Pollo Guisado

Pollo guisada is a classic Puerto Rican chicken stew. Its a nice easy one pot meal, perfect for a cold Sunday afternoon.  

Ingredients: 

• 10-12 chicken parts 
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil 
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 6-8 cups of water
• 15 oz. tomato sauce (I love Costco's organic tomato sauce) 
• 4 tbsp sofrito 
• 2 bay leaves 
• 1 tsp olives with pimentos 
• 1 cup red wine 
• baby carrots 
• 2 potatoes 
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Instructions: 

Heat vegetable oil on high heat in a large pot or dutch oven. When the oil is hot, brown chicken in batches.

When the chicken is browned, remove from the pot and drain the fat.  Add olive oil and heat.  Add sofrito and tomato sauce. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Return chicken to the pot.  Add enough water to cover the chicken.  Add olives, red wine, and bay leaves. Cook for 1 hour, then add potatoes and carrots. Cook for another 30 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.  It is best served over rice, but if you are looking for a low-carb side, try cauliflower rice.  

Braised Short Ribs

I had braised short ribs for the first time last summer at Paloma Grill, a trendy new restaurant in Stamford owned by celebrity chef Aaron Sanchez. They were absolutely delicious! They were meat falling off the bone tender and super yummy. This brings us to yesterday. I had the craziest beef craving and just kept imagining those braised short ribs.  After trying to ignore my stomach for about an hour, I caved.  I put on my coat, braved the winter freeze and went food shopping. I must say the results were tasty. Try it yourself and let me know how it goes.  

 Ingredients: 

• 6-8 bone-in short ribs
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced 
• 2 carrots, diced 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• Kosher salt 
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 2 cups of red wine 
• 2 cups of water 
• 4 sprigs of thyme (tied in a bundle)
• 2 sprigs of rosemary 
• 2 bay leaves 
• 1 tablespoon sofrito (optional) 

Instructions: 

Preheat the oven to 375º

Season the short ribs with salt.  Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on high heat in a dutch oven.  Brown the short ribs on all sides.  Cook in batches if necessary. You don't want to overcrowd the pan.  As the ribs are browning, prepare your onion, carrots, celery and garlic.  

After the ribs have browned, drain the fat and add the remaining olive oil.  Place vegetables and sofrito in the pan, season generously with salt and cook for 6 minutes.  

Add the tomato paste and cook for 5 additional minutes.  Add the wine and deglaze the pan.  Cook until the sauce has reduced by half. Add the short ribs to the pan and add the water. Add thyme, rosemary and bay leaves.

Cover the pan and place in the oven. Cook for 3 hours. Be sure to check on the ribs periodically to ensure that there is enough liquid. 

Since I'm cutting down on my carbs, I served it with green beans. I also serve it with cauliflower mash, which is another great low-carb side. The ribs are tender and yummy. Definitely good comfort food. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.    

Chicken Stir Fry

I was in the mood for stir fry tonight and whipped this up. Stir fry is a quick simple way to get healthy portions of veggies and protein. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 large chicken breasts 
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 red pepper 
• 1 green pepper 
• 3 scallions 
• 1 carrot sliced 
• 1 head of broccoli 
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (can use 1/2 tsp ground ginger) 
• 1/2 cup of kale
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (add more or less according to your taste) 
• 1 tablespoon orange juice 
• 1/2 cup of sugar (if you do not like a sweet sauce, use 1/4 cup or less) 
• 1/4 cup soy sauce 
• 1/2 cup of water 
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 4 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 cup of water and 2 tsp cornstarch mixed 

Cut chicken breasts into thin strips. Heat oil in pan on medium heat.  Once oil is hot place chicken chicken in the pan. Do not overcrowd the pan, cook in batches if necessary.  Cook chicken for two minutes on each side. While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce. in a bowl, mix soy sauce, 1/2 cup of water, sugar, rice vinegar, orange juice, sesame oil, chili garlic sauce). Once all chicken has browned, remove from the pan and set aside. Place peppers, carrots and scallions in the pan. Cook until they have softened.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the sauce to the pan.  Cook for three minutes.  Add the cornstarch mixture and cook for 1 minute. Add broccoli and kale. Return chicken to the pan to finish cooking (about 2 minutes).  Serve over rice.

Roasted Chicken

This latin roasted chicken recipe is delicious and easy to make thanks to the use of sofrito as the base. 

Ingredients: 

• 4-5 lb chicken
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 6 cloves of garlic 
• 4 tablespoons of sofrito
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• butcher twine (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375º.  Remove the giblets and neck bones from the cavity. Place the chicken in a roasting pan. Gently separate the skin from the chicken, being careful not to pierce the skin. Place 1/2 tablespoon of sofrito under the skin.  Rub olive oil on the skin of the entire chicken. Season well with salt and pepper.  Rub 1 tablespoon of sofrito on top of the skin.  Place the remaining sofrito and all of the garlic inside the cavity.  Quarter the onion and place it inside the cavity as well.  

Place the chicken breast side up. Tie the legs of the chicken together using butcher's twine.  Tuck the wings underneath the chicken.  Place in the oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving.