Hearty Puerto Rican Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of cut up chicken (according to your preference: whole cut up, thighs, legs or cut up breast)
• 4 to 5 Table Spoons of Vegetable oil
• 2 Heaping Tablespoons of Sofrito 
• 1/2 Chopped Onions
• 1 Tablespoon of Alcaparrado including one tablespoon of the liquid in the jar
• 3 to 4 Stalks of Chopped up Celery
• 1/3 of a bag of Baby Carrots
• 1/2 Cup of Corn (fresh or frozen)
• 1 or 2 Chopped Potatoes (optional)
• 4 to 6 Balls of Fideos (aka coiled vermicelli)  It typically comes in a bag in the Latino section of your grocery store. Add less for watery soup.
• 2 Packets Chicken Bullion Packets (Goya Preferred)
• 1 Packet of Sazon
• 1/3 of the can of Goya tomato paste
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• 9 Cups of Water

In a large pot, put in the vegetable oil, sofrito, onions, sazon, chicken bullion, alcaparaado (and liquid) and let the ingredients cook together for about 5 to 7 minutes.  Put in the cut up chicken and cook in the seasonings until you see the chicken is fully cooked.  The flavors will cook into the chicken.  

Once you see the chicken is cooked, add in the tomato paste, potatoes, and baby carrots.  Stir the chicken and the ingredients together.  Add in about 9 cups of water (feel it out depending if you want it more or less soupy.)  Then add in the "fideos" also knows as the coiled vermicelli.  Stir all ingredients together and cook on high for at least an hour.  Then add the celery and corn.  Stir occasionally.  After an hour, I prefer to put on low and cook for another hour but if you have to rush, give it another half an hour on high.     

You are welcome to add some hot sauce to your individual bowl of soup to add an extra kick.  I love Frank's Red Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce.  

Classic Mac-and-Cheese

For our family Christmas gathering, my partner and I made an amazing macaroni and cheese.  Everyone had rave reviews about it.  Apparently Puerto Rican-Americans like Macaroni and Cheese.  Most went for second helpings (those who weren't watching their figures, of course.)  I found the recipe on-line on a food blog and was very pleased with it.  The blogger who posted it, sourced her "1946 edition of "Fannie Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cookbook". It was excellent!  The only change I made was to use a four-cheese shredded mix instead of a mild cheddar.  The four-cheese mix came with Muenster, Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar and Monterrey Jack Cheese.  Below find my several modifications of the original recipe.  Please leave your feedback, we hope your family enjoys it as much as ours did, Buen Provecho (enjoy your meal or Bon appetit!) 

Serving size: 8


Ingredients needed:

2 (16 ounce) package macaroni

8 Tablespoons of butter

8 Tablespoons of flour

2 Cups of Milk

2 Cups of Cream

1 Teaspoon of Salt

Fresh Group Black Pepper to Taste

1/2 cup of peas for color (optional)

4 Cups of Mixed Cheese (Muenster, Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar and Monterrey Jack Cheese) shredded.  You can find it in the dairy isle of your grocery store.  Be sure to buy the high quality brand of mixed four cheese, it makes a BIG difference.

1 Cup of Breadcrumbs, buttered with approx. 1/2 stick of salted butter.  Combine in a bowl until meshed together.

Directions:

1. 1
   Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. 2
   Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside.
3. 3
   In a large saucepan melt butter.
4. 4
   Add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended.
5. 5
   Pour milk and cream in gradually; stirring constantly.
6. 6
   Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly).
7. 7
   Reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly) 10 minutes.
8. 8
   Add shredded cheeses little by little while mixing and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until all cheese melts. (Don't be concerned when you see the oil rise to the top, it's naturally and will be used well when baking the dish.)
9. 9
   Turn off flame.
10. 10
    Add macaroni to the same saucepan (with the cheeses) and toss to coat with the cheese sauce.
11. 11
    Pour the macaroni and cheese into to a buttered baking dish.
12. 12
    Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
13. 13
    Bake 20 minutes or until the top is your desired golden brown.

Original Source: http://www.food.com/recipe/fannie-farmers-classic-baked-macaroni-and-cheese-135350#ixzz1hmg2VDrG

Money Saving Tips for Moms

Ok, so I am a single mom always focusing on the bottom line.  I thought it might be helpful, especially during this holiday season, to present some excellent money saving tips.  I hope this can help you as it's helped me.

• Creative Clothes Shopping
• Shop at a used clothing store or consignment shop.  In Philadelphia, I love going to 2nd Avenue Value Store in Franklin Mills, Goodwill, or other thrift stores.  Some of my friends without kids turn up their noses at thrift or consignment shops, but hey I'm on a tight budget with a child who is growing like a weed!  Clothes can and should be cleaned before you wear them used or new anyways.  This can save you lots of money and force you to be creative.  Try it, what's the worst that can happen?!
• Make a shopping budget and stick to it  
• As much as possible, guess how much each item you need will cost and calculate the total to ensure that it sticks to your budget.  I've done this during some tight times. I hate counting every penny, but ladies, we gotta do what we gotta do!  Just to make sure as I pick up each item, I add up each item on a piece of paper to make crazy sure that it doesn't go over my budget. There is nothing worst than going up to the register and having to return items (don't act like you've never been there.)  
• Turn your heater/thermometer down
• I loooooove having the heat in my house at 72 degrees, but this is costly.  Each degree counts!  Turn your heat down, or even better, get an digital/programmable thermometer that regulates the heat according to the time.  You can visit your local hardware/home store to find a digital/programmable thermostat.  I hate the cold, but several things that help me are a snuggie, several blankets lying around the house, layering my clothes and (best of all) my space heater.  I love my space heater because it heats up just my room and save me money.  It is probably the love of my life because it brings me soooo much joy.  Oh and one other thing, you can always have a couple glasses of wine to warm you up and help you sleep well.
• Cut the Portions
• I am responsible for feeding my hungry 8 year old healthy son, 30 year old brother and sixty something elderly father.  These men like to eat!  When I'm pinching the pennies, I place the food on their plate and advise them that is all they get and drink plenty of water to fill their tummies.  If you establish realistic expectations beforehand, everyone seems to be at peace afterwards.  Especially feeding three hungry men, establishing realistic expectations are extremely important as to not disappoint.  Sounds harsh?  Possibly, but it ends up being healthier for all of us.  Although Latinos (cuz that is what I am) love big portions, it's not always healthy.  Health is very important.
• Coupons and e-coupons  
• Believe it or not ladies, you can save a good amount of money via coupons.  Honestly, I don't typically check the paper for coupons.  If I have the spare time (which is rare), I will check the papers and clip coupons.  I much rather prefer to sign up either with a retailers saving card account, website or check on-line.  You can visit the retailers website to see if they provide specials/bonuses on-line which is nice because it comes right into your inbox.  You can also sign up for their store cards, for example I have key chain full of mini cards that provide the coupons electronically for example: Acme, Shopright, Bottom Dollar, CVS, GameStop, Anna's Linens, Famous Footwear and etc.  I think every store has it's own coupon card.  If you don't mind carrying all these cards or strategically bringing them when you purchase an item from their store, it's well worth the discounts.  Finally, one of my most recent favorites is googling coupon codes for an on-line or in-person purchase.  I can confidently tell you that I've saved over $200 in the last six months googling coupon codes.  One of the most up to date an accurate I've seen is www.retailmenot.com.  People update it daily and detail wheather a code worked for them or not.  Before you make any other on-line or in-person purchase, PLEASE, use www.retailmenot.com.  (Sheesh, they should pay me for marketing their website, right? lol)

I hope this saves you a lot of money ladies, please post your success stories and suggestions, I love feedback!  Happy saving!

Puerto Rican Pasta

My mother makes an amazing "Puerto Rican Pasta" dish.  She learned it from her mother.  I am now passing on the family recipe to all of you.  I hope you will enjoy it as much as our family does.

• 4-5 Chicken Thighs with the skin removed.  Cut up the chicken in as small of pieces as you can.
• 2 heaping Tablespoons of Sofrito (fresh is better than store bought)
• 1 box of pasta (Mami recommends whole wheat rigatoni with ridges or whole wheat cannelloni or whole wheat penne rigate)  If you prefer white or regular pasta, instead of whole wheat, feel free to use.
• 3 to 5 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil (according to your preference)
• 1 can of tomato sauce (Goya is preferred)
• 1 packet of Sazon (Goya is preferred)
• 1 packet of Chicken Bullion (Goya Cubitos de Pollo packet is preferred)
• 1 Tablespoon of Alcaparrado including one tablespoon of the liquid in the jar 
• 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil (for cooking the pasta)
• 1 Teaspoon of Oregano (Optional)
• 1 Small Dried Chili Pepper Chopped Up (Optional, To Taste)
• Salt and Pepper (To Taste)

Put in the vegetable oil and medium heat.  Once the oil has heated up a bit, add in your 2 heaping tablespoons of Sofrito, 1 packet of Sazon, 1 packet of Chicken Bullion, 1 tablespoon of alcaparrado including the tablespoon of the liquid in the jar, 1 tablespoon of oregano (optional), the small dried chili pepper chopped up (optional, to taste) and Salt and Pepper (to taste.)  Let the ingredients cook for a bit to mesh together.  After about 3 or 5 minutes, put in your cut up chicken and let it cook in all the amazing flavors.  

After you put in the chicken, cook the pasta with the olive oil to an al dente consistency, drain and put to the side.

Once you see the chicken is fully cooked, put in the can of tomato sauce (Goya preferred.)  Mix the chicken and tomato sauce together.  Now you can add the al dente pasta.  Let the pasta cook for 10 to 15 minutes on a low fire to let the ingredients and pasta mesh well together.

If you have any recommendations or comments, please post.  I hope you enjoy!