1 ½ - 2 Pounds boneless chicken breast, pounded to ½ inch thickness
Directions
Combine marinade and chicken in a medium bowl, place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a medium sauce pan on medium heat, add the peppers, onions, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, Goya sazon, crumble up the chicken bouillon cube, salt and pepper to taste and cover with lid. Simmer on medium low heat until peppers become soft, and set aside.
Remove chicken from marinade, heat 1½ tablespoons of oil in a grill pan until pan begins to smoke slightly. Add chicken and grill for approximately 6-7 minutes on each side (done when pierced with a fork and juices run clear). Once chicken is cooked remove from heat and let stand for 15mins, then slice into strips approximately 1-2 inches thick.
Combine chicken and peppers in a serving bowl and serve with warm wraps or pita bread, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and rice (rice recipe to follow).
Shred the almond paste with a box grater, this will make it easier to mix later. The bowl of a food processor add, butter, vegetable shortening and pulse 6-7 times until it’s all combined. Scrap down the sides of the bowl and add the almond paste and sugar, let the food processor run until the almond paste is fully broken down.
Transfer the butter mixture to a large mixing bowl and add, flour, salt, vanilla and almond extracts, mix with electric mixer on medium speed. Add eggs, one at a time until completely incorporated.
Now it’s time to divide the batter into 3 bowls. I usually do this by weight, 14oz to a bowl. If you don’t have a kitchen scale you can gauge it by eye, making sure that you divide the mixture into equal parts.
Add yellow food coloring to 1 bowl, Green to the other and finally the red to the 3rd bowl and mix each. The amount of food coloring is up to you, make them as dark or light as you like. Now spread batter into the 3 pans. So you end up with 1 yellow, 1 green and 1 red.
Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until a wooden tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean. You can also tell when they are done, when the edges around the “cakes” are slightly golden, and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Once the cakes are cooled, remove from pans. Line a cutting board with waxed paper or plastic wrap and lay the red sheet down and apply ½ of the raspberry preserves on top, and smooth it out. Then cover with the yellow layer, top with the remainder of the raspberry preserves. Top with the green layer and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes allowing the preserves to firm up.
Place the chocolate chips and vegetable shortening in a double boiler or a large heat proof mixing bowl over 1 inch of simmering water. Allow mixture to melt, stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Remove from heat.
Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and spread a thin layer of chocolate on the top and sides. Return to the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes so the chocolate can semi-harden. Take a sheet of waxed paper or plastic wrap that is larger than the cookies and lay it on top of the cookies and flip the entire thing over, so you can coat the bottom with a layer of chocolate. I usually skip this step, but then they would be 6 layer cookies and not 7 J
Return cookies to the refrigerator and allow chocolate to harden. Once hardened then it’s time to cut the cookies. I usually cut them 1- 1 ½ inches x 1 inch, but you can cut them as large as you like. Store in refrigerator, removing them 20 minutes before serving. Enjoy!!
2 Cups sugar 1 ¾ Cups all-purpose flour 3/4 Cup cocoa powder 1 ½ Teaspoons baking powder 1 ½ Teaspoons baking soda 1 Teaspoon salt 2 Large eggs 1 Cup milk ½ Cup vegetable oil 2 Teaspoons vanilla extract ¾ Cup boiling water ¼ Cup freshly brewed coffee 1 Bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips 2 Tablespoons vegetable shortening (crisco)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water and hot coffee. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
Once cakes are completely cooled, slice a thin layer off of the top to make it level. Place the cut portion of cake to the side for later use. Now to prepare the filling…
Filling
1/2 Cup unsalted butter 2/3 Cups cocoa powder 3 Cups confection sugar 1/3 Cup milk 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.
Take the left over cake tops that you cut off, and crumble them onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool.
Assemble the cake on a plate or cake stand... first layer with cut side down. Spread a large amount of the filling and level it out. Top with 2nd layer, smooth the filling that will begin to escape from the center. Wrap a sheet of plastic wrap around the cake (this will create a “wall” around the cake and stop the filling from escaping, and refrigerate for about 1 hour until filling has hardened a little.
While the cake is in the refrigerator, place the chocolate chips and vegetable shortening in a double boiler or a large heat proof mixing bowl over 1 inch of simmering water. Allow mixture to melt, stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Remove from heat.
Begin spooning melted chocolate mixture over the cake, using a spatula begin working the frosting from the top of the cake down the sides. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfect you will be covering the cake in the cake crumbs you made earlier. Once you’re done with the frosting, begin taking handfuls of the cake crumbs and pressing them into the sides of the cake until the entire cake is covered. Sprinkle the remainder of crumbs onto the top of the cake an you’re done. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour. Serve and Enjoy!
Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large nonstick frying pan, cook bacon until crispy. Remove and set bacon aside for later use. Combine butter, water, sugar, salt and cayenne pepper, in a large saucepan. Simmer on medium heat until the butter melts. Add 2 cups of flour reduce heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, approximately 1 minute.
Pour mixture into a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer beat for 1 minute, allowing mixture to cool a little. Increase the speed, add one egg at a time and mix until each is well incorporated before adding the next egg. Batter will be firm but not runny, if needed add the remaining flour to stiffen the batter.
Fold in the cheddar cheese and bacon. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spoon the dough in heaping tablespoons onto the cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Sprinkle with paprika and serve while still warm.
*TIP* A pastry bag or a zip top bag with one of the bottom corners cut off can be used to pipe the dough onto the cookie sheet, making them more uniformed. Dough can be kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, and left over puffs can also be frozen for later use.
In a small bowl, beat the water, egg, egg white and vinegar together. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour and salt. Cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender or a fork, until it resembles course bread crumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center. Mix the wet and dry ingredients well.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Filling
Ingredients
¼ Cup unsalted butter
¼ Cup hot sauce
¼ Teaspoon black pepper
1 Teaspoon garlic powder
¼ Teaspoon paprika
¼ Teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ Teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons crumbled blue cheese, more if you desire (optional)
3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
6 Chicken thighs, on the bone
4 Cups of water
½ Medium Onion
Directions
Rinse chicken and place it in a small stock pot, cover with 4 cups of water (add more if needed to cover the chicken. Add the ½ of onion and cook over medium-high heat, until chicken is tender (approximately 30-35 minutes). Remove chicken from the broth and set aside to cool. Once chicken is cool enough to handle with your hands, shred the meat off of the bones and place in a large bowl, toss in the crumbled blue cheese. Combine the butter, hot sauce, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir together and heat until butter is melted and mixture is well blended, add the flour and stir to beak up any lumps. Allow to cool, add to the chicken and mix well. Now your buffalo chicken filling is ready. Time to work on the dough…
Divide dough in half, then roll out 1 half (keep remaining dough covered with plastic wrap) on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 15- by 10-inch rectangle. With a Large biscuit cutter or some other 3 - 4” round cutting devise (I’ve used an empty can, wrap one of the open edges in foil) and cut out as many disks as you can. Set dough disks aside and repeat process with remaining dough. Once all your disks are cut it’s time to begin to fill and crimp your empanadas closed.
Brush a thin layer of the egg mixture on the edge of the lower half of the disk. Now place a large tablespoon of the chicken mixture in the center of the disk and fold the dough over. Crimp the edge closed with a fork. Continue until you have filled all the disks, and set them aside. Here is where you need to decide how you want to cook them, baked or deep fried?
If you’re going to bake them preheat your oven to 400° F. Brush the empanadas with the left over egg, bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown.
Deep fry, heat oil to 365-375° F, fry until golden brown. Serve with Blue Cheese dipping sauce.
Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce
¼ Pound blue cheese or Gorgonzola
½ Cup mayonnaise
½ Cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon wine vinegar
Several dashes of hot pepper sauce, to taste
In small bowl, mash the blue cheese, leaving some small lumps. Whisk in the mayonnaise until blended. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk to blend well. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat oil and butter, add the onions, garlic and bay leaves, sauté until golden brown (approximately 25minutes). Sprinkle flour over onions and continue to sauté for 3 minutes. Now time to deglaze (adding a liquid to a pot to remove all the brown bits of goodness at the bottom of the pot). Add the brandy/Cognac and simmer for 5 minutes while scraping the bottom of the pot. Stir constantly as to avoid having any lumps of flour. Add the white wine and continue to simmer for 20 minutes, make sure all the brown bits have dissolved.
Now it’s time to add the broths/water, bouillon cube, salt, pepper and thyme, bring to a boil. Continue to simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and the stems from the thyme. Test if the soup needs additional salt.
Place a slice of the toasted bread in the bottom of each oven safe soup bowls/cups, and ladle in enough soup to nearly reach the edge of the bowl/cup. Cover the top of the soup with 1 slice of Munster cheese and 1 slice of Swiss cheese (more if you so desire). Move broiler rack to approximately 4-6 inches from the flame and slide your bowls of soup in, remove when cheese is melted and slightly browned. Careful they will be super hot… Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Heat the 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium size nonstick pan, on medium heat. Add the onions, scallions, mushrooms, carrots, celery, bell peppers and garlic, sauté until the veggies are translucent. Remove from heat, allow to cool.
Rinse and strain kidney beans and place them as well as the veggies, oats and egg into the bowl of a food processor. Begin to pulse the mixture, make certain not to puree the mixture. As you pulse the mixture, add the flour 1 tablespoon at a time. The mixture will still be sticky, but don’t forget the oats and flour will absorb a lot of the moisture. Place mixture into a bowl and chill in the refrigerator, minimum of 1 hour to overnight.
When you are ready to cook the burgers, scoop approximately ½ cup of the mixture and form patties. You may want to rub your hands with a little oil to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands. If you use ½ cup measure you will end up with 4 large burgers (approximately 5” in diameter). If you want to fry the burgers in a pan heat the olive oil and butter, over medium-low heat and cook until golden brown (5-7minutes per side). The burgers may also be broiled. Set your broiling rack 4-6" from heat, and broil for about 7-8 minutes per side. Serve on hamburger on your favorite buns, English muffins etc & ENJOY!
* TIP* These Veggie burgers can be frozen for later enjoyment
