Category: Holiday

Potato Chip Mac and Cheese

Potato Chip Mac and Cheese

Potato-Chip-Mac-And-Cheese

Potato Chip Mac and Cheese is the recipe my friends have been requesting since before I even started my website. This is the one I turn to when I wanna overindulge.  It’s holiday table worthy and extraordinary for an ‘any-day’ food hug. This recipe has a way of making you feel like you just chatted with your oldest friend. I pull out of my hat when I’m feeling a need for pure comfort or a bowl of cheesy happiness that words just can’t pinpoint…..  I’d much rather let my potato chip mac and cheese say it for me, and it does.

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Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Pie

Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Pie

Dulce-De-Leche-Pumpkin-Pie

I was racking my head on how I could make Thanksgiving 2020 a nice experience for my family. My son is obviously disappointed that our annual trip to my cousin’s house for a feast is cancelled this year. I told him it’s a small sacrifice the whole country is making to save lives. I also promised him I would organize a zoom or facetime dessert meeting on Thanksgiving with the rest of our family. For some reason that still didn’t feel good enough for him. Then I suggested I write a recipe for a Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Pie and send it to all my family members so they could make it in their homes and we could eat our pies together virtually. My boy and extended family loved that idea and we are going to bring it to life this Thanksgiving.

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NESCAFÉ® CLÁSICO Con Leche y Cajeta Gelatina

NESCAFÉ® CLÁSICO Con Leche y Cajeta Gelatina

This post has been sponsored by NESCAFÉ® . All thoughts and opinions are my own. NESCAFE® and CLASICO™ are trademarks owned by Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., Vevey, Switzerland.

Sharing a moment with my Mom over Nescafé Clásico and gelatina.

My main focus these days is being present with my family. This allows me to savor all special moments, especially during the holiday season. I have learned one thing for certain in 2020, and that is family time is absolutely precious and needs to be celebrated as such. To ensure I have the energy to do so… I reach for that rich bold flavor of  NESCAFE® CLASICO™ at high noon to get me over that nagging mid-day crash. First, I run over to Walmart to pick up all my ingredients, then jump into a dessert making frenzy to share with my family over a laugh and a smile.

 My Mom reminds me that my great grandma used to say “There’s always room for gelatina.” As a Latina, it is part of my genetic make up to not only want to eat a slice of gelatina, but to make it look like an invite to the rest of my family too. I make my NESCAFE® CLASICO™ con leche y cajeta gelatina as an open invitation to the table for my family to share a moment at the end of the day. I use NESCAFE® CLASICO™ in my gelatina along with a cajeta for the creamy layers, and wow does it make a difference. All the ingredients are easy to find…. I got mine at my local Walmart store. I hope you’ll try this easy recipe and share it with your familia too.

NESCAFÉ® CLÁSICO Con Leche y Cajeta Gelatina

Ingredients for NESCAFE® CLASICO™ con leche y cajeta gelatina:

  • 6 teaspoons Nescafe Clasico
  • 7 – cups hot water
  • 6 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 9 – envelopes of gelatin or agar-agar
  • 4- cups of milk or
  • 1 – cup sugar
  • 2 – cups cajeta
Savoring the moment with NESCAFÉ® CLÁSICO Con Leche y Cajeta Gelatina!

Directions:

1. Spray a 12 cup bundt pan with a non- stick cooking spray. Be sure to spray the center cone as well. Set to the side.

2. Set out 6 separate bowls. In 1 of them add 2 cups boiling hot water, 3 teaspoons NESCAFE® CLASICO™, and 3 tablespoons brown. Mix to combine. Sprinkle 1 ½ envelope of gelatin over coffee mixture mix until completely incorporated and gelatin powder is dissolved.

3. Pour into the bundt pan. Place the pan in the fridge for 60 minutes. 

4. In a small sauce over a low flame add in 2 cups of milk and 1 1/2 packets of gelatin. Mix the mixture constantly with a rubber spatula until all gelatin has dissolved, then add in 1/2 cup of sugar and mix in until the sugar dissolves into milk. Remove from flame and allow to cool while the coffee portion of gelatin is setting in the fridge.

5. You will know if the first layer is done by pressing on the top with your finger…. if your fingerprint is left in the top, then you are safe to add the next layer.

6. Gently pour in a milk layer and place gelatin mold back in the fridge for 60 minutes. 

7. Next in a small sauce over a low flame add in 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 1/2 packets of gelatin. Mix the mixture constantly with a rubber spatula until all gelatin has dissolved, then add in 1 cup of cajeta and mix in until the mixture combines completely. Remove from flame and allow to cool while gelatin is setting in the fridge.

8. Remove gelatin from fridge and add the next cajeta layer, place back in the fridge for 60 minutes.

9. Repeat steps 2 -8.

10. Once you are done with the last layer place back in fridge and let firm overnight.

Unmolding:

11. The un-molding of the gelatin mold can be a little tricky. First with both hands gently pull gelatin away from the wall of your bundt pan, using your fingertips. Work your way all the way around little by little. Don’t forget the center. In a big bowl filled up with warm/hot water, slowly glide the bundt pan into the water bath and let it rest there for about 15 seconds. You will see the insides of the bundt pan become slightly moist… this is the sign you are looking for. Remove pan from water and dry it off with a towel. Then place a plate on top of the pan and flip it over to invert gelatin mold onto the plate. Gently remove the pan and you will have a beautiful and delicious gelatin mold. Place it back in the fridge until ready to serve.

12. Can be made up to 4 days in advance. Keep covered with plastic wrap in the fridge. 

Here’s a recipe for Nescafé iced coffee!

Sopa Azteca De Tortilla

Sopa Azteca De Tortilla

Sopa-Azteca-De-Tortilla

Sopa Azteca De Tortilla brings back so many wonderful memories for me. My beloved grandfather used to make this delicious Tortilla Aztec Soup anytime there was an abundance of potatoes in the house. I used to look forward to the gooey cheese, savory chile broth, and crisp tortilla strips. In remembrance of my beautiful grandpa for Dia De Los Muertos, I’ve partnered with Ole Mexican Foods to share his infamous Sopa Azteca De Tortilla! Just like my grandpa used to… I used La Banderita Flour Tortillas to fry up perfectly crisp tortilla strips.

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Calabaza En Tacha Perfectly Spiced

Calabaza En Tacha Perfectly Spiced

Calabaza-en-tacha

When I was a little girl I used to walk down the street to a teeny tiny small candy factory (the size of a walk in closet) that sat at the end of my block. For some reason the woman who worked there by herself took to me and my hundreds of questions. I was that kid, I’d knock on the door and ask if I could come in and watch. As time passed the woman looked forward to my visits and we became friends. She schooled me on the world of Mexican candy making. In the midst of making batches of cocadas, and cajeta… she would also make candied fruit. On the days when I was lucky she would have left over pumpkin and make calabaza en tacha and send me home with a batch for my family. My grandfather used to get so excited when I would arrive home with it. I ate mine plain and he would pour a little milk over his. Those were some of the most impressionable moments of my young childhood that will stick with me forever.

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Count Cheesy-LA Monsterpiece

Count Cheesy-LA Monsterpiece

Count-Cheesy-La-Monsterpiece

Halloween is upon us like the murky fog in a haunted graveyard. It is time to get creepy crawly and invite our favorite vampires out do the Monster Mash. If you plan on having a small group of goons (your family) over for All Hallow’s Eve make this Count Cheesy-La Monsterpiece to hold court center table! Beware he may release his batty appetizers into your mouth. Follow the instructions below on how to make your very own Count Cheesy-La Monsterpiece. #Home4Halloween

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Calavera Conchas

Calavera Conchas

Calavera-Conchas

These Calavera Conchas came to me in a dream. I was setting up my alter for Dia De Los Muertos and kept saying I wanted something that would pop. A voice with no face suggested conchas. I’m not sure if it was a subconscious element that suggested conchas since that is what my Grandfather used to eat with his coffee or if it was my grandfather paying me a visit in dream form. I woke up and knew I had to bring them to life. I hope you will make them and let them pop on your alter…. not to mention they are absolutely delicious!

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