Red Wine Sangria

Bite-size pieces of apples and oranges in a cinnamon infused sangria made with red wine, whiskey, and orange liqueur.

Because I hope we'll all have plenty of reasons to celebrate throughout the year the first recipe I'm sharing in 2016 is my favorite Red Wine Sangria. This fruity sangria has a little bit of everything like fresh apples and oranges, cinnamon, apple juice, orange juice, a splash of lime juice, red wine (of course!), whiskey, and orange liqueur. It packs quite a punch, especially if you forget to add the club soda. (I may or may not be speaking from experience.) For this particular sangria I used whiskey, but you can also use tequila, rum, brandy or vodka. All of which make for a delicious sangria. This is my go-to cocktail to make for family get-togethers because it's super easy to make and it's a definite crowd pleaser.

05 January 2016

Red Wine Sangria

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Agua de Naranja (Orange Agua Fresca)

Refreshing agua fresca made with freshly squeezed orange and lime juice, and sweetened with honey.

I think of a more delicious way to combat cold and flu season than with this refreshing Agua de Naranja. And it's a great way to take advantage of the abundance of oranges that are in season right now.

19 February 2015

Agua de Naranja (Orange Agua Fresca)

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Orange Margaritas con Limon y Chile {She Made/Ella Hace}

Raise your glasses, my friends!  Today Girlichef and I are celebrating a very special holiday for this month's installment of She Made / Ella Hace...

It's National Margarita Day!

And because great minds think alike, Girlichef and I have both made Orange Margaritas, which was totally unplanned.

The inspiration for my margaritas comes from my favorite mid-morning snack: orange wedges with salt and chilito en polvo (lime-chile powder).

And just like my favorite snack, you get sweet, salty, tangy, and spicy in every sip.  These margaritas were so good, I almost didn't want to share them with my Hubby.  He's lucky he works right next door.

I like my margaritas on the rocks.  If you have a cocktail shaker, by all means use it to make these margaritas.  But if you're like me and don't have a cocktail shaker, you can whip these up in a 2-cup measuring cup or in a blender.  

What's your favorite kind of margarita?

Orange Margaritas con Limón y Chile

Ingredients:

• Lime wedges
• Lime-chile powder (I use Tajin brand) 
• 1-1/2 cups orange juice
• 2 oz. tequila (I used reposado) 
• 2 oz. lime juice
• 2 oz. agave nectar
• Salt (optional) 

Directions:
Fill a small bowl with 2-3 tablespoons of lime-chile powder.  Moisten the rim of two glasses with a lime wedge.  Dip moistened rims in the lime-chile powder; set aside.

In a 2-cup measuring cup, whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, and agave nectar; set aside.  Fill the lime-chile rimmed glasses with ice. Pour 1 oz. of tequila into each glass.  Pour half of the orange juice mixture into each glass; season each glass with a pinch of salt and lime-chile powder.  Stir gently to combine.  Enjoy!!!

*For frozen margaritas: Puree the orange juice, lime juice, agave nectar, and tequila in a blender with 2 to 3 cups of ice.

Now head on over to Girlichef's blog to check out her Orange-Vanilla Margaritas.

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22 February 2013

Orange Margaritas con Limon y Chile {She Made/Ella Hace}

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Agua de Cuaresma

Cuaresma (Lent) is upon us!  That means Meat-Free Fridays will be making a comeback to my Cocina during the next 40+ days.  Some of the recipes I'll be sharing this year for Lent are...Tortitas de Camaron and Capirotada (Traditional Mexican Bread Pudding).   But for this first Friday of Cuaresma, I'm going to share a traditional Agua Fresca recipe that is near and dear not only to my Hubby's heart, but also to the hearts of generations past of this fair pueblito we call home.

15 February 2013

Agua de Cuaresma

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How to Make Candied Citrus Peel

This week, I am going to attempt to make my very first Rosca de Reyes (King's Bread) for El Dia de los Reyes Magos (3 Kings Day) on Friday.   (More on that tomorrow.)

Aside from the dough, there are two important factors in preparing any Rosca de Reyes: the tiny Niño Dios (the Christ child) figurines that are tucked inside AND the candied fruit topping to decorate the Rosca.

I spent the better part of yesterday morning searching high and low for the figurines that I've collected over the years.  (I save them all, because I don't think I could live with myself if I threw away the baby Jesus.)  I only found two, which is fine, but I know I have more hidden away somewhere.

With my search and rescue mission out of the way, I was finally able to get to work on making the candied citrus peels to decorate my Rosca with.  I could have skipped this step and just decorated my Rosca with sugar topping, but I really wanted it to look like the traditional Rosca we eat year after year.  And since candied citrus peels aren't something I can find at the stores here in town,  I had to make my own.  I once saw it done on an episode of Sugar (an awesome Food Network Canada show) and it looked easy enough, so why not?

Now, I know that everything always looks easier on TV and when attempting to make it at home it's always harder to do than you imagined.  But that wasn't the case with this recipe.  It was so incredibly easy!  And inanely delicious!

I used grapefruit, tangerine and lime peel, but any citrus fruit will work.  (I'm thinking lemons!)  The lime and tangerine peels were very thin to begin with, so there wasn't much to bite into.  They tasted really good, but I wanted something with more to chew on.

My favorite was the grapefruit.  I'm head-over-heals in love with these candied grapefruit peels!  The peel is thicker, so there's definitely more to chew on.  I had to force myself to stop eating them because I wouldn't have enough to decorate my Rosca with later.  They were that good.  Even my Hubby and kiddies love them and they never eat the candied citrus peel on the Rosca.

Even if you're not making a Rosca de Reyes, these candied citrus peels are a sweet treat that you really have to try.

Candied Citrus Peel
(recipe from Anna Olson)

Ingredients:

• 1 grapefruit
• 2 mandarin oranges (tangerines)
• 3 limes
• 2 cups water
• 2-1/4 cup sugar.

Directions:
Slice the tops and bottoms of of the fruits.  Score the peel in to 3 or 4 pieces with a knife.  Peel the fruits and slice the peels into thin strips.  (For the grapefruit, I cut the slices about 1/4-inch thick.)

Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  In another saucepan, combine 2 cups of water with 2 cups of the sugar.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Add the peels to the pot of boiling water and let simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until the white part of the citrus peel has turned translucent.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the citrus peels to the pot with the water/sugar syrup.   Let simmer for about 15 minutes.

Drain the citrus peels and lay them on a sheet of parchment paper or a lightly greased baking sheet and let dry for a few hours.  (About 4 hours.)  Roll candied citrus peels in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar.

Store the candied citrus peels in an airtight container until ready to use.  Enjoy!!!

Linking up with Newlywed's Blog Recipe Linky & #CitrusLove Blog-Hop

04 January 2012

How to Make Candied Citrus Peel

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Grilled Chicken Salad {Ensalada de Pollo Asado}

I never thought I'd say this, but I need a break from all of the rich holiday foods and desserts.  At least for a couple of days.  Those of us in Mexico still have one more holiday to celebrate later this week with more delicious treats I can't wait to enjoy.

But for now, what I really need is a salad.  Nothing fancy.  Just a simple salad with lots of fresh veggies, grilled chicken and maybe a little leftover rice.

What I love about salads is that you don't need to measure anything and you don't even have to follow a recipe.  Just add whatever it is you like.  I used basic veggies like carrots, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, because that's what my kiddies love.  But you can add more veggies like sliced red onion and mushrooms.  Same goes for the lettuce. I used iceberg, but only because that's all I could find at the market.  I also like to use Romaine or baby spinach, when available.

What do you like to eat after the holidays?

Grilled Chicken Salad

Marinade:

• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 medium onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin  

Salad:

• 1-1/2 pounds chicken cutlets or thinly sliced chicken breast
• Mexican Rice (optional) 
• Lettuce (Iceberg or Romaine) or Baby Spinach 
• Shredded carrots
• Thinly sliced cucumbers
• Cherry tomatoes
• Croutons
• Shredded cheese (I used Asadero) 

Directions:

Prepare the marinade by combining the orange juice, onion, garlic, chili powder and ground cumin.

Add the chicken cutlets, making sure each piece of chicken is coated with the marinade.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or overnight) before grilling.

While the chicken is marinating, prepare the vegetables.

Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat.  Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper.  Cook until golden brown on both sides.

To serve the salad, spoon 1/4 to 1/3 cup of warm Mexican rice in the center of each plate.

Cover the rice with lettuce (or spinach).  Top with the shredded carrots, sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, croutons, slices of grilled chicken breast and cheese.  Serve with your favorite dressing or just a squeeze of lime juice.  Enjoy!!!

 

03 January 2012

Grilled Chicken Salad {Ensalada de Pollo Asado}

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Orange Julios (Orange Juice & Vanilla Ice Cream Smoothies)

For those of us that live in Mexico, today is just another Monday.  But for my family and friends in the U.S., today is Labor Day and the unofficial end of summer.  Although for me, summer ended the day the kiddies went back to school.  And weather-wise, it hasn't felt much like summer either.  Last week we were treated to gray clouds, thunder, lightning and rain.  But today we were treated to a bright, sunny day that reminded me that it's still summer, even if only for a couple more weeks.

A bright, sunny day like today needs a bright, sunny drink to match.  Orange Julios are that perfect drink.  Orange Julios are my grandmother's version of the ever popular Orange Julius.  She always insisted that it was pronounced JULIOS!  Hubby calls them Naranjadas.   I call them Creamy & Delicious.

Freshly squeezed orange juice.

Vanilla ice cream.  (Freshly churned this morning! Not a must, but definitely a plus.)

A splash of milk.

And a raw egg, to make it extra creamy and frothy.  (But you can leave that out if you want!)

Orange Julios are so good you'll hope summer will hang around just a little longer.

Orange Julios

Ingredients:

• 2 cups orange juice
• 1 cup vanilla ice cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg (optional)

Directions:
Puree all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Pour into a tall glass.  Enjoy!!!

05 September 2011

Orange Julios (Orange Juice & Vanilla Ice Cream Smoothies)

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Pollo a la Naranja 1.0

Today for lunch, I decided to surprise my hard working Hubby with one of his favorite dishes...Pollo a la Naranja.  As my grandpa used to say, this dish esta para chuparse los dedos (finger lickin' good).

The reason I refer to this recipe as 1.0 is because I have two delicious recipes for Pollo a la Naranja: the one I am going to share with you today and an Asian inspired dish that I will share soon.

Pollo a la Naranja is one of those dishes that looks and tastes like you spent a lot of time in the kitchen, but it is so easy to put together.

Today, I used bone-in chicken breasts, but you can also use drumsticks or thighs.

In the picture of the final product, you will notice that I served my Pollo a la Naranja with Arroz Verde.  The recipe isn't here on the blog yet, but I will try to post it ASAP.  

Pollo a la Naranja

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Seasoning salt
• 2 pounds bone-in chicken breast, cut in large chunks
• 2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
• Zest of 2 oranges

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat until butter has completely melted.  Season the the chicken breasts with seasoning salt.  Fry the chicken breasts in the oil/butter mixture until golden brown; turn the chicken over and continue to fry until the other side is also golden brown. 

Pour the freshly squeezed orange juice over the chicken.

Sprinkle the orange zest over the chicken.  Cover the skillet and reduce heat to low.

Simmer the chicken over low heat.  Turn the chicken over after about 20 minutes.  Continue to simmer until the chicken is tender and most of the juice has reduced and caramelized. 

Serve with Arroz Blanco or Arroz Verde and garnish with orange slices.  Enjoy!!!

20 April 2011

Pollo a la Naranja 1.0

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