Category: Recipes

Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes

Onion Topped Turkey Meatloaf

 

There are many meatloaf recipes, but the secret to a moist meatloaf is using fresh bread crumbs in your mix and not over cooking it which tends to make it dry!

The onion and ketchup topping also gives the meatloaf a sweet taste and keeps it moist.

Since I began making this recipe with ground turkey, I have never used ground beef again but it’s up to you to use which one you prefer.

This recipe is easy and basic but my family can’t get enough of it!

No matter how much I make, I always regret not making more for the next day so I suggest you make 2 of these.

 

Ingredients:

2 pounds of ground turkey or beef

1 large finely diced onion

2 eggs

2 slices wheat bread (I use the ends)

3 tbsp ketchup

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning spice mix

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp minced parsley

 

Topping:

1/2 cup ketchup

 

Instructions:

Dice the onion and divide into 2 parts reserving 1 part for the topping.

Shred the slices of bread with a cheese shredder or chop into fine crumbs.

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl gently until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Form the loaf into your desired shape and place in a baking dish.

Top with ketchup and sprinkle the top with the diced onion.

Cook at 350 for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes before slicing.

 

 

Desserts / Photo Gallery / Recipes

Apple Crumb Coffee Cake

I just can’t get enough of apple desserts during Apple Season.

This Apple Crumb Coffee Cake is a perfect morning treat for your family or for your guests during the Holidays.

You can also make Blueberry Coffee Cake with this same basic recipe.

*Substitute the apple topping with a can of any pie filling such as cherry, apple, blueberry or peach!

Enjoy!

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 cups Bisquick or any other biscuit mix

2 cups flour

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1/2 stick melted margarine

1 cup milk

 

Apple Topping:

4 apples (peeled and cored and chopped into small chunks)

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

1 tsp of butter or margarine

1/2 tsp of flour


Crumb topping:

1 tbsp flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup instant oatmeal (if desired)

1 tbsp melted butter or margarine


Instructions:

Step 1. Apple Topping:

Place all ingredients except the flour into a small saucepan and cook the apples until very well done. Mash with a fork to your desired consistency. Add the flour to absorb liquid and cook on low for about 1 minute. Let cool while the cake bakes.

Step 2. Cake:

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 a medium size deep baking pan approximately 13×9. Pour the batter into the pan.

Step 3. Crumb Topping:

Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl. Blend with a fork until it forms a sandy like texture.

Sprinkle the apple topping evenly spread over the batter. Top with the cake with the crumb topping.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until lightly golden brown and tooth pick comes out clean.

Serve hot or cold. Enjoy!

Wake up and smell the goodness with your morning coffee!

 

Holiday Recipes / Photo Gallery / Portuguese Christmas / Recipes / Traditional customs

Dia de Sao Martinho – Castanhas – Roasted Chestnuts

“É dia de São Martinho;comem-se castanhas, prova-se o vinho”

“It’s Saint Martin’s day; we eat chestnuts and drink the wine”

chestnuts

Dia de Sao Martinho – Saint Martin’s Day is celebrated each year on November 11.

Martinho, was a Roman soldier who encountered a bad storm on a winter day wearing only his cape to to keep him warm.

While riding through the storm, he was approached by a beggar who was shivering with the cold. Upon seeing the beggar, Martinho cut his cloak in half to share it with the beggar. When Martinho did this good deed, the clouds broke up, the storm ended and beams of sun shined in the sky.

That night, Martin had a dream of Jesus, who was wearing the half-cloak he had given away to the beggar. A voice spoke, saying;  “’I tell you with certainty, since you did it for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.”

Martin became a changed man and became a patron of the poor.

From this day on, he began looking at and treating people differently and was later canonized as a saint.

St Martin’s day is celebrated in many countries of Europe, as signifying the end of Fall and beginning of winter.

In Portugal, the first wine of the season is tasted and the harvested chestnuts are eaten around a bonfire.

The weather in Portugal during this time of year is generally mild and summer like, thus called; Verão de São Martinho (St. Martin’s Summer).

As the storm dissipated by the good deed of Sao Martinho, we thank God for the good summer like weather on the saints feast!

 

Chestnuts

The scent of roasting chestnuts during the Holiday’s is an instant heart warming feeling!

The season for chestnuts is October through late December. Look for unwrinkled shells and a glossy brown shell.

Avoid dingy shells with small pin holes. They feel very firm to the touch. Smell them for a scent of mold which means that they are not good!

 

How to roast Chestnuts recipe:

1. Using sharp knife, make an incision about 1/8-inch deep through the top of chestnut.

2. After slitting place the chestnuts on roasting pan and roast them at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.

3. While they are hot peel the shell and remove the skin.
Chestnuts correia farm

 

Chestnuts correia farm

 

 

 

Here is a video of a different recipe with a great demonstration of the process!

 

 

Photo credit:

http://ladies-with-bottle.blogspot.com/2011/11/chestnut-liqueurfor-christmas.html

Desserts / Holiday Recipes / Photo Gallery / Recipes

Puff Pastry Apple Tart

This recipe is deliciously easy! It’s my daughters recipe that she adapted from the Pioneer Woman.

What a scrumptious surprise to find this beauty waiting for me on the kitchen counter last night!

Perfect to serve to your family, yet it can be an elegant after dinner dessert for your guests!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 box of frozen Puff Pastry (Pepperidge farm has 2 sheets)

4 Apples (cored, halved and sliced into very thin slices)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup regular sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Powdered Sugar for dusting

 

Instructions:

Defrost the pastry dough for about 20 minutes. Spray 2 sheet pans, with non stick spray or lightly grease. Heat oven to 415 degrees.

Place apples slices in a medium bowl and add the sugars, salt and cinnamon. Toss well and let them sit to absorb the flavor.

Cut the pastry dough into thirds which will give you 6 tarts.

Place the apple slices in a row overlapping each other onto the pastry dough.

*Note: She used unpeeled apples, but you may peel them if you prefer.

*Do not use the excess liquid from the apples since it may run over the pastry and cause burning.

Bake for 18-20 minutes until the pasty is golden brown.

Remove from pan and set on a platter to cool.

Dust with the powdered sugar and serve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

chicken / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes

Lemon Rosemary Paprika Chicken

lemon rosemary chicken

Lemon Rosemary Chicken is typically not a Portuguese dish, but I add paprika to give it a smoky flavor and a beautiful golden crust!

I like my chicken very well done with a crispy skin so I let the chicken cook for about 2 hours. Serve with sweet potatoes or roasted potatoes.

Roast Potatoes recipe

Portuguese roast potatoes

I recommend you cook 2 chickens so you can have the leftovers all week. Just double the recipe and make my easy Chicken Pot Pie Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 roaster chicken

2 lemons

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon rosemary (finely chopped)

lemon rosemary chicken prep

Instructions:

Butterfly the chicken in half or cook whole if desired. Place in a roasting pan.

Slice the lemons in half and squeeze the juice from 1 lemon over the chicken. Cut remaining lemon into slices.

In a small bowl mix the salt, garlic powder, paprika and rosemary. Rub the seasoning mix over the chicken and add lemon slices.

Bake at 400 degrees for 1 + 1/2 – 2 hours until the chicken skin has become golden and crispy.

Note: You may notice your timer has popped up, but let the chicken continue to to cook longer to obtain a crispy golden color.

Remove the chicken from oven and cut into the thigh joint. If you find the juices clear, the chicken is cooked. If you have a meat thermometer, the temperature should read 180 – 190 degrees.

Let it rest for about 8  minutes before carving! Enjoy!

In this photo, I cooked the sweet potatoes along with chicken and left out the lemon slices. It was outstanding!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes / Side Dish

Arroz de Bacalhau – Salt Cod Fish & Rice Casserole

 

Most of you know the Portuguese saying; “there are 365 recipes for bacalhau, one for each day of the year”!

This recipe is super easy and takes only 30 minutes to prepare! If you’re lucky enough to have a Portuguese market nearby, you can buy the Codfish already hydrated.

It’s perfect for a main dish, or to serve as a side dish with Portuguese Fish Fillets! Enjoy!

 

Serves 4-6  Prep 10 min Cook 20 min

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of Salt Cod (boneless & hydrated)

4 cups of cooked long grain rice (recipe here)

2 tbsp of Olive Oil

1 small onion diced

1/2 cup red & green pepper diced

2 small crushed ripe tomatoes (about 1 cup)

2 cloves of chopped garlic

2 tsp of chopped parsley

Salt & Pepper to taste

Black Olives for garnish

 

Instructions:

Cook the cod fish in boiling water for 10 minutes. Pat dry, shred into chunks and set aside.

In a medium heavy skillet on medium heat, saute the onions, garlic and peppers in the olive oil for about 2 minutes until translucent.

Add the tomatoes and cod fish, and cook for 5 minutes until the tomatoes have concentrated.

Add the cooked rice and stir to incorporate. Cook on low heat for a few minutes until the rice is hot. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Add the parsley and olives as garnish when ready to serve.

 

Photo image credit: http://mdemulher.abril.com.br/culinaria/receitas/arroz-bacalhau-pimentao

Photo Gallery / Recipes / Soups

Sweet Potato & Broccoli Corn Chowder

When I owned a small cafe many years ago, I began making fresh home made soups for the customers. I calculated that during those years, I probably made over 3,000 pots of soup. If I was to add that figure to the soups I made at home through the years, the total amount is probably somewhere around 5,000!

Now that’s a lot of soup!

Today, the soup making continues and the title of; “The Soup Queen” bestowed upon me by my family, is well deserved!

Maybe I should follow the steps of the famous Seinfeld show’s “Soup Man” and open a soup restaurant?

But don’t worry I wouldn’t turn into a “Portuguese Soup Nazi” but maybe I call it; “Portuguese Soup Queen”?


Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato (cut into 1 inch cubes)

4 tbsp of butter

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 large celery stalk (chopped)

1 large onion (chopped)

1 pound of frozen or fresh Broccoli (chopped)

1 pound bag of frozen corn

2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 gallon of low fat milk

3 tbsp of flour

1/4 cup of milk or cream

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of pepper

 

Instructions:

Separate the broccoli into stems and florets. In a large heavy non stick soup pan, saute the onion, celery, broccoli stems and sweet potato in the butter and olive for about 2 minute on medium heat until the onion becomes translucent.

Add the stock, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

Puree the vegetables with a hand held immersion blender until very smooth. *Add a small amount of milk if you find the mixture too thick to puree.

Add the milk, salt, pepper, corn and florets. Stir and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes stirring often so the soup does not stick.

In a small bowl mix the flour with the 1/4 milk or cream and mix until the flour is dissolved.

Add a few tablespoons of the warm soup to the flour to temper.

When the broccoli florets are cooked, add the flour and stir very well.

Cook the soup for an additional 20 minutes on very low heat stirring often.

Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper to your desired taste.

Cool and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days!

*Note: If you prefer a creamier style soup, puree the soup with immersion blender to your desired consistency.

 

Holiday Recipes / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes

Roast Pork Loin with Caramelized Onions and Carrots

This picture tells the story! You’re going to love the savory and sweetness from the Caramelized Onions and carrots. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

(1) 4 to 5 lb Boneless Pork Loin

1 1/2 tbsp Taste Portugal Seasoning 

2 large sliced onions

2 large carrots (cut into pieces)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

Season the pork and let it marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator.

When ready to cook, top with the olive oil and 1/2 onions. Place remaining onions and  carrots around pork. Mix vegetables once in a while as they cook.

Roast the pork for about 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from the oven and marinate with the onions and cooking liquid that has formed. Cook for another 15 minutes. Test for doneness using a thermometer.

When the temperature reaches 155 degrees F, remove the roast from the oven. Allow it to sit for about 20 minutes before carving.

Serve with Portuguese Rice!

Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes / Side Dish

Oven Fried Pork Chops and Stir Fry Cabbage

If you’ve wondered why pork and other meats are so tender at an Asian restaurant, here’s the reason why.

The secret is that they use a technique called velveting to tenderize the meat.

Velveting;  is soaking meat in an egg white and corn starch wash before cooking.

I don’t use the exact technique, in this recipe, but I soak the pork in egg wash for a few minutes to tenderize it.

The pork always comes out tender and juicy. I’ve made this recipe many times and I have never fried a pork chop again!

The stir fry cabbage retains all it’s nutrients and it’s easy to make while your pork is in the oven.

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:

6 Pork chops (3/4″ center cut)

1 egg

1 + 1/2 cups of flavored bread crumbs

1/4 cup of all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp pepper

Cabbage Ingredients:

1/2 of a small head of cabbage (Shredded into 1 inch strips)

1 small onion (sliced)

1 tbsp of olive oil

1/2 tsp of salt

Pepper to taste

 

Instructions:

Season the pork chops with the salt, garlic, pepper and paprika and let them marinate for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator or overnight.

When ready to cook, heat the oven at 350.

In a small bowl, beat the egg with a tbsp of water to make a light egg wash.

Place the bread crumbs and flour in a plastic bag or large bowl and mix well.

Dip each pork chop into the egg wash and let them sit for about 10 minutes.

Place them 2 at a time in the plastic bag with the breadcrumbs and shake well to generously coat.

Grease a medium flat baking sheet with a heavy coat of cooking spray or margarine and place the pork chops on pan.

Cook on the lower oven rack for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on the bottom.

Flip the pork chops over, and cook for another 15-20 minutes.

The pork should be golden brown but not over cooked or it will become dry.

 

Cabbage instructions:

While the pork chops are cooking the oven, place the olive oil and in a large skillet.

Add the onion and the cabbage, and cook on high heat for about 2 minutes stirring once in a while.

Lower the heat to medium and cook for about 5-10 minutes longer, depending on your preference for a well done or crunchy cabbage.