Arepa !!! A Dominican Dessert

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There are different types of Arepa, but the one I am going to talk about is the one from the Dominican Republic. This is a dessert that is a tradition in this country. I like it because it’s super sweet and I like the texture of it.

5 Cups of Regular Milk
2 Cans of Evaporated Milk
2 Cans of Coconut Cream
½ Cup of Raisins
½ cup of brown sugar
1 tbsp. Vanilla Extract
3 Cinnamon Sticks
½ tsp. Salt
4 Cups of Fine Yellow Cornmeal
5 Cups of Water
4 tbsp. Butter

·  Preheat oven at a 350-degree heat. Butter a deep round baking dish.

·  Mix all the ingredients. Put in a pot and put on the stove in a high heat, stirring constantly to avoid sticking. When it comes to a boil lower the fire to medium and continue stirring until it reaches a heavier texture.

·  Pour mixture in the baking dish and bake for 45 minutes or until you able to insert a knife in the center of it and it comes clean. Cool down to room temperature and take it out of the baking dish. Then cut into squares and serve.

Arepa

Wednesday Appetizers

This is a simple recipe to follow, the ingredients are things that are handy and it doesn’t take a lot of your time. I do emphasize in time saving because I’m a very busy person, but I love to entertain. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much I do.

2 big chicken breast, ground

1 tablespoon of poultry seasoning

1 white onion, chopped

1 red pepper, minced

1 green pepper, minced

 Pinch of Salt and pepper

About 1 cup of bread crumbs

1 beaten egg

½ vegetable oil

1 cup of barbecue sauce

In a large bowl mix the ground chicken breast with seasoning, chopped onion, peppers, salt and pepper, and breadcrumbs. Wash really well your hands because this part I like to use my hands, it’s more effective, with your hands mix really well all the ingredients until everything is incorporated. The last thing I combine is the egg, then form little balls and fry them in a deep skillet, set the meatballs in a cooling rack to drain the meatballs of the oil. In a bowl, cover the meatballs in the barbecue sauce and then spoon out in a serving platter. There’re you have another affordable, easy, and quick appetizer.

Appetizers Wednesday

Cheese Dip and Pita Chips

        Cheese Dip and Pita Chips                      









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Appetizers are something that people go for to entertain; one of my favorites is pita chips with cheese dip.  It is super easy to do and save a lot of time.  I start doing the dip by putting the cheese in a crock-pot and I just put all the ingredients together and forget about it. Here is my recipe

16 ounces of Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes (I like this cheese because it melts nicely)

 2 ripe tomatoes

1 red onion

 2 teaspoon of Tabasco

I put all the ingredients together in the crock-pot until everything is melted and smooth. The pita chips can be bought at any convenience store, but i like to do it myself. I bake the pita already cut into little triangles for about 5 minutes in a heat of 375 F,  I don't put anything to them. Simple and Easy.  I'll love to hear from you

Appetizers Wednesday

Bruschetta, An Amazing Appetizer

Bruschetta

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When one is entertaining the hardest the thing to do is to choose the menu.  The appetizers before the main course present a challenge to us, for one we want to make these dishes ahead of the occasion to save time. That is why we need to choose simple and appealing appetizers. One of the things I love to do to entertain is bruschetta. Bruschetta is a dish that it can have as many or as little ingredients you want and the main thing you need to have handy is the bread. When I do the bruschetta the bread I preferably use is French Baguette, but you can use any type of bread such as Italian bread or any other sourdough bread. Here is my recipe:

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1 French Baguette, cut into halves and then squared

3 or 4 Cloves of garlic grated or mashed.

¼ Cup of olive oil plus 1 tablespoon

1 Medium-sized red onion

3 Roman tomatoes, seeded and diced

3 tablespoons of cilantro, fresh

3 tablespoons of basil, fresh (it can substituted by dried basil but need to use less, 1 tablespoons)

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoons of black pepper

Cut the baguette into 4x4 inches sized squares and leave it on the side. Take the garlic and the ¼ cup olive oil and mix, spread this concoction on the squared-piece bread. Toast the bread in a large skillet; I usually use a griddle pan. Meanwhile, put together the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, basil, salt and black pepper, mix really well and spread in the squared toasts. Ta Da there you’d have an amazing and not overworked appetizer.