Cuban Style Picadillo, White Rice & Fried Plantains

Ingredients:

1 & 1/2 lbs. ground chuck
1 medium onion
3 cloves of garlic
3/4 cup Stuffed Manzanilla Olives
1/4 cup olive juice

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried whole oregano

2 bay leaves

1 package of Sazon Goya con Azafran seasoning

Salt & pepper to taste
1-8oz. can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup Edmundo golden cooking wine
2 cups of long grain white rice
2 really ripe plantains

1 cup vegetable oil for cooking plantains
4 Servings

Oop's, I forgot the cooking wine and the bay leaves.

Please note: This cooking wine is not for drinking, I repeat, not for drinking! I know, I know, you should always use wine that you can drink in recipes. But this is the wine that the Cubans used for their recipes, and it really gives the dish the authentic Cuban flavor, and that's my story and I'm stickin to it!!!!!

Okay, dice the onion and the garlic.

Start browning the meat on medium heat.

Add the onion and garlic to the meat, and cook until meat is no longer pink. I throw the onions and garlic to flavor the meat as it cooks.

Drain out as much of the oil that you can.

After you drain out the excess oil, add all the remaining ingredients.

Bring to a boil. Then, turn down the heat and let it simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes, that way the juices will evaporate and it will thicken up a bit. Don't forget to add salt and pepper to taste. Then you can turn the heat down to low, put a cover on it, and let the flavors blend together while you make the rice and fry the plantains.


The plantains should be brown and soft like this, very ripe.

Now, cut off the ends of the plantain.

Make a slit with a knife from one end of the plantain to the other and take the peel off carefully not to smash the plantain, as it will be very soft.

You want to slice them about a half inch thick and cut on an angle like this.


Now they are ready to fry.


Fry the plantains in the oil on medium heat, turning them a few times so they don't burn.

You want them to be crispy on the outside but soft on the inside.

That's why I turn them 2-3 times.

When they are done, drain them on a paper towel.

I use an electric rice maker for my rice. All I do is take 2 cups of rice and put it in the rice maker pot, rinse it with water 5 times, until the water is clear. Then I add 2 cups of water to the rice, 2 teaspoons of salt and a teaspoon of olive oil, stir, put on the top and push the cook button. It cooks itself in about 20 minutes.

Cooking the rice on top of the stove in a pot with a tight fitting lid will work just fine. Just remember to rinse it and use the same amount of rice and water, l teaspoon of salt for every cup and a little olive oil. Bring to a good boil, place the lid on and lower the temperature to simmer and don't touch it for at least 20 minutes.


When it's done I fluff it with a fork.

Now to plate it, you put a good helping of rice in the center of a plate like this.


Put some picadillo on top of the rice and spread the fried plantains around like this.

Serve with a side of Cuban bread.

And, that's all there is to it.

Muy Delicioso!!!!!!!!

If you have any questions about my recipes please send me an email at jomat25@yahoo.com, or if you want to leave a comment, that would be great!!!

I hope you enjoy these recipes.

With Love,

Joyce

Sheperd's Pie

Ingredients:

1 & 1/2 lbs. of ground chuck

1 medium onion

2 cloves of garlic

1-2 cans of corn

1 cube beef bouillon

3 cups instant mashed potatoes

1- 8 oz. bag of cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of flour

Salt & pepper to taste

Serves 6-8

Brown the ground chuck until all the pink is gone and drain.



















Add diced onion and garlic, cook 5 minutes.

Dissolve beef bullion in 1 cup of hot
water.
















Add water to meat, and then sprinkle the flour on top and stir, cook a few minutes until it thickens.


Add salt and pepper to taste.

Make the mashed potatoes.

Put the meat in the bottom of a baking dish. Cover it with a layer of the corn. Salt and pepper the corn, and add a little butter if you like on top.

Cover the corn with mashed potatoes.

Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top of the mashed potatoes. Place in a 350 degree oven and cook until the cheese is melted.




A good side dish for this is corn bread. I know, but I am a Southerner and we like corn bread!!!!








Easy Peasy & Yummy Yummy!!!

I hope you enjoy this comfort food. You can substitute the ground chuck with chicken, beef or pork, or really any left over meat you may have. And if corn is n
ot your favorite, you can use whatever vegetable you like. So go for it, your family will love it.

Sending you all the love, from my kitchen to yours!!!!!!!
Mimi

One of those meals you never forget........

The meal was Prime Rib, Baked Potato with Butter, Sour Cream and Chopped Green Scallions, and Ceasar Salad. The bread was French and the wine was a Merlot. The music was smooth jazz and it was so cool outside that the windows were open. It was December and romantic night to remember.........

The prime rib was rubbed with salt and pepper, placed on a roasting rack inside a baking pan, with a meat thermometer, cooked in the oven at 350 degrees until the thermometer said beef rare. Served with Au Jus gravy. It was just divine........

I Wish You Love and Romance,
Joyce

We are talking comfort food, baby!!

G's Roasted Chicken, Smashed Potatoes, Mushroom Gravy and My Quick Biscuits






Look, this was easy, you give the chicken a dry rub of whatever seasonings you like, put it on a roasting rack in the oven at 325 degrees for and hour or so. If it starts getting too brown on the top cover it loosely with aluminum foil. Boil some potatoes with the skin on, and smash them when they are ready, add a little butter and milk, salt and pepper. Boil some corn on the cob. The gravy was made by boiling the neck bone and gizzard (and whatever else that is inside the chicken), in some chicken stock or water with a bouillon cube, add fresh garlic, salt & pepper, a little butter and flour mixed together to thicken and one small jar of mushrooms. And guess what, these biscuits were the easiest I have ever made. Got the recipe from here, and they tasted great!

Just taking it one day at a time.......

I Wish You Love,
Joyce

Grilled London Broil

Rub the london broil with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Sprinkle with a little Worcestershire sauce.

Let is sit while the grill is getting hot, I put my two burners on medium.

I give it a good spray with Pam, and put it on the grill.

I only turn it over once. I threw some onion on the grill too. Just salt and pepper it.

Slice it and there you have it. I made onion gravy and put a little on top. Served it with mashed potatoes, and a salad.

This was our meal last night.

I'll tell ya, grillin is easy and doesn't take long, so my cook time has been drastically reduce, and clean up is a snap. Hopefully, (and we feel better already), we can lose a few pounds. We are also cutting down on the amount, smaller portions. I am really glad we decided to do this, because we are eating much healthier.

I Wish You Love,

Joyce

P.S. This is my 150th post, I went right by my 100th and didn't even notice. Wow, time sure flies when your having fun!!!! Thanks everyone for make my blogging experience so memorable......Love you guys!!!!! The internet is a wonderful thing:).