Pozole Rojo Recipe

Pozole Rojo Recipe

*Sponsored Post by Mirum Shopper. All Opinions are my Own.*

The first time I ate pozole was in Mexico during Christmas Eve dinner at an aunts house.

Compared to the traditional ham or turkey dinner I grew up with in the US, the brothy red soup was a completely different way to celebrate the holidays. With time I learned to love this flavorful soup and connect with it as a big part of the Holidays.

This year did I decided to make my own batch using the Knorr Pozole Rojo recipe as a guide while also looking back at what my mom cooks.

First I stopped by Northgate Gonzalez to shop for all of my ingredients, then I invited a friend to join my husband and me for Festivus dinner to kick-off Christmas weekend.

Ingredients to prepare Pozole Rojo* include:

1 1/2 lb's Boneless pork sirloin
1 1/2 lb's Pork neck bone
1 lb Pork Feet
1 lb Pork snout
1 White onion cut in quarters
3 25-oz Cans of washed and cleaned Mexican-style hominy
6 garlic cloves
6-8 Knorr Chicken Bouillon cubes
Pozole red sauce to taste

*Serves 6-8 large-sized bowls

Ingredients to prepare the Pozole Rojo sauce include:

5 Ancho whole chile peppers
5 Guajillos whole chile peppers
6 Garlic cloves
1/2 White onion
1 Knorr Chicken Bouillon Cube
1/4 Cup olive oil

GARNISHES:

Pozole can be garnished with a variety of toppings, but I grew up adding the holy trinity, which include:

Chopped cabbage
Sliced red radishes
Chopped white onion

I also like adding a little lime juice a bit of hot sauce for a kick, and eat with tostadas.

POZOLE PREPARATION:

Add the meat, garlic, Knorr Chicken Boullion cubes and onion in a 8-quart pot and fill with water, leaving 3-5 inches at the top of the pot.

Cook on high heat until the water boils. Stir, lower the heat and cover.

Cook low and simmer for 2-3 hours, or until the meat starts falling from the bone.

Remove the meat from the pot, and add the hominy and red sauce to taste.

Continue to cook on low for 20-30 minutes, then add the pig feet, chopped shout, and meat that has been hand-shredded and removed from the bones.

Cook for an additional 20-30 minutes, then serve.

RED SAUCE PREPARATION:

Soak the chiles in a large bowl using room temperature water for 25-30 minutes.

Remove the stems, and add to a blender with the garlic, onion, and Knorr Chicken Boullion cube.

Liquify to a smooth sauce-like consistency, then strain to remove any seeds.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the strained sauce.

Cook the sauce over medium heat for 7-10 minutes,

Set aside and use all or part of the sauce in the Pozole.

GARNISH YOUR POZOLE ROJO AND ENJOY YOUR VERY OWN #KNORRCELEBRATIONS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!!

Like this recipe? Check out Mexican Style Pico De Gallo

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Spicy Citrus Shrimp Soup Recipe

Spicy Citrus Shrimp Soup Recipe

*Sponsored Post that also Contains Affiliate Links*

During lenten season, Catholics like myself, honor this holy time by abstaining from eating meat either for the entire forty days of the season, or on Fridays leading up-to Easter Sunday. 

As a Mexican-American, I tend to cook the vegetarian dishes that are typically made during this season in Mexico (by way of Guadalajara); but sometimes I mix it up a bit by giving those traditional dishes a new spin to make them more appealing to my non-Latino hubby, or add a fusion twist to non-Latino dishes that are perfect for meatless days.

While shrimp soup is one of those dishes that my hubby and I order at Thai restaurants, it's too light of a dish to eat as a main course; and the shrimp soup I grew up with had a combination of seafood and a fishy broth that I'm not a fan of.

Inspired by what my hubby and I love from the Thai soup and taking away what we don't like from the Mexican seafood soup, I created a recipe that was substantial enough to eat as main course when paired with a light cactus salad.

Ingredients to prepare the Spicy Shrimp Soup* include:

1 lb. Fresh medium-sized shrimp - cleaned and peeled

4 Medium-sized tomatoes - chopped

1/2 Medium-sized white onion - finely chopped 

4 Peeled carrots - chopped

4 Celery ribs - sliced

1 Peeled chayote - chopped 

1 Green bell pepper - chopped

3 Peeled small gold potatoes - chopped 

3 Garlic cloves - finely chopped

1 Spear lemongrass - sliced diagonally

2+ Serrano peppers - sliced diagonally

1/2 Bundle cilantro 

1/4 Cup olive oil

1/3-1/4 Cup Knorr Chicken Granulated Bouillon  (affiliate link)

*Serves 6-8 medium-sized bowls 

Preparation:

1. Add hot water to a 4-qt stock pot leaving two-three inches at the top. Bring to a boil.
2. Dissolve Knorr Chicken Granulated Bouillon  (affiliate link) once the water is boiling.
3. Add the lemongrass, serrano peppers, potatoes, and carrots. Reduce the heat.
4. Once the broth is simmering (15-20 minutes), add the bell pepper, chayote and cilantro. Turn off the heat and set aside.
5. Heat olive oil in a 8-qt stock pot over a medium flame.
6. Once the olive oil is hot, add the onion, garlic and tomatoes.
7. Cook until the tomato is falling apart (5-10 minutes), then add the celery, turning quickly for 1-2 minutes or until the celery begins to change its color.
8. Slowly add the broth and vegetables from the 4-qt stock pot into the 8-qt stock pot and keep cooking under medium heat.
9. Once the soup starts a rolling boil, add the shrimp, cover and turn off the heat.
10. Uncover the soup in 2-3 minutes, lightly mix and serve with a garnish of fresh cilantro.

Note: Keep a teapot or third pot of simmering water aside just in case you want a lighter soup or you over-seasoned your batch. Add this hot water to your soup before you add the shrimp if you need to.

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I hope you enjoy this easy and flavorful soup that is sure to delight everyone sitting at your dining table - whether during the Lenten season, or on any other day of the year.

To get more Lenten season recipe ideas, or to get inspired with new and interesting Latino vegetables, I invite my friends in Southern California to visit my kind sponsor Northgate Gonzalez Market.

Ana Lydia

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Tomato Macaroni and Cheese

Tomato Macaroni and Cheese

Disclosure: I’m working with Ovation TV to promote Southern Uncovered. All thoughts and opinions my own. 

Macaroni and Cheese is a classic Southern side dish that most of us consider comfort food and the perfect side dish for most holiday meals.

But as we all know, Southern Mac & Cheese is delicious because of the butter and cheese, which makes it more of a guilty pleasure than something to make, or eat, often.

The Mac & Cheese I grew-up with was actually quite different....

The macaroni and cheese of my childhood is made with a tomato base; which makes it healthy, flavorful and quite easy to make...

Ingredients to prepare Tomato Macaroni and Cheese include:

• 1 16 oz Elbow Macaroni Package - Cooked al dente with salt water
• 4 Medium-sized Tomatoes cut in half
• 1 Medium-sized Chopped Tomato
• 1/4 cup Chopped White Onion
• 1 Garlic Clove
• 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• 6 oz Tomato Paste
• 16 oz Sour Cream
• 1/2 cup Shredded Swiss and Gruyere Cheese Mix
• Ground Pepper and Salt to taste
• 
  

Preparation:

1. Blend (in a blender) four tomatoes, tomato paste and garlic clove until a smooth "sauce" consistency. Set aside.
2. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a stockpot with low heat.
3. Add the onion to the stockpot and cook until the onion is transparent.
4. Add the tomato sauce to the onion and cook with medium heat until the sauce boils. (Make sure to mix while cooking to prevent the sauce from sticking to the pan)
5. Reduce the temperature once the sauce boils, then add the chopped tomato and sour cream. 
6. Mix slowly until the sauce begins to bubble. 
7. Add pepper and salt to taste.
8. Remove the sauce from the stove and add the cooked macaroni. Mix the pasta with the sauce until all the pasta is covered.
9. Fold-in the cheese mixture and serve immediately. 
10. Refrigerate any leftover Mac & Cheese and reheat with just a bit of lowfat milk in a pan.

Please let me know if you try my family Tomato Macaroni and Cheese recipe. Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I do! 

I also invite you to watch Southern Uncovered on Ovation TV starring The Lee Bros to get a few other ideas on how to add a Southern touch to your favorite dishes.

Ana Lydia

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Recipe: Mexican-Style Pico de Gallo

Recipe: Mexican-Style Pico de Gallo

I've been craving Mexican food as of late. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I have been with my hubby for over five years and Italian food outnumbers anything else we eat.  That, or the fact that Mexican food, prepared right, is actually quite healthy and flavorful.  

Either way, I have been preparing my own Salsa Mexicana (as I grew-up calling it), or Pico de Gallo. My version is prepared the way my family taught me, which is focused on mixing the ingredients at the right time to let the flavors marinate.

This version, which I claim to being the original way to prepare salsa Mexicana (Pico de Gallo or Salsa Fresca or Salsa Bandera), should be enjoyed within minutes the same day it's prepared; which is when the flavors are at their peak.

PICO DE GALLO / SALSA MEXICANA:
Ingredients to prepare pico de gallo or salsa Mexicana or salsa fresca or salsa bandera

• 2 Roma tomatoes or one large tomato

• 1/4 white onion

• 1 jalapeno pepper or 1 serrano pepper (serrano is the spicier of the two)

• 2 Mexican limes

• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
• Mexican or sea salt (to taste)
• Pinch of sugar

Preparation:

• Cut the white onion into small squares and put into a round/bowl-like dish.
• Juice the limes over the onion and toss to coat the onion with the lime juice. (the reason you start with the onion, is that by the time you chop everything else, the onion has a milder flavor because of the few minutes of it marinating with the lime juice)

• Chop the jalapeno or serrano pepper and fold into the onion and lime juice mixture.

• Chop the tomatoes and gently fold into the onion and pepper mixture.
• Chop the cilantro as fine as possible and add to the tomato, onion and pepper mixture.

• Add salt and a pinch of sugar together with the cilantro.
• Fold all ingredients as gently as possibly without smashing the tomatoes.
• Set aside for a few minutes either at room temperature or covered in the refrigerator.
• The salsa should be enjoyed within minutes of it being prepared, at most 30 minutes.

Provecho~ 

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Recipe: Chicken Curry Salad

Recipe: Chicken Curry Salad

There are days when you want to cook like a chef, and there are days when you want to eat something yummy without a hassle.


This week has been the version of one-of-those-days.
Time aside, I have no energy to make something extraordinary, so I made something fantastic in less than fifteen-minutes...

CHICKEN CURRY SALAD:

Ingredients to prepare Chicken Curry Salad for two:

• 1/4 cooked chicken, deboned and cut into small squares or shredded (I prefer breast and wing)

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoons chopped white onion

• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1 tablespoon curry powder

Preparation:

• Mix the chicken with the mayonnaise

• Combine the chopped onion and raisins with the chicken/mayo mix

• Sprinkle the curry powder over the chicken mix and fold-over gently until well combined 

• Refrigerate for 45 minutes to an hour to let the flavors marinate

• Serve over lettuce, eat alone, or make a sandwich.

Enjoy! 

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Recipe: Spicy Tomato Soup

Recipe: Spicy Tomato Soup

The lovely folks at J.R. Watkins gave me the tasty herbs that helped me create this yummy recipe.

A dear friend of mine is sharing the bounty of her garden by giving me fresh, plump and organic tomatoes!

I love tomatoes and I tend to use them when I cook pasta (my hubby's favorite), but I wanted to attempt to cook something I love to eat when I am out:  Tomato soup.

Tomato soup at it's most basic is a red, runny mess.  But I have also enjoyed flavorful bisque and refreshing summer gazpacho at some of LA's finest restaurants. 

For my first attempt making tomato soup I wanted to create a soup that was hearty and flavorful.  A soup, that when paired with a light salad and dinner bread, could stand as a meal by itself.

Well, I think that for my first try I hit a home run!!

This is my own recipe, which creates a bisque-like in consistency and flavorful tomato soup that can be enjoyed by the most discerning palates.

Ingredients to prepare 4 cups of spicy tomato soup include:

• 10 large tomatoes sliced in half
• 1/4 white onion cut in half
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 serrano pepper sliced in half
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Fresh-ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tomato bouillon square
• 1 teaspoon freeze-dried cilantro leaves

Preparation:

Place all of your tomatoes (flat-side down), onion and garlic in a clay baking dish.
Drizzle with the olive oil and add fresh-ground pepper to taste.
Bake for 15 minutes in a 350 degrees pre-heated oven in the top/middle rack;
then move the dish to the low/middle rack and raise the temperate to 450 degrees for an additional 10 minutes.

Watch your tomatoes and other ingredients closely.
You want them to roast and let-out all their yummy liquid goodness, without burning or drying.

Add all of the ingredients, including all of the liquid and oil from your baking dish in your blender.
Add the cilantro and tomato bouillon cube.
Use the "liquefy" option in your blender until the ingredients finish in a smooth consistency.

Serve immediately, and garnish with croutons.

Please let me know if you try this recipe.  Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did!

The lovely folks at J.R. Watkins gave me the tasty herbs that helped me create this flavorful soup. No financial compensation was provided. Recipe and photos are my own.

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Recipe: Orecchiette with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Recipe: Orecchiette with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Some people see pasta as an easy way to cook dinner.  I see pasta as a way to experiment with simple ingredients.

This pasta recipe was literally born out of necessity and with very few ingredients that I am sure you can also find in your pantry.

Ingredients to prepare dinner for four people:

• 2 chopped sun-dried tomato with mozzarella cheese chicken sausages 

• 1/4 chopped white onion
• 2 chopped fresh garlic

• 10 chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 16-oz heavy cream
• 1 bag of cooked and drained orecchiette pasta

Preparation:

Brown the chicken sausage with two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.
Add the garlic and onion and cook until the onion is transparent.

Add the heavy cream and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
Lower the heat and cook until thickened.
(Sauce is usually flavorful and doesn't need salt - but add if the sauce is mild and needs extra "umph")

Remove the sauce from the heat, and add the pasta.
Mix slowly to combine the sauce and pasta.

Serve immediately and add parmesan cheese to taste.

A few variations of this recipe includes: adding more sun-dried tomatoes to make the sauce pinker, or adding peas while the sauce is cooking.

Please let me know if you try this recipe and if you made any changes to personalize it for you and your family.

Until next time - Happy cooking!

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Recipe: Green Chicken Enchiladas

Recipe: Green Chicken Enchiladas

It's no secret that preparing any chicken dish a challenge at home.  Mostly because my husband hates chicken.

This Sunday was a little different because I took my hubby grocery shopping, and purchased two Grade A First Street whole chickens for under $11!  So of course I was inspired to cook something yummy to make my hubby love chicken once and for all!

With two beautiful birds in tow, I decided to freeze one and make chicken soup with the second.  My goal is to make three dishes with the first chicken.  I started by cooking a basic Chicken soup, and using the cooked chicken to make green chicken enchiladas. I plan to use the broth to make chicken noodle soup, and any left-over chicken for a salad! 

Today I am going to share with you my green chicken enchiladas recipe, which simply starts with the chicken that was cooked in the chicken soup.  

Ingredients for the Green Chicken Enchiladas.

Ingredients to prepare 12 enchiladas include:

• 1/2 of a 28 oz can of El Pato green enchilada sauce (room temperature or slightly heated)
• 1/4 cup chopped white onion
• 1/4 portion of Cacique Ranchero Queso Fresco
• 4-6 tablespoons of the Cacique Crema Ranchera con Sal
• 3 tablespoons sliced black "canned" olives
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1-2 cups shredded chicken  (Expect to use 1/4 to half of a whole cooked chicken for every 12 enchiladas.)

Preparation:

Heat the 12 tortillas and lightly coat both sides of the tortilla with the green enchilada sauce.
Lay flat and add chicken to taste on each tortilla.
Roll and place in a rectangular baking pan that has already been coated with Pam (I prefer to use glass baking pans).

Once you are done rolling with your first row, add more sauce over the enchiladas.

Add the Cacique Crema Ranchera con Sal over the enchiladas.

Sprinkle the cheese and chopped onion over the enchiladas.

Add the sliced black olives.
Once your first row of enchiladas is done, continue by placing more enchiladas over the first row until you are done rolling twelve.
Cover the backing dish with aluminum foil, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Place your baking dish in the middle of the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes. (gauge your oven)

The delish green chicken enchiladas are ready to be enjoyed immediately after cooking!

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as my once chicken-hating husband did!  

Of course, I would love to know if you tried this recipe and welcome your comments!

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Recipe: Memorial Day Salsa

Recipe: Memorial Day Salsa

I'm a HUGE fan of making side-dishes and dips that are simple to prepare, yet flavorful.

In celebration of Memorial Day, I invite you to make this 10-minute salsa that will please even the pickiest eaters at your BBQ!

Ingredients:

• 1 14.5 ounce of diced and no salt added tomatoes (you may also use "fire roasted" tomatoes if you prefer an earthier flavor)
• 1 12 ounce can of chopped jalapeño peppers pickled in vinegar (save the vinegar but throw-out the carrots)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt to taste

I LOVE Embasa jalapeños

Preparation:

Combine the diced tomatoes including liquid with the chopped jalapeño peppers and half of the vinegar/liquid.  Add the onion, cilantro and salt to taste.

Blend with a light hand

Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavors mend.

Notice how the color of the salsa slightly changes after being refrigerated

Serve the salsa with your favorite tortilla chips and watch it disappear quicker than you made it!  

Provecho!

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Recipe: Flavorful Turkey Spaghetti

Recipe: Flavorful Turkey Spaghetti

While my husband is Italian-Hungarian, but very Italian-American when it comes to his eating habits; I am Mexican-American and less enamored with pasta, albeit a bit more adventuresome with my menu choices

To change things up a bit and still please my carb-loving husband, I've created my own creative turkey pasta dish that also indulges my sense of adventure.

It's a light and easy to prepare dish, with a "kick" to it.

I don't chop the ingredients super fine as they tend to shrink when cooking.
Plus, I like to see the "color" of the veggies pop in my dish.

Ingredients*:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 14.5 ounce can of diced and no salt added tomatoes (you may also use "fire roasted" tomatoes for an earthier flavor)
• 1 tsp dry Thyme
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 1 small chopped yellow bell pepper
• 1 small chopped orange bell pepper
• 1 small chopped red bell pepper
• 1 chopped jalapeno pepper
• 2 large chopped cloves of garlic
• Pinch of sugar

*I prefer to use all organic ingredients

Preparation:

Heat oil in pan, and slightly cook both onion and garlic until onion is almost transparent, then add the turkey, peppers, and spices.

Notice that the turkey is cooked but definitely not brown, which makes it too dry.

Slowly cook all ingredients over a medium-low heat* until the turkey is cooked, but not brown; then add stewed tomatoes.

*I only use All-Clad pots and pans, which needs a lower heat than other conventional cookware.

This particular time I used the diced/no salt added tomatoes
instead of the fire roasted can.

Add the pinch of sugar (to take-away the acidic flavor of the tomatoes) and lower the heat.  Cook for approximately 30 minutes.  

The sauce will be done when the diced tomatoes are "broken" down, yet perfectly melded with the other ingredients.  Peppers will be soft, but not overcooked.

Notice how the tomatoes are starting to break down?

Add the sauce over cooked spaghetti pasta, and mix slowly in a large pasta dish.

Garnish with freshly shaved romano cheese.

Tomato Turkey Sauce over Spaghetti Pasta
Notice the different colors popping up - Delish!

Buon appetito!

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