Rellenos de Papa (Stuffed Potato Balls)

These Rellenos de Papa (Stuffed Potato Balls) are absolutely delicious.  I grew up eating Alcapurrias and Rellenos de Papa and they are one of  my favorite things to eat when I visit my island of Puerto Rico, besides every pastry, fresh bread and cheese, but I'll leave that for another day.

I remember the last time I visited my family in the town of Utuado, my aunt made me Pasteles and Rellenos de Papa with some black eye peas rice.  My husband and I still talk about that meal.  I come from a big family of excellent cooks.  I often think of my mom and everything she cooked for us.  Going to Puerto Rico to visit my family brought back so many great memories.

Lime Fried Chicken Wings

The Super Bowl is right around the corner.  Now that we know who is going to be playing, it's time to plan the menu.  What is a game of football without some delicious chicken wings?  These Lime Fried Chicken Wings are the perfect finger food during game time.

The wings are a little tangy from the lime, crispy and delicious.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

18 wings washed and pat dried

3/4 cup of fresh lime juice

2 garlic cloves minced

1 1/2 tsp salt divided

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder divided

1 1/2 onion powder divided

1 tsp black pepper divided

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

oil for frying

To make the marinade, mix together the lime juice, garlic, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper.  Mix well.  Place the chicken wings into a resealable 1 gallon plastic food storage bag, then add the marinade.  Marinade in the refrigerator overnight or up to 2 hours.

Take chicken out of the refrigerator and drain through a colander at least 15 minutes before frying.   
Into another resealable bag add the flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, and 1/2 tsp black pepper, stir to combine.  Set a large cast iron dutch oven or frying pan over medium-high heat and add enough oil to cover the wings.  Keep oil at around 350 degrees on a thermometer.

Place at least 6 wings into the bag, shake to coat.  Fry chicken wings until nice and brown, about 8-10 minutes.  Repeat until all wings are fried. 

Sorullitos de Maiz (Cornmeal Sticks)

I grew up eating Sorullitos de Maiz (Cornmeal Sticks) for breakfast with coffee.  As a Puerto Rican, drinking coffee as a kid is part of our culture.  Even as an adult the only way I eat these is with a big cup.  My mom's sorullitos were the best.  Her recipe is totally different than this one.  Her recipe has milk and vanilla in the ingredients and we also add cheese in the inside, as you bite the cheese oozes out.  I will make that recipe another day.

I decided to make this particular recipe because I didn't have milk to make my mom's recipe and this recipe was really easy.  Since they turned out so good, I decided to share the recipe with you. These are perfectly fried, nice and golden brown. Crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. 

This recipe does not have cheese in the inside.  But you can certainly add some.  Cut a few pieces of your favorite cheese and when rolling the mixture into sorullitos make an indentation and place a piece inside. I like to use Velveeta because it melts really quick.  Make sure that you cover it so that the cheese does not come out while frying.

Ingredients

1 cup fine cornmeal

1 1/2 cup water

3 tbsp sugar or to taste

pinch of salt

oil for frying

In a pot on medium heat add the water, sugar and salt.  When it boils add the cornmeal and continue to mix with a spoon (wood) until it forms a ball.  Remove from heat.  Let cool down a little bit.  Then form the sorullitos.  Add about 2 tbsp or so of the mixture into the palm of your hand, make a ball then roll to make the sorullito shape.  Add enough oil to a frying pan and fry on medium heat.  Fry until golden brown. 

Chili with Beans Dip

Let the games begin!!  During football season I like to make easy appetizers.  Nothing too complicated, as I like to enjoy the games too.  This is a dip that you can make ahead of time and just keep it in the refrigerator until game time.

If you are having friends over to watch the game just make this dip and some Crispy Chicken Wings, they will be really happy.

Crispy Chicken Wings

Football season has started, and why not make your own appetizers.  Have your friends over and enjoy a great afternoon.  My husband is an alumni of  the "U" University of Miami.  This night they were playing UNC. I decided to make some crispy wings and some dipping sauces.  It was a great game and thanks God, that UM won the game.

Beef Empanadas

This past Friday I decided to make Beef Empanadas.  It's been a while since I've made them, and I was craving them.  The dough I made is a new recipe I found, and I wanted to try it out.

Low Carb Chicken Quesadillas

This past Saturday night my husband and I couldn't decide on what to eat.  Do we go out or stay in?  My husband was extremely tired and I really didn't feel like going out.  I decided to make Chicken Quesadillas.  Simple and quick.  While my husband slept and my doggy chewed on a bone, I started cooking. 

Guacamole

Guacamole is very popular at my house when we are having taco night.  But, I also enjoy guacamole on my burgers.  Over Labor Day weekend I made some fresh guacamole and put it right on my burgers.  The lime and onions in the Guacamole with the burger is such a great combination, you should try it.

Sometimes I make the guacamole a little chunkier, but this time I wanted to make it creamy.  I think it lasted about 10 minutes on the table..it was that good.  Adding the lime not only helps the avocado from turning color, but it also gives it a wonderful flavor. 

Ingredients:

3 avocados

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

2 tbsp finely chopped onion

1 small jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded and minced

1 garlic clove, minced

salt to taste

2 tbsp of lime juice

Halve the avocados, remove pit, and scoop flesh into medium bowl.  Mash the avocados lightly with a fork, add the cilantro, onion, jalapeno, garlic and salt.  Combine well. Sprinkle with the lime juice.

Chunky Salsa

Over Labor Day weekend I decided to make some fresh salsa.  There is nothing better than making your own.  This homemade salsa was a hit.  We had it with some tortilla chips.  I made it mild not too hot, but if you like a little kick then add as much jalapeno as you want. 

I wanted the salsa to be chunky and so I cut the tomatoes a little bigger.  Some people might say that this is more like Pico de Gallo.  Both have basically the same ingredients, except that salsa has more liquid than Pico de Gallo.  Salsa is what I set out to make..but I understand if you want to call it Pico de Gallo. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 Pounds tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch dice

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 large jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded and minced

1 small garlic clove, minced

2-6 tsp lime juice (2 limes)

1/2 tsp salt

pinch of pepper

sugar to taste

Set a colander inside a bowl and drain the tomatoes for about 20 minutes.  As the tomatoes drain layer onion, cilantro, jalapeno and garlic on top.  Shake colander to drain off excess tomato juice. Discard juice.

Transfer tomato mixture to bowl and add lime juice, salt and pepper and toss to combine.  Add sugar to taste and additional lime juice to taste before serving.

Alcapurrias

Alcapurrias are a puertorican fritter filled with ground beef.  Alcapurrias are made from green plantains, green bananas, yatia (taro root)  and potatoes.  These items are put through a grater and a masa (batter) is made.  Everyone has their own recipe..some people include other root veggies too. My recipes is really good, I must say.  Here is my recipe.

Masa (batter)

5 green plantains peeled

3 green bananas peeled

1 med size yautia peeled (taro root)

1 med size potato peeled

1/2 cup of milk

1 envelope of culantro and achiote (coriander and annato)

2 tbsp of oil

salt to taste

Oil for frying

Start by grating the plantains, bananas, yatia, and potato. This process has to be done by hand.  Using a food processor does not give you a good consistency.  Once done grating these veggies add the milk (this makes the masa maintain a nice light color) annatto envelope, oil and salt, mix really good. Set aside

Now lets make the filling for the Alcapurrias

1/2 pound of ground beef

1 cup of water

2 tbsp of sofrito

4 oz of tomato sauce

1 envelope of cubito (chicken bouillon)

1 envelope sazón with annatto (achiote) coloring

salt to taste

In a sauce pan start cooking the ground beef with a cup of water...once it starts boiling take all that grease sitting on top and get rid of it. Then add the sofrito, tomato sauce, cubito, sazon and salt.  Let this cook for at least 15 minutes on med heat.

Now lets make the Alcapurrias

In a deep frying pan on med heat add enough oil to reach half way.  Make sure the oil is hot before dropping in the first Alcapurria.  The Alcapurrias must be covered at least half way in the pan.

In the palm of your hand add a big scoop of the masa (batter), about 3 tablespoons. Make a dent in the middle and add the ground beef.  Using a spoon cover the meat with the masa (batter), and sort of shape them a little bit.  Make sure that you can't see the meat.  Then slowly take a big spoon and place it under the Alcapurria and lift it and drop it in the frying pan slowly so they won't break.   I suggest cooking one and tasting it to make sure is good in salt.   Fry until golden brown. Enjoy!!

TIP: If you find it hard to work with the masa..refrigerate for a least half hour, then try again.  The masa being cold will make it easier to handle.