Arroz con Pollo

Arroz con Pollo w/Peruano Beans

I know it's been over a month since my last post.  Thank you everybody that reads my blog for their patience & support :o)  I really do enjoy blogging, but sometimes it does feel like a chore, so I decided to take some time off from it and just post my food photos on Facebook. I still have tons of fun taking pictures of food, both my own and sometimes at restaurants.  Please "friend" me if you want to be my friend! I give kudos to my blogger friends that keep up with their daily to several times a week posts!  I'm also sorry that I haven't kept up with reading all the fabulous blogs out there too :o(

I just wanted to make sure that blogging stays fun for me and remember that the posts and photos don't need to be perfect, just entertaining.  It's so aggravating to get rejected by Foodgawker & Tastespotting, but I have to remember that just because they didn't accept me, it doesn't mean that my photo is bad...lol  Hubby has always said that I have ADD and have a hard time sticking with something for a long time, so it's a surprise that I have stuck with my blog for over 6 months.  I just know that once I do finish a post and publish it, it is an accomplishment and a great feeling :o)

I hope that everybody had a wonderful time with their friends and family over Thanksgiving.  Can you believe that Christmas/Hanukkah Season is coming on us so quickly!  Hubby & I had a lovely time visiting with his parents over Thanksgiving in the St. Louis area.  It was just the 4 of us this time, so we went out for our Thanksgiving meal, it's always fantastic spending time with his parents.  If you go to my Facebook page you can see the feasting we did while we were out there including Cracker Barrel ;o)

On to the food of this post...I love Arroz con Pollo, but it seems that every time I cook it, it turns out differently.  This is one way I like to do it, whole pieces cooked with the rice in the oven then served with whole pieces of chicken.  One of my favorite Mexican restaurants, Lares in Santa Monica, CA, serves it very brothy.  I think that they cook the chicken separately like a brothy stew and then just serves it over their regular rice.  I love it their way too, the broth is super flavorful!

Marinating...

I marinated cut-up chicken pieces in Olive Oil, Mexican Seasonings, Mex Oregano, Garlic, Paprika, Red Chile Powder, Salt, Pepper & Lime for a couple of hours.  

Browning Chicken, Skin Side Down to start...

except for some reason, the far left piece is skin side up ;o) 

Flipped Over...

I'm sure that you can use boneless/skinless chicken for this, but the bones & skins add so much flavor!  After the chicken was almost cooked through, I plated it and then sauteed onions, carrots, celery, cilantro, Mex Seasonings, Mex Oregano, Salt, Pepper & garlic in the flavored oil.

Sauteed Veggies,  Chicken Broth & Tomato Sauce

3 1/2 Cups Broth

1/2 Cup Tomato Sauce

2 Cups Long Grain Rice

Chicken Added Back in..

I also added a couple of bay leafs then cooked the chicken for about 20 mins on Med Heat partially covered.

Sauteeing Long Grain Rice

I cover the bottom of the sauce pan w/Rice Bran Oil, any oil will do....then add 2 cups of rice.

Until it's a Nice Toasty Color :o)

When the rice gets to be a nicely toasted color I add it to the chicken/broth mixture, cover it, then put it in a 350 degree oven.

After About 10 mins in Oven...

350 degree oven

Stir Every 10 mins

Another 10 mins in oven...

Add water if necessary.

Last 10 mins in oven...

Ready to serve, but cook to the doneness that you like :o)

Served w/Peruano Refried Beans & Simple Salad

This time I served the chicken in whole pieces, but sometimes I shred it and mix it with the rice :o)

Kah Tequila

I love these mini Kah Tequila bottles that Hubby found :o)  They have several types and also have big skulls too.

Burritos made w/the Leftovers the Next Day :o)

Refried Beans made w/Peruano Beans & Getaway to Morro Bay, CA

Refried Beans w/Homemade Tortilla Chips

We went to the most beautiful wedding in Los Osos, CA.  I'd never heard of the city, but it turns out it's a cute little town in the southern part of Morro Bay. The bride & groom had fond memories of the area  and picked that destination for their nuptials.  They were very kind and invited all guests that came the night before the wedding day to their rehearsal dinner!  

The rehearsal was at Mexican restaurant called La Palapa.  I loved the food there!  I especially liked the refried beans. I asked the waiter if it had lard in it because it was so tasty and creamy and he informed me, no lard, but they use a different bean called Peruano...Peru Beans.  I'm not sure why they call it Peru since it comes from Mexico.  These are creamier than Pinto Beans and make delicious Frijoles Refrito!  He told me that I could buy them at the local Ralph's, so I was on a mission to find these new beans.  I was able to find them in the bulk bin and bought about 4 lbs :o) As a bonus I was able to buy Pinquito Beans too, they are the ones that are traditionally served with Tri-Tip and are hard to find in Los Angeles.

It's much cheaper to buy Peruano beans locally, if you can find them, but I also found a couple of websites that sells them...

http://www.ranchogordo.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RG&Product_Code=MAYB01&Category_Code=

http://www.purcellmountainfarms.com/Peruano%20Beans.htm

My Jalapeno Plant :o)

I decided to grow jalapenos, I love my new plant!  Behind it is the basil my girlfriend bought for me a few months ago, I had made pesto with it in a previous post.  I almost killed it, but I was able to revive it...love when I could do that!

My Beautiful Jalapenos ;o)

Cilantro & Parsley

I'm getting a green thumb in our small outdoor space :o)

Peruano Beans

They have a yellowish tinge to them...

Frying the Jalapenos...

It's easier and faster than roasting them if you have the oil available ;o)

Fried Jalapenos...

Nice & Blistered...

Cooking the Beans w/Bay Leaf, Onion & Garlic

After soaking the beans overnight or at least 6 hours, they need to be cooked without salt (it toughens the beans if you add salt) for at least another hour or until they are soft.  I usually don't add anything to it at this stage, but this time I decided to add an onion, bay leaf & garlic, I didn't like the results, it added an odd flavor.

Sauteeing Onions, Garlic & Jalapenos

After cooking the beans for an hour I add this saute mixture to it w/seasonings and cook it for about another 20 mins to meld the flavors.  I like for the liquid to get a little thick, but add more water if it gets too dry.

Bacon Drippings...Yum!

After the beans have finished cooking, I transfer it to a fry pan and add bacon drippings to it.  I try to leave some of the liquid behind.

Mashing the Beans...

As it heats I mash the beans and add more liquid if it seems too dry.  I like to keep it a little lumpy.  I love my bean masher!  It doesn't have holes in it like a potato masher, so it seems like it's easier to mash the beans. It's called a Machacador and I was able to purchase it here.

Peruano Frijoles Refritos

I fried the tortilla chips with corn tortillas and then sprinkled it with Mexican Seasoning.

Sand Castle Wedding Cake

The wedding theme was Beach and Sand Castles, they even went to Tahiti for their Honeymoon :o)  This cake was so beautiful and all edible!

Los Osos, CA

The view for the wedding ceremony.  It was a very intimate and casual affair, I loved it!  It was outdoors on the grass and they had the chairs assembled in a circle around the bride & groom.  They got the idea of circling the chairs from mine & Hubby's wedding 11 years ago :o)  It's nice setting the chairs that way, everybody gets a great view of the ceremony!

Los Osos, CA

Los Osos, CA

La Palapa Mexican Restaurant

This is a family owned placed.  The waiter I talked to about the refried beans turned out to be one of the family members.  They really pay attention to the small details.  They make their tortillas, both corn & flour!  We stayed next door at the Bay Wood Inn where breakfast is included.  They give you choices to several restaurants to go to, La Palapa serves breakfast on the weekends.  They serve both American & Mexican food in the morning.  I'm not sure why you'd go to a Mexican restaurant to order an American breakfast, but the table next to us was up for that...lol  I had an awesome Chile Verde Omelette and Hubby had the Chilaquiles.  They even grow their own Epazote Herb for the chilaquiles!

Los Osos Mural

Mural painted on the side of a building...

The Merrimaker Bar

We had some time to spare before the rehearsal dinner, so we decided to walk around the town.  The main area is less than a half mile stretch :o)  We poked our heads in to the Merrimaker Bar and decided to get a cocktail, err drink. It has a very interesting "local color"...we were there at 5pm on Fri night and there were only a few seats open at the bar. We normally would order Martinis or Manhattans, but at a place like this we just order "Bombay On The Rocks", you can't mess up something like that, unless they add a squeeze of lime juice to it..which they did ;o)  

Inside, we met a couple of the locals.  It first started with a woman accusing us of moving her stuff over and stealing her seat...lol  She had more than a couple of drinks, I told her we swear we didn't move her stuff over and Hubby just wanted to sit next to her.  She replies, "You are full of S*&% and I mean that in a good way."  Hilarious!  Then we had some more incoherent conversation with her.  The man on my other side heard we were going to La Palapa and he gave us the tip that the Chile Verde was really good, even better than what his deceased father used to make ;o)  I love conversations like this!  You can get a lot of info in 30 mins.

I found the  funniest thing about the place later that night. I was looking on Yelp (I have a love/hate relationship with Yelp;o) and looked up the Merrimaker, it kept mentioning that if you looked up Dive Bar on Wiki you would find the Merrimaker, I thought it was a joke, but it's not...lol  I'm easily entertained ;o)

Montana de Oro

Everybody kept telling us that we should drive to Montana de Oro and take in the view.  We didn't regret it, it's breathtaking!  It's just a few miles from Los Osos.

Montana de Oro

Big Fat Squirrel @ Morro Bay

My friend warned me of the overstuffed squirrels around Morro Bay, she wasn't kidding...lol

Noisy Bird @Morro Bay

I think this bird was looking for his Mommy, he wouldn't quit squawking...lol

Adorable Otters @Morro Bay

I loved these otters, I could have spent hours watching them.  With Hubby's long lens and lens extender I was able to get these great close-ups of all the fun!

Dinner Last Night....Hard Boiled Egg Enchiladas, Frijoles de la Olla, Rice, Chips & Pico de Gallo

 Ready to be Rolled...

I got this enchilada recipe from my mother-in-law, she and my father-in-law lived in the San Diego area for a while and this type of enchilada was popular down there back in the 60's.  When I first heard of the ingredients I thought it was very strange, but then when my husband made it for me, I loved it!  The filling is Hard Boiled Egg, Cheese, Onions & Olives, that's it! Hubby made it for me just once and I've been making it since!  Their tradition is to use the turkey stock that they made from the leftover Thanksgiving turkey and use that for the enchilada sauce.  My husband's grandmother used to have a restaurant in Arizona called Snow's Inn in Casa Grande that closed in the '70's when she passed away. The original enchilada sauce recipe came from her.  I've changed the recipe a little like I do with most of my dishes;o)

This was another meal that took most of the day to prepare.  While I'm prepping, I think why am I going through all this, but then when I sit down to eat, I get my answer...it was worth all the extra work!

Chopped Eggs..

I love the color of the yolks in these eggs.  I get them at the Japanese market Marukai.  It's their own brand and is Cage Free Fertile eggs.  

For the Enchiladas...and other stuff...

What's nice about Mexican cooking is that many of the ingredients are used for a lot of different dishes.  For instance, the onions went in the enchiladas, salsa, beans & rice!  I chop everything by hand, so it does take a little bit of time.  I really don't like the outcome of food processor chopped veggies, it seems to tear everything apart.  I usually grate my cheese too, sometimes I'll buy pre-grated cheese to make pizza :o)

Frying Corn Tortillas...

I deep fry everything in my wok :o)

For Enchiladas...

I lightly fry the tortillas for the enchilada, so they will be pliable...

Tomatoes for Enchilada Sauce...

I don't claim that my ethnic meals are "authentic".  Hey, I grew up with Taco Bell as Mexican Food...lol  I try to get the proper ingredients, but I also put in my own twists.  For the enchilada sauce I:  saute onion, jalapeno, serrano, garlic and spices including chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, Mex oregano etc. For the chili powder I buy a bunch of different types of ground powders and mix it all together and store it for later use. I saute the seasonings with the onion, so the flavors bloom.  I also add chopped tomato and sometimes I add tomato sauce too, I didn't this time. I use Masa Harina (Corn Flour) as a thickener and add homemade chicken stock.  If it needs more flavor I add a little bit of bouillon of some sort;o)

Enchilada Sauce

After adding the chicken stock everything simmers for about 20-30 mins then I mix everything together with an Immersion Blender to get the sauce smooth and I don't need to strain it.  I love my immersion blender! The only thing is that it has a tendency to splatter, so I put the pan in the sink to blend it;o)

Ready for the refrigerator...

I like to use both red & brown onions, sliced canned olives, chopped hard boiled egg & Jack cheese.  I put a little of the sauce at the bottom of the dish.  If I'm going to bake the enchiladas right away, I dip the tortillas in the sauce too.  I sometimes make these ahead of time and refrigerate them, when I do that I don't dip in the sauce because it gets too soggy.  Then before cooking, I add more sauce and bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 mins until all the cheese melts and is bubbly.  I made these in the toaster oven.

Hard Boiled Eggs, Onions, Cheese & Olive Enchiladas

Frijoles de la Olla

My favorite way to eat Pinto Beans is Frijoles de la Olla (Beans in a Pot) or I think of them as soupy beans :o)  The first time I had them was at Super Rica in Santa Barbara.  People always talk about how Super Rica was Julia Child's favorite Mexican Restaurant and we really did see her there once! It also turns out a very dear friend of ours is the one that introduced Julia to Super Rica! The place is the type where you order at the window and when they call your number you pick up your food yourself.  Julia, got table service! When I get these beans at Super Rica, I ask for extra broth...

Frying Up the Bacon...

To make the beans I start out with chopping bacon and frying it up then strain it and save the grease.  I also soak the dry pinto beans over night in cold water or if I forget to do that, I soak it in hot water for a few hours, drain it, then boil it with fresh water for over an hour.

Mashing the Beans...

While the beans are simmering I saute onions, garlic & jalapenos in the bacon fat.  When the beans have softened I add the onion mixture, bacon, more water if needed, bouillon, & seasonings.  After the flavorings have melded I use a bean masher and mash some of the beans.  This is another tool that I love.  It works better than a potato masher because it has a solid bottom.

Mexican Rice

Both my husband's brothers married Hispanic wives and I got tips on making my Mexican rice from their mothers.  I told one of them that I put corn in mine and she called it Tex-Mex;o)  The other one is from Texas and when she would visit she would bring her own rice from home!  After watching her make the rice (she only measures the rice and water ratio), I tried to make it several times and it just wouldn't turn out!  I use a measuring cup that flattens to store and I figured out that when I opened it, I didn't open it all the way, so I wasn't using a full cup of rice...lol  I thought it was the rice I was using that was causing the trouble and I looked all over for Texas rice!

Frying the Rice...

In the Rice Cooker...

I fry 1 cup of long grain rice in ALOT of oil until it browns then add onions to it in a pot on the stove.  While the rice is sauteeing, I add 1/4 cup tomato sauce or this time I used chopped fresh tomatoes then add water, so it equals less than 2 cups including the tomato, then add some corn, bouillion (I know, I use it alot;o) & seasonings.  I turn off the heat and add the liquid to the rice then throw it all into my rice cooker and cook it on the Mixed Rice setting.

Nice and Fluffy :o)

Pico de Gallo/Salsa

It has:  tomatoes, brown onions, red onions, green onions, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, serrano, lime, seasonings and a can of El Pato :o)

Draining...

After chopping the tomatoes I put it in a strainer over a bowl with salt to get the excess moisture out.  I then put all the other dry ingredients on top of it.

I used to throw out the tomato water that came out of it, but now save it to make delicious Bloody Mary's out of it.  I've been freezing and stockpiling it ;o) Hubby came up with this when I made Neoplolitan Style Pizza, post link...

http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/2011/05/dinner-last-night-home-made-pizza.html

Homemade Chips!

Tortilla Chips Frying

Making the homemade tortilla chips tastes so much better than store bought!  No, I don't make the tortillas...lol  

I sprinkle a little aji shio on it and then it's ready to eat :o)

Aji Shio

I know most people wouldn't like this seasoning because it's a mix of MSG & salt, but I love it!  I put it in just about everything, but do use it sparingly :o)  It just adds a little bit of something...