Empanadillas De Pizza.

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I don't like to be in the kitchen cooking for hours, especially if it's hot. If I had a bigger AC then I wouldn't mind as much. For these days I try to cook something simple. This is when empanadillas/turnovers come in handy. You can use almost anything as a filling. If I'm making them as a snack I tend to fill them with something sweet, like american/cheddar cheese and guava/mango paste or just guava/mango paste. Yesterday I made them of pizza. I don't make them often, but I was in the mood for pizza flavor. Pizza can be expensive, this way I get to have the pizza flavor without having to spend a fortune and this lasts for two to three days or more if you freeze them.

Recipe:
1 pack of discs Rico brand (10 discs) - On sale for 99¢
I used Tropical mozzarella cheese. We use mozzarella cheese a lot, so I bought a 32 oz bag for $7.99
1 jar of Pizza sauce from Ragu - $2.89
1 pack of ready to eat pepperoni from Hormel - It brings 2 pouches, a total of 50 pieces - $2.49
A bit of flour to add to the roller.
Wooden roller to make the disc thin.

With the roller thin out the disc to the size of your liking. Add a tablespoon of sauce to the center of the disc, a handfull of mozzarella cheese, 3 - 4 pieces of pepperoni and fold in half. Press the edges together using a fork to crimp the edges. Use the same paper that came with the pre made discs to put in between the empanadillas to prevent them from sticking together. Fry them in hot canola oil until they are golden. Put on a paper towel to drain excess oil. You can also bake them if you don't like eating fried food.

I had to Google the time for baking because I have never baked my empanadillas. Maybe next time, since it's healthier that way. I checked two sites for the baking time. Click on either link to get more information. Anyway, preheat oven at 350 - 375 degrees F, brush empanadillas with oil and bake for 20 minutes until golden and crispy.

There you have it. Pizza empanadillas, a quick dinner.

image credit: Holistic Health

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The New Supermercado Latino.

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Las Fabulosas: Success

By Letisha Marrero for Las Fabulosas


Pregnancy cravings are no joke. But try being a pregnant Latina foodie. That’s what 27-year-old Venezolana-Italiana Melissa Berthier experienced last year. Since her Mexican-Lebanese esposo, Alfonso, no longer was an executive at Mexicana airlines who could lavish her with dulces from Latin America, what could a food-obsessed couple do to satisfy mami-to-be’s authentic cravings?

It took about nine months, but on the same day their daughter Sabrina was born, another entity was birthed: Mister Gallo, the mascot for LatinBag.com, the new parents’ e-commerce site that would launch a few weeks later in October 2010. The Berthiers had tapped into a nostalgia market for authentic comidas Latinas. So, they now offer to bag the groceries from your homeland for you, with customers as far away as South Korea and Australia.

The Bethesda, Md., couple balances fulfilling orders daily between day jobs: Melissa works for Metro in Washington, D.C., and Alfonso owns a distribution company. LatinBag is a work in progress -- from shipping and tracking, to storage and inventory. Now raising a growing toddler, Melissa concedes, “There is no such thing as spare time.” But her job provides stability and health insurance, as they’d like to have another child. Eventually, however, they’d like to devote themselves full-time to LatinBag and expand their inventory. “I’d love to sell authentic Oaxaca cheese,” says Melissa. “But it’s a matter of storing it properly.” So for now, LatinBag stocks an assortment of dry and canned goods, as well as pan dulce, café, candy, spices and more goodies to satisfy those cravings -- whether you’re pregnant or not.


Letisha Marrero has contributed to Latina, The Source, iVillage.com, ParentsConnect.com and MomsLikeMe.com. She is also a contributing author to Border-line Personalities: A New Generation of Latinas Dishes on Sex, Sass, and Cultural Shifting.




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Feliz Nochebuena - Happy Christmas Eve!

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First, Feliz Nochebuena/Christmas Eve to everyone! I woke up early (8:30 AM, yes that's early for me) to put the pernil in the oven and enjoy some of the morning silence. It was so quiet! Yes, you would think since I live in the city I would love noise but no, I don't. It has to do with getting old and previously living next to a crazy woman for years.

Anyway, as I said 2 days ago I haven't been into celebrating the Holidays these days. I went out the same day and got some very simple/cheap Christmas decorations (see pictures below) for our table to brighten up my apartment and to force myself into feeling festive. Seems to be working a bit so far! Playing some mellow music working my way up to pop, rock and last some salsa and merengue. I wrote a post not too long with some of the music we (my familia) used to listen to for Christmas when I was growing up. Click here to read it. Add the songs to Spotify (Sign on for 30 days trial, cancel it before they charge your card!) and you'll be salseando and merengueando in no time! Weepa!

I've been cleaning up while the pernil cooks. My apartment smells (garlicky) so good right now, is making me hungry. Can't pick at the pernil yet, coño! So I will continue with the craving. Remember I was going to bake a cake, the Gooey Butter cake. I baked one on Thursday to see how it would come out. Well, it looked perfect when I took it out the oven as you can see by the pictures. But as I was taking some pictures, it started sinking on the sides, lol. Then the whole cake fell except for the edges. I left it for 45 minutes like the recipe said but it seems that it needed 5 to 10 minutes more. Still, it tasted DELISH (people weren't kidding!) but it was extra gooey in the center, lol. I'm not going to lie I had more than one piece on the same day and the day after. I'm baking another one later today, this time I'm leaving it a bit longer. 

Bueno, let me get back to what I was doing. I still have to make the arroz con gandules and the potato salad. Maybe fry some yellow plantains too. Bought an avocado, hopefully it will be good inside. I have bad luck with avocados! Same as with men, they are nice outside but when you taken them home they turn out rotten, lol. Sorry it was too good to pass up! This is me loosening up, feeling festive. And I don't even drink! 

Hope everyone is enjoying their Nochebuena/Christmas Eve wherever they are! Cuidense/Be safe. Don't drink and drive...

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Craving.

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Ok, Thanksgiving passed but I'm still craving the food! Just looking at the pictures makes me salivate, lol. Especially the pernil and the rice. We had a nice dinner and nap that day, lol. We didn't even see the movie we rented. The food turned out delish. See the pictures? So delish I was surprised! I didn't think I had put enough seasoning on the pernil but it turned out great. I kept picking at it while it was cooking. By the time it was dinner time I was a bit full. I also baked brownies (from a box) because I had made some the week before and my son wanted more. They were so tasty and chewy. Friday we had the leftovers. So it was like Thanksgiving day all over again. I'm guessing everyone else's food ran out as well. Next, Christmas dinner!

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Happy Thanksgiving! - Feliz Día De Acción De Gracias!

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! How is your day going? Our pernil has been in the oven since this morning. My apartment smell delish with the smell of garlic. It's coming to come out so juicy, rico! After this post I'm making the potato salad then a bit later to make the rice and the plátanos maduros. Unfortunately, they didn't have pasteles at the Dominican Restaurant yesterday so me quedé con las ganas. We still have Christmas and New Year so I will check if those days they have some. That if I can control my craving until then, lol.

The heat is on so I have two windows open with the window fan on to keep the apartment cool. I get cranky when I'm sweating while I'm cooking, lol. I can hear my neighbors playing Spanish Christmas music. I'm not in a festive mood yet but I will get there little by little. My sore throat is keeping me from singing which is something I like doing when I'm feeling festive. Not that I can sing but I do it anyway! 

Later I'm going to Skype with my daughter for a bit. I love that we can do that. Makes it easier her not being here, I miss my baby. She's coming back on Saturday so far, so we will probably be making a trip to airport. The airport is going to be full that's for sure, but we enjoy taking the trip down there.

Bueno, la cocina is calling me for now. I will take pictures of my pernil if I remember. It's hard to remember to take pictures when you are dying to meterle mano a la comida, lol. Hope everyone is enjoying their Thanksgiving. No coman ni beban mucho!/Don't eat or drink too much! LOL Stay safe, mi gente! Cuidensen!

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I'm So Late - Procrastination.

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Thanksgiving is one day away and I don't have anything ready! I didn't go to the supermarket yesterday like I had planned (was feeling crappy) to so I will be going today in a little while. Haven't been in a very festive mood lately but I'm changing that today si Dios quiere/God willing. Was thinking of just going to the movies instead of staying in but I changed my mind. Unless my son tells me he wants to go out, then we'll go.

My daughter is not here so is just my son, our cat and me. I will be cooking the same thing I always cook. Arroz con gandules, pernil, potato salad and maduros. I'm buying cranberry jellied sauce, pumpkin pie and I'm baking brownies from a box of course, lol. I'm hoping the Dominican restaurant around the corner will have pasteles. Haven't had pasteles in years so I have been craving some. One thing I like about cooking a big dinner is that it last for two days so I won't have to cook the next day!

I'm preparing the pernil today to start cooking it tomorrow very early. The brownies I will do tonight. I'm leaving the potato salad for tomorrow morning and the rest I will cook a bit later in the day. I have to buy the pasteles today, I don't want to have to go out tomorrow to buy anything, no way! The good thing is I don't have to cook in a hurry or get dressed up! Yay for me!!

I don't watch TV on Thanksgiving other than a few movies or some shows on my DVR. This year though Lady Gaga is doing a Thanksgiving show - A Very Gaga Thanksgiving. She has been busy these Holidays! I'm either watching it live or recording it to watch it later in the day. It's on ABC from 9:30 - 11PM. You can see the video below. Looks like it's going to be a great show! What do you watch on Thanksgiving?

On Thanksgiving night, NOVEMBER 24 (9:30 p.m -11:00 p.m., ET), the ABC Television Network will air a 90-minute special, A Very Gaga Thanksgiving. The broadcast, which was conceived and directed by Lady Gaga, offers an intimate look inside the private life of the award-winning artist as she performs eight songs in front of a small audience filled with her close friends and family. Performances include a duet of "The Lady is a Tramp" with Tony Bennett as well as her newest single, "Marry the Night," "You and I," "The Edge of Glory" and the holiday classic "White Christmas," among other hits. 

 image credit: mbxclusive

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Belated Spanish Friday - Receta.

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Aquí estoy con mi Spanish Friday y como pueden ver estoy tarde otra vez. Bueno, yo les he dicho que no me gusta cocinar mucho. Sin embargo, últimamente como he estado cocinando todos los días incluyendo los fines de semanas me ha empezado a gustar. ¿La razón? Estamos en un presupuesto por lo tanto no puedo comprar lo quiero sino no lo que mi dinero me permite. Es por eso que he estado experimentando con diferentes recetas y todas me han salido bien buenas. No quiero presumir, pero mis hijos no se han quejado hasta ahora, ha, ha.


El Jueves por la mañana entré a Google+ y ví una receta que Yoli from Cuponeando compartió. La receta, Pollo en Escabeche! Me acordé de lo guineitos en escabeche que mi abuela hace, tan ricos. Como no tenía ni idea de que cocinar y tenía todos los ingredientes (menos aceitunas) decidí tratarla! Me quedó rico y aunque le faltaba las aceitunas para tener un poco de más sabor, se dejó comer (como decimos en Puerto Rico). No le puse aceitunas porque no tenía. Yo lo hice con arroz blanco y plátanos maduros. Gracias a Yoli for esta rica receta. 







Si quieren participar en Spanish Friday sigan el enlace/link o hagan clic en la imagen de Spanish Friday que ven arriba.


Nota: Pueden traducir este post en el sidebar donde dice translate my site.

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I Received My Giveaway!

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Not too long ago I participated in the Kick Off Your Heels Twitter party from Stiletto Media. Fun Twitter party, btw. To my surprise the next day I received a DM (direct message) from @StilettoChat telling me I won one of the giveaways. My giveaway, an Avocados From Mexico gift box! That made my day for sure.

Well, on Wednesday I finally received it! I was like a little girl in a candy store opening that box. Had a huge smile on my face with giggles and all. My son was smiling but at the same time making fun of me, in a good way of course. He was wondering why I was so happy. I told him I hardly ever buy things to use in the kitchen (no microwave replacement yet) so this was a huge treat for me. It made me feel like it was my Birthday or Mother's Day. 

Here is what I received:

• An authentic molcajete - a black stone tool made from volcanic rock that is traditionally used for grinding spices, herbs, salsas and guacamole. Always wanted one of these, yes!
• Avocado pitter and slicer. Definitely a handy tool! No more mess. 
• Avocado saver, for when you want to save the other half for later. Needed this.
• An 8 piece bowl set for guacamole and chips, salad and all that good stuff. It brings an ice tray to put under to keep things fresh.
• A Guac Off recipe book full of delicious recipes. The images inside, oh my!
• An Avocados From Mexico apron, my first apron ever. So thank you!
• And a $1 off coupon for delish Avocados from Mexico.

Thanks to Avocados From Mexico for the fantastic gift box! For delicious recipes, tips and monthly sweepstakes visit their website at avocadosfrommexico.com. 

• Join their Facebook page at facebook.com/avocadosfrommexico. 
• Follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/guacgirl 
• Watch their videos on YouTube at mexicanavocados. 

Thanks to Stilleto Media for the awesome party and giveaways. Need help spreading the word about your product or you are a blogger, visit Stiletto Media. 

• Join their Facebook page at facebook.com/stilettomedia
• Follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/stilettochat

image credit top left: KC in the Kitchen

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Microwave Blues!

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You know you don't realize how much you depend on a microwave until it stops working! Mine stopped working after 12 years! I was oh well, not too upset about it. Then it came dinner time, breakfast time and it hit me. Crap I can't warm up leftovers in 3 minutes or make coffee in 2 minutes anymore! I have to do it the old fashion way! Needless to say I have been using my stove more than usual at all of times of the day. My son loves having warm cookies with milk. Now he has to use the pan, he has burned quite a few, lol.

Until we buy one whenever I serve food I call mis hijos/my children once if they don't move, I call them again. Only this time I remind them that if they don't get the food they will eat it cold because there is no microwave and I'm NOT going to warm it up for them. They get up right away! That's two good things that have come out of not having a microwave. My son is learning how to use the stove and I don't have to yell their names three and four times for them to get their food.

Hopefully by next week we will have one...





image credit: lacomunidad.elpais.com & masqueplatos.blogspot.com



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Sabroso Saturday - Cake Recipe New York Chica Posted.

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I'm sorry I'm very late with my Sabroso Saturday/Tasty Saturday. As some of you know I decided to make the cake New York Chica posted not too long ago. A low fat cake made out of two ingredients only. Click on the link to see the recipe. I made it on Wednesday and there is hardly any left. Here are the pictures. It is riquísimo/delish. So moist I didn't even drink milk with it. Easy to make although mixing it was a bit of a hassle (at least for me) because I don't have a mixer but it was worth it! We are not fans of chocolate cakes here but this one was a hit!  Thank you very much to New York Chica for sharing the recipe. 

If you would like to join Sabroso Saturday from Latina On A Mission click on the chicklet or the link! Happy Sabroso Saturday!

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