Photo Gallery – Page 2 – Tia Maria's Blog

January 28, 2021

Beef Stew with Sweet Potato – Carne Guisada com Batata Doce

**This savory stew is my go to recipe when ever my family requests a stew for dinner.**

I always add sweet potatoes to my beef stew since it adds great flavor and the texture thickens the broth. Make a big pot to enjoy the next day. I add mushrooms and peas, but of course this is optional to your taste.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 pounds beef stew meat (cut into 2 inch pieces)

2 large onions (chopped)

2 large stalks celery (chopped)

4 cloves garlic (finely minced)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 beef bouillon cube or 1 cup beef broth

1 and 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup red wine

1/2 cup port wine

1 bay leaf

4 large potatoes (cut into 1 to 2 inch cubes)

2 large sweet potatoes (cut into 2 inch cubes)

1 to 2 pounds mushrooms (optional)

1 cup frozen sweet peas (optional)

parsley for garnish

Preparation:

Marinate meat in salt, garlic, pepper, paprika and red wine for a few hours or overnight in refrigerator in a bowl. When ready to cook take meat out of refrigerator and let sit for 20 minutes at room temperature. Reserve liquid and place meat in clean bowl and add the flour. Shake meat to coat with flour.

Heat the oil in large heavy dutch oven or pan and brown meat on all sides. Add onion, celery, carrots, bay leaf, beef bouillon, water, reserved marinade and port wine. Stir evenly and let cook on medium for about 1 hour. Stir often so the stew does not stick and burn. Add both potatoes and cook for another 30-45 minutes until cooked. Cook mushrooms in a small pan with 1 tablespoon butter for about 5 minutes. (I like to add the mushrooms on top of stew but this is optional you can also add the mushrooms into the stew to cook.) Add peas during the last few minutes.

Top with parsley for garnish. Serve with Portuguese red wine or any good red wine.

Order the glass cutting board seen in the Beef Stew image here.

Serve with Portuguese red wine of course.

chicken / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes

January 13, 2021

Lemon Rosemary Chicken – Galinha Assada com Alecrim e Limão

This classic Lemon Rosemary Chicken is moist, juicy and full of lemony flavor. I always make 2 chickens so we can enjoy the chicken the next day to make sandwiches, quesadillas and chicken salad. I love a crispy skin chicken so I always let the chicken bake at 400 degrees for at least 1 and 1/2 hours.

Ingredients:

2 roasting chickens (butterflied)

1/4 cup Portuguese olive oil

2 tablespoons butter (cut into pieces)

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 to 2 tablespoons dried rosemary flakes

2 lemons (sliced)

Preparation:

Place salt, paprika, garlic powder and pepper in a mortar and pestle and crush.

Marinate chicken with seasonings for at least 30 minutes or overnight in refrigerator. Coat chicken with olive oil and butter. Top with lemon slices and sprinkle on rosemary.

Bake at 400 degrees F. for 1 and 1/2 hours until golden and crispy. Chicken should reach 190 degrees F on a thermometer.

Cook Books / Photo Gallery / Recipes

October 9, 2020

Live Virtual Book Signing: Taste Portugal More Easy Portuguese Recipes

Thank you so much to all of you for supporting my blog and my cookbooks! I’m so proud of all of you for continuing our Portuguese traditions, our heritage and the love of our cuisine. Happy Portuguese cooking everyone!

**Join me live on my Tia Maria’s Facebook Page**

**Click here to order a signed and personalized copy**

Watch my LIVE VIRTUAL BOOK SIGNING

Taste Portugal More Easy Portuguese Recipes

Thank you so much for all of your support and attending my LIVE BOOK SIGNING!

I am truly blessed!

Desserts / Photo Gallery

July 12, 2019

Blueberry Muffins – Bolos de Mirtilo

blue berry muffins

Home made Blueberry Muffins are the best and with blueberry season here they will taste even better. I make a crumb topping for my muffins but his is optional to your taste.

“Mirtilo”, is the name for blueberries in Portuguese, but the fruit is barely known there. In fact, most countries around the world have never ever seen or heard of the fruit.

The biggest producers of blueberries are the US and Chile but, blueberry production has exploded around the world since the benefits of blueberries as antioxidants. was discovered a few years ago.

Here’s the easy recipe for 12 large muffins

Ingredients:

4 cups Bisquick or any other generic buttermilk biscuit mix

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 stick melted butter

1 cup milk

1 package fresh blueberries (1 pint or about 2 cups) (washed and dried)

Crumb topping:

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons cup quick cooking oats (if desired)

2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine

Instructions for batter:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and eggs for 1 minute until foamy. Add the remaining ingredients except toppings and mix on low for about 1 minute. The batter will be slightly lumpy.

Grease muffin tins very generously with

Rinse and dry berries. Coat them with a dusting of the biscuit mix or flour and gently fold into the batter. Pour evenly into the tins.

Cook for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Instructions for crumb topping:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and mix with your fingers until you get a crumbly mix. If it’s too wet, add more flour and sugar. If too dry add more melted butter.

chicken / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes

June 12, 2019

Copy Cat Shake and Bake

shake and bake chicken

After experimenting with my own Copy Cat – Shake and Bake recipes, I finally came up a winner using some spicy Piri Piri sauce to give it a Portuguese kick! It’s very simple to make using most items you probably already have in your pantry.

I’ve made this recipe many times and it’s one of those recipes that you’ll keep going making again and again. It’s a perfect pot lock take along dish for your next picnic, since the chicken tastes great cold too! I made a batch of the coating which was enough for about 18 pieces of chicken. It left me with a left over so I placed it in a jar for the next time and stored it in the refrigerator.

I served the chicken with my Beet, Mandarin Orange, and Apple Salad. It’s a perfect summer dish!

Beet, Mandarin Orange, and Apple Salad

4 cups garden salad mix

1/2 cup pickled beets (sliced)

1/2 cup mandarin orange segments

1 small apple (chopped)

1/4 small red onion (sliced thin)

Balsamic dressing

shake and bake chicken 3

Ingredients:

12 – 18 pieces of chicken legs or thighs

Baking Mix ingredients:

2 and 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon coriander

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning mix

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon piri piri hot sauce (or use any hot sauce)

1/4 cup white wine

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place chicken in a large bowl. Season with a little salt and splash with the wine. Mix and let sit to room temperature to marinade.

Mix the oil with the piri piri in a small bowl. Place all coating mix all dry ingredients in a plastic zip lock bag. Add the oil. Shake bag thoroughly and mix with you fingers outside the bag incorporating the mix until crumbly.

Spray a large sheet pan or 2 with cooking spray.

When chicken is ready, place 2 pieces at a time into the bag with mix and shake to coat chicken. Shake of excess coating and arrange on pans. Spray chicken with cooking spray. This will create a crispy crust.

Cook at 400 degrees for 45 – 50 minutes. Not need to turn chicken. it will come out crispy and golden brown.

Note that every oven cook temperature various. You may need to cook longer.

You can use the coating mix on boneless chicken or pork but the cooking time will be 20-25 minutes.

shake and bake chicken 2

Appetizers / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Sauces and Jams / Side Dish

April 30, 2019

Portuguese Shrimp Mozambique | Camarão a Moçambique

Shrimp Mozambique

This shrimp dish is a party in a pan!

All you need is some good Vinho Verde, fresh crusty bread for dipping into to sauce, and friends to share it with!

Although the reicpe is called a Mozambique, it’s a favorite Portuguese dish served in many Portuguese restaurants. It’s given the name because of the spiciness from the piri piri hot sauce which contains the red hot peppers originating in Africa. Piri Piri means “pepper” in Swahili.

“Piri piri is a cultivar of Capsicum frutescens, a chili pepper that grows both wild and as a crop. It is a small member of the genus Capsicum. The cultivar was developed from the malagueta pepper in southeastern Africa and was spread by the Portuguese to their Indian territories of Gujarat and Goa.” Wikipedia

My favorite wine to serve with this dish is the classic Vinho Verde, but you can substitute with a good dry wine!

Let’s eat! Take one shrimp by tail, and suck the sauce from it. Then peel and eat. Dip crusty bread into the sauce and enjoy it’s savory flavor.

Note: I recommend leaving the shells on because it creates a more intense flavor. The recipe can be made with shell off shrimp and then served with rice or pasta for a main dish.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of medium size shrimp (with shells on)

1 small onion ( finely minced)

4 cloves of garlic (minced finely )

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 to 1 tablespoon paprika

1 cup of white wine or Vinho Verde

1 chicken bouillon cube

1/2 to 1 tablespoon of Piri Piri or your favorite hot sauce if you don’t have it available

1 tablespoon parsley (finely minced for garnish)

Preparation

In a medium skillet, add the olive oil, heat to medium and add the onion. Cook onion for about 2 minutes until it becomes translucent.
Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and let cook for 1 minute. Add the butter, bouillon and paprika. Stir well and cook for 1 minute.

Add the wine, stir and let come to a boil on medium heat. Add salt. Simmer for a few minutes longer until the shrimp turns pink. Add the piri piri hot sauce.

Cook for a few minutes for the wine to evaporate. Add more piri piri if desired. Garnish with parsley. Serve with crusty bread.

Photo Gallery / Recipes / shrimp

April 2, 2019

Shrimp and Pork Picadinho

The combination of pork and shrimp in a savory yet slightly spicy sauce can be served as an appetizer with crusty Portuguese rolls, or as a main dish with rice or potatoes. It’s a variation on the classic Carne de Porco à Alentejana with a milder flavor. This is one of those dishes can be adapted to your taste so go ahead and experiment. Those of you that love both pork and shrimp will fall in love with this dish. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 pounds pork loin (more or less) (cut into 1-2 inch cubes)

1 pound or more peeled medium shrimp

1 small onion chopped

4 cloves chopped garlic

1 tablespoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup white wine or Vinho Verde

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons Piri Piri or Tabasco hot sauce

1 cup chicken broth or (1 cup water and 1 cube bouillon )

1 teaspoon corn starch

chopped parsley

1 large lemon

Preparation:

In a large bowl, season pork with; salt, garlic, paprika, piri piri and wine. Mix well and let marinate for at least 30 minutes or leave overnight.

Preheat large skillet or wok on high heat with 1/4 cup olive oil and add onions.

Cook for about 2 minutes then add pork. Let meat brown on all sides and cook for about 5 – 8 minutes. Add the chicken broth and shrimp and cook for another 5 – 8 minutes until meat is cooked. Mix corn starch with a little water and add to the pork. Mix well and let cook until sauce is thickened. Taste and add more hot sauce to your desired spiciness. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice of one half over pork. Slice the other half as garnish. Top with parsley and serve. *Note that the pork cooks quickly but depending on your heat setting it may need longer to cook.

*You can make this dish ahead of time and serve later. Let cool and store in refrigerator.

chicken / Chouico / Photo Gallery / Recipes / rice / sausages

March 21, 2019

Chicken and Chouriço Sausage Paella

chicken paella

This easy recipe takes only 45 minutes to prepare. you probably have the ingredients in your pantry right now, so go ahead and try it. I used a combination of Portuguese Chouriço Sausage and Italian sausage in this photo, but you can use any or both sausages if you prefer.

Ingredients:

8 boneless and skinless chicken thighs

1/2 to 1 pound Chouriço (slicked) or cooked Italian sausage (sliced) or mix both

2 cups uncooked long grain rice

4 cups chicken broth – or 4 cups water and 2 Knor chicken bouillon cubes

1 small onion (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

1/2 red bell pepper (chopped)

8 oz frozen petite peas

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup white wine

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Parsley for garnish

Preparation:

Season the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika and let marinade for 1 hour or longer. *You can don’t have to marinade it if you don’t have the time.

In a large skillet, saute the onion, bell pepper and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes. Add the bay leaf, and seasoned chicken and brown on both sides. Add the sausages and stir together with the chicken. Cook for a few minutes.

Add 1 cup of broth, sausages and the wine, cover and let cook for about 15 minutes stirring once in a while. Add the remaining broth, let come to a boil and add the rice. Let come to a boil and cover. Lower heat to medium and let cook for about 15 minutes stirring once in a while. Add the peas, stir and let cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir, taste for seasonings. Let sit until ready to serve. *If you like a more well done rice, let cook longer.

Desserts / Photo Gallery

March 4, 2019

Oatmeal Granola Cookies

oatmeal cookies 1

These cookies are a perfect snack because they’re packed with healthy granola, nuts and berries. I love the crispy edges and soft chewy interior. It’s a healthy cookie you can give your family since they’re packed with protein. Make a double batch because they won’t last I promise. Enjoy!

oatmeal cookies

Ingredients:

1 (10 oz package approximate) of cranberry nut granola

2 cups flour

2 sticks butter (softened)

2 eggs

1 cup regular sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.. Lightly grease 2 large cookie trays.

Mix flour, cinnamon and baking soda in a bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, mix sugars and butter until smooth. Add 1 egg at a time and mix. Add flour cinnamon and baking soda.

Add granola and mix thoroughly.

*Cool for 1 hour in refrigerator before cooking.

Scoop out batter with an ice cream scooper or a large spoon and shape into balls. Place evenly onto the sheet pan leaving at least 2 inches between each. Flatten slightly with a fork or palm of hand.

Cook for 10 minutes. Adjust heat accordingly to your own oven. They should be golden underneath. They will be very soft, so don’t remove from pan for a few minutes. Use a thin spatula to gently remove the cookies. Let them cool. They will be become crispy and chewy.

Here’s the granola I used, but you can use any flavor or brand you prefer.

oatmeal cookies 3 (2)

fish / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes / rice

February 13, 2019

Pescada Frita – Portuguese Fried Fish

Pescada Frita is fried “whiting or hake”

I make this fish on Friday’s during lent. It’s a tradition that I carry on from my mother. Every time I make this recipe, it brings me back sweet memories of her cooking it during lent, and inviting my brother’s and sisters over to eat lunch with her. This popular recipe is relatively easy to prepare. You’ll enjoy the fresh sea flavor of the fish because it’s lightly fried and only seasoned with sea salt and a squeeze of lemon. I serve it with my Portuguese tomato rice.

Ingredients:

2 pounds whole fresh, cleaned whiting (sliced into 1/2 inch pieces)

*you can also use frozen fish filet portions but defrost completely*

sea salt

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs (beaten)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/8 cup olive oil

1 lemon cut in half

parsley for garnish

Preparation:

Season the fish with salt and let sit for about 5-10 minutes then drizzle with a squeeze of lemon juice. *If you use frozen fish, let defrost completely and pat dry with paper towels to absurb any moisture. Dredge fish portions in flour, then beaten eggs and finally into flour again. Shake off any excess flour. Put aside until ready to fry.

Combine both oils in a large skillet and heat to medium. Be sure the oil is hot enough, or you may find the fish will absorb the grease. Gently place each piece of fish into oil and cook on both sides for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown.

If you find the fish is browning to quickly, lower heat. Test one piece for doneness by flaking a small portion with a fork. The fish should be flaky white.