Lemon-Herb Marinated Chicken (Served with Tri-Color Penne & Spinach Salad)

   This is delicious lunch if I do say so myself, and I do! haha!  ;) Not difficult at all! I just marinated the chicken for about 30-40 minutes in the refrigerator while I did other things. After, you take it out of the fridge it takes about 15-20 minutes cooking. You choose whether you want to throw in the marinate along with chicken into the pan or simply the chicken. I opted to toss it all in, and it's no big deal if you are considering the oil, because it all stays in the pan; and you end up with nice crispy bits. Yumm! So, are you ready? Here it is:

2 lbs- Chicken Breast Steak/Fillet
3/4 Cup -Olive oil
 1- Squeezed Yellow Lemon
1 tsp- Lemon Pepper
1/4 tsp-Ginger (ground)
1/2 cup- cilantro cut roughly
1/3 cup- Onion sliced (white)
1/2 tsp- Salt
1 tsp- Chili flakes
2- Garlic Cloves Minced

Prep the Marinade:
Add olive oil, lemon, lemon pepper, ginger,cilantro, onion, salt,chili flakes, and garlic(wisk/mix all together) into a container that you can place your chicken to marinate for a good 30-40 minutes. Place your clean (cut if necessary) chicken breast into the marinade and combine well. Cover your container and let sit in the refrigerator. That's it! Now just wait....

Once, the marinated chicken is ready just put it on a hot pan. I decided to use all of the marinade in the pan as well so, I had no need to add any extra oil. I just turned it over a few times, waited for the liquid to evaporate. Then, it started taking a bit of browning-that's what we like! When it's ready just take it out, you'll see all the oil will be in the pan so not very much is absorbed and it is delicious.

I chose to use a Tri-Color Penne with the chicken, but you can add any pasta or rice if you would like. Honestly, the tri-color element is just for visual effects and doesn't change the flavor of the pasta. I boiled a pot of water with a generous amount of salt. I then dropped in 1 box of pasta and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Follow the instructions on your package for best results. Then, rinsed out the water-I added salt, pepper, and a bit of "fake butter".

For my salad I chose spinach, you know you have to get those greens in your diet! I just grabbed a big bunch of baby spinach, and added sliced red onion, tomato, and avocado. Finally, drizzled a bit of ranch dressing!


This is a very easy prep type of meal and you are rewarded with just delicious flavors. By the way it is not spicy at all, but feel free to change any of the ingredients to your liking! Happy cooking!

Beef Soup/Stew (Caldo de Res)

                                                                                                                                                                 


Hello! So, today I have made beef soup/stew or caldo de res. I'm not sure if it can definitely be considered a stew because stews are usually thicker, but I do know it's a great soup that will warm and fill you up. I have done it a few different ways over the years, and I think I'm happy with this recipe. It's not difficult at all;it simply takes time to get all the lovely flavors to combine together.

 2 lb. Beef Shank-Chamorro de res
4-5 Carrots peeled & sliced med cut
3 potatoes peeled & cubed (not too small)
2-3 whole fresh corn-cut in half
1/2 small cabbage cut roughly in large sections
2 Mexican calabacitas or chayote (today I used the calabacita) Mexican squash
2 tomatoes sliced
1/4 onion sliced
2 springs of peppermint-yerba buena
1 large clove of garlic
1 Jalapeño or 2 Serrano chiles sliced (if you like heat keep seed)
Salt to desired taste

I purchased my meat in two chunks, but you can ask your butcher to pre-cut if you prefer. After, rinsing/washing your meat place it a large pot with plenty of water, a large piece of onion (extra from what is listed above), the garlic clove, and just a little salt. I don't like to use a lot of salt in my food, and specially with something that will boil so long it's easy to over do it with salt, so take it easy( you can always add more later but you can't take away).

 As the meat begins to boil, a brownish foam from the meat forms above (it's normal)-Just take your spoon and clean that out so that your soup will look clear/clean.

As I mentioned, my pieces of meat were whole, so as they had cooked I took them out and cut them into small chunks. I left the meat outside the pot while I added the other stuff. This is done so that your meat doesn't fall apart, and it was pretty much done.

I did however, put back in the bones from the meat because this essentially flavors your soup. I added the sliced tomatoes,sliced onion, and the halved corn. I also took out the piece of garlic, and the first onion piece I put in. I added two sprigs of peppermint or yerba buena, and left it alone until the corn was done.

Meanwhile, I cut all the other vegetables. Once, the corn is done, go ahead and take it out or leave it a little longer if you want. Drop in the potatoes, carrots, and cabbage pieces. If you choose to add chile, you can add it at this time. For a milder taste just take out all the seeds, it still flavors your soup nicely.

Watch your potatoes because you don't want them to fall apart. When they are nearly done, put your meat back in the pot and let them boil together. Lastly, add your pieces of calabacita; but if you're adding chayote then you'd have to add before the potatoes because it takes longer. Where Mexican squash falls apart very easily. At this time taste for salt and add if you would like.

So, this is the way I do this soup-it works for me. And I feel that since everything is done in stages all the veggies turn out very nice and nothing falls apart. I hope it turns out delicious for you.

Once you serve add all your veggies and a little bit of the meat, and your corn- you can also add squeezed lemon.

 Thanks for stopping by! I do recipes once in a while on this blog but if you'd like to see a bit more of me check out my beauty channel ;) B3beautybyblanca on Youtube!! (click here) or  Find me here on Facebook (Click Here)

Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

Hello! So, you may have now noticed that I've been into baking recently! I admit that I'm not the greatest baker (even though I do love to cook) but I love to learn new things and of  course enjoy the finished products ;) Give it a try, I must say that I really enjoyed how these cookies turned out (happy me!!)...

Ingredients:

1/2-Cup Butter
1/2-Cup Sugar
1/2-Cup Brown Sugar
1/2-Cup Peanut Butter
1/2-Tsp. salt
1/2-Tsp.Baking Powder
1/2-Tsp. Baking Soda
----------------------
1-Egg
----------------------
1 1/4-Cup Flour

Cover 2-3 hours
Bake at 375 degrees 10-12 min
I made 24 cookies (about 1 tbsp sized)


In your mixer put in butter,sugar,peanut butter, salt, baking powder, and baking soda (mix until combined).
Then, drop in your egg-mix everything again. Lastly, drop in the flour and mix until you have your batter;which needs to be refrigerated for at least a few hours so that it's easier to handle (it will slightly harden a bit).

After taking your batter out of the fridge-choose a spoon, measuring spoon, ice cream scoop (whatever works) to get uniform sized cookies. Once you measure them, take the amount of batter separated and turn it into a ball with your hands. Line your baking pan/dish. Evenly line up the balls of batter so that they will have enough space to spread out as they bake.

I was able to fit nine cookies at a time so that they would have enough space to expand. Then, just taking a fork, you can press down on the ball of batter-then press down in the opposite direction and create the hash tag on the cookie (I found that even if I pressed hard my hash tags didn't show up too much at the end,but really didn't bother me because it doesn't affect flavor!!). Place in your oven 10-12 min at 375. I liked mine best left over a little over 10 min because I got that extra toasty,crispy cookie.

This was my final result!! They are really good; not too sweet, they have that peanut butter taste of course but it's not overwhelming :) Give it a try and let me know how they come out! Also, do subscribe to my blog and YouTube Channel. On the blog you find more random posts, and on the YT channel I try to stick to beauty related videos!

See ya!! :)

Special Lemonade Recipe

Hello friends!
As we are all hoping, some wishing for warmer weather...I will leave you with this "Special Lemonade Recipe". The weather hasn't been all bad in Los Angeles-except for a couple cloudy days in between every now and then. However, I'm sure that sunny days are right around the corner! For those hot summertime days here's is something to cool you off!! Enjoy! :)

You will need:

4 Cups- Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice 

(I will not mention how many lemons because they come in different sizes)

3 1/2 Cups- Water (or more)

2 Cups-Sugar

Ice-(As much or as little you prefer)

Choose yellow lemons that are nice and juicy!

Cut all your lemons in half. Check out these giant lemons!
They really were this big (bigger than the palm of my hand-the picture is not zoomed in).

Measure out 2 cups of sugar.

Here is where the actual work comes in....juice 4 cups of lemon juice; which will be divided in half.

In a pot pour in your sugar and 2 cups of the lemon juice (if you choose you can strain out the pulp and seeds left behind). 
I opted to pour in pulp and a couple seed that escaped,
simply note it can turn it a bit more tart-but it's lemonade, 
so it is meant to be!
Keep/save 2 cups of lemon juice to finish lemonade.

Fully integrate the lemon juice and sugar and start to heat up the mixture on a medium flame.

After 5-10 min you will see the lemon juice
 begin to bubble and you can turn off the heat.

At this point you will see your juice and sugar has turned into a syrup-like mixture and the color is much more vibrant. 
It's almost like creating a lemon concentrate that we 
will add to in order to fully develop it's potential.
This is what makes this lemonade special! Shhh! 
Don't give out the secret (just kidding).
 Let cool, you can place in the refrigerator to chill 15-20 min.

When you are ready to prepare your lemonade simply pour into your pitcher/container. We will combine the sugared-lemon syrup we created, 2 cups of lemon juice that you saved, 3 1/2 cups of water and ice. I like plenty of ice in my lemonade but that is a personal choice. If you feel that it is too tart or too sweet, 

simply add more water.  This will reduce the sweetness or extreme tartness.

What's left to do? Enjoy your lemonade in a shady spot. If you liked the recipe be sure to share with your friends, and let me know! Drop me a line, it would be good to get your opinions.

Oatmeal & Raisin Cookie Recipe

Welcome Spring!! :)

Today I decided to try baking oatmeal and raisin cookies. Baking is not my forte, but I was feeling it today.

So these are pretty easy -at least I thought. This is the first time I make them; they are imperfect but perfectly delicious-golden around the edges and soft/chewy in the center. Give it a try, enjoy, and of course share any tips below!

Ingredients:

1- Cup Room Temp Butter
1-Cup Brown sugar
1/3-Cup white Sugar
2-Eggs
1-Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/2- Cups Flour
1-Tsp. Baking Soda
1-Tsp. Salt
1/2-Tsp. Ground Cinnamon
3-Cups Rolled Oats
1- Cup Raisins

Mix butter until creamy, then add brown & white sugar. When completely mixed incorporate eggs and vanilla (one at a time). In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients and mix well (flour,baking soda,cinnamon,salt). Pour the dry ingredients into buttered sugar and combine them together. Make it all smooth before you pour in your oats and raisins. Grease you pan lightly, drop uniform shapes/circles separated evenly and bake 15-25 min at 350 degrees (depending on your oven). Check for crisp edges and soft centers. Allow a few minutes to cool, then place on cooling rack.

Of course, feel free to use other healthier options into the recipe or substitute any ingredients.

Enjoy! A great way to welcome the beautiful Spring.... cookies are a great way to welcome 

anything!!haha! ;)

Lasagna (without pasta) Using Mexican Squash/Calabacitas

Hello friends! Yesterday I decided to try out a new recipe, you know you may see something similar then put your twist on it. I didn't know if or how it would work, but I have to say for the first time making lasagna without the pasta it was good! You know there is nothing diet related about lasagna because it's cheese,pasta,meat, and more cheese on top. Well, I thought I might try doing a variation using Mexican Squash or calabacitas. I prepped my meat, sauce and condiments and instead of using pasta I used slices of the squash (length-wise). Of course no lasagna can be called a lasagna without delicious bubbly cheese, yumm!! So, this is not necessarily "healthy", but hey lets do it one step at  time! For now I only substituted the pasta and the rest of the ingredients were added as per usual in the creation of a delicious lasagna.

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground beef
1/4 onion roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp oil (to add to your pan to cook meat)
garlic salt to taste
oregano
basil (4-6 leaves or as wanted)
4 med tomatoes chopped not too small
6 Mexican Squash-calabacitas (sliced length wise)
1 can tomato sauce
chili flakes (if desired)
1 lb mozzarella
1/4 lb cotija cheese

Start out by mincing your garlic, and cutting the onion so that they can be sauteed in a lightly oiled pan. After they have released their aroma and you gave them a couple minutes, proceed to add the ground beef meat and incorporate the onion and garlic into the meat.Keep your stove on medium to low heat to give the meat enough time to cook without burning. Add garlic salt over the meat,oregano, chili flakes as needed (I don't measure these things,you just have to eye it,taste,if you're not happy add more). As the meat has fully cooked pour over your chopped tomatoes and basil (about 4-6 leaves or more). Wait for the tomatoes to incorporate, release some of their flavor and add your canned tomato sauce.

In an oven-safe container add sauce to the bottom of your dish and begin assembly. Since the squash will be cut length wise you can comfortably form rows then begin to add your meat and sauce over the squash. Continue with a layer of the cheese mixture (mozzarella&cotija grated), and again add a layer of squash. Continue adding the layers until you are both finished with the meat/sauce and squash. Remember to leave enough cheese to be used as a delicious topping for your lasagna.

Put in the oven at 350¨ for 30-45 min depending on your oven. You can cover with foil for most of the cooking and uncover the last 10 min to get a golden-cheesy layer! Bon appetite!! Enjoy it, food is meant to be enjoyed-we may not eat this very often because it's so rich but when we do, we must enjoy!!

Fish Soup (Caldo de pescado) Recipe

Hello friends! Today I made fish soup/broth for lunch and being that cooking is also one of the things that I find so much enjoyment and passion over I wanted to share. I might periodically try to post up some other recipes as time goes on. If you try it, you might be pleasantly surprised and like it or you can tweak it to what ever you like best! See ya!! ;)

Catfish whole (ask your butcher to cut for you)
6 carrots
4 large potatoes
2 celery stalks
4 tomatoes
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
1 chile pasilla
cilantro bunch
lemon (optional)
salt
Knorr chicken bouillon
oil (I used vegetable oil)
pan
stew pot

In pot start to boil water about halfway full with onion and garlic clove and salt.
Cut up your potatoes, carrots, and celery and drop into the pot that you have started with the boiling water.
In a pan heat up some oil, open up your chile pasilla,clean it, and fry/toast in the oil (without burning it). Cut up your onion, tomato, garlic (roughly cut) and cook in the extra oiled pan until tender. In your blender take the chile pasilla with a little bit of the water from the vegetables and blend until smooth. Use a sifter to add your chile pasilla to the broth/soup.Once the tomato and onion mixture has softened in your pot blend it all smooth and pour in your pot as well. To the pot add roughly cut cilantro and chicken bouillon-taste for salt preference. At this point all your vegetables should be soft, and your catfish entirely cleaned out so that it can be added to the soup. Cook the fish until tender and once the soup has attained the desired consistency. Best served hot,optional with a drizzle or lemon.

*keep your flame/fire at a med level because you don't want all your vegetable to break down.
*When you add the fish bring flame/fire to lowest temp for a slow simmer so that your fish does not fall apart.

Enjoy!! Hope you like it...It's not too fishy-not too spicy,just right!! Leave me comments below :) !!!

Spiced-Caramel Apples Recipe

I came up with a little sweet recipe... Just what seemed would taste good together. I had 

never had this before but it turned out pretty good!! So easy & delicious! I made it up as I 

went along and reduced it a bit. It only seemed right to eat with vanilla ice cream!! Of course 

it was the perfect topping!! If you are worried about the liquor, don't fret because alcohol 

evaporates with the heat and leaves just a rich taste behind. Give it a try! Remember to 

share your pictures!



"Spiced-Caramel Apples"

5-small apples peeled & sliced
5-tbs water
5-tbs cognac
4-tbs vanilla
2-cups sugar
2-tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp-salt
1/4-cinnamon stick

Leave me any thoughts below and remember to subscribe to this blog ;)