up with a dressing that is not so thick but the flavors will still be great. Before serving try the dressing and adjust the seasoning to your liking; especially the salt and mustard.

What To Do:

Gather all the ingredients.

Set aside the olive oil and put all the other ingredients in a food processor or blender. Turn it on. 

After 30-40 seconds, with the motor running, slowly add the olive oil through the feeding opening until dressing is emulsified. It is not necessary to blend it for a long time. After you finish adding the oil wait a few seconds and turn off the food processor.

Store in any container with a lid and stir before using.

What's this?

To emulsify is to blend two liquids that normally would not blend like oil and vinegar. They will blend because we are using centrifugation and adding an emulsifier, the mustard. The emulsifier stabilizes a emulsion and avoids the two liquids to separate again.

FYI

To make any vinaigrette base salad dressing you can follow the following proportion: 1 1/2 cup oil and 1/4 or 1/3 cup vinegar and any spices you like.




Balsamic Vinnaigrette Recipe

What You Need:

• 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell peppers (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil OR 3/4 cup oil and 3/4 cup water for a lighter version
  
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots or red onion

What To Do:

Set aside the olive oil and put all the other ingredients in a food processor or blender.Turn it on. 
After 30-40 seconds, with the motor running, slowly add the olive oil until dressing is emulsified.
Store in any container with a lid and stir before using.

The lighter version of this salad dressing has only 45 calories per tablespoon :)

Chicken and Apple Salad

Salads are wonderful because you can mix anything you like to discover how the flavors work together.

Here is one of my favorites mixes:

Lettuce of your choice (enough to make a bed for the rest)

Cucumber cubed (1/2 cup)

Chicken breast (cooked - 1/2 cup chopped)

Apples cubbed (1/2 cup chopped)

Walnuts (1/4 cups)

Raisins (2 tablespoons)

topped with Balsamic Vinaigrette.