Puerto Rican Rice

I tried my best to make an authentic Puerto Rican meal for a friend of mine.   This was the side dish, which looks very plain but is actually really good either by itself or mixed with the juices from the Pollo Fricassee.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups uncooked calrose rice, rinsed

Directions

1. Bring vegetable oil, water, and salt to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Add rice, and cook until the water has just about cooked out; stir. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Stir again, and serve. Rice may be a little sticky and may stick to bottom of pot.

Baklava

My family and I had a Greek night at my mom's house a few months ago here is the dessert we had for the night:

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough (found in the freezer section at your local grocer)
• 1 pound chopped nuts
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
2. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. 
3. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
4. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
5. Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
6. Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Fruit Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 package of sugar cookie dough
• desired fruit toppings (above- bananas, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, kiwi, raspberries)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to sugar cookie package instructions.
2. Smooth out package of sugar cookie dough on a round pizza sheet or rectangular baking sheet
   
3. Bake in preheated oven as directed on package. Cool.
4. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla until light. Spread on cooled crust.
5. Arrange desired fruit on top of filling, and chill.

Creamy Dill Cucumber Toasties

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (.7 ounce) package dry zesty Italian-style salad dressing mix
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 French baguette, cut into 1/2 inch thick circles (or whatever bread you'd like)
  
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 2 teaspoons dried dill weed

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, dill, dressing mix, diced cucumber and mayonnaise.
2. Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture on a slice of bread. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

The picture above leaves the cucumber and dill out of the 'mix' you can choose to add a slice of cucumber and sprinkle dill on top once you've spread the mix on the bread if you'd prefer.

Amazing Fruit Salad

I've made this recipe several times now and it's always a favorite.
Ingredients

• 2 kiwis, peeled and diced
• 2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced
• 8 ounces raspberries
• 1 pound strawberries
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor

• 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• butter flavored cooking spray or butter
  
• cinnamon
  
• sugar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon & sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.
4. Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

Red Skin Potato Salad

Ingredients

• 2 pounds clean, scrubbed new red potatoes
• 6 hard boiled eggs
• 1 pound bacon
• 1 bunch of green onions
  
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup mayonnaise
  
• 1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
  
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and set in the refrigerator to cool.
2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, chop and set aside.
3. Chop the cooled potatoes, leaving skin on. Add to a large bowl, along with the eggs, bacon, and green onion. Add mayonnaise, sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Chill for an hour before serving.
   

Mexican Cream Cheese Roll-ups

This past Friday I made a small Mexican feast for a few of my family members that will be taking the trip to Cancun with me in exactly 31 days. The appetizer on the menu was Mexican Cream Cheese Roll-ups! I found a recipe for them but tweaked it to make it my own:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened


• 1/3 cup mayonnaise (I used Hellman's the first time and an off brand the second time. Hellman's tasted a lot better)


• 1 (2.25 ounce) can black olives, chopped


• 6 green onions, chopped


• 8 (10 inch) flour tortillas


• 1/4 cup of corn


• 2 teaspoons Adobo seasoning


• 1/2 cup salsa

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, black olives, corn, seasoning and green onions.


2. Spread cream cheese mixture in a thin layer onto each tortilla. Roll up tortillas. Chill about 1 hour, or until the filling is firm.


3. Slice chilled rollups into 1 inch pieces. Serve with salsa for dipping.