MY FAVORITE DISHES WITH LEFTOVER ROTISSERIE CHICKEN? #3

CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICH

INGREDIENTS: (amounts will vary depending on how much chicken you have)

Leftover Chicken shredded or cut into small pieces

1/4 cup of pineapple juice

1 tomato or 10 cherry tomatoes

1/2 Celery stalk cut into large pieces (1 if using the heart only)

1/2 Celery stalk diced

1 large carrot broken or cur into large pieces

1 large carrot diced

Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 tbsp chopped walnuts or pecans

1/4 cup raisins

Slices of toasted whole wheat bread

In a blender put the pineapple juice, tomatoes, large pieces of celery and carrot. Save the diced carrot and celery for later. Blend until texture is even. Add chicken little by little making sure you have some left. (You should obtain a paste). Add parmesan to thicken the paste as needed. Pour you patè into a large mixing bowl and add the remaining chicken, diced veggies, walnuts and raisins. Taste, add salt if needed. To give it a twist you can add cumin or curry or nutmeg. (they all go very well with this recipe but don't add all together!) Serve with the toasted bread and fresh fruit on the side or make lettuce wraps! I like to add arugula to the sandwich...Yummy!

To see other leftover rotisserie chicken go here.

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TRADITIONAL BRAZILIAN PARTY CANDY, YUM!

These are trademarks at kids birthday parties in Brazil: "brigadeiro" and "beijinho de côco" or chocolate candy balls and coconut kisses. All my friends know  they are part of my parties! They are pretty easy to make, it just takes time to roll them, but the effect is worth the work. Besides they are amazingly delicious! Say goodbye to your diet!

Chocolate Balls (brigadeiro):

• 1 can of Nestlè condensed milk
• 4 tbsp unsweetened chocolate powder
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter + butter to roll the balls
• chocolate sprinkles to coat

Coconut Kisses (beijinho de côco):

• 1 can of Nestlè condensed milk
• 100g coconut powder + some to coat the balls
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter + some to roll the balls
• cloves 

(Do not buy sweetened American coconut. You will need to use pure coconut, dry and powdered. If you have a Brazilian store nearby or a grocery store which offers Brazilian products on their Internationl isle you will can find it. Or you can find it at the Indian section at your supermarket too. In Texas we have Fiesta where I find mine at great part with Indian products.)

The preparation is the same for both:
In a sauce pan add the condensed milk and chocolate or coconut. Mix well BEFORE, then heat the pan at medium flame. When warm add the butter. Keep mixing until it starts to thicken. It will get more watery before it thickens. Don't stoop mixing and don't try to use high heat to speed up! It will burn the mixture! When it starts coming of the bottom of the pan, it's ready! Turn off the stove and place it on a buttered shallow pan (glass or metal) until it cools. Once it is completely cool, it is ready to be rolled.
This process is simple and easy, but it can get messy. It is WAY easier if you have two people. One to roll the balls and another to coat them. First open the paper or aluminum cups you will use to serve. (I am lucky enough to have someone bring to me the tiny cups above, I never found them here). Use the smallest cups you find. Place a thick layer of the coat (chocolate sprinkles or coconut powder) on a plate. Spread butter into hands and fingers and roll the balls into your palms in circular motion. Then coat with the coconut or sprinkles. If you don't  have a helper, make a few then coat them, wash your hand and start again. A helper will save you the constant hand washing! You can use color sprinkles too, like I did above. For the coconut kiss, decorate with a clove in the middle, but remove it to eat.

(The size of the balls and quantity of them will depend on the size of cups you find, thus the size of balls you are making. For mini cupcakes paper cups, you will get about 30 chocolate or 4o coconut balls for each recipe.) If baking for a bigger party, you can double or triple the recipe with no change on the results.

TIPS: If you do not like chocolate or coconut (some people ARE crazy!) you can do a white ball just with the condensed milk. If you LOVE both, try coating the chocolate balls on coconut! Yum! For a themed party use colored sugar to match the theme!
These recipes can be made up to 10 days to 2 weeks in advance. Freeze the rolled balls into a container and place them on the cups the day before the party. If baking up to a week before, just keep it refrigerated.

Bom Apetite!

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JUMBO CUPCAKE, a show of rainbow colors!

For my daughter's rainbow birthday party I made small cupcakes for the kids and a jumbo rainbow cupcake to sing the happy birthday and served that to the adults. The cake was beautiful to decorate the table of treats but specially colorful when cut open! It is said that people eat with their eyes... I don't know, but for the first time we had no leftover  from the kids' birthday cake!

 

I used a white cake mix (because I had made from scratch a lot of other treats) but you can use any white cake recipe. Do not use whole wheat flower or yellow cake mix, because the colors are never going to be right. Divide the cake dough in six equal parts and color using food or frosting coloring to make purple (blue +red), blue, green (blue + yellow), yellow, orange (yellow + red) and red. Layer on a jumbo cake pan (I bought it at Walmart) starting from purple and going up to red. Follow the usual instructions of your recipe for baking. You will do the same with the frosting to top after cooked. Take a look at my post on the small cupcakes with rainbow frosting. (I colored extra frosting when baking those to cover this cake). Start applying the frosting from the top (inside) and move outwards. I am not a super baker, so I didn't achieve the perfection I would like but to be honest it didn't matter!  The colors do the trick for an attractive cake anyway! I recommend placing cake on a white cake stand or decorating with white marshmallows around the cake if you do not have a white stand or serving plate. (the contrast is better and if using the marshmallows they will look like clouds!). This same technique can be used for smaller cupcakes. Enjoy!

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PARTY CUPCAKES WITH RAINBOW FROSTING

Since I had so much to do for my girl's party, I decided to use a ready cake mix for these cupcakes served to the kids. I used Funfetti from Pillsbury but any cake will do since the colorful detail is the frosting anyway. Simply separate any frosting you decide to use in six equal parts (bellow) and color them, if using store bought, the 50% less sugar is best. TIP: making the cupcakes was easy, the presentation was awesome and it cost me a fraction of ordering a cake! For the adults I made a Jumbo Cupcake with colored dough!

TIP: Look for frosting color at a craft supply store as they usually have a bigger variety of color. Or simply use food coloring as such: purple (blue and red), green (yellow and blue), and orange (red and yellow). Top with colored sprinkles and arrange on a neutral color platter or tray! Voilà! It looks like the kids liked them...

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MY FAVORITE DISHES WITH LEFTOVER ROTISSERIE CHICKEN? #2

BRAZILIAN CHICKEN SOUP (Canja de Galinha)

This traditional Brazilian soup is used as a remedy for cold or as a comfort dinner in a cold night.

INGREDIENTS: (amounts will vary depending on how much chicken you have)

Leftover Chicken shredded or cut into small pieces

4 cups Chicken Broth (homemade or organic store bought)

1 lg or 2 sm carrots cut into 1/2''cubes

1/2 cup of white or sweet potato cut into 1/2''cubes

2 chopped roma tomatoes

Some Rice - brown or white(cooked, leftover is great too!)

Chopped italian persley or scallion

In a large saucepan bring chicken broth to a boil over medium flame. Add the carrot and sweet potato and cook for 5 minutes. Then add tomatoes, rice and chicken and cook for 5  more minutes. Turn off heat and sprinkle with herb of choice and a little parmesan cheese! Bom apetite!

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MY FAVORITE DISHES WITH LEFTOVER ROTISSERIE CHICKEN? #1

You buy that delicious rotisserie chicken everyone loves, only the day you buy it! What do you do? I will give you many easy and fast options, but one at a time.  Since the chicken is already flavorful and cooked you will have dinner ready in no time!
Today the recipe is STROGONOFF. This is a traditional Brazilian dish of Russian origin.  Don't ask me how a Russian dish ended up on Brazilian tables! In Russia and here in the US the creamy color and consistence are achieved with sour cream. In Brazil we use Media Cream.  In my house this is the #1 favorite dish and I cook it every week!

INGREDIENTS: (amounts will vary depending on how much chicken you have)
Some Tomato Sauce (seasoned)
2-3 tbsp Ketchup
Sliced Mushroom (from jar)
a sprinkle or two Paprika
1 can Media Cream

First remove all leftover meet from bone. Discard any fat and skin. In a large skillet add chicken and enough tomato sauce just to coat the chicken. Cook over medium heat, mixing, until the sauce starts to dry. Add about 2 or 3 tbsp of ketchup, mushroom and sprinkle a little paprika. Turn off heat and stir in the Media Cream. Serve over rice with potato sticks on the side.

Vegetable suggestion to pair the dish? Arugula Salad or Garlic Asparagus. Enjoy!

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DO NOT SHAVE! LEARN TO WAX YOURSELF

According to the groundhog we have only 3 more weeks of winter! And the new trend will be mini skirts! Are your legs ready for summer?

There are many reasons you should switch from shaving. Waxing leaves your skin smoother because it removes the hair from the root, so it also lasts A LOT longer. You can do it at any time, while your baby is napping or after the kids went to bed. Doing it yourself it costs virtually nothing. As with anything else it will get easier as you practice. With my sugar wax recipe, cleaning could not be easier, and the sugar healing properties will leave your skin even smoother!

For the removal of the wax, you can choose to reuse and recycle by using an old cotton T-shirt cut strips, or you can cut unbleached muslin. Or you can buy pre cut paper fabric strips or rolls at your local beauty supply store (I do!). For most of your waxing you will need 3" x 8" strips. I like to cut a few of those into small 1 to 1,5'x3" small strips I use for my Brazilian wax or lips. For beginners I would recommend you start doing only your legs, as you get better and faster at it, you can do your underarms and lastly your bikini area. Please note, my Brazilian Wax recipe is not recommended for eyebrows, you can use for your lips, but make sure you hold your skin taut. 

If using my sugar wax recipe you can heat up the wax in the microwave or on a double boiler. Time will vary according to amount of wax and microwave potency. After wax melts let it sit for 3 minutes and test the temperature on your wrist first. You may have to heat up the wax again if you are waxing a large area. If you are using a store bought wax, follow the manufacture's directions.

The waxing technique is simple: 

You  need: wax, strips and after waxing cream.

1. After cleansing skin, dry and apply powder on the area you are going to wax. If you sweat, dry and reapply powder. This will minimize skin irritation and helps  with wax application.
2. Using a disposable Popsicle or craft stick apply a thin layer of wax on the direction of hair growth (from root to ends).
3. Cover with cotton or paper strip, leaving about an inch where you can grab it and apply a little pressure.
4. Hold the skin taut with you weakest hand, right bellow where you grab the strip and grad the strip with the other (the right for right-handed).
5. Wait a few seconds and pull as fast as you can against  hair growth and maintaining your hand as close to your skin as possible. (Not pulling up, but parallel to the skin). Tip for a painless pull? The trick is to pull as you exhale, because when you breath out your pores open! So breath in, and exhale/ pull!
6. Applying pressure immediately on the spot where you just removed the hair will also ease any discomfort. This tricks our brain into sending a message of pain!
7. The strips can be used a few times. Throw them away if using paper strips. If using fabric you can soak them in warm water for 30 minutes, drain and wash.
8. When using sugar wax, to remove any excess wax from your skin and work area all you need is water! If you are using store bought follow direction. Most are hard to remove and are fat soluble, thus you will need oil to remove wax and you cannot reuse strips.
9. Always apply a soothing after wax cream, bought at your local beauty store. They have antiseptic and soothing properties. Alternatively you can use drops of Tea Tree Oil on an Almond Oil base.

For extra beautiful legs and to avoid ingrown hair exfoliate at least twice a week with sugar scrub between treatments (after waxing wait 24 hrs to exfoliate).

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MAKE YOUR OWN SUGAR WAX - BRAZILIAN SUGARING

The trick in making Brazilian Wax is getting the texture of the wax just right. But don't worry I will help you achieve a perfect wax! The advantages are many: affordable and easy to make,  easy to apply and remove, doesn't need any chemical to remove residues (just water!) and since it is 100% natural it is gentle even on the most sensitive skin!

INGREDIENTS:   

3 cups sugar
1 cup honey (organic is better) 
2 limes (or lemon) 
1 tbsp water (or more) 
microwave safe glass jar (to store)

You may choose to make a "half recipe" the first  couple times, until you master the wax consistence.

Combine sugar, honey and juice from 1 lime in a heavy saucepan. Mix well with a wooden spoon, then heat in medium flame. Keep stirring the mixture until all the sugar has melted and you have a thick brown liquid.  Squeeze the other lime and add the water to thin out the wax, stirring again. Remove from heat. If your lime wasn't juicy you may need more water. 

To test the consistence, take a tiny bit out on a spoon and run cold water over it. When it cools enough to touch, it should be stretchy. You can test it on the inside of your wrist. Do this about every one or two minutes while the wax is simmering until it stretches out on your arm and pulls off easily. If it is brittle it was overcooked, if it sticks and won’t come off it’s not done yet. 

Let it cool for five minutes before pouring in the glass jar. Make sure you do not place the jar directly on a cold surface like granite, as the temperature shock will break the glass.

Here you can learn the waxing technique.

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HOMEMADE SUGAR SCRUB FOR DRY HANDS!

Am I the only one with iguana skin this winter? If housework, weather, hard water or all of the above have made your hands rough and dry here is the best remedy! So easy and affordable!

I cannot give you quantities because I have been doing this scrub for many years and I go by texture, not amounts. Pour some olive oil in a clean and dry glass jar, add about a quarter that amount of honey and a quarter of lime or lemon juice. Thicken the mixture with brown or white sugar. You can add a few drops of you favorite essential oil but that's not necessary. Scrub your hands very gently letting the sugar grains and citric acid do the exfoliation, pressing too much will do more harm then good. Scrub until sugar dissolves. Rinse with cold water. Remember the hot water is one of the causes of dry skin! Close the container and leave by your kitchen sink.

There are many ways you can use sugar besides to sweeten! But do not substitute  salt  for sugar though. Salt is drying to the skin, sugar is  very healing. Use the best ingredients. Organic is always better and olive oil should be cold pressed extra virgin! I love to use this scrub for my feet and knees too!

In a hurry? OK! squeeze half a lemon or lime straight onto the palms of your hands, pour a couple tbsp of sugar and a tbsp of olive oil. Scrub, scrub, rinse! Soft hands at last!
Make sure you rinse very well before sun exposure. Lime/lemon and sun do not go well together!

You tried and loved it? Try to make a big jar and keep it in your shower for a whole body scrub! Great to avoid ingrown hair after shaving or waxing.

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HAPPY VALENTINES! BAKING WITH THE KIDS

Kids LOVE baking! This Valentine's Day take time to let your kids mess up the kitchen and learn the pleasure in giving. There are many easy treats and cards you can make together. They will feel proud of giving out goodies THEY made! But please, let THEM pick their own Valentines. If you really feel they left someone behind you think they shouldn't , just tell them that now it's YOUR turn and include that person or family on the delivery list.

Just add 3-4 drops of red food coloring to any white cake baking mix and you have pink cake. For the topping we used 50% less sugar vanilla icing with 2 drops of red color and my 2 year old spread the red sprinkles on top! We hope the Parkers and Gurfinkels like it!

Nothing was easier than baking these ready to bake Valentine cookies. To add charm we used a pink cake stencil as base, on top a silver charger. Alternatively, you can cut red or pink construction paper to use as background!

You can't figure out if the chocolate makes the strawberries tastier or if the the strawberries make the chocolate richer! This is such a fast and easy recipe! Wash and drain 1lb medium to large organic strawberries leaving the green stem and leaves. Microwave a 4oz semi-sweet chocolate bar or any chocolate you like broken into pieces for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat in increments of 15 seconds until soft. Dip strawberry in chocolate holding by the stem and decorate with your favorite  sprinkle. If you like a thicker chocolate coat, let the chocolate harden and repeat the dipping process before applying decoration. Refrigerate for 1 hour or freeze for 10 minutes. Yields about 20 deliciuos chocolate covered strawberries!

Use heart shaped cookie cutters to cut pancakes, bread, cheese, turkey... or as a stencil to create Valentine Cards. Make heart shaped breadsticks using crescent roll dough and Parmesan cheese! It is so simple. Be smart! Be creative! Be sweet! Be lovely! 

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KIDS' FAVORITE CAULIFLOWER CASSEROLE!

Cauliflower is a highly nutritious vegetable, member of the cruciferous family, and it contains many nutrients that can help prevent a range of diseases from cancer to cataracts. This is a very simple, yet tasty dish!

INGREDIENTS:
1 med head of cauliflower
16 oz Monterrey Jack cheese, cubed
16 oz turkey breast or cooked ham, cubed
1 cup Alfredo Sauce (store bought or home made)
1 can Nestlè Table Cream
1 tbsp milk or lemon juice
Parmesan Cheese

There are 2 ways of making this dish. You can choose between keeping the head intact or cutting the florets of the cauliflower. If using the head, boil it in water. If cutting into florets you can steam them. Either way add 1 tbsp of milk or lemon juice to boiling water to retain its white color. Cooking time and water amount will vary depending o method chosen and size of cauliflower. Cook for a short time to maintain crisp texture and nutrients. Be careful to not overcook! The cauliflower will break apart if you do. Set the head or florets on a colander to drain excess water.

In a bowl, mix the alfredo sauce and table cream. Add parmesan cheese to taste.

Place the drained cauliflower in a baking dish. Stuff the head with the cheese and meat cubes or simply sprinkle them on top if doing the florets version. Cover completely with the mixed cream and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 10 minutes in 350ºF pre-heated oven. Broil briefly to brown. Serve over brown or white rice. Buon Apetit!

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