Que Pasa? Mexican Cooking Class

Yesterday I had a Mexican cooking class with my 4th-8th grade girls at Girls Inc. I am teaching cooking around the world. We made salsa, guacamole, nachos using my taco salad meat recipe, and my version of baked churros. I have very little funding for my cooking classes, so I always look through my freezers for ideas. For the churros, I found pie dough. So I thawed the dough. The girls rolled out the dough on a greased pan, then brushed melted butter on top of the dough. We made cinnamon sugar by adding some cinnamon to sugar and mixed well. Then they sprinkled the sugar over the buttered pie crust. We baked in a preheated oven at 350 degrees about 10 minutes until lightly golden brown. Simple, and not too sweet. Better than a deep-fried donut. See Salsa and Guacomole recipes below. So fresh and tasty. Even kids who say they don't like tomatoes or avocados like these recipes. Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tomato Salsa 8 Servings Tools: Cutting board Knife Measuring spoons Dry measuring cups Disposable gloves Small bowl Spoon Ingredients: 1 pound Roma tomatoes, small dice 2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro 2 ½ teaspoons seeded and chopped jalapeno pepper 1 cup red onion (1 medium), diced small 3 tablespoons lime juice 2 teaspoons kosher salt ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1) Mix all ingredients together and marinate for 20 to 30 minutes. 2) Refrigerate leftovers for up to 1 week. Dicing Terms and sizes: - Very small dice 1/8”x 1/8” x 1/8” - Small dice ¼”x ¼” x ¼” - Medium dice ½” x ½” x ½” - Large dice ¾” x ¾” x ¾” ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Guacamole with Baked Tortilla Chips 8 Servings Tools: Cutting board Knife Cookie sheet Juicer Measuring spoons Measuring cups Large spoon Potato masher or fork Small bowl Disposable gloves Ingredients: 8 8-inch corn tortillas 2 very ripe Hass avocados 1/3 cup red onion (1/2 small), small diced 1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper (1 small), small diced ¼ cup Roma tomatoes (1/2 small), small diced 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 2 teaspoons lime juice ½ teaspoon kosher salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1) For the tortilla chips, preheat the oven to 350°F. 2) Cut tortillas into triangles. 3) Spread on a cookie sheet in a single layer and bake until crisp, about 15 minutes. 4) Halve, pit, and scoop the avocados. 5) Using a potato masher or a fork, mash the avocados in a small bowl. 6) Mix in the onions, jalapeno, tomatoes, and cilantro. 7) Season with lime juice, salt, and pepper. Avocado information: Hass avocado is one of the most popular and has a pebbly textured skin and is almost black. Ripe avocados yield to gentle palm pressure, but firm, unripe avocados are what are usually found in the market. Select those that are unblemished and heavy for their size. To speed the ripening process, place several avocados in a paper bag and set aside at room temperature for 2 to 4 days. Ripe avocados can be stored in the refrigerator several days.

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

This pumpkin pie cupcake recipe is a nice alternative for those who do not like pumpkin pie. My girls at Girls Inc. love making the cupcakes and they enjoy eating them too! I like to use mini cupcake papers this way you have a one-bite snack or a small cupcake for the younger children. A great recipe for your holiday brunch too! Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes Makes 18 cupcakes Ingredients: 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1 ¼ cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice ½ cup vegetable oil 2 lightly beaten eggs ½ cup 1/2 & 1/2 1 cup canned pumpkin Preheat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cups in a muffin pan or grease the muffin pan. Procedure: 1) In a medium bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and allspice. 2) In a large bowl, beat the oil, eggs, and 1/2 & 1/2. 3) Stir in the pumpkin. 4) Add the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and mix well until smooth. 5) Spoon into muffin cups. 6) Bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. 7) Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely. Submitted by Girls Incorporated of Sarasota County Resident Chef Ms. Tricia. www.girlsincsrq.org

Mom's Apple Pie

I moved to Sarasota in April 2005 from Atlanta, Georgia and upstate New York. There is one thing I miss about both places, driving to the mountains and going to the fall apple festivals. I would bring home a bunch of fresh apples and make my apple pie, baked apples, and apple sauce. I have been delighting my family and friends with my Apple Pie recipe for many years, and I wanted to share it with you. Right after I moved to Sarasota, my son called me for this recipe. Not only did I share my warm and cozy pie recipe with him, I got a very special mom warm and cozy feeling. Enjoy! Mom's Apple Pie Pastry for two-crust 9inch pie, use your favorite recipe, or a store-bought refrigerator pie dough. 6-8 large apples (tart green, such as Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg* 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces 1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 2) Combine apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Toss well to coat. 3) Turn mixture into pie crust. 4) Dot apples with butter. 5) Cover with top crust and fold top crust under bottom crust edge. Crimp** around the edge to seal crusts together. 6) Make slits in the top crust for steam to escape. 7) Place pie on a baking sheet, and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. If edges start to get too brown, cover edges with aluminum foil. 8) Let pie set at least one hour before slicing to allow filling time to set. *You can use less cinnamon and nutmeg if you like. **Crimp - To pinch or press two pastry edges together, thereby sealing the dough while forming a decorative edge with fingers (forefinger and thumb), fork or other utensil. Source: Food Lover's Companion, Barron's, Herbst. For information about apple types: www.bestapples.com. Submitted by: Ms. Tricia, Resident Chef Girls Incorporated of Sarasota County; http://precociouspatti.blogspot.com

Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup

 

 

I have made this soup for the past five years for the All Faiths Food Bank Bowls of Hope annual fund raiser, representing Girls Inc. of Sarasota County. The first year I made it, everyone loved it! They ask me to make it every year. When I make it at work, the whole building has a beautiful, tasty aroma. It's perfect for the cold wheather. Add an Italian salad and garlic bread and it's a cozy, hearty meal. It's the kind of soup you can make a day or two ahead of time.

I used to use this recipe for my knife skills classes because there is mincing, dicing, chopping, and chiffonade.

Enjoy!

 

Courtesy of: Tricia's Main Event, triciasmainevent@gmail.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup

 

Ingredients:

1 pound Italian sausage, sweet or hot

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups celery, chopped in large pieces

1 pound zucchini, sliced

2 green peppers, chopped

2 cans (28 oz.) whole tomatoes

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

parmesan cheese

fresh basil, chiffonade

 Preparation:

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven. 

Remove sausage from casings, chop up and brown in the oil.

Take sausage out of pot and set aside.

Drain excess fat leaving about one teaspoon in pot. 

Add onions and sauté a few minutes, then add garlic and cook together just to release the flavors one minute.

Add celery, cook for three minutes.

Add zucchini and peppers, sauté until barely tender. 

Add tomatoes (with liquid), water, salt, oregano and basil. 

Season with freshly ground pepper to taste. 

Add additional water if you like more broth.

Simmer for one to two hours.

Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and garnish with chiffonade of basil. 

 

Serve with salad and garlic bread for a hearty supper.

 Servings: 8

 Notes:

-You can use 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.

-You can use 1 teaspoon dried, crumbled basil instead of fresh.

 

-Use ground turkey or vegetarian sauage if you do not use pork.