This Could Be Us (Skyland, #2)(132)
RECIPES
Picadillo
Ingredients
? 2 tablespoons olive oil
? 1 potato, diced
? 1 cup sofrito (You can buy this at the grocery store, but it’s so easy to make. Check out Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook by Illyanna Maisonet for a great, simple recipe.) ? ? cup yellow onion, chopped ? ? cup green bell pepper, chopped ? ? cup red bell pepper, chopped ? ? cup yellow bell pepper, chopped ? 3 cloves garlic, minced
? 1 pound ground beef (or turkey or a meatless substitute for Lupe ) ? 1 teaspoon ground cumin
? Salt and pepper, to taste ? 2 tablespoons sazón
? 1 cup tomato sauce
? ? cup olives with pimiento, diced ? White rice, for serving
Preparation
Add the olive oil to a medium-sized pan/skillet over medium-to-high heat. Add the diced potato. Sauté the sofrito for 2 to 3 minutes, turning the heat down to low-medium once it’s slightly brown. Add the yellow onion, bell peppers, and minced garlic. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the ground beef, cumin, salt and pepper, and sazón. Stir and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce and sliced olives. Stir all the ingredients until they’re evenly mixed. Increase the heat to medium until the meat is browned, uncovering occasionally to stir.
Turn the heat down and cook to desired consistency.
Serve over white rice.
Ooey-Gooey Brownies
Ingredients
? 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I recommend Ghirardelli Bittersweet 60% Cacao Baking Chips) ? 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened ? 1? cups confectioners’ sugar ? 1 cup brown sugar
? 1 tablespoon vanilla extract ? 3 large eggs
? 1? cups flour
? ? teaspoon salt
? ? cup unsweetened cocoa powder ? ? cup milk chocolate chips
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 × 9-inch pan with nonstick foil or parchment paper.
Melt the semisweet chocolate chips for about 1 minute in a microwave-safe bowl/container. Let sit for a minute and then stir to a smooth texture.
Add the butter, both sugars, vanilla, and eggs. Mix well. Whisk in the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.
Stir in the milk chocolate chips.
Transfer the batter to the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes (until a toothpick or fork comes out with just a few crumbs attached). Cooking a little less makes it gooier!
Allow to cool and cut into squares to serve.
Strawberry-Lemon Prosecco Sangria
Ingredients
? 1 lemon, thinly sliced ? 2 tablespoons sugar
? ? cup strawberries (stems off, sliced) ? 750-milliliter bottle chilled prosecco
Preparation
Lay the lemons in the bottom of a pitcher or punch bowl.
Sprinkle the sugar on top and smash the sugar into the lemons with the back of a spoon or a muddler.
Add the sliced strawberries.
Smash the strawberries in with the sugar and lemon slices.
Add the prosecco to the pitcher or bowl.
Serve right away or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Pour sangria over ice and serve in glasses.
Peace Cobbler
Ingredients
? 4 tablespoons butter
? ? cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon, for sprinkling ? ? cup all-purpose flour ? ? teaspoon salt
? 1 teaspoon baking powder ? ? cup milk (or do you! Use whatever dairy sub floats your lactose intolerance) ? 2 cups sliced fresh (or canned—no judgment!) peaches, or whole blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, or a combination of fruits (or substitute a 12-ounce package of frozen berries). Get creative and fruity!
? Whipped cream or ice cream, for serving (optional)
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Use the 4 tablespoons butter to grease an 8 × 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan.
Place the pan in the oven until the butter is melted. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside.
Whisk together the ? cup sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Whisk in the milk. A smooth batter should form.
Pour the batter into the pan you set aside.
Toss the fruit over the batter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
Bake for about an hour, until the top is lightly browned and the fruit bubbles.
Adding a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream would be a good idea!
Aunt Evelyn’s Pear Preserves
Ingredients
? 8 half-pint jars ? 12 fresh pears, peeled, cored, and sliced ? 2 cups sugar ? 1? cups water ? 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Jar Preparation
Wash the jars, lids, and bands in hot, soapy water. Rinse and drain. Fill a canner with water and place the jars on the rack. If you don’t have a canner, you can use a pot deep enough to hold water and the jars. You can also boil the bands and lids in the pot, too, if you like. Bring the water to a medium heat. Turn the heat down, but keep the jars hot until it’s time to fill them with the mixture.
Preparation
Combine the pears, sugar, water, and lemon juice in a stockpot.
Cook uncovered for 1 to 1? hours. The mixture will thicken. Remove the pot from the heat. With canning tongs or some equivalent, remove the jars (the lids and bands) from the canner/pot. Scoop the mixture into 8 hot half-pint jars. Leave about ? inch of headspace in each jar. Slide a plastic knife or nonmetallic spatula around in the mixture to remove air bubbles. Center the lids on the jars. Screw the bands down until tight. Put the jars back into the canner/pot in hot water. You want about 1 inch of water over the jars. Let the jars boil on the rack in the canner for 7 to 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the jars stand for 5 minutes. Remove the jars from the water and set aside to cool. Don’t disturb the jars at all while cooling.