Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored collaboration with the California Milk Processor Board and Latina Mom Bloggers. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

Who will it be? Who will take home the Latin Grammy? I don’t know…. I just imagine that these folks have been drinking lots of milk since they were little babies. Milk Fuels a Better Future……Helping them concentrate… helping them maybe to be more happy, and in turn creative. It could be milk that got them nominated for the record of the year! I always give my son a healthy glass of milk to propel him into the great unknown, because who knows it could be him one day getting nominated for his Rock n’ Roll! I’m just trying to prepare him.  In the meantime I can’t wait to tune in on Thursday Nov. 20th to one of the most celebrated Latin music shows. I’ve already decided I’m going to make a delicious batch of chocolate banana panna cotta. Something rich and creamy that I could dig into and feel indulgent and celebrate the winners. Heck I’m gonna put it in a glass, so I may even be able to give a clink of the glass with my guests for a CHEERS!!!! Here are the nominees for ……

RECORD OF THE YEAR:

Dónde Está El Amor: Pablo Alborán Featuring Jesse & Joy
Cambio De Piel: Marc Anthony
Respira El Momento: Calle 13
Decidiste Dejarme: Camila
Universos Paralelos: Jorge Drexler Featuring Ana Tijoux
Llegaste Tú: Luis Fonsi Featuring Juan Luis Guerra
Bailando: Enrique Iglesias Featuring Descemer Bueno & Gente De Zona
Darte Un Beso: Prince Royce
Cuando Nos Volvamos A Encontrar: Carlos Vives Featuring Marc Anthony
El Mar De Sus Ojos: Carlos Vives Featuring ChocQuibTown

I was all ready to have a gathering of friends here to watch the Latin Grammys (Nov. 20th), but then I got invited to the actual show…. I guess I won’t be having this dessert after all, but it sure was delicious. I say you make this milky dessert, invite some friends over, print out all the nominees, dance along with the artists, and have a little friendly voting competition to see who can guess the winners. This is a sure fire way to have a wonderful Latin Grammy Party!

Ingredients for chocolate banana panna cotta:

• 2 – ripe bananas
• 1 1/2 – cups whole milk
• 1/3 – cup sugar
• 1 – cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 – teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 – cup hot water
• 2 – packets Knox geletin
• 1 – package milk chocolate chips (melted)
• wafer cookies

Directions:

1. Add bananas and milk to a blender. Blend until smooth. Strain mixture through sieve, and set to the side.  
2. In a sauce pan over a medium flame, add sugar, heavy whipping cream, and vanilla. Mix to dissolve sugar and bring to a slight boil, mixing constantly. 
3. Add banana milk mixture to sugar mixture. Mix to combine.
4. In a separate cup dissolve knox in hot water. Mix until completely dissolved. Add to milk mixture. Mix to combine.
5. Pour into cups. Fill 3/4 of cup. 
6. Place in the fridge to set for 2 hours.
7. Pour melted chocolate over the top of panna cotta creating a thin layer of chocolate.
8. Garnish with a cookie.
9. Enjoy!

I don’t know about you, but when I think of the holidays, I think of a tribe of people coming to my house and eating all that is in sight. Yes, I have a big family and we like to eat, especially when we are celebrating.

Recently I traveled to Bentonville, Arkansas as part of the Walmart Moms program  that I am proudly a part of. At a certain point in the trip we had a holiday dinner, where everything from appetizers, main course, sides and desserts were served. It definitely got me thinking what I wanted to do for the holidays. For me, Thanksgiving through New Years Day is all one big time to be with the people you love most, and pour over food. I appreciate that Walmart displayed different ways to keep the holiday season festive, and I’m sure I will be exploring more of that in the food department as we get closer to Christmas, but the one thing I craved to see was donuts, and it was missing. Considering that donuts are basically the new cupcake… as far as trends go. I thought wouldn’t it be divine to walk into a house during this holiday season and see a pile of donuts waiting for you to bite into one? I’m testing this theory starting now, I stockpiled my supplies from Walmart and baked my first batch of donuts yesterday. I figured I might as well go with the season, so I made glazed pumpkin donuts. Baked not fried….. but just as delicious. The baking adds to a certain cake-like texture with a nice moistness that helps keep the donuts irresistible for a few days…. if they last that long.

Ingredients for glazed pumpkin donuts:

• 3 – eggs
• 1/2 -cup vegetable oil
• 15 – onces pumpkin puree (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 – cups sugar
• 2 – teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 – teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 – teaspoons baking powder
• 2 – cups flour
• For the glaze: 1 1/2 – cups powdered sugar
• 4 – tablespoons milk
• 2 – teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spray a donut pan with a non-stick baking spray. Set to the side.
3. In a mixer add eggs, vegetable oil, pumpkin puree, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking powder. Mix to combine.
4. Add in the flour and mix to combine.
5. Fill the donut pans 3/4 full.
6. With the back of a spoon smooth out the top.
7. Bake for 20 minutes.
8. Allow to cool in pan in 5 minutes before removing them.
9. Allow to cool until warm on a cooling rack. In the meantime make more. 
10. Make the glaze: Whisk the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla together. Then dip each donut into the glaze. 
11. Place on cooling rack for 30 minutes, then dip donut into glaze for a second time, place back on cooling rack at least an hour for glaze to set.
12. Enjoy!

It’s time for me to get in touch with my southern roots. I spent some time in Nashville, Tennessee recently and everywhere I went out to eat…. I was served a basket of freshly baked biscuits. I nearly died from happiness, they reminded me of the lovely rosemary buttermilk biscuits my southern Great Grandmother Presley used to make me when I was a little girl. I always remember her with her Fiskar gardening shears out in her backyard cutting fresh rosemary from her herb garden, that would eventually end up in our supper. It was those days that I look back on so fondly and wish I talk to her and ask who she learned to make biscuits from? Or why she choose to plant rosemary, since it’s so hard to cut? Who introduced her to Fiskar for the first time? Since I no longer have the luxury of talking to her, the next best thing I can do, is make a version of her biscuits. I am no longer going to let anything keep me from my baked biscuits, and luckily I have a rosemary bush growing in my backyard, just like Great Grandma Presley. Like her, I cut my rosemary with Fiskar’s Gardener: Platinum Series™ Smooth-action Pruner and am following in her footsteps in the kitchen too.

Since I had all these questions about the lovely gardening shears my grandmother treasured, I decided to do a little research…. this is what I found out:

• Fiskars turned 365 years old on October 31st 2014 and was founded in 1649 in Fiskars, Finland. Fiskars was founded in the Fiskars Village in Finland, which still exists today!
• Nearly 100 artists and designers currently live in the Fiskars Village. The creation of Orange Handled-Scissors was purely by chance.
• To use up extra plastic in the molding machine, left over from our orange juicer production, Fiskars created the first Orange Handled-Scissors. The color orange won out by two votes.
• Ideal for cutting stems and light branches.
• Self-lubricating, maintenance-free bearing drive.
• Fully hardened, precision-ground steel blade stays sharp, even through heavy use.
• Steel construction provides excellent durability.
• Softgrip® touchpoints enhance comfort and control.
• Easy-open lock protects the blade during transport and storage.
• Bypass blade style.
• Maximum cutting capacity: 5/8″ dia.
• Lifetime warranty

Ingredients for rosemary buttermilk biscuits:

• 2 – cups bread flour
• 2 – teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 – tablespoon sugar
• 1 – teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1 – teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 – cup butter (cold- cut into tablespoons)
• 1 – tablespoon rosemary (coarsely chopped)
• 3/4 – cup buttermilk plus 2 tablespoons for brushing the tops

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line a cookie sheet with a non-stick baking mat or parchment paper. Set to the side.
3. In a large bowl sift flour, baking powder, sugar, sea salt, and baking soda together. Set to the side.
4. In a food processor, transfer 1 3/4 cups of dry ingredients and butter. Pulse together until crumbly. 
5. Mix rosemary into remaining dry ingredients, then add in the crumbly buttery mixture from the food processor. Mix well.
6. Make a well in the center of the mixture, and slowly pour the buttermilk into the center. 
7. Mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together.
8. Pour the biscuit mixture on a lightly floured surface, and knead with floured hands until the dough comes together.
9. Pat the dough down as much as possible with your bare hands, then using a 3 inch circle cookie cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. 
10. Place biscuits on the baking sheet and gently brush each top with buttermilk.
11. Bake for 15 minutes.
12. Serve with butter and jam.

Buy a pair of amazing Fiskar gardening pruners…. by clicking here! Then make your own biscuits!

Talk about an ENERGY boost… I was in Nashville, Tennessee last week  to cover the Pillsbury Bake-Off. Lots of people assumed I was competing for the grand prize of One Million dollars, let me clarify right off the top I was not there baking, nor did I submit a recipe, I was there to cover the event for Que Rica Vida (General Mills- Latin division). I had always heard about the bake-off and have even caught a glimpse of it on T.V. , but to actually be there and feel the energy of the room and the tension of the competitive bakers was a completely different experience then I had imagined.

A lot of contestants have been submitting recipes for years and were there for the first time, and others are professional contest recipe applicants. This is a serious business for some especially when there is a million dollars at stake. It was interesting to watch and even more enticing to sample some of the finalist recipes. At the end of the four hour bake-off a panel of judges chose 4 finalist who are all vying for the grand prize. The announcement will be made on ABC’s The Chew Dec. 3rd. Do you want to help pick a winner? Vote here!

I left the bake-off so inspired by what I saw… it made me think what would I make with Pillsbury if I was in the competition. I would definitely enter under the breakfast category with these apple raisin cinnamon knots topped with a Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk glaze.

Ingredients for apple raisin cinnamon knots topped with Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk glaze:

• 1 – tablespoon butter
• 1 – piloncillo cone
• 3 – small green apples (peeled, cored, and chopped into small chunks)
• 1/2 – teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 – ounces raisins
• 1/2 – cup chopped pecans
• 2 – 12.4 ounces of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls
• 4 – tablespoons Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan over a medium flame add in butter and allow to melt.
2. Once melted add in piloncillo. Let piloncillo dissolve, then add in apples and stir to coat all the apples in the sugar syrup.
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and continue cooking for 10 minutes.
4. Add in raisins and mix them into the apples. Cook for an additional 5 minutes allowing the raisins to plump up.
5. Remove from flame and mix in the pecans. Set to the side.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Line a cookie sheet with a baking mat or wax paper and set to the side.
8. Open Pillsburry cinnamon rolls and remove icing. Separate each cinnamon roll.
9. Working with one at a time, get a cinnamon roll and flatten it out into a flat circle with either your hands or a rolling pin.
10. Fill the center of the dough with 1 teaspoon of the apple raisin filling, then gather all edges of the dough to the top and pinch them together and twist. Creating a dumpling- like ball.
11. Place on the cookie lined sheet and continue till done.
12. Bake for 10 minutes.
13. Remove from oven and drop a dollop of Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk in the center of each cinnamon roll bite.
14. It will melt a little and spread down the sides.
15. Allow to cool and enjoy!

Disclosure:  I was invited by Pillsbury to attend the Pillsbury Bake-off.  All opinions are 100% my own.

Sauce please…. Can you make sure it’s extra spicy? I like to live, I love to taste, and especially when we are talking about food. I’ve recently become obsessed with making quick sauces to top my food with. Maybe it’s because my Mom is salsa crazed and I like feeding her… I don’t know, I just know I am making different (more…)

It was Thanksgiving at my house yesterday. I made all the fixings for a Thanksgiving feast, and invited a few friends over to dive in. I decided to post this recipe out of everything that was made because (1) it’s not on my blog yet, and (2) my friends want to make it for there families this Thanksgiving. Sourdough Chorizo Cherry Stuffing…. It doesn’t get better than that.

Ingredients for Sourdough Chorizo Cherry Stuffing:

• 8 – cups sourdough bread cubes (2 medium loaves cut into 1 inch cubes)
• 18 – oz. Mexican soy chorizo (plastic casing removed)
• 5 – oz. can of black olives sliced
• 1 – onion (chopped into small cubes)
• 7 – stalks of green onion (chopped)
• 1 1/2 – cup grated carrots
• 1 – cup julienned sun dried tomatoes (boiled to plump/moisten)
• 1 1/4 – cup dried cherries
• 1/4  –  cup fresh basil (chopped)
• 16 – tablespoons butter or Vegan butter
• 1 1/2  – tablespoons fresh minced garlic
• 2 – cups vegetable broth
• 1 – cup shredded parmesan or jack cheese cheese
• 1 – cup salted shelled pistachios

Directions:

1.  Cut sourdough loaves into 1 inch cubes, place in a bowl, and allow to sit over night.
2. Preheat oven to 373 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Place sourdough cubes on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Mixing cubes at the 10 minute mark will prevent them from burning on one side.
4. In a large frying pan over a medium flame add in chorizo and cook for 5 minutes until soy chorizo is crumbly and cooked through. I break the chorizo up with a spatula and mix it the whole cooking time to make sure it is cooked properly. Set to the side.
5. In a small pan filled with water bring to a boil and add sundried tomatoes. Boil for 6 to 8 minutes to plump and moisten. Remove from water and drain completely. Set to the side.
6. In a giant bowl add in sourdough cubes, chorizo, black olives, onions, chopped green onions, shredded carrot, sundried tomatoes, dried cherries, fresh basil, pistachios and cheese. Mix with your hands until completely incorporated. Set to the side.
7. In a frying pan over a medium flame melt butter, once butter melts add in garlic and let cook for 4 minutes.
8. Add in the vegetable broth to the butter garlic mixture and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
9. Pour butter/garlic broth over stuffing mixture. Mix well to combine, careful because it is hot.
10. Place entire mixture into an oven proof baking dish.
11. Bake for 30 minutes.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Barilla, however, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive sentiments towards Barilla or their products.

You know that feeling you get when you’re eating something that encompasses your tastes from your youth and combines them with your adult palate… That’s how I feel about my chipotle albondigas and spaghetti. It’s just so good, that the entire table falls silent when I serve it. I swear I’m not sounding my own siren, I’m just giving you the facts. It’s the albondigas in spicy chipotle sauce that remind me of my days as a teenager eating with my Grandpa, and the thick spaghetti cooked al dente that plays to my adult happiness.

A few weeks ago I flew to the Barilla headquarters in Chicago and was lucky enough to cook in their kitchen. I felt like Charlie in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. I was given carte blanche to anything in the fridge and pantry, and told I had 40 minutes to make something…. and that something had to BE GOOD!  When I heard that I had an itsy-bitsy anxiety attack. I quickly scanned the fridge and found ground beef and ground pork… I immediately thought of my Grandpa’s albondigas and how he mixes the two meats. I went to the pantry and sure enough they had some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce on hand, and I then knew exactly what I was making, suddenly I felt all the little ghost butterflies exiting my stomach. I ran over to the area where the wall of Barilla pasta resides with confidence and looked carefully over the many varieties before I settled on a thick spaghetti. I just love that Barilla delivers a trusted product of superior quality, providing me with pasta that does not stick or clump and a flavor that compliments my traditional Hispanic ingredients. Here’s my recipe so you can make it at home. I made it for friends this past weekend, and the table was silent.

Ingredients for Chipotle Albondigas And Barilla Spaghetti:

• 1 – pound ground beef
• 1 – pound ground pork
• 1 – egg
• 1/4 – cup bread crumbs
• 4 – cloves garlic (peeled and minced small)
• 1 – teaspoon chile flakes
• 1/2 – teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 – cup fresh cilantro leaves (chopped)
• 9 – springs of green onion (white part only – minced)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 – tablespoons olive oil
• 1 – cup onion (chopped)
• 4 – cups chopped tomatoes
• 2 – chipotle peppers (minced)
• 1 1/2 – tablespoons adobo sauce
• 1 – cup tomato sauce
• 1 – pound Barilla thick spaghetti (no.7)
• parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine ground beef, ground pork, egg, bread crumbs, garlic, chile flakes, dried oregano, cilantro leaves, green onion, salt and pepper with your hands. Once mixture is combined, pinch a small amount of meat into a ball and roll to create meatball. Roll all meat until you have about 20 meatballs.
2. In a large pan over a medium flame add in olive oil and allow it to get hot.
3. Add in meatballs and brown on all sides for about 10 minutes. 
4. Add in onion to meatballs and saute for about 3 minutes. 
5. Then add in tomatoes, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, and tomato sauce. Mix to combine. Allow to cook another 2 to 3 minutes. 
6. While albondigas (meatballs) are cooking bring a big pot filled halfway with water to a boil. Cook spaghetti to according to the box. 
7. Drain the pasta then add it to the meatball mixture. 
8. Mix it and serve in a big platter.
9. Garnish with parmesan cheese. 
10. Enjoy!

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Barilla, however, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive sentiments towards Barilla or their products.