Portuguese Ground Red Pepper (Pimenta Moida)

October 14, 2015October 14, 20155 Comments

An early fall tradition in Portuguese homes the world over is the making of Pimenta Moida (Pee-men-tah Mo-ee-dah). A staple in any good Portuguese cooking, this one ingredient can at times single handedly determine if a dish can be considered “Portuguese”. If you follow my blog, you have seen me use this ingredient time and time again in such dishes as Shrimp Mozambique, Portuguese Beef Stew and Portuguese Baked Beans. And like most Portuguese cooking, each family seems to have a slight variation on just how they make, preserve and store this amazing little ingredient.

In my family, the making of Pimenta Moida is left to my Dad. I’m not sure how this happened, but I suspect it has to do with his non-porous and almost leathery hands that don’t get so affected by the burning hot peppers… Anyone else would most definitely need to wear good gloves and double up on the gloves if you know what’s good for you! I have done it in the past and my hands and arms were red hot for days, I certainly learned my lesson. This year my Dad put 4 bushels of peppers through the manual pepper grinder! (I think even he used gloves for at least some of it!)

There is a process to making and preserving Portuguese Style Ground Red Peppers. I will take you through the process again in the tutorial, but to sum it up you only need three ingredients. We use, hot red peppers (although not the hottest of the hot), salt and preserving powder. We use the preserving powder so that we can store it outside the refrigerator. Some families use olive oil, some add in garlic and some will incorporate lots of seeds. We don’t. We wash and allow peppers to dry. Then cut them, clean them by removing the stem and seeds. Grind them using an old-fashioned grinder and add a whole lot of salt. Then allow to “boil” or ferment. Once the fermentation process is coming to an end, we add in preserving powder. We allow that to cure a little longer and jar them. They will keep for well over a year with this process. Let me show you how we do it…

Here are the peppers… I actually don’t know the name of these peppers… Around here they are just called hot peppers. Although these are a milder fatter variety of the hot peppers. Still hot, but not top hot status. You can call them chili peppers or Portuguese Hot Peppers. You have a 6 week window this time of year in which to get them. Each batch starts with a bushel.

Here is the grinder... In years past, this is how people would grind their meat. Today, I supose you could still use it for that, although in my family, this has always been it's only use.

Here is the grinder… In years past, this is how people would grind their meat. Today, I suppose you could still use it for that, although in my family, this has always been it’s only use.

It comes apart for thorough washing before and after each and every use. My dad installs it on a work bench here.

After the peppers are washed and have had some time to dry, they are ready for preparation. My Dad cuts them down the center like so.

He will then remove the stem and seeds. If you like a hotter pepper you can leave in some seeds. In my family, we use the pepper for the flavor not so much the heat. So we clean all of it out.

Once the peppers are clean, it’s time to stuff them in the grinder.

My Dad pushes the peppers in careful not to catch his fingers in the grinder and at the same time he rotates the grinder arm turning the grinder wheel inside the contraption.

The pepper then comes out of the grinder and falls into a waiting bowl.

As all the pepper is ground from one bushel, it’s collected in a large pot or bowl.

To each bushel of peppers we add about one heaping cup of salt and stir it in. Pretty much right away, the peppers start to “boil” or ferment on their own. We cover and allow that process to take place over the next 24-72 hours. How long depends entirely on the peppers. When they stop boiling is when you are ready to move on to the next stage.

You can see some of the “boiling” here with these bubbles, it’s something to see, how it actively boils, bubbles just keep rising to the surface.

This is preservative powder… you can find it at any Portuguese store this time of year, or any place that sells a good variety of canning supplies.

Pour in the preservative powder.

I know this post would be a lot prettier if I went out and bought some beautiful canning jars. But, the reality is most Portuguese people will use what they have on hand to jar their peppers. I’ve used recycled peanut butter jars, tomato sauce jars and a variety of different recycled containers. What I did this year, because I like to have my pepper available to me in smaller containers, is I stopped by the dollar store and picked up three containers. I then washed with scalding hot water and dried.

After 24 hours, this is what the peppers will look like… a lot of the preservative pops up on top. You will need to mix it in again before adding into jars. note: you might also see this when you ope the jars for use, just mix it back in.

Notice how I am leaving some room at the top of the jar, that is to allow for additional gas formed by further fermentation.

Pour more salt on top of each batch.

Just let the salt settle on top. At this point some people form a hermetic seal with olive oil. We don’t do that.

You now place the lid on loosely, wait an additional 3 days before you tighten the lid in case the peppers continue to ferment. You don’t want to have an explosion on your hands… that being said, after the three days, don’t take the lid off, you want to trap that fermentation gas in there, that helps to remove the oxygen further aiding in the preservation process.

When you open a large jar of pepper, you will need to keep it in the fridge as it will no longer last outside of the fridge, some people choose to divide up into smaller jars at that point in order to better fit their refrigerator.

Portuguese Style Ground Red Pepper (Pimenta Moida)

Ingredients:

1 Bushel hot red peppers

1 heaping cup kosher salt, plus more for topping

1/2 cup preserving powder

Directions:

Wash and allow peppers to dry.
Cut them down the center, clean them by removing the stem and seeds.
Grind them using an old-fashioned grinder or an electric grinder attachment to your stand mixer.
Add salt. Stir. Cover. (Do not refrigerate)
Allow to “boil” or ferment for 24-72 hours.
Once the fermentation process is coming to an end (this is determined by the notice of a reduction in “boiling”, add in preserving powder.
Allow mixture to sit covered for an additional 24 hours.
Stir again and add into sanitized containers. Place lid on loosely. Allow to sit for an additional 72 hours.
After 72 hours, do not remove lid, but tighten.

Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake

October 12, 2015October 13, 2015

My husband often works pretty late and on occasion, I will have a meeting to get to late into the evening as well. On nights like that I am thankful to have the support of my parents who adore my children. And my kids love going over to Vavó and Vavô’s house! But, my mom also works all day, so when they will be there up until bed time and the kid’s need supper, I like to bring by something ready to put in the oven when I can. something easy and portable is this “Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake”!

Of course if I am making this and bringing it to my parent’s house, then that leaves my husband to fend for himself, not to mention a hungry me when I get home… So, what I decided to do to solve that issue was to make one big batch and divide it among two smaller baking dishes, which was more than enough to feed both homes! (Of course you could make this recipe and freeze half too! – just freeze before the final step of popping it in the oven)

This recipe is great for kids because it has a fun cork screw pasta, cheese and it’s not spicy at all… Of course you could kick it up by using a spicy sausage and spicing up the sauce a bit, but my kids love this version and since Mom and Dad were out working late, the kids win. It’s got all the same ingredients of a lasagna, but it’s got some semi-homemade ingredients like an easy jarred marinara and it takes about 20 minutes tops to prepare! Then, just pop it in the oven and serve!

This meal is easy enough to be a week night meal, pack away as a freezer meal or serve to a crowd! Let me show you how I did it…

Pick a fun tubular pasta with ridges… I like Cavatappi, it looks like a cork screw. Start this boiling before you do anything else so it can be ready when you finish with the other steps.

Take one package (5-6 links) of Italian Sausage, sweet or hot and take the casings off… Today, I went with sweet because it’s meant to feed the kids. Place in a large skillet over medium heat. I like using sausage in this because it cuts down on some of your work be providing flavor right off the bat, plus my husband loves Italian Sausage. But, if you wanted to use some ground beef or turkey, that would be fine too! You could even make the sauce without any meat at all!

Dice up an onion.

Add the onions right in with the sausage and add just a splash of olive oil right on top to help them get going.

You want to render out the fat from the sausage and bring everything to a golden brown color. If you have some extra fat in the pan you can either drain it or leave it… I didn’t have much fat left in my pan at all.

Now here is the “Easy” in “Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake”… Add in one jar of your favorite ready-made Marinara Sauce.

For some additional moisture and body add in one can of diced tomatoes… If your family is not a fan of chunks of tomatoes in their food, you should still add in one can of tomato sauce.

Add the tomatoes right in, you want them to cook down a bit.

Add in about 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning, salt and pepper.

Place two cups of ricotta cheese in a bowl.

Add two eggs in with the ricotta.

Here is another “easy” ingredient… Add in 1/2 cup of pre-grated parmesan cheese.

Stir together making sure to really work those eggs in.

Next, add in some shredded mozzarella cheese.

Once you have a smooth consistency, add in some Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

Once your pasta is drained, add in cheese.

Stir together.

Either divide among two baking dishes like I did, or use one 9″x13″ baking dish.

This is a block of mozzarella… You can find it right in the regular dairy case.

For this recipe, you can dice up about half the block.

Dot the top of cheesy pasta with half of your cubed mozzarella.

Pour the sauce on top.

Spread the sauce.

Dot the top with the remaining cubed mozzarella and some additional shredded mozzarella. Then add on a dash of grated parmesan. Now you are ready to wrap this and pop in the fridge for later or bake. Whenever you are ready to bake, just place in a 350°F oven for 30 mins.

Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

1 box Cavatappi Pasta, cooked to al dente

For the sauce:

5-6 links Italian Sausage, casing removed

1 onion, diced

1 tsp. olive oil

1 jar marinara sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tsp. Italian seasoning mix

salt and pepper to taste

For cheese mixture:

2 cups Ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1/2 cup shredded 3. cheese

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 dash salt

1 dash pepper

For topping:

8 oz. block mozzarella, cubed

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

1 Tbs. grated parmesan

Directions:

Cook off pasta to one minute less than the package ingredients, drain.

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown sausage while chopping it into smaller bits with a wooden spoon. Add in onions and oil. Render the fat out of the sausage and drain if needed. Once sausage and onions are brown, add in jarred marinara and can of diced tomatoes. To the sauce add in Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine ricotta, grated parmesan, eggs, shredded mozzarella, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

Add cheese mixture to drained pasta. Place in a baking dish. Directly on the cheesy pasta add on 1/2 the cubed mozzarella, then sauce. Now dot the top with remaining cubed mozzarella, shredded mozzarella and parmesan.

Bake in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes. Serve, enjoy!

*Note: If making this recipe gluten-free, just use a gluten-free pasta and follow all instructions.

Pumpkin Spice Bedazzled Jacket

October 9, 2015October 9, 2015

Kid’s are expensive! From the moment they are born all they do is grow. At first they are in a size for literally days, then a couple of weeks… thank the good Lord that at least my kid’s are finally getting a few months out of a size at this point. But, it is still not cheap to buy a whole new wardrobe every few months! Hence the hand me down.

Big brothers and sisters have been handing clothes down since the beginning of time. If you have kids that are the same sex, you are golden. But, what happens if you have a boy and then a girl or visa-versa? What happens is, it’s time to get creative and transform some of those clothes! Hey, if you can save a buck, why not save it!

This cute corduroy jacket was my son’s and it was great for him last year, but he has well out grown it now… So, I broke out the hot glue gun, some ribbon and my handy-dandy new Bedazzler and had fun transforming a pretty basic boy’s jacket into a super cute and sassy Pumpkin Spice fall jacket for my baby girl! And I think it came out rather cute! I get complimented on it everywhere we go!

Last weekend it was time for our annual hay ride and pumpkin picking, so she donned it and I grabbed some shots for you all to see… Take a look at how I did it!

Here is Lucas’ jacket pre-make over.

I start by using my bedazzler machine to add some sparkle to the collar.

Two plain studs and one jewel (orange).

Here is the pocket pre-sparkle.

I start with some ribbon right over the pockets. I chose to secure it with hot glue because it’s a jacket and doesn’t require a ton of washing… But, were it a shirt or pants, I would have chosen a strong fabric glue.

I repeat the same pattern from the collar on the pockets.

Isn’t it cute?

Add a touch of ribbon to the INSIDE of the cuff. you want to add a bit of girliness by flipping up the cuffs.

I even Bedazzled an “A” on the back for “Alaina”

Pumpkin Spice Bedazzled Jacket

Jacket

Pumpkin colored 5/8″ gross grain ribbon

Bedazzler

Bedazzler jewels

Bedazzler studs

hot glue gun and sticks

Housewarming Apple Pie & 10 Open House Tips

October 8, 20153 Comments

There is not much that can make a house feel like a ‘warm home’ like the smell of a home-made apple pie baking in the oven. That is probably why when perspective buyers are to walk through a home, the advice usually starts with “bake an apple pie”. Hence the Housewarming Apple Pie! As I have mentioned in past posts, my husband and I have listed our home and what better smell to have wafting through it than this? Absolutely none!

As part of ‘Home Month’ I thought I would list out some great open house tips like these for those of you who might be thinking of listing your home and then we can get right to the business of baking this beautiful autumn treat! Whether you are working with a realtor, which I highly recommend, or listing yourself, these tips are invaluable when presenting what you want people to envision as their next home…

10 TIPS FOR YOUR NEXT OPEN HOUSE:

1. Bake an apple pie or simmer some apple cider with cinnamon sticks on the stove. Smell is one of those senses that are almost subliminal in helping people to feel comfortable in a situation.

2. Clean up. One might think this is self-explanatory, but sometimes we are blind to the “clutter” spots in our own homes, get those too!

3. Play some soft music, think ambiance.

4. Leave. Your realtor should tell you this, but perspective buyers normally won’t feel comfortable if you are hanging around. If you don’t have a realtor, find a trusted friend to handle the open house for you and have them gather information from anyone who tours the home on a sheet of paper with their realtor’s information.

5. Take pets with you. You want people to feel comfortable and even if you have the friendliest animal in the world, you still don’t want Fido panting up someone’s leg. Not to mention you never know what people’s allergies are.

6. Set your dining room table. This helps people to visualize themselves eating dinner in your home.

7. Turn on lights. You want to be sure people can see what they are looking for without searching out light switches. Seems basic, but sometimes very over looked.

8. Let in as much natural light as possible. The more curtains and blinds you can open the better. Natural light tends to make a home feel more open.

9. Make sure people know about it. I can’t stress this enough. Advertize the open house at least one week in advance. Utilize sites like Craigslist, Yahoo Classifieds and Recycler.com. Utilize social media, put your MLS listing with pictures up and advertize the date and time a week ahead asking that friends share the information. Then a couple of days ahead of time, place signs in your neighborhood directing people to your home.

10. Don’t forget about curb appeal. Remember, the first thing people see when they get to your home is the front door and the outside of your home. Be sure your lawn is mowed. Be sure toys are tidy if you have children. And add a pretty touch like the Autumn Wreath we made last week!

Whether you plan on making this home-made apple pie for your next open house, to bring to a housewarming party for someone with a new home or just to enjoy around your family table, you won’t be disappointed with the outcome! You could purchase a ready-made pie crust, but in case you are looking for the full effect, I will start off by taking you through a super tender and delicious home-made crust that can be used for virtually any pie!

Start by adding flour to a large bowl.

Add in salt and sugar (they look virtually the same, so I won’t bore you with two photos) 1 tsp. kosher salt and 1 Tbs. sugar will do it.

Dice up some cold butter, very cold.

Add butter to the flour.

Then use some shortening. I used this butter flavored shortening which comes in this convenient bar that I keep in the fridge so it is cold as well.

Dice this up as well although it isn’t nearly as stiff as the butter.

Once you have both butter and shortening in the flour you are ready to cut into the flour.

If you have a food processor, have at it. Mine is on the fritz, but honestly, this process take like 45 seconds longer with a hand pastry tool like this one, so to me it isn’t worth making the mess of the food processor for one pie crust. If you don’t have either, you can still make a pie crust, in the old days, it was done with a couple of butter knives, so have at it, cut away!

You want to cut the butter into the flour until it looks ‘mealy’ like so.

To this, I add in very cold tap water.

You want just enough moisture for it to come together without being too sticky. It should still be flaky like so. Try and do most of the working with your wooden spoon to avoid too much warmth from your hands melting that butter. But, once it is almost there, you will need to help it along a bit.

Divide the dough in two, form two discs and place on a plate divided by parchment paper.

Add the second half right on top. Cover lightly and pop in the fridge while you make the filling.

Here are my apples… I have all different varieties here, some from the Farmer’s Market, some from the grocery store and some from apple picking! A variety of different apples, some tart, some sweet will yield you the best pie!

Cut them up to a medium slice. I don’t go too uniform as long as they are similar in size, shape doesn’t really matter to me. I like biting into a variety. I don’t place them in a bowl, but rather a large pot. (that’s another secret)

So a lot of people like to use flour in their pie. One of my secrets to a pie that is not ‘watery’ is to use corn starch. I feel like it does a better job at thickening the apple juices. Also, if you pick up a gluten-free pie crust, you can actually have a gluten-free pie!

Add it into your pot.

Add in one tablespoon of cinnamon.

No need to stir yet, just sprinkle right on top of the corn starch.

Then the nutmeg. I have said this before, if you don’t have fresh nutmeg, omit this ingredient entirely. Please don’t use powdered nutmeg from a jar. The fresh stuff is not that expensive and the difference in the taste is substantial.

Sprinkle over the top.

Add in kosher salt.

Next add in just a pinch of Ground Allspice. This is NOT the Portuguese All Spice I use in my savory recipes. This is an actual spice that is called Allspice.

Add in sugar.

Now mix.

This is what you want it to look like.

Add in two tablespoons of unsalted butter.

Turn on the heat to medium. This is my second secret.

Cook while stirring occasionally for about 8-10 mins. Your goal is not to fully cook the apples, but to melt the butter and sugar so they are evenly distributed and gel well with the corn starch. And to par cook the apples.

At about the half way of cooking mark add in the juice of half a fresh lemon. Again, if you don’t have fresh lemon, please omit this ingredient. There is no substitution for fresh lemon juice. This lemon is my third secret, it provides just enough tartness to counter the sugar.

Once the filling is made, take one round out of the fridge at a time, you want this to stay cold. Place it on a rolling mat if you have one, I LOVE this one and use it quite often for all kinds of projects. You’ll also want to have flour at the ready to help with sticking. Flour the mat and the top for the round lightly to prevent sticking.

Roll out to a little larger than your pie plate.

To easily add your crust to your plate without breaking, roll it onto your rolling pin using your mat to help lift.

Once it’s on your rolling pin, unroll it onto your pie plate.

Now you are ready to fill.

Once filled, repeat the rollingout process and place second crust over the top.

Form a pretty edge being sure that you are sealing the two crusts together to prevent leaking.

Here it is with the completed edge, cut off any remaining edge.

Add in vent holes, this is important to allow the steam to escape.

Next, make a thick egg wash with one egg yolk and just a splash of water.

Brush onto the the crust.

Sprinkle with sugar. (At this point you could store in the fridge for later or bake right away… If you are planning this for an open house, make in the morning and pop in the oven just before show time! Just let your realtor know to take it out and place on stovetop when ready!)

Bake in a pre-heated oven for 45-50 mins until crust is golden brown.

And even better than this is Alla-Mode!

“Going to an open house? Get pre-qualified first! Sellers and agents will know you are a serious buyer.” -Lori Medeiros, RMS

Housewarming Apple Pie

Serves 6-10

Filling Ingredients:

7-9 large apples, different varieties, peeled, cored and sliced

1/3 cup corn starch

2/3 cup sugar

1 Tbs. cinnamon

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp Allspice

1/8 tsp. fresh nutmeg, ground

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

Ingredients for Pie Crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, diced

1/3 cup cold butter flavored shortening, cubed

2 Tbs. sugar, divided

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup cold water

1 egg yolk, beaten with splash of water

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Prepare pie crust first and refrigerate while preparing filling.

To prepare crust: Place flour in a large bowl. Add in butter, shortening, 1 Tbs. sugar, and salt. Cut together with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Add in water, mix with wooden spoon until water is absorbed fully. Finish bringing dough together quickly with hands. Avoid touching with warm hands as much as possible. Divide dough, form into two discs and refrigerate until ready for use.

For the apple filling: Add apple slices into a large pot on the stove. Add in corn starch, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and stir. Turn on heat to medium and add butter, stir. Heat for 5 minutes stirring a few times to distribute the ingredients as they melt. Add in juice of half a lemon, sitr again. Heat for another two minutes and remove from heat.

Roll out the pie dough. Place one half in pie plate, fill with apple filling and lay the second rolled dough on top. Pinch together edges and form a seal then make into a pretty crust edging. Place vent holes on top of the crust to allow steam out. Brush top with egg wash (1 beaten egg yolk with splash of water) and sprinkle with the remaining 1 Tbs. sugar.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool for at least one hour before serving.

Enjoy!

Madrinha’s Coconut Queijadas (Queijadas de Coco)

October 7, 2015October 9, 2015

My family, being Portuguese, is rather large by today’s standards. My father grew up with 7 sisters and a brother and was one of 9 siblings. This made for great parties growing up! I feel like almost every weekend of my childhood was spent attending a birthday party, baptism, 1st Communion, graduation, Confirmation, holiday celebration or just getting together to get together! And at every single one of those events my Titia Tina, who would eventually become my Madrinha at my own Confirmation, would make these delectable little treats. A creamy, crustless, coconut creation that once you try you will wonder what on earth you were doing all your life that you missed out enjoying it.

As I got older, I wondered how she made this family mainstay. So, I asked time and time again… Her response was always, come on by when I’m making them and I’ll show you. Well, time never allowed for an in person lesson unfortunately. But, for my wedding shower, my cousin Stephanie, her daughter, nailed down the recipe with measurements for me and submitted it to be part of my family wedding recipe collection! (which by the way is one of my very favorite ideas for any bridal shower… what a wonderful way to preserve family recipes and memories!)

I was so excited to get the recipe and so I tried it right away… And I was absolutely amazed at just how easy and inexpensive it is! For such a fabulous treat! So, now I am sharing it with all of you. Here’s how we do it…

Start with 4 eggs in a large bowl. My bowl is by Pampered Chef and it has the pour spout (that is ideal!). Wisk the eggs.

Measure out sugar.

Add sugar in while wisking.

Wisk your eggs and sugar until smooth.

For this recipe margarine is called for, not butter. I have never tried it with butter, but suspect it would be similar if you needed to substitute. Since this is what the recipe calls for and it’s much less expensive, it’s what I use.

You’ll need to melt the butter, so place it in a microwave safe container, in this case I use my handy-dandy Pampered Chef measuring cup and call it a day.

Add in your melted margarine wisking briskly, remember you have eggs in that bowl that can easily cook with still hot liquid.

You should have a creamy consistency after adding in margarine.

Measure out flour.

Add in your first measurement of flour and wisk.

Then your next. And continue wisking.

Add in 1 lemon rind. Be sure it is all in one solid piece like so, you will be removing this before baking.

You want to incorporate the lemon right into your batter.

Measure out your milk… I am using that same Pampered Chef 2-cup measuring cup so it still has some of the margarine in it, those are the yellow specks you can see.

Now add in your milk.

Once you have a nice smooth consistency, You are ready for the coconut.

Measure out your sweetened coconut. I’ve never tried unsweetened coconut in this recipe, but if you want to reduce the sugar content, I suppose this is where you might do that.

Spray your pan with cooking spray. This recipe is not made with cupcake liners.

In my madrinha’s recipe she suggests pouring your batter into a measuring cup with a spout to pour batter into the muffin tin… If you don’t have a handy-dandy spouted measuring bowl, definitely do this.

Fill each compartment about 3/4 of the way up.

As you are pouring your lemon peel will surface, be sure to pull it out and discard, it has done its job.

Once filled, you want to place pan in a pre-heated oven at 375°F for 20-30 mins. depending on your oven… it could go as far as 40 mins if they aren’t browning. When you come to 20 mins or so, turn on your oven light and take a peek, try not to open your oven if you can avoid it. You will be looking for a nice sunny golden brown.

Allow to cool once out of the oven.

Notice how it is “puffed up” right now and the center has not fallen… this is because it just came out of the oven and it is much too soon to remove it from the muffin tin.

Scoop each one out with a large soup spoon so you don’t dent the bottom edges taking it out of the pan. As you can see, the centers have now fallen with the cooling and they are looking perfect.

And this is what each little gem will look like when you place it on your serving platter.

Madrinha’s Coconut Queijadas (Queijadas de Coco)

Yields: 2 1/2 – 3 dozen

Ingredients:

4 cups of whole milk

4 eggs

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 stick margarine, melted

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 lemon rind

cooking spray

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl, wisk eggs. Add in sugar, wisk. Add in margarine slowly while wisking briskly. Add in flour and lemon rind and continue to wisk. Next, add in milk while slowing wisking. Lastly, add in coconut and slowly mix into the batter.

Spray a 12 count muffin tin with cooking spray (if you have 3 muffin tins, this would be ideal). Fill each 3/4 up with batter. Bake 20-30 minutes until lightly golden brown. You want to check your oven starting at 20 minutes utilizing your oven light, not opening your oven. It may go as far as 40 minutes depending on your oven (ie. gas vs. electic).

Allow to cool before removing from tin. Each queijada will be puffy when first coming out of the oven, they will fall as they cool in the center. Place each in a cupcake liner and then onto your serving platter.

Enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Brownies

October 5, 2015

Triple Chocolate Brownies… need I say more?

You may be thinking, why would I need to make brownies myself when they come so nicely packaged in a box from the store. Well, I have to tell you, sometimes I think the same thing! But, and that’s a big but, they are not the same. When you make a brownie yourself, you are controlling exactly what goes into it, you know the quality of the ingredients and can pick your very favorite chocolates to add in! For instance in this recipe, I am using Valrhona cocoa, Nestle milk chocolate and Ghiradeli bittersweet chocolate. There is no box on the planet that allows for that combination. But, beyond all of that, it’s surprisingly easy! There actually aren’t very many ingredients. In a box, there is 1-the box, 2-eggs, and 3-water or oil and then you mix in whatever, so 3 ingredients total… Here there are 6, to me that’s not a huge difference.

For today’s brownies, I had the kid’s helping me which we all had a lot of fun with! Lucas got to be in charge of the dry ingredients bowl. Alaina took care of the sugar. And they both helped with cracking eggs, mixing and eating stray chocolate chips! All very important jobs! It’s a simple enough recipe that I wasn’t going crazy trying to organize myself while trying to keep track of the kids. And the more you get your kids involved in cooking, the more they will like to help eat their creations, so sure today is brownies, but when we want to make say Split Pea Soup, this will come in handy!

Lucas loves helping. Right now he is in charge of the dry ingredients bowl.

Alaina is loving being in charge of the sugar!

Measure out the unsweetened coco powder. This is your first chocolate and the most focused on, so be sure to use the best you can get your hands on. I ordered this Valrhona on-line.

Lucas is taking his job very seriously.

Add in salt.

Here it is all sifted. You could at this point add in baking powder, I omit it when I am looking for a more dense fudgy brownie.

Once your ingredients are ready to go, move onto the wet.

All four eggs made it into the bowl… yay! I wasn’t able to help the kids with cracking these eggs and take the pictures at the same time, but the kids each helped crack the eggs right into this bowl! If it were up to my son, this recipe would have a dozen eggs!

That’s it for wet ingredients, just eggs. Now onto the mixer. If you have a stand mixer, this recipe is super easy, if you don’t, it’s still easy, it will just take you 2 minutes longer.

We start here with some butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.

With softened butter, it doesn’t take long to beat with the paddle attachment on the mixer. The kid’s love watching the mixer go… and they love working the buttons!

Add sugar in. Beat on low for a minute.

Add in one egg at a time. Mix well after each addition.

Add in vanilla. Beat one more minutes to ensure everything is thoroughly combined before you add in the dry ingredients.

Mix until just blended and switch to mixing by hand.

Here is your second chocolate… Add in mini milk chocolate chips.

And your third chocolate… Mix in bittersweet chocolate chip these are big, you could chop them or just use as is like I did.

Prepare your pan with butter. I like taking a pad and a piece of paper towel to apply. I don’t care for cooking spray with brownies, I like the slightly salty taste of the butter.

I am using a stone pan, use whatever you like, just be sure it is well buttered.

Add in your brownie batter.

Spread evenly. And bake for about 30-40 minutes at 350°F for a 9″x9″ pan… If you are using a 9″x13″ pan, you will yield thinner brownies and therefore need to reduce the baking time to about 20-25 mins.

Allow to cool for at least 1 hour.

Once cooled, cut either 16-24 pieces.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Serving Size: 16-24

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp. baking powder (optional, omitting yields a more dense fudgy brownie)

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

4 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup mini milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Pre-heat oven 350°F. Prepare a baking dish with butter.

In a medium bowl wisk together flour, cocoa and salt. (If you choose to make more fluffy brownies, add in baking powder. If you choose to make more dense, fudgy brownies as pictured, omit baking powder.)

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or just in a separate bowl with a wooden spoon) beat butter until smooth. Then add in sugar and beat another minute until combined. Add in one egg at a time until well combined (this is a bit more tricky if doing by hand, but just be sure it is thoroughly combined after each addition). Add in vanilla and beat another minute to ensure all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Add in the flour mixture in two additions on low speed. Once combined, stop the mixer. Do not over mix. With a wooden spoon or rubber scraper, add in chocolate chips. Mix until combined.

Spread mixture evenly. And bake for about 30-40 minutes at 350°F for a 9″x9″ pan. If you are using a 9″x13″ pan, you will yield thinner brownies and therefore need to reduce the baking time to about 20-25 mins.

Allow to cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into either 16 or 24 pieces. Serve. Enjoy!

Lisa’s Sausage Stuffed Jalapeños

October 2, 2015October 2, 2015

Today is a very special day! It’s my 100th post here on thePortugueseAmericanMom.com! So in honor of that I thought I would highlight one of my very favorite party aps to celebrate! One of my very best girlfriend’s, Lisa, makes these for me whenever there is a party to be had. She came over last Sunday with her husband Carlos and her daughter Kaedence for the football game and we had our selves some good old-fashioned “home-gating”. And I asked, that instead of her making these for me at home, she make them here so I could document the process and share it with you all! And so she did!

They are a super simple and incredibly flavorful and delicious naturally gluten-free appetizer made with just 5 ingredients! One thing that Lisa asked that I stress and I will stress it in the tutorial as well is to please be sure to have surgical gloves before attempting this recipe. You will be working with very hot peppers and will need to protect yourself from the oils in the pepper. Once done and the peppers are in the oven, remove the gloves directly into the trash and thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water to ensure you got it all.

Let me show you how she does it!

Here are all your ingredients! Yep, that’s it, just 4! (plus olive oil for the pan, so five if we are technical)

Mince your onion.

Heat up some olive oil over medium heat.

Sautée the onions.

Split each Italian Sausage so you can remove the casing. Lisa uses hot Italian sausage and we all love them that way… but if you want to reduce the heat due to the already super hot jalapeño peppers, you could use mild Italian sausage here.

Remove the casing.

This is what they look like without the casing.

Add in the sausage.

Lisa asked me for not only a wooden spoon to mix, but also a potato masher to make sure it all gets broken down!

Brown up all of the sausage meat.

Strain out any grease. There wasn’t too much in this batch.

Return the sausage to the skillet and add in a bar of room temperature cream cheese.

Then work the cream cheese into the sausage meat.

Once most of the cream cheese it distributed, you can continue to work it with a wooden spoon.

Once the cream cheese is all distributed well, turn off the burner and let cool for a minute or two.

Preparing the peppers: You should have time to prepare the peppers while the sausage is cooking, but to keep things simple, I am keeping that separate…

Before we get into the pepper part, I need to mention these handy-dandy surgical gloves again… Lisa says, if you don’t have these, don’t make this dish! So, I would gather they are imperative.

Split the peppers all in half.

Place them into a bowl as you go.

You need to remove the seeds and connective tissue from the inside of each pepper. This is Lisa's technique. Hold firmly an scrape from the top down with your thumb.

You need to remove the seeds and connective tissue from the inside of each pepper. This is Lisa’s technique. Hold firmly and scrape from the top down with your thumb.

Lisa mentioned that the you should look for fatter peppers so they have more stuffing room.

You want to try to get as many of the seeds out to start off with as possible, but you have to go through 18-20 peppers, so you don’t want to spend too much time on it.

Now the peppers need to be washed, but this is more of a technique to get the remaining seeds out.

Fill the bowl with water and let the seeds float around in the water.

Then let them all just flow out in the water. Repeat this process a couple of times until you are satisfied.

Next, take a teaspoon and stuff each.

You want to firmly press in, but build up a little mound at the same time.

This is what you should have.

Line them on a parchment lined rimmed cookie sheet. Pop them in the oven at 350°F for about 30-50 mins or so… but check in on them every 10 mins or so after that first 30 mins. The cooking time will depend on how big your peppers are.

This is what you need to see before you take them out of the oven… They are all a nice golden brown with some crispiness on top.

Lisa’s Sausage Stuffed Jalapeños

Serving size: 10

18-20 plump jalapeños, halved and seeded

1 bar cream cheese, room temperature

1 medium onion, minced

1 package hot Italian Sausage, casing removed

1-2 Tbs. olive oil

Directions: Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Sautée the onion in olive oil in a skillet set over medium heat. Add in the sausage. With a wooden spoon and a potato masher, work the meat down into the onions and brown. Once browned, drain fat. Return meat to skillet and add in cream cheese. Again, work in the cream cheese using a wooden spoon and potato masher. Once the cream cheese is worked in, turn off heat and set aside to cool for a moment or two.

Stuff the ingredients into the prepared peppers. Line a rimmed cookie sheet or baking dish with parchment paper and line up the stuffed peppers, stuffing facing up. Bake for 30-50 minutes, check on them every 10 minutes after the 30 minutes. They will be done when they are golden brown. Allow to cool on pan for about 10 minutes before moving to a serving tray. Serve warm or room temperature. Enjoy!

*Note – This is a gluten-free recipe, but as always, check your ingredients in the Italian Sausage.

*Note – This is a low-carb recipe

Autumn Wreath

October 1, 2015

Something about the fall gets me in an extra crafty mood! We recently listed our home for sale and have been having house showings and open houses, so I thought what better time to freshen up the look of my entry way than now! After all, it’s the first impression people get of your home. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to do something along the lines of a wreath… Have you shopped for pre-made wreaths lately? Holy Cow! Talk about expensive! I went to a “discount home” store recently and found them ranging between $60 and $185! And that’s supposed to be a discount! Get outta here! So, I popped into my local craft store and for under $25 picked up supplies to make not only one, but 2 wreaths! (Don’t you just love coupons?!?)

Whether you are selling your home or just getting into the spirit of fall, this wreath is sure to spruce up your front door! But, the technique I am about to show you can be used for any time of year… If you want to make a Christmas wreath, just change out the ribbon. If you want to make a spring wreath, go with some pastels… This is where you get to be creative. And if you aren’t the creative type, no worries, just follow along and you’ll do just fine!

Here are the supplies you will need…

Here are the bulk of the supplies for the wreath itself.

I start with one of these great grape vine wreaths that are wrapped in hay. This one is 16″. You can adjust larger or smaller depending on your door… As you can see, I started to unwrap the plastic and then seeing the mess I was making, decided to leave it. Besides, I learned the plastic actually helped the pins stay secure. I like this particular wreath because the color works well under my fabric, I didn’t need to paint.

Metalic Mesh Fabric… I love this stuff! I try and use it whenever I can! This summer I used it to top handmade palm trees for my son’s Surf’s Up Birthday Party! For my daughter’s baptism, I handed out little potted plants for people’s garden and wrapped them in little swatches of this stuff!

This is a pretty sparkly gross grain ribbon, 7/8″. And, it was on clearance for a buck! Score!

I love how it sparkles, but provides that dark burnt fallish color.

I chose this fall motif… Isn’t it pretty? They had a variety of different ones… Right now is a great time to pick up fall crafting supplies because all the stores are clearing their shelves to make way for Christmas! I got this whole 25′ spool for $5!

Now, I have to admit, I totally forgot to pick up Straight Pins for this project and if you have them, please use them… but, I improvised and used regular sewing pins and it worked out fine, I just needed to use about the double the supply as they are a bit small.

I decided to splurge on one little embelishment, it was 50% off so it cost me a wopping $1.49!

Here are the supplies for the monogram… At first I didn’t have the monogram and if you like it without it, you certainly don’t have to add it in… But, I felt like it needed a little something… So, I ran out to grab these supplies for it. A wooden “S” some metallic fallish craft paint in bronze and a $.59 disposable sponge brush.

Once you have collected all your supplies and have your work space ready to go, you will be done in no time flat, I’ll show you how I did it!

So, the first thing you need to do is cover your wreath with mesh fabric. I start by folding the fabric in half length wise.

Then I secure my starting point with pins.

Now that it is secure, you can start making your way around the wreath.

To create the bubbley affect, I stop every few inches and pop the fabric up into, well, a bubble… then I secure with pins.

The fabric is very agreeable this way.

Just continue this way all the way around the wreath.

Here is a view of the back of the wreath.

As you can see, I didn’t quite get the pop I was looking for here, so no worries, I just went back and manipulated the fabric with pins and got it the way I want it.

See, perfect.

When you come to the end of the wreath, cut off the fabric.

Now wrap the end around and secure tightly with pins.

And here is the start of your creation!

Now it’s time to add on the ribbon. We will start with the main ribbon with the fall pumpkins.

Add ribbon by starting it off at the top of your wreath where there is no bubble… Then measure out 18″ and leave that as a “tail” and secure with pins to the wreath.

Secure with pins.

Start by securing the end of your ribbon to the wreath, leave an 18″ tail for later.

Then loosely start to wrap.

What I did was went in between every other bump so there is not too much.

At the end, bring up the ribbon and leave another 18″ tail. Secure with pins again.

Secure your knot again with pins… this is what is going to secure your bow.

Then firmly but gently tie a knot… you don’t want to disturb the pins you have placed or mess up the ribbon either.

Now onto making your fancy bow…

Depending on how large you want your bow you will fold the ribbon… for instance, I am doing 8-9″ folds.

Because my ribbon is not double sided, and I want only the print side exposed, I have to turn the ribbon with each fold like so.

Keep going back and forth folding until you have about 4 folds on either side.

Now with those left over tails you had, you are going to knot in your folds.

Take that and place it on the top of the wreath holding securely.

This is what you should have.

Once you have secured your folds with a good tight knot, you can start to fluff your bow.

Fluff, fluff, fluff… and because we are using a wired ribbon, this happens very easily

Take the “tails” you left from before and form into bow loops too.

Here is what you have when done. But, we aren’t done, so I will warn you this will need to be fluffed up again at the end!

So here is where we are at so far!

Once your main ribbon and bow are done, add on your secondary ribbon. I wait until after the bow is done because I like to know exactly where to place the accents.

First I secure the ribbon to the back of the wreath.

So all I do here is go around in the opposite direction of my main ribbon and pop the accent ribbon into every other bubble opposite of the ones the main ribbon was in, like so… And then I secure in the back with pins again.

Now for my special little embellishment…

Now I add on my little acorn embellishment. This too is wired so super easy to use…

I place on the left of my wreath under a ribbon.

Secure with pins and done!

So here is what it looks like with out the monogram… still pretty!

But… I went one step further…

Paint one coat, let dry.

Add on a second coat, let dry… Don’t forget the back.

You don’t want this ribbon showing really, so just a little slack is needed.

Now work with two 12″-18″ lengths of ribbon.

Tie one into a knot.

Loop the second ribbon around that.

tie the second ribbon to your wreath behind your bow allowing for just a little slack, this will be your hook for your door.

Now, that first ribbon you looped is ready for your monogram… Now, if your monogram is say the letter “N”… you will need a good heavy duty stapler to secure this ribbon to the back of your letter… but, in my case I have an “S” so it works out nicely.