Picadillo Sopes En Salsa Roja is a plant based fantasy! It’s exactly what every vegan and vegetarian Mexican food aficionado dreams about and I don’t say that lightly. Heck, even meat-eater would lose their yayas over them. So good, I can sing about my picadillo. The perfectly crisp fried sope is dipped in a homemade salsa roja, then filled with refried beans, plant-based picadillo con papas, and topped with queso fresco, and all the other condiments.

This post has been sponsored by NESTLÉ® LA LECHERA® and NESTLÉ® ABUELITA. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m not one to toot my own horn, but these Mexican Chocolate Tres Leches Cupcakes are so divinely delicious, they deserve to be celebrated by ALL this holiday season! I was shopping the Hispanic aisle at Walmart and spied a box of NESTLÉ® ABUELITA sitting next to NESTLÉ® LA LECHERA® . It was like all the pieces of the puzzle came together at once in my mind and I thought I should make a batch of Abuelita Chocolate Tres Leches cupcakes.  I wanted that unmistakable taste of authentic Mexican hot chocolate with a unique cinnamon touch for my Tres Leches cupcakes. Then I quickly thought of the creamy consistency, and sweet, luscious texture of La Lechera sweetened condensed milk and knew this would be my milk base. I made individual cupcakes for easy packaging and sharing with loved ones over the holidays, because ultimately that’s what it’s all about!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

Homemade Buttery Crust Blueberry Pie is just what the holidays are calling for. This delicious pie is not a typical one in my world, but surely is a pleasant surprise. I love blueberries and bringing this Homemade Buttery Crust Blueberry Pie to life was super easy. Lucky for me I live in California where blueberries are plentiful all year round, but if that is not the case in your state, feel free to use frozen blueberries. They work like a charm.

I have a friend named Mely Martinez. I met her on Instagram @MexicoInMyKitchen a few years ago and we started following each other. What I noticed right away about Mely from watching her stories is that she is the queen of practicality and knows everything about freezing food and making a delicious meal out of a few key ingredients. She’s also a serious badass in the kitchen and knows the history of Mexican food like the back of her hand (she was born and raised in Tampico, Mexico). I love watching her prepare her breakfast meals and wish I could be invited one day to take a seat at her kitchen table, but she lives in Texas and I live in Los Angeles… so WAH!