Holiday Chocolate Flan Recipe

Hola Amigos: One of the best things about the Holiday season is food! Ham, Turkey, Pork, Rice the sides you name it, but what I really love is something I always bake no matter what right around this time, Flan! It's a typical dessert for Christmas and celebrations in many Latin American  countries and the best part is that is super easy to make.

This time I decided to try friend's recipe for chocolate flan that I knew it was going to be a hit since it combines the best of the best, chocolate cake and flan! yumm!!! It takes a little time in the oven, but at the end you get rewarded for your patience with the best dessert ever,  a spongy chocolate cake topped with smooth and sweet custard! oh boy!

Don't worry about perfection with this dessert! It's a rustic one, meant to be eaten in a few bites and believe me, it will!. Since it's a cake you can make it pretty for the few minutes it will be at the table with your favorite icing or whipped cream.

I also added more "manjar" or dulce de leche to mine..you can't never have enough of this good thing!
When slice it's just pretty and delicious, a bite of flan and a bite of chocolate cake! Nothing else to say, just enjoy the goodness.

Now tell me if this dessert is not the perfect holiday and festive ending to a great family meal? To my family is what we all look forward to have sometimes even stealing a slice before dinner is ready!

Do you have a family dish you bake or prepare for the holidays by popular demand, something that reminds you of your hometown, of your childhood or that your family just love when you make it every holiday? I would love to know!

Thank You for visiting the blog today! Hope you give my chocolate flan a try and enjoy it as much as we did! Remember my friends, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Holiday Chocolate Flan 

Ingredients:

1 box Chocolate Cake of your choice

Eggs, Oil, Water needed to prepare the cake according to instructions on the box

5 Eggs

1 Cup Evaporated Milk

1 Cup Condensed Milk, divided

1 Cup Dulce de Leche

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 shot Kahlua (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350 F degrees.

Prepare the cake according the box instructions. Set aside. 
In a large bowl (I use my blender), add and mix well the eggs,  evaporated milk, condensed milk, vanilla and Kahlua.
Use half of the Dulce the Leche to coat a previously buttered baking dish (a 9 inch square or round). Pour the chocolate cake mix and then the flan mixture. Don't panic if at this moment you see the flan mixture sink to the bottom, that is a good thing! Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in a bath Marie for about 45 minutes or until a fork in the middle comes clean. Remove from oven.
Let it cool for a few minutes and place a plate upside down over the baking dish and turn the plate and baking dish over. 
Decorate if you want with chocolate icing, whip cream and the remaining 1/2 cup of dulce de leche. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 10 minutes                                       Cook Time: 45 minutes                   Serves 8

Sharing my Sweet festive Flan at these Fabulous Parties:

Baked Cod with Lemon and Orange Recipe

Hola Amigos: Today I'm sharing with you a recipe using a sometimes overlooked fish, Cod! This mild flavored fish is so  inexpensive compared to others and rich in vitamins A, C and D as well as Omega 3's that we should all included on regular basis as part of our diets.

Back in my country is very popular in it's dried salted version. I remember the semi lengthy process my mom used to go through every time we had it for dinner. It was well worth the effort,we loved it there,  but oh boy, you won't find this girl doing all that work  now, just thinking of trying to "fish" for all the tiny needles even before starting cooking it, makes me want to open a can of tuna instead, also there is the matter of  the "fishy" smell salted dried cod has, that alone will make all my guys run out the door in panic,lol. Don't get me wrong, it's delicious just like lox, but it takes a lot of work to prepare.

No problem with fresh cod filet though, it's mild flavor allows this fish to wonderfully take any flavors you want to add. This time we added citrus notes of lemon and orange!

Also as you all know my favorite method of preparing seafood is to steam it in a bag and then quickly crisp it and brown it for  a few minutes outside the bag and preparing a little sauce with the delicious juices rendered in the cooking process.

The little sauce I created has a hint of tangy ginger to complement the citrus fruity flavors already in the fish.
A super quick and healthy recipe for times when we are all busy trying to catch up with office parties, hosting our own or just trying to get from one place to another with heavy holiday traffic! 20 minutes in the oven and enjoy!

Thank You for visiting the blog today! Hope you enjoy this quick and flavorful recipe and give it a try next time you see this nutritious and  tasty fish at a store near you! remember my friends, even the most humblest of foods taste better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Baked Cod with Lemon and Orange Recipe

Ingredients:

12 oz Cod Filet

1 TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice

1 TBSP Fresh Orange Juice

1/2 tsp Lemon Zest

1/2 tsp Orange Zest

1 tsp Seafood Seasoning

Onion Powder, Garlic Powder and Lemon Pepper to taste

1/2 Small Red Onion, Sliced

3-4 Thin Orange Slices

1/8 Cup Ginger Ale

1/2 tsp Cornstarch 

Directions:

Marinate your fish with the fruit juices, juice zests and seasonings. Let the fish marinate for 15 minutes only since we don't want to cook it in the citrus mix. 

Preheat oven at 425F. Cut a long piece of parchment paper and another one the same size of aluminum foil, to go right under the parchment one.

Remove the fish from the marinade, place on the parchment paper sheet. Add sliced red onions and orange slices to cover the fish. Wrap the parchment around the fish and seal this inner bag with an aluminum foil one. Bake for 15 minutes. When time is up, open the bags and bake for another 5 minutes so the fish browns.

Remove from oven. 

For the sauce, place rendered juice on a small saucepan, add cornstarch dissolved in ginger ale and cook for a few minutes until it coats the spoon. Serve over the fish and enjoy!

Prep Time 15 Minutes                               Cook Time 20 minutes                       Serves 2

Sharing my easy and frugal fish dinner at these Fabulous Parties:

Berry Passionate Lemonade Smoothie Recipe

Hola Amigos! It's been a little while since I made a smoothie and even though holiday flavors like cinnamon and peppermint should be on my mind while the snow falls outside, I can't help but thinking that in other parts of the world it's sunny, toasty hot and summer is on it's way! I guess you can take a girl out of the Tropics but you can't take the Tropics out of the girl!

This is a super easy and refreshing smoothie. Something different if you want to try new sweet flavors and add a bit of "zing to your swing" this season.

The color is absolutely beautiful, reminds me of Caribbean's pink sand and the flavor delicious! It's also low in calories so you can still look amazing and in great shape for Christmas while enjoying a cool looking beverage!

Top it of with some fresh whipped cream, a few sugary sprinkles and strawberries for a festive look!

Make it even healthier by adding some wheat germ or flax seeds! See those little specks floating around? Wheat Germ! yumm!

Before I close this short but sweet post I want to thank all the sweet comments and emails I've gotten from you my friends since around Thanksgiving and been unable to answer. Due to health problems I haven't been able to get to my computer or blog at all! I hope and pray things get better as the weeks go by and come back and have fun with all of you!. In the meantime, please hang in there with this your blog. I will try to pop a few times a week to say hi to all and drop a little recipe or two.

Keep the shopping going my sweeties and enjoying the holiday cheer always keeping in mind that everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Berry Passionate Lemonade Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 (6 oz) Chobani Passion Fruit Yogurt, frozen

3/4 Cup Lemonade, chilled

1/2 Strawberries, frozen

1 tsp Wheat Germ (optional)

Fresh Whip Cream and Strawberries for garnishing (optional)

Directions:

Add all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Top with Whip Cream and Strawberries for a pretty presentation if you want. Enjoy!

Prep Time 3 minutes                                                                       Serves 2 (4-6oz) Cups

Sharing my Tropical Holiday Smoothie at these Fabulous Parties:

Tropical Pork Steaks Recipe

Hola Amigos! When the weather turns cold I can't but to mentally transport myself to warmer places and one of the best way to do it is through food.

I got a couple of beautiful Pork Steaks at the butcher the other day and in my opinion nothing goes better with pork than the taste of the tropics and it's fruits. Passion fruit, pineapple and oranges are some of the tropical fruits used one way or another to prepare this steaks.

And if you are thinking it's too cold to light the grill. not to worry, these are baked!

They are extremely moist and tender the way they are, but you know me, I need to have some gravy with my meats! My gravy has all the flavors of the steaks and the sweetness of the fruit.

The kids love the sweet taste of the steaks and just to make it even more kid friendly, this time we just had them with some Mac n Cheese! It was a hit alright!

Thank You for visiting today, this recipe shows us that when we don't have the money to buy a plane ticket, we can still travel everywhere we want with food! Remember my friends, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Tropical Pork Steaks

Ingredients:

2.5-3 Lbs Pork Steaks

1 Cup Orange Juice

2 Envelopes Sazon  with Coriander and Tomato

2 Chipotle Bullions

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder to taste
2 TBSP oil for frying

1 (8 oz) can Crushed Pineapples drained (save juice)

1 Cup Passion Fruit Juice ( I used Welch) 
1 TBSP cornstarch

Directions:

Prepare the pork steaks to be marinated either in a zip lock bag or a baking dish. Pour the cup of orange juice and sprinkle the Sazon and crushed chipotle bullions, salt, pepper and garlic powder and rub them with these seasonings until they are all covered, there is plenty for both sides. Put in the refrigerator and let them marinate for a couple of hours. 

When ready to cook, Pre-heat the oven at 365 degrees. 

In a large skillet, 2 tbsp oil, heat up. Place pork steaks, one at a time if they are too big, and seared and brown on both sides. Like 3-5 minutes on each side (again it will depend on the size of the steaks). Once browned place on a baking dish.

Pour the cup of passion fruit juice and the saved pineapple juice. Bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, uncovered and spread the crushed pineapple over the steaks bake for an additional 5 minutes or until pork is completely cooked, (internal temperature of 145 degrees according to the new USDA guidelines). Once time has elapsed, remove from oven and let the steaks rest.

For the gravy, mix drippings with 1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in a little bit of orange juice and cook until thickened . Serve on top of pork steaks and enjoy.

Prep and Marinating Time 4 hours                   Cook Time 25 minutes                 Serves 4

Sharing a taste of the tropics at these Fabulous Parties:

Craft Dictator, Tatertos aand Jello, Skip to my Lou, The Chicken Chick, Say Not Sweet Anne, Alderberry Hill, Boogieboard Cottage, Mad in Crafts, Frugality Gal, Carrie This Home, Create with Joy, Feeding Big, Smart School House, Hun...what's for dinner?, Our Table for Seven, Kleinworth & Co, Homemade Ginger, The View from 510, Lady Behind the Curtain, All She Cooks, Ducks'n a Row, Kitchen Meets Girl, My Girlish Whims, Pink Box Recipe, The Best Blog Recipes, Artsy Fartsy Mama, Craft Dictator, Sweet Haute

Fresh Cherries and Hibiscus Holiday Sauce Recipe

Hola Amigos: Today I'm mixing it a little bit and sharing with you a twist on side dish eaten by all throughout the holiday season, Cranberry Sauce. This year since I'm not hosting any of the holidays for family and friends, just my guys I get creative freedom when it comes to dishes and do things outside the can.

We only serve or eat cranberry sauce of juice when we have guests or we are sick, lol. This time of the year coincides with summer in my country so we instead of cranberry juice we have Hibiscus Cooler or "Saril" very popular drink around the holidays there. As refreshing and vibrant colored as Cranberry Juice Cocktail only a bit spicy since we add ginger to the infusion! Anyway, it is this Hibiscus Cooler concentrate infusion what I have used to prepare the base of this sauce.

It's not only good by itself, but goes great with ice cream, cake, pancakes anywhere where you use sauce you could use my plain Hibiscus Sauce.

To make it more festive and to resemble the whole cranberry sauce thing, I made a little cherry reduction with some sweet Moscato and mixed it all up!

The result made me skip dinner because I just got a bowl of my favorite ice cream and pour this still warm over it and at it all! Oh my guys! this stuff is addictive!

You can taste the sweetness and tartness of the hibiscus with notes of ginger and a bit of the Moscato on every cherry bite! yumm

I made enough of the hibiscus sauce to use for future recipes and this particular combination makes about 1 1/2 cup of goodness to have with your turkey or ham.
Thank you so much for visiting the blog today! I hope you enjoy this recipe a little bit our of the ordinary but delicious and easy to make. Remember my friends, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Cherry and Hibiscus Holiday Sauce
Ingredients
For the Hibiscus Infusion and Sauce
1 Cup Hibiscus Flowers
6 Cups Water
1 Inch piece Ginger, peeled
1/2 Cup Corn Syrup
8 TBSP Sugar
1/4 Cup Fresh Orange Juice
2 TBSP Cornstarch
Directions:
In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups water to a rapid boil. Add hibiscus flowers, remove from heat and cover with a lid for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Using a large colander, separate the infusion from the flowers, but do not discard the flowers. They will be use to prepare something delicious soon.
Add 2 cups of the infusion, ginger, corn syrup and sugar to saucepan on medium high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Combine orange juice and cornstarch and add it to the infusion mix, continue cooking until the mix begins to boil, reduce heat at cook for abut 5 more minutes until the sauce coats a spoon. It will thicken a bit more as it cools.Remove and discard  ginger piece and  remove the sauce  from heat.
For the Cherries
1 Cup Fresh Cherries (could be frozen too), pitted
4 TBSP Moscato wine
1/2 tsp Orange Zest
In a small hot saucepan, add wine, cook for about 1 minute until the alcohol evaporates. Add cherries and orange zest. Cook until  the wine reduces to almost nothing, about 8 minutes. 
Add Hibiscus sauce to the fresh cherries, mix until everything is well blended. Serve and Enjoy!

Prep Time   20 minutes                           Cook Time 13 minutes                            Serves 2 Cups

Sharing my Delicious Creations at these Fabulous Parties:

The Chicken Chick, Under the Table and Dreaming, Coastal Charm, Between Naps on the Porch, The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen, Cooking for the Seven Dwarfs, A Pinch of Joy, Create with Joy, The Tumbleweed Contessa, Kathe with an E, Feeding Big, Home Stories A to Z, Hun...what's for dinner?, Our Table for Seven, The View from 510, Mandy's Recipe Box, Nap-Time Creations, Chef in Training, Pint Sized Baker, Lady Behind the Curtain, Ducks'n a Row, Fluster Buster, The Taylor House, Ginger Snap Crafts, Diana Rambles, Sweet Haute, Juggling Real Food and Real Life, My Turn (for Us), Craft Dictator, Tatertots and Jello, Rain on a Tin Roof, Huckleberry Love, Craft-O-Maniac, Skip to my Lou, Say Not Sweet Anne, Alderberry Hill, Boogieboard Cottage, Mad in Crafts, Frugality Gal, Carrie This Home, Smart School House, Kleinworth & co, Homemade Ginger, Memories by the Mile, All She Cooks, Kitchen Meets Girl, My Girlish Whims, Pink Box Recipe, The Best Blog Recipes, Artsy Fartsy Mama, Craft Dictator, Sweet Haute

Combination Stir Fry with BBQ Peanut Sauce Recipe

Hola Amigos! I guess at this moment we are clearing the fridge to make room for our 18 pounder bird and pies and everything we can possible prepare ahead of time. But what to eat before Turkey Day  arrives? well, just check among the "forgotten" items while making that needed space, put them all together and make a delicious stir fry.

This dish came about  because in one of my shopping trips I noticed this perfectly delicious 16 oz of stir fry mix for only $1.69!!! that is a bargain! Most of the time I stick to my rule of buying each veggie by itself because it's usually cheaper, but this one was a no-brainer, just the broccoli alone was $1.99 per head and I just needed a few tops and stems. Same with everything else.

In my fridge I found 1 lonely chicken breast, left from a package of 5, a handful of shrimp and 2 thin cut boneless pork chops, I already had a supply of sauces and condiments from previous visits to take outs ( I know laugh, but they come in handy sometimes) and who doesn't have peanut butter in the pantry?

After a 30 minutes you end up with a flavorful stir fry for almost nothing! You have used some of your leftovers without repeating a meal and creating something worth of the best take out place in town!
The peanuts were an impulse buy at the dollar store, saw a bag of BBQ peanuts and bought 2 for $1 never knowing what I was going to use them for...perfect crunchy element for my stir fry!

Do you check the "manager's special" at your local grocery store? How often do you buy or do you just pass them? I'm  thinking of doing this more often if the value and quality are there and try to create something good for almost nothing.

For this dish the only thing I bought was  the stir fry mix for $1.69!!! Score!

Thank  You for visiting the blog today! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend in anticipation to the big day to come. Remember friends, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Combination Stir Fry with BBQ Peanut Sauce

Ingredients
1 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil

1 Chicken Breast, strips
2 Boneless thin cut pork chops, strips

1/2 lb Cooked Shrimp or use any meat you have handy

1 (16 oz) package Stir Fry Mix

1/2 Cup Onion, chopped

2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 inch piece Ginger, ground

3 TBSP Peanut Butter

1 TBSP Soy Sauce
1 TBSP Hoisin Sauce
Thai Spice or Pepper Flakes to taste
1/4 Cup BBQ peanuts, chopped
Noodles or Rice to serve with your Stir Fry
Directions:
In a skillet heat up the  1 TBSP sesame oil and fry your chicken strips and pork chop strips until cooked. Set aside. Coat the skillet with the remaining 1/2 tsp of sesame oil add onions, garlic and saute until for 3 minutes. Keep moving constantly not to burn the garlic. Add the Stir fry mix, chicken and pork chop strips. Mix until everything is well combined about 2 minutes, finally add the shrimp. Remove from heat. 
In a separate small sauce pan, on low heat,  mix peanut butter, soy and hoisin sauce until everything is smooth, add Thai Spice Mix or pepper flakes to taste. 
Pour this sauce over stir fry mix coating everything and serve your creation on top of rice noodles or white rice. Enjoy!

Prep Time 10 minutes                            Cook Time 20 minutes                       Serves 4-6 

Sharing my Quick and Delicious Stir Fry at these Fabulous Parties:

Today's Creative Blog, Cheerios and Lattes, Made from Pinterest, Twigg Studios, Nifty Thrifty Things, Flamingo Toes, Life on Lakeshore Drive, I Should be Mopping the Floors, Will Cook For Smile, Titi Crafty, 2 Crochet Hooks, My Mixing Spoon, Under the Table and Dreaming, The Chicken Chick, Coastal Charm, Between Naps on the Porch, The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen, Cooking for the Seven Dwarfs, A Pinch of Joy, Create with Joy, The Tumbleweed Contessa, Kathe with an E, Feeding Big, Home Stories A to Z, Hun...What's for dinner, Out Table for Seven, The View from 510, Mandy's Recipe Box, Chef in Training, Nap-Time Creations, Pint Sized Baker, Lady Behind the Curtain, Ducks' n a Row, Fluster Buster, The Taylor House, Ginger Snap Crafts, Diana Rambles, Sweet Haute, Juggling Real Food and Real Life, My Turn (for Us), Craft Dictator, Tatertots and Jello, Rain on a Tin Roof, Huckleberry Love, Craft-O-Maniac, Skip to my Lou, Say Not Sweet Anne, Alderberry Hill, Boogieboard Cottage, Mad in Crafts, Frugality Gal, Carrie This Home, Smart School House, Kleinworth & Co, Homemade Ginger, Memories by the Mile, All She Cooks, Kitchen Meets Girl, My Girlish Whims, Pink Recipe Box, Artsy Fartsy Mama, The Best Blog Recipes, Craft Dictator