Friday, July 6, 2012

Red Beans and Rice


One of my favorite easy meals to make and the hubby loves it too!

Red Beans and Rice 
Ingredients: 
  • 1 cup white rice
  • 2 cups hot water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 pkg (14 oz) smoked sausage
  • 1 can red beans
  • Zatarains Creole Seasoning (I use Tony's)
  • Note: I also add garlic powder and/or minced garlic, feel free to add whatever you want!
Directions: 
  1. Add the rice, water, and salt to a sauce pan/pot with a lid.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, then cover & simmer for 15 mins. (I just make white rice in a rice maker separately)
  2. Meanwhile, thinly slice the sausage and drain the juice from the red beans into the sink. 
  3. Add 2-3 tbsp olive oil to a large skillet and begin heating over medium heat. Add the sausage, give a sprinkling of creole seasoning and stir occasionally for about 7 mins until the sausage starts to get sizzly on both sides.  Note: I also added garlic powder and/or some minced garlic.
  4. Add the red beans and stir until warmed through. About this time, your rice should be done or almost done too. Serve the beans and sausage over the rice. Add extra creole seasoning as desired at the table. Serves 2-3.

Easy Brazilian Cheesy Bread Recipe


If you've ever been to a Fogo de Chao or a similar churrascaria/brazillian steak house then you've probably had these and though omg they are soooo delicious! 

Easy Brazilian Cheesy Bread Recipe
  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
The recipe as presented is fairly basic. Feel free to dress it up a bit with herbs or spices of your choice. (I don't do that, bc I like it the way it is!)
INGREDIENTS
  • 1 egg*
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • Scant 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) tapioca flour
  • 1/2 cup (packed, about 66 grams) grated cheese, your preference, though we got the best results from Mexican farmer's cheese - queso fresco (I usually use parmesean and grate it myself and use some other cheese with it too, like either mozzerella or the mexican shredded mix if you can't find the queso fresco cheese)
  • 1 teaspoon of salt (or more to taste)

Special equipment recommended:
  • One or two mini muffin tins. Mini muffin tins are about half the size of a regular muffin pan. The muffin openings are about 1-inch deep, and 1 3/4 inch wide at the top. (I used a regular muffin pan because it's all I had the first time I made it)

*It helps when baking with eggs to start with eggs at room temperature. If you don't plan ahead (that would be me, usually) you can put the egg in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes to gently take off the chill of the fridge.
METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a mini-muffin tin. Put all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. You may need to use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender so that everything gets blended well. At this point you can store the batter in the refrigerator for up to a week.

2. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until all puffy and just lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for a few minutes. (You don't want to over cook them, so they will be soft, if anything take it out just a tad bit earlier!)
Eat while warm or save to reheat later. - Best served fresh! 
Enough batter for 16 mini muffin sized cheese breads.
*Note that Brazilian cheese bread is very chewy, a lot like Japanese mochi.