Tag Archives: bell pepper

Corn Tostada Stacks

6 May

With the celebration of 5 de Mayo, I’ve been feeling like I should indulge in some Mexican food.

I bought a stack of white corn tortillas.  This stack is a testament of the size of typical Mexican families, because this will definitely last me for weeks, if not months.  This stack is huge!!!!  I have not counted them, but my guess is it has about 40-50 corn tortillas.  We need to start using them in multiples…

Inspired by a Simply Delicioso show I saw on the Food Network, I decided to create a stack of these tortillas, that when fried, they are magically transformed into Tostadas.

This is what I did…

 

 

CORN TOSTADA STACKS

2 white corn tortillas
1 potato, boiled
1 tbs cream cheese
½ onion, sliced
½ green bell pepper, sliced
1 garlic clove, grated
2-3 tbs Mexican salsa
2 lettuce leaves – I used romaine , washed well and sliced thinly
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tbs canola oil, to fry the tortillas
1 tbs sour cream, to garnish on top

 

  1. In a small skillet, heat the oil at medium high heat.   When the oil is smoking hot, fry one tortilla at a time.  They’ll take about 2-3 minutes on each side, until the tortilla is slightly golden and crispy.  Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt as they come out of the skillet.
  2. While you’re frying these tortillas, mash the boiled potato with the cream cheese and a bit of salt.  If you find the potato too stiff, add a tab bit of olive oil to soften.  Set aside.
  3. After you’ve finished frying the tortillas, sauté the onions and peppers in the same skillet.  Why dirty another pot?  Add some salt and pepper to season and to soften.  Add the grated garlic clove to season.  When the onion/peppers are soft take them away from the heat and set aside.

Now we assemble…

4.  Place one tostada on the bottom of your plate.  Spread the mashed potato mixture, spoon some salsa, spoon the onions and peppers, sprinkle the shredded lettuce and top off with the tostada you have left.

5.  Spoon some extra salsa on top and garnish with some sour cream…  I did not have any on hand when I did this, so that’s why it’s missing from the picture.  But I know it will add something good and delicious to the mix.

 

I am sure you can continue adding layers of goodness to this… how about a layer of corn and bean salsa or some fresh tomatoes, or even some saucy stewed soy protein (so it looks like ground beef)…  the possibilities are endless.

¡Viva México Lindo y Querido!

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Stewed Potatoes – Papas Guisadas

20 Dec

This was my dinner last night.

Back in my omnivorous days, I used to love when my aunt made stewed chicken, but not for the chicken… it was for the sauce and the potatoes in the stew. So when I decided to go veggie, I created this dish to celebrate all the good things I love about my aunt’s cooking.

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STEWED POTATOES

2 large potatoes, cubed
1 large onion, diced
1 cubanelle pepper or green bell pepper, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced or 1 tablespoon of sofrito
1 jar of stewed tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup of water – if needed
Salt and pepper to taste
10 large olives or 2 tablespoons of capers
2 bay leaves
a large dash of paprika
1 roasted bell pepper – optional
a few splashes of apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
  1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, pour olive oil. Mix in the onions, peppers and sofrito, if using. If using just the garlic, wait a few minutes to mix it in. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  2. When onions and peppers have softened, add in the potatoes. Stir a few times for them to cook a bit.
  3. Add the tomatoes, olives or capers, roasted bell peppers, bay leaves and paprika. If there is not enough liquid for the potatoes to cook in, add a bit of water. Add the vinegar.
  4. Simmer in the covered pot for about 30 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.

Serve over brown rice or eat on it’s own.  Here, I show it over basmati rice.  You could add veggie hot dogs to this and it would taste great too.

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Sweet Red Bell Pepper Dip

3 Dec

This is the first dip I learned to make that was not just a mix of stuff I had bought.  I have to thank my friend Aniette for giving me the recipe 10 years ago.  This has become a staple dip in my parties… even my friend Ana Yolanda requested me to bring it to all her parties too.

When I first tried this dip, it was served with a chunk of cream cheese and the dip drizzled over it.  With a spreader, you would get a bit of cheese with some pepper dip on top of a chip and enjoy.  The thing is that the dip, as good as it is, will not look very appetizing after a while.  So after many tries later, I came up with a fool proof way to retain the flavor and integrity of the mixture, while still making it look appetizing no matter what.  This is the version right here.

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SWEET RED BELL PEPPER DIP

1 red bell pepper, cut in pieces
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 8oz. pack of cream cheese
  1. Place bell pepper, sugar and vinegar in a blender.  It might seem there’s little liquid to blend, but it will.  Believe me.
  2. Transfer the blended mixture to a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil – watch it, because it could boil over.

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  1. Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes.
  2. Let it cool a bit.
  3. Place cream cheese and most of the pepper mixture in a food processor.  Blend until smooth.  It will turn a nice shade of pink.  If the pink is too pale, keep adding pepper mixture.  Just watch out that the mix is still creamy and does not become too runny.

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Enjoy with Wheat Thins or Ritz Chips. 

 You could also enjoy this dip without mixing the cream cheese.  It makes a great addition to a sandwich.  If you’re too lazy or the market is out of red bell peppers, my friend Ana’s mom does it with jarred red bell peppers.  If using those, you can omit the boiling part.

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Stuffed Bell Peppers

3 Dec

This has become one of my signature dishes.  I saw a recipe in a vegetarian cooking book and, because I never follow a recipe to a “T”, over time I developed my very own version.  My sister, who is not vegetarian, called me from Indiana to ask me for the recipe once.  That’s the impression it made on her.

 This recipe works with any color of bell peppers – green, red, yellow or orange.  They all taste great.  Buy the ones cheaper at the supermarket that day.  I cut the pepper in half, so each pepper yields 2 servings.  But I guess your servings will depend on the amount of hunger and how voracious are your guests.

 This recipe makes great use of leftover rice.  It’s hard for me to give you exact measurements for ingredients, because I always make this recipe out of leftovers… and the last few times, I have done it for 30 people – so the recent amounts are not applicable for a home dinner.  So bear with me on this one… I’ll try to give you my best estimates.

 

STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

3 bell peppers, washed well, cut in half lengthwise from top to bottom
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 small carrots, shredded
2 tomatoes, diced or 8 oz. chopped tomatoes in glass jar (Viter or Pomi brands work well) 
1 cup of cooked whole grain rice
1/3 cup slivered almonds
4 oz cream cheese
2 oz goat cheese
2 tablespoons scallions or green onions
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley
3/4 cup shredded cheese – cheddar or Italian cheese blend
Salt and Pepper to taste
  1. Wash peppers and cut them from top to bottom, so each pepper half has a bit of pepper stem, which looks nice as presentation.  Clean out all the seeds and white ribs inside with a pairing knife.
  2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 
  3. In a saute pan over medium heat, heat a small amount of oil and saute onions for a few minutes, add garlic, add carrots.  Saute until softened.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Add tomatoes. If adding fresh, saute until the tomatoes exude most of their liquid.  This will provide moisture to the mixture.
  5. Add rice to mixture. Remove from heat.
  6. Add almonds and cream and goat cheeses. Add scallions and parsley.
  7. Fill the pepper halves with the rice mixture.  Top with shredded cheese.
  8. Bake in oven for 30-45 minutes, until peppers are cooked and cheese on top is golden brown.
  9. Remove from oven and rest for 10-15 minutes.

 If you rather prepare this recipe without cheese, it tastes great just the same.  You could also use rice cream cheese and rice or soy shredded cheese for the topping.  This way you will not feel as if you’re depriving yourself of anything.

You can definitely include in the rice mixture any vegetable of your choice.  Just like this is a recipe for leftover rice, it’s also great for leftover vegetables and cheese.  I once made this with a leftover cheese dip from a party. 

This is just the starting point.  Let me know what other version you can come up with.  OK?

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