Burgers!

So I like a juicy burger, full of flavor and this is how I make it:

1lb ground beef

1.5-2 tbs adobo

1/4 cup italian breadcrumbs

Using your hands, knead ingredients together until well blended. Roll 4 ounce meatballs out of the seasoned beef. Flatten on a cutting board (with your palm or the back of a small plate until the patty is about 1/2-3/4 of an inch thick.

Spray a pan with non-stick cooking spray and turn stove on to medium heat. Pre-heat the pan until the cooking spray sizzles a bit (but don't let it burn). Cook the burger on the pan until both sides are brown and toasty. Make sure the burger is fully cooked by cutting a slit through the middle of the burger to make sure there is NO pink.

Place on a bun, add toppings (cheese, onions, lettuce, tomato, etc.) of your choice and you're ready to eat :)

Meats and Side Dishes to Compliment Them

Ok, so I got bored of the breakfast section. I'm starting on the next one, Lunch and Dinner foods... Usually anything I can eat for lunch I can eat for dinner so I'm making this a merged section.

French Toast

I'm craving some of this :O

What You'll Need:

*Bread- sliced or a baguette you can slice on your own
*Eggs- I usually use 2, or enough to coat the amount of bread I'm going to toast
*Sugar- 3 tbs, or to your liking (I like sweet french toast)
*Vanilla- 1.5 tsp
*Cinnamon- 1/2 tsp
*Salt- 1/4 tsp


What To Do:

*Beat Eggs, Sugar, Vanilla, Cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
*Coat a frying pan in non-stick cooking spray or butter, and heat on med to med-high heat
*Dip each slice of toast in egg mixture
*Place in pan until golden brown on each side.

Flap Jacks? Short Stacks?? MMM

Pancakes!! It's really easy to use the ready made type... I always add my own little ingredients to it...

About 3 TBS of sugar
2 tsp of cinnamon

OPTIONAL:

Chocolate syrup for chocolate pancakes
Almond extract
Any flavoring item you'd like :)

I add butter to a frying pan on medium heat until it melts and sizzles a bit... Then add 1/4 of a cup of pancake mix to the pan. Flip once the edges are golden and there are bubbles on the middle of the pancake's surface.

..... BUT... There are pancakes from scratch, should you crave this delicious dish, and lack that handy box of pancake mix...

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
  
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups milk at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, add more as needed
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and in another, beat the eggs and then whisk in the milk and vanilla.

Melt the butter in frying pan over medium heat.

Whisk the butter into the milk mixture and add to the flour mixture. Whisk into a smooth batter.

Keeping the skillet at medium heat, ladle about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the skillet, to make a pancake. Cook, until bubbles break the surface of the pancakes, and the undersides are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip with a spatula and cook about 1 minute more on the second side.

Presto! You're done and about to have a really happy tummy.

Hard Boiled Eggs

Easiest egg in the book to cook lol. This can be done in a small sauce pan or pot... (I use sauce pans :D)

Fill the pot enough with water to fully submerge an egg or 2. Add in 2-3 teaspoons (tsp) of salt.

Turn the heat on to medium-high heat and introduce eggs to water, making sure you don't drop the egg in or it will crack.

About 2 minutes after water comes to a boil, the egg should be ready for peeling. You can check by taking a spoon and tapping the outside of the egg, the egg should feel hard.

In a bowl of cold water, place the egg and peel so you won't get burned. Once peeled, you can add salt, and eat.

PS- Sorry took so long to update :P

A Challenge: Poached Eggs

I've never made or eaten this type of egg, but I think tonight or tomorrow morning will be a good time to try it.

This recipe is courtesy of Food Network's Alton Brown- I think he is a culinary genius ;)

• Water
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 4 large whole eggs

Directions

Pour enough water into a 10-inch nonstick skillet to measure no less than 1 1/2-inches, place over high heat, and bring to 190 degrees F. Add the vinegar. Gently crack each egg into a custard cup. Lower each cup into the water until it touches bottom and gently pour in the egg. Cook for 4 1/2 minutes, adjusting the heat to maintain the temperature. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon, 1 at a time, to a tea towel lined plate. Trim the edges of the white with the side of a spoon and serve immediately. Eggs may be stored in ice water in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. Reheat in hot water for 1 minute before serving.

Omelets

There are many ways to make any one recipe... These are just mine... The simplest ways for me. You can always find your own short cuts and comfortable techniques. Don't forget!

Ingredients:

2 Eggs
1 TBS of Milk (you can choose to not add milk at all. This just makes it fluffier)
Cheese of your choice - Optional
Salt and Pepper to taste
-> You can add any other topping you'd like, for example, Ham, Onions, Mushrooms, Chopped Tomatoes, etc.



Directions:

*In a bowl, stir eggs incorporating yolks and whites.

*Add milk

*On all sides of a pan, pre-heated to medium heat, spray non-stick cooking spray.

*Introduce eggs to pan.

*When you can see bottom layer off eggs have changed to solid (look at edges), move one edge of the egg into the middle of the pan and tip pan toward that corner in order to move raw eggs onto pan. Repeat until no more fluid is left.

NOTE: At this point some people add cheese and fold egg in half, but I like to cook both sides, as raw eggs don't tickle my fancy.

*Flip egg onto other side and allow to cook rest of moist egg.

*Flip egg once again and add cheese and other toppings. Fold eggs in half and allow cheese to melt and toppings to warm up.

*Add salt and pepper to taste and you're ready to serve.

You Can't Unscramble Scrambled Eggs

Plain or with cheese. With bits of ham of bacon in 'em. Scrambled eggs are breakfast at its best.

Ingredients:

2 TBS of Milk
1 TBS of Butter
2 Eggs
Cheese of your choice in quantity of your choice. Not required though.
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

*In a bowl, stir the eggs until yolks and white are blended.

*Mix in 2 TBS of Milk

*Coat Pan in non-stick cooking spray and melt butter in it at medium-medium high heat.

*Once butter is melted, put eggs in pan and with a spatula or preferred cooking utensil.

*When the eggs are a little bit moist, introduce cheese in small pieces and mix into eggs.

*The eggs are cooked when they are no longer runny, but slightly moist because of melted cheese.

*Add salt and pepper to your liking, and VOILA! You've got scrambled eggs.

Shifting Gears a Little Bit: Breakfast?

So the other day you made me some yummy breakfast, (way to make the wife happy ;P)

And so in memory of that day, I will publish here a small chapter on eggs.

1- The Fried Egg AKA Sunny Side Up:

I've had war with the making of the fried egg. Until really recently I didn't know how to make a pretty one... The edges would come out all toasty. But I think I finally found the key to success...

-> BUTTER.

*Start off with a clean frying pan.

*Melt a small spoonful of butter or margarine into the pan (I always add Non-stick cooking spray too, just in case. I like yolk.) You know the heat is too high if your butter turns a toasty golden color and sizzles to the point where you're feeling it on your arm.

*Crack the egg into the pan. Wait until the white part of the egg becomes nice and firm, with barely any gooey parts on it. When the egg is a bit solid, use a spatula to flip the egg over gently.
(It helps to slowly and softly slide the spatula under the portion with the yolk. Don't lift the spatula too much.)

*Once you turned the egg, you can leave the egg cooking on the other side depending on how you like your yolk. For runny yolk, leave on less time. For solid yolk, more time.


I could go on to scrambled eggs, omelets, poached eggs, hard boiled eggs (LOL I'm an expert after the Easter mishap.) But I'll leave those for subsequent chapters.

Guess I'm going to write in here by chapter. Seasoning, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Dessert, etc.

If You Don't Have Adobo

There are many ways to season your meats... This is perhaps the most simple and flavorful I know.

LOL, Adobo... But if you don't have this, you can make it in two ways:

1:

-Garlic Powder
-Salt
-Pepper

*Sprinkle each equally on meat enough to coat lightly.

2-

- 1 TBS Minced Garlic
- 1 TBS Salt
-Pepper: Enough to see a good share of black sprinkles in the seasoning.


Depending on the type of meats I cook, I add other spices... It's good to be creative...

Sofrito

What it is: This is the seasoning used in many many Puerto
Rican Dishes. We use this in meat stews, bean stews, soups, meat sauces, etc. This, though rather strange in appearance gives our foods a blast of flavor. Because this is an ingredient in many dishes rather than a dish, it is perhaps the most important one in here.


How to make it:

1 bunch of Cilantro aka Recao
1 head of garlic
3 large onions
1 lb. sweet peppers (these are small and hard to find in stores.)
2 large bell peppers
1 small jar roasted red peppers
2 tbsp. crushed oregano (fresh)
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

Peel, wash, chop and seed ingredients and then toss into the blender. You can then store in a container and refrigerate or freeze.

NOTES:

I usually have this prepped in the fridge so it's available when I cook. The initial color of this seasoning will vary from a reddish orange, to green (depending on the peppers and ingredients.)

A dish good enough for 3-7 people will usually require one cooking spoon worth of sofrito, aka... 1/2 a cup.