recipes Archives - My Latina Table

Slow Cooker Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

Charbel Barker — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 22:07:53 +0000

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup is the perfect recipe for the fall when cold season starts rolling in.

This post is written by myself on behalf of Albertsons and Safeway.

Chicken noodle soup is one of my favorite foods to make throughout the year, but I especially like to make it in the fall and winter. Here in Colorado we have a lot of cold weather. That combined with the kids going back to school means that we tend to have a lot of colds.

That is why it is important to have good, high-quality products and recipes to help out during this time of year. My husband and I have already both caught at least one cold this year and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more to come. When they do hit, I always have a pretty solid plan of action – make this slow cooker chicken noodle soup, and stock up on Signature Care™ products from Safeway.

Just a couple of days ago, I picked up some Signature Care Cold & Flu Liquid Nighttime and Signature Care Cold/Flu Relief Softgels Daytime. I trust these products to help me feel better and am happy that I can always find them when I need them. Locally, Safeway carries the exclusive line of Signature Care products, which offer the same effective relief as national name brands and the same active ingredients recommended by pharmacists, all at an affordable price.

Here in Colorado, I can find the Signature Care line of products exclusively at Safeway and Albertsons, but they can be found at all the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Shaw’s, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Market Street, Albertsons Market and Carrs/Safeway.

While I was at Safeway, I also picked up some great O Organics® products like these Saltine Crackers, which go perfect with this slow cooker chicken noodle soup. There are many stores to choose from where I live, but I choose Safeway most often because it is conveniently located, has great products and prices, and it is a name and brand that I trust.

Although being sick is never fun, it is always nice to cuddle up on the couch with a nice warm bowl of chicken noodle soup and some delicious crackers. That combination never fails to help me feel better.

This version of chicken noodle soup has lots of fresh vegetables like carrots and celery. That combined with chicken and a delicious broth makes for a delicious home-style meal that anyone can enjoy.

The great part is that you can make this in the slow cooker, so you don’t have to be spending a ton of time in the kitchen when you are not feeling well. I hope all of you enjoy this as much as my family does and that you enjoy it even when you aren’t sick. Let me know in the comments below what recipes you love to eat during this time of year.

Slow Cooker Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

Author Charbel Barker

Ingredients

3 Chicken Breasts cut into small cubes
4 Celery Stalks sliced into small pieces
4 Carrots chopped into small pieces
1/4 White Onion diced
8 cups of O Organics Chicken Broth
2 cups of wide egg noodles
1 teaspoon of lemon pepper
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon of dry parsley
1/2 tablespoon of dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of ground white pepper

Instructions

Add the chicken, the carrots, the celery, the onion and all of the seasonings with the chicken broth to the slow cooker on medium heat.
Cook for 30 minutes.
Add the noodles and cook for 10 additional minutes.
Add salt to taste and serve with crackers and lime juice.

This post is written by myself on behalf of Safeway.

The post Slow Cooker Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup appeared first on My Latina Table.

Tex-Mex Breakfast Tacos Recipe

Charbel Barker — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 02:22:53 +0000

I am excited to be working with Smithfield to bring you this delicious recipe for Tex-Mex Breakfast Tacos featuring Smithfield Breakfast Sausage. Keep reading to find out more!

I love breakfast, but sometimes I don’t love eating breakfast early in the morning!

Growing up in Mexico, breakfast is kind of a big deal – it is actually one of the biggest meals of the day. You will often find delicious Mexican style eggs, homemade salsa, and always lots of freshly made tortillas.

I remember always looking forward to having a tasty, large breakfast every day. Now fast forward 7 years and 3 kids to the present, and sometimes it is not easy to have a big breakfast every morning. More often then not I find myself having something small to eat while I am serving my kids, and then eating something bigger a few hours later. As a result, I am now a pretty big fan of brunch!

Now, just because I am eating brunch a few hours later, doesn’t mean that it can’t be just as good as when I was growing up, right?

That is why I am so glad that there are so many great breakfast products that I can use to recreate similar breakfast recipes to what I used to eat in Mexico. One of my favorites is Smithfield Breakfast Sausage. It comes in great flavors such as maple, bacon, and hometown original and you can get it as a roll, in links, or patties. I only like to use high quality products, and Smithfield fits the bill – it is made with only premium quality pork and is gluten free.

In addition to the sausage, Smithfield has lots of other great products that are perfect for brunch like bacon, spiral sliced ham, and more!

Usually in Mexico we use chorizo (a spicy sausage) for breakfast to go along with the eggs and potatoes, but I decided to use Smithfield Breakfast Sausage for today’s recipe.

These breakfast tacos combine my favorite tastes from Mexico – Mexican style eggs, fresh salsa, and tortillas, with some of my new favorites from the USA – Smithfield Breakfast Sausage and roasted garlic potatoes.

The Mexican style eggs are basically scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, and cilantro. These are often just served with salsa and tortillas on the side, but I decided to combine them in these breakfast tacos to mix things up a bit.

For the potatoes, I used red potatoes and cut them up into small cubes before cooking them with a little bit of olive oil, garlic, fresh parsley, salt, and pepper until they were nice and crispy.

After the eggs and potatoes are done, all you need to do is brown the Smithfield Breakfast Sausage, and add it to the eggs together with the potatoes. I like to use homemade tortillas, but if you are in a hurry you can use store bought. If you do, make sure you heat them in a skillet for about 30 seconds on each side until they get nice and warm and a little bit crispy. Next you will add the cheese and the potato, egg, and sausage mixture.

Finally, serve the tacos with freshly made salsa and enjoy! I hope that you find these Tex-Mex Breakfast Tacos as yummy as I do – let me know in the comments below!

For more great recipes using Smithfield brand products, go to smithfield.com.

Tex-Mex Breakfast Tacos Recipe

Tex-Mex Breakfast Tacos Recipe is a great fusion of Mexican Food and American Food.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American, Mexican

Keyword eggs, mexican breakfast, tex-mex

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings tacos

Calories 175kcal

Author Charbel Barker

Ingredients

1 Roll of Smithfield Breakfast Sausage
4 Large Eggs
1-2 Roma Tomatoes
1/2 onion
1-2 Jalapenos
1/4 bunch of fresh cilantro
2-3 medium red potatoes
1-2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste for potatoes and eggs
1-2 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley
8 homemade or store bought tortillas and salsa
Shredded cheese

Instructions

Chop up the tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, and cilantro and saute them with a small amount of olive oil.
Add the beaten eggs and scramble, set aside.
Cook the Smithfield Breakfast Sausage per package instructions.
Chop the potatoes into small cubes and cook with a little bit of olive oil, chopped garlic, salt and pepper until they are slightly crispy - top with parsley.
Combine the potatoes, eggs, and sausage and mix well.
Heat the tortilla in a frying pan and add the shredded cheese.
Add the above mixture and serve with fresh salsa.

Nutrition

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Smithfield.

The post Tex-Mex Breakfast Tacos Recipe appeared first on My Latina Table.

6 Essential Products For Making Authentic Mexican Food

Charbel Barker — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 03:41:57 +0000

If you want to cook Mexican food like a native, you will want to purchase these 6 essential kitchen products.

Para leer en español haz click aqui

Mexican food is well known for having a wide variety of delicious dishes, including many types of tacos, tamales, barbacoas, soups, and many more. You can see the influence of Mexican food in many other foods around the World including in the United States, Spain, Africa, and even Asia.

Mexican cuisine was designated an “intangible cultural heritage” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010. For those, and many other reasons, I am proud of my Mexican roots and always seek to show that through my recipes.

Of course in order to make these delicious recipes, not only do you have to have the traditional ingredients, but you also need to have specific cooking tools, or utensils in order to give the dishes that authentic taste. The products that are traditionally used in Mexican food have developed and changed throughout the past few centuries as technology has improved.

Today we are able to enjoy the best of both worlds as many of the tools we use today are similar to what was used in the past, but are a bit more efficient.

Here is a short list of a few of my favorite Mexican recipes that I have shared here on my site:

As I make these recipes, I am able to use the cooking utensils that I learned how to use from my abuelita and my mom, and this brings back so many wonderful memories from when I was a little girl.

Fortunately, today it is not too difficult to find these products even outside of Mexico, and so today I want to share 6 essential products for cooking Mexican food and where you can find them.

1. Molcajete (Mortar and Pestle)

This amazing little product is basically a stone in the form of a small bowl that is used to grind ingredients like garlic, chilies, seeds, pepper, cloves, fresh herbs and even soft fruits and vegetables like avocado!

I will always remember the delicious, fresh roasted pepper salsas that my grandma always used to make and that we always had on the table to go along with our meals. When I first arrived in the United States I had to learn how to live without my beloved molcajete, but eventually I found it here, and it is still one of my favorites!

2. Blender

It doesn’t matter what brand or how much it costs, having a good blender is absolutely essential to making great Mexican food. Whether you are using it to make your own salsa, preparing your own refried beans, or making fresh and delicious beverages like horchata, a blender is a great investment because you will definitely be using it!

I have used many different brands and types of blenders throughout my life, but the one that I have settled on is the Blendtec 725! It is absolutely amazing. It has touch buttons with preset times and cycles for different types of recipes, including salsas. I know it is expensive, but the quality justifies the price and it will last you a long time. Click here to check it out.

3. Tortilla Press

This is a very basic tool that is used to make tortillas very quickly and which can be used by anyone to make tortillas, especially if you aren’t sure how to form them by hand. They are used very often in Mexico – especially in local restaurants and stores where they have to make a huge volume to keep up with the demand for delicious foods like pork rind filled gorditas, quesadillas, and of course for the internationally famous tacos, like these chorizo and potato tacos!

This product consists of two metal, circular plates, which are connected by a handle and which, when pushed together are able to form a perfectly flat and round tortilla when a small ball of tortilla dough is placed between them.

With this great product, you can have perfect homemade tortillas in just seconds and there is nothing better than homemade, recently cooked tortillas. I bought my tortilla press a few years ago when we were living in Phoenix at a local store, but fortunately you can buy them here as well. The price is worth it, because this product will last for many years (and many tortillas!).

4. Comal

In order to cook those delicious homemade tortillas, you will also need a comal. A comal is smooth, flat griddle that can be used to cook tortillas, meat and more. Originally they were made of clay and I even remember seeing one of those that my great grandmother had. Today they are usually made of cast iron so that they are able to last longer – in fact a good comal can last for many generations!

They are usually disc shaped so that you can easily cook the tortillas or toast seeds and roast chilies. I used to have a really good one, but in our many moves, I seem to have lost it and I am definitely missing it.

Fortunately I am planning on getting a new one and there are many great options here.

5. Wooden Spoons

One of the great things about Mexican food are the many delicious, homemade beverages that are served with it. In order to make these drinks, you have to do a lot of stirring. That is why it is important to have a good amount of wooden spoons on hand.

You will be surprised how often you use them and you will notice that they will protect your non-stick and stainless steel pots and pans as well!

6. Steamer

I have been familiar with steamers since I was a little girl, and it has always been one of my favorites. It is most famous for being used to make tamales, but it can also be used to make delicious esquite and corn. You will find one of these in every Mexican home, and because of their popularity, it is even easy to find them in the United States.

I have found lots of other uses for it as well, like for steaming vegetables like artichokes. It consists of a large pot with uniform holes placed inside of another large pot which allows for whatever is put inside to be perfectly steamed. You can find them for a good price and quality here.

These are just a few of many cooking tools that you can take advantage of to make delicious Mexican food There are many more that you can use, but these ones are essential. As I have gone through this list, I can say with confidence that I use at least one or two of these products for almost every Mexican recipe that you will find on this site.

Whether you are an experienced chef, or are just starting to learn, these will definitely help you on your journey towards making delicious Mexican food.

For more essential kitchen products, check out my kitchen essentials store page.

To summarize, Here are links to all of the products listed in this article.

The post 6 Essential Products For Making Authentic Mexican Food appeared first on My Latina Table.

Chorizo and Potato Tacos (with homemade tortillas)

Charbel Barker — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 00:27:18 +0000

Para Leer en Español, Haz Click Aqui

There are so many varieties of tacos in Mexico cuisine – they can be soft, fried, or even crispy. In Mexico you can find every type and you can find them anywhere. My favorite, of course, are still barbacoa tacos, tacos al pastor (recipe coming shortly), and these chorizo and potato tacos.

Made with homemade corn tortillas, these chorizo and potato tacos are delicious! I remember making these with my grandma when my grandpa and my uncles were out harvesting corn and beans. Whenever they got home from a hard day of work, they were very hungry and we were happy to have these delicious tacos waiting for them. They aren’t only great because they are inexpensive to make, but they are actually really good too!

To start, you should go ahead and make your own tortillas. Although if you don’t have a lot of time, you can always buy them pre-made at the store. I saw some raw tortillas the other day in the frozen section and they looked pretty good! That said, it really isn’t very hard to make your own tortillas, so if you have a little extra time go ahead and give it a shot!

For the homemade tortillas, you will need corn flour (maseca). Form the dough by following the instructions on the package (basically just water and salt). Once ready, you can make them pretty easily using a tortilla press. When the tortillas are flat they are ready to cook on a skillet or other non-stick pan. After they are cooked though, set them aside and they are ready to add the chorizo and potato filling.

Like I said above, these tacos are the best when you make them with homemade tortillas, but they wouldn’t be the same without a fresh and delicious homemade salsa, and what salsa is better to give food that nice spicy kick than a fresh Mexican salsa?

In the house where I grew up, my abuela always had fresh chorizo that she made herself to use and to sell. Unfortunately I don’t have access to that fresh of chorizo now, but for this recipe I used the pre-packaged chorizo that looks kind of like ground beef – not the kind that comes in the form of a sausage. You can find differing levels of spiciness – being Mexican, I of course chose the spiciest! You should cook the chorizo while the potatoes are boiling in a pot of water for about 15 minutes. This is important so that the potatoes are soft and tender.

After combining the chorizo, potatoes, seasonings and cilantro in a skillet and cooking through, the last step is to add the mix to your homemade tortillas, and finally to add the salsa, lettuce, and cheese! This mix is great to use on burritos, quesadillas, and more too!

If you try these, let me know how they turned out in the comments below!

Chorizo and Potato Tacos (with homemade tortillas)

Author Charbel Barker

Ingredients

For the Tortillas

*Skip this step if you are buying pre-made tortillas
Corn Flour maseca(prepare according to package instructions)
Water
Salt

For the Chorizo and Potato Filling

1 pound of chorizo
1-2 large potatoes cut into small cubes
1/4 onion finely chopped
1/2 bunch of cilantro finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Salsa Roja

3 to matoes
1 jalapeno
1 clove of garlic
chopped onion
chopped cilantro
salt to taste

Accompaniments

Chopped Lettuce
Cheese
Salsa

Instructions

Chorizo and Potatoes Filling

Cook the potatoes in a boiling pot of water for 15 minutes.
Cook the chorizo in a skillet until browned, and add the softened potatoes, the onion, the cilantro and the seasonings.

For the Salsa

Blend all of the Salsa Roja ingredients in a blender except for the onion.
Transfer to a frying pan and cook the salsa with a small amount of olive oil.
Add the onions and let cook for a few minutes.
Add salt to taste.

For the Tortillas

Prepare according to package instructions.
Cook on a frying pan and add the chorizo and potatoes filling.

The post Chorizo and Potato Tacos (with homemade tortillas) appeared first on My Latina Table.