I am partial to old-fashioned Southern-Fried Chicken.  But there is more than one way to fry a chicken.  In Mexico, we have Pollo Dorado.

Pollo Dorado is prepared with cooked chicken, which is then coated with a milk based batter and fried until a golden brown.

In restaurants, Pollo Dorado is traditionally served topped with Chile de Molcajete and with Mexican Rice, Refried Beans and a simple iceberg lettuce salad on the side.  But you could serve this with just about anything.


Pollo Dorado

Ingredients:
  • 1 whole chicken, cut up, cooked and skin removed
  • 2 cups flour, divided
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
  • 1 large egg, slightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup cold milk
  • Vegetable oil

Directions:
If you haven't already done so, cook the chicken in a saucepan with water, a small onion, a clove of garlic and a sprig of cilantro, salt and pepper.  Remove skin and set aside.

Heat enough oil to measure 1-inch, in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  In a medium bowl, mix together 1 cup of the flour, salt, pepper and baking powder.



Add the egg and milk.



In a small bowl, add the remaining 1 cup of flour.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mix well.

 


Coat chicken evenly with the flour mixture, then dip into the batter.  Carefully, place the batter coated chicken in the hot oil.  Fry until golden brown on both sides.



Remove chicken to a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess oil.  Enjoy!!!



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Hubby and I have great memories of going to the L.A. Country Fair when we lived in the States.  We loved walking around trying all of the different foods available.  One of our favorites was the Fried Zucchini.

The batter used for the Pollo Dorado can also be used to make this Fair Favorite.
Fried Zucchini

Ingredients:

  • 4 to 6 zucchini, sliced
  • 1-1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 cup ice water
  • Ranch Dressing

Directions:
Heat 2 cups of vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
Prepare batter in a medium bowl by combining 1 cup of the flour, the salt, baking powder and black pepper.  Stir in the egg and ice water.  In a separate bowl, add the remaining flour and season with salt and pepper.  Coat zucchini slices with the flour, then dip in the batter.

Carefully place the batter coated zucchini slices in the hot oil.  Fry until golden brown on both sides.  Remove fried zucchini to a plate lined with paper towels to remove any excess oil.

 


Serve with plenty of Ranch Dressing.  Enjoy!!!

  

With Love,

Batter-Fried Goodness {Pollo Dorado & Batter Fried Zucchini}

I was really looking forward to doing some Valentine's Day baking last week, but that darned flu bug had other plans.  On Saturday, I was feeling much better, but spent most of my day cleaning house.

On Sunday, which was also Valentine's Day, my kiddies pointed out that I didn't make them any treats this year.  Ouch!

Since I was already baking a birthday cake for Hubby's aunt, I decided to whip up something quick and easy for the kiddies.

But what? 

Cake Mix Cookies!  So easy to prepare and they bake up quickly.   And your kiddies will love helping you make these cookies.

Cake Mix Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 box cake mix, any flavor
  • 1 large egg
  • 2/3 cup butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º F.  Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl.



Mix together until well combined.



Shape dough into 1-inch balls.  Roll balls of dough in powdered sugar.

 


Place balls 2-inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  



Bake for 7 to 8 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden.



Serve with a tall glass of milk.  Enjoy!!!



With Love,

Cake Mix Cookies

Getting my boys to eat their vegetables isn't always easy.  Unless they're on a pizza.

Veggie Pizza is a fun food that the kiddies can help prepare.  My kids love to choosing which vegetables to use.  We usually use zucchini, tomato, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and olives.  But I also like to use broccoli, spinach, basil and cilantro leaves.

You can use refrigerated pizza dough, a baked pizza crust or make you own.  For this pizza I used my long-time favorite pizza dough, but you could also use the Quick Beer Pizza Dough recipe I posted earlier this week.

As for sauce, I used a handmade tomato sauce that I had left over from earlier in the week.  But you can use whatever sauce you like.

If you're trying to get your kids to eat more vegetables, this is a great way to do.  And they'll enjoy it even more if you let them help in making the pizza.


Veggie Pizza

Ingredients:

  • Prepared Pizza Dough or Crust
  • Pizza Sauce
  • Your choice of vegetables (thinly sliced)
  • 2 cups shredded Oaxaca or Mozzarella cheese


Directions:
Preheat oven to 425ºF.  Grease a baking sheet with vegetable spray.  Sprinkle generously with Maseca or cornmeal.

 


Roll out the pizza dough to desired size.  Place dough on baking sheet.
 
 


Spread 1/4 to 1/2 cup of your favorite pizza sauce on top of the pizza dough.



Arrange the veggies on top of the sauce.



Top with cheese.  Bake at 425ºF for 20 minutes or until cheese has melted and the crust has turned a light golden brown.



For even more veggie consumption, serve this pizza with a delicious garden salad.  Enjoy!!!

 


*For even more veggie consumption, serve this pizza with a delicious garden salad.

With Love,

Veggie Pizza

I love pizza!  Delivery is nice and easy, but there's really nothing like a homemade pizza. I make homemade pizza for my family at least 3 or 4 times a month. For years, I've only used my old standby recipe for pizza dough because even though I've tried others none have cause too great of an impression.

While waiting for my oven to be fixed, I looked through the pile of recipes I've found online that I wanted to try but never got around to trying any of them.  Determined to start baking again once my oven was fixed, I compiled a new "to bake" list. On the top of my list was a recipe I found on the King Arthur Flour website for Quick Beer Pizza Dough. Beer + pizza = a match made in heaven. So I just knew that this recipe was going to be good.

The first thing that really stood out to me about this recipe was how easy it was to follow with just a handful of ingredients. But my favorite part, aside from the taste, is that there's no need to heat any liquid to a certain temperature. All that's needed is a room temperature beer.  If you've ever found working with yeast to be a little intimidating, this is the perfect recipe for you to try.

As for the taste, it was better than I had imagined. The beer really enhances the flavor of the yeast, which makes for a much tastier pizza dough. I've already made this recipe 3 times in the past couple of weeks and fall in love with more ever time I try it. The dough tastes even better when made a day in advance. This Quick Beer Pizza Dough is quickly on it's way to becoming my new go-to recipe. And did I mention that this dough also makes really great breadsticks?

Quick Beer Pizza Dough - lacocinadeleslie.com

Quick Beer Pizza Crust (from King Arthur Flour)


Ingredients:
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1-1/2 cups room-temperature beer

Directions:
Combine the flour, yeast, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Pour in the beer and oil; mix well. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a greased bowl; turn greased side up.  Cover dough and let set until double in size. (This could take anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes.) Divide dough in two and turn onto lightly floured surface. Roll out to desired thickness. Place the dough on a lightly greased baking sheet. Top with your favorite toppings. Bake at 425ºF for about 20 minutes or the crust is golden brown and the cheese has melted completely. Enjoy!



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Now that we have our pizza dough, it's time to have some fun.  Deciding what to put on your pizza is the best part.  We all have our favorites, but why not be little adventurous and try something new.  When I make pizza, I love to raid my fridge and pantry to see what creative pizza I can come up with.  It's a great way to use up any leftovers.

This week, I happened to have all the ingredients to make BBQ Chicken Pizza.  The BBQ flavor of the sauce is perfect with the Quick Beer Pizza Dough.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

  • Quick Beer Pizza Crust
  • 1 to 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded into large chunks
  • BBQ Sauce (Use your favorite)
  • Onion Slices
  • Fresh Cilantro
  • 2 cups Oaxaca or Mozzarella Cheese, shredded or sliced

Directions:
Combine the shredded chicken with a couple tablespoons of your favorite bottled bbq sauce; mix well.



Spread 1/3 cup of bbq sauce over slightly baked pizza crust.

 


Top with shredded chicken, onion slices and fresh cilantro leaves.

 

Top with cheese.
Bake in 425ºF oven for 20 minutes or until cheese has melted and started to bubble. Enjoy!!!


With Love,

Pizza & Beer {Quick Beer Pizza Dough & BBQ Chicken Pizza}

For those of you die-hard football fans, such as myself, I've compiled a list of my recipes that are perfect for any Super Bowl party!  (Just click on the titles to see each recipe!)

Every Super Bowl party needs saucy and spicy Valentina Chicken Wings. 














Looking for a hearty sandwich?  Then you'll love Tortas Gema!














Your kids will love these Bolillo Snack Pizzas.














Tacos de Chorizo are delicious and oh-so-easy to prepare.














A Super Bowl party wouldn't be complete without this Pork and Bean Chowder.














Refried Beans are a great dip with your favorite tortilla chips.














Chicken Taquitos are also great for dipping...














...in my delicious Guacamole!














For those of you craving something a little more traditional, try my Mexican Style Hot Dogs!














Or my Best Hamburgers!















All of this food making you thirsty?  Why not try a Michelada?


















Or my Quick and Easy Agua de Limon!


















And finally, you gotta have a something sweet like these Easy Buñuelos!


















Enjoy!!!  

With Love,

Super Bowl Snacks!

I am in love with my Southern Cakes cookbook.  Every cake that I have baked from this book has had a wonderful homemade feel to it.

One cake that I have been wanting to make is the Sweet Potato Pound Cake (page 31).  But all I had on hand was pumpkin puree.  Not a problem, because this cake turned out delicious!

I made this cake last Saturday, in hopes that there would be leftovers for breakfast on Sunday.  But my teenage nephews and one of their friends were visiting, so I didn't even get a chance to take a picture of the finished product.  Everyone loved this cake and will be making it again!

Pumpkin Pound Cake 
(From Southern Cakes)

Ingredients:

  • 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups pumpkin puree


Directions:
Heat the oven to 350 F; grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.



In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt; stir with a fork to mix well.



In a separate bowl or measuring cup, combine the milk and vanilla; set aside.



In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer on high speed.



Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.



Add the pumpkin puree and beat on low speed for one minute.



Add half of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until flour disappears.



Add half of the milk mixture, beating on low speed until well combined.  Repeat with the remaining flour and milk.



Pour batter into prepared tube pan.  Bake at 350 F for 60 to 75 minutes. (Mine took 60 minutes!)  Cool pan on wire rack for 20 minutes.  Remove cake from pan and let cool to room temperature.  Enjoy!!!


With Love,

Pumpkin Poundcake