Flan

Ingredients:
1 cup and 1/2 cup sugar
6 large eggs
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 13 oz cans evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. You will need 6 ramekins or other specialty flan cook ware and a large baking pan to put them in.

Pour 1 cup sugar in warm pan over medium heat. Constantly stir sugar until is browns and becomes caramel.

Quickly pour approximately 2-3 tablespoons of caramel in each ramekin, tilting it to swirl the caramel around the sides. Reheat caramel if it starts to harden.

In a mixer or with a whisk, blend the eggs together. Mix in the milks then slowly mix in the 1/2 cup of sugar, then the vanilla. Blend smooth after each ingredient is added.

Pour custard into caramel lined ramekins. Place ramekins in a large glass or ceramic baking dish and fill with about 1-2 inches of hot water. Bake for 45 minutes in the water bath and check with a knife just to the side of the center. If knife comes out clean, it's ready.

Remove and let cool. Let each ramekin cool in refrigerator for 1 hour. Invert each ramekin onto a small plate, the caramel sauce will flow over the custard.

Mexicana Rice

Mexicana Rice

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil (can use up to 1/4 cup)

1 onion, chopped fine1 garlic clove, minced

2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice

3 cups* chicken stock (or vegetable stock if vegetarian)

1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or

1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strainedPinch of oregano

1 teaspoon salt

Check the instructions on the rice package for the proportions of liquid to rice. They can range from 1:1 to 2:1. If your rice calls for 2 cups of water for every cup of rice, then for this recipe, use 4 cups of stock for 2 cups of rice.

Directions
1 In a large skillet brown rice in olive oil, medium/high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook onion rice mixture, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes, or until onions are softened.
2 In a separate sauce pan bring stock to a simmer. Add tomato sauce, oregano, and salt. Add rice to broth. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Lower heat and cook 15-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes.
Serves 4 to 6.

Guacamole

Guacamole Recipe

Ingredients

2 ripe avocados

½ red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)

1-2 serrano chiles, stems and seeds removed, minced

2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, finely chopped1 tablespoon of fresh lime or lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

A dash of freshly grated black pepper

1/2 ripe tomato, seeds and pulp removed, chopped
Garnish with red radishes or jicama. Serve with tortilla chips.

Directions

1 Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avacado from the peel, put in a mixing bowl.
2 Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the chopped onion, cilantro, lime or lemon, salt and pepper and mash some more. Chili peppers vary individually in their hotness. So, start with a half of one chili pepper and add to the guacamole to your desired degree of hotness. Be careful handling the peppers; wash your hands thoroughly after handling and do not touch your eyes or the area near your eyes with your hands for several hours.
Keep the tomatoes separate until ready to serve.
Remember that much of this is done to taste because of the variability in the fresh ingredients. Start with this recipe and adjust to your taste.
3 Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation from the air reaching it. Refrigerate until ready.
4 Just before serving, add the chopped tomato to the guacamole and mix.

You coud also add

1/4 cup of salsa and mix it in with your mashed avocados.

sour cream

Enchiladas

Ingredients

Grapeseed oil (or another high smoke-point oil such as peanut or canola oil)
12 corn tortillas
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 cup of salsa (Mild prepared salsa or make your own using cooked or canned tomatoes, roasted green chiles, onions, cilantro, oil and vinegar. Do not use salsa made with fresh, uncooked tomatoes for this dish.)
3 Tbsp of tomato paste
1 cup water
1 cup of canned crushed tomatoes (preferably fire roasted)
Olive oil
1 lb of jack cheese, mild cheddar or longhorn or any mild yellow cheese, grated
A handful of cilantro
1 cup of sour cream
Half a head of iceberg lettuce

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2 In a large fry pan at high heat add 3 Tbsp of grapeseed oil. Add a tortilla to the pan. Cook for 2-3 seconds, lift up the tortilla with a spatula, add another tortilla underneath. Cook for 2-3 seconds, lift again, both tortillas, and add another tortilla underneath. Repeat the process with all the tortillas, adding a little more oil if needed. This way you can brown and soften the tortillas without using a lot of fat. You do this process to develop the flavor of the tortillas. As the tortillas brown a little, remove from the pan one by one to rest on a paper towel, which absorbs any excess fat.
2 Sauté up the chopped onion and garlic, then turn off the heat. Add 1 cup of salsa. Dissolve 3 Tbsp of tomato paste into 1 cup of water, add to pan. Add 1 cup of crushed fire roasted canned tomatoes. Taste. If the sauce tastes too vinegary, add a teaspoon of sugar.
3 Put some olive oil on the bottom of a large casserole pan. Take a tortilla, cover 2/3 of it lightly with the shredded cheese, then roll up the tortilla and place it in the casserole pan. Continue until all tortillas are filled and rolled. Add sauce to the top of the tortillas in the the casserole pan. Make sure all are covered with the sauce. If not, add a little water. Cover the whole thing with the rest of the grated cheese. Put the casserole in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts.
4 Garnish with cilantro and sour cream. Serve with sliced iceberg lettuce that has been dressed only with vinegar and salt.

Celebate Cinde de Mayo

Fresh Tomato Salsa

Ingredients

2-3 medium sized fresh tomatoes (from 1 lb to 1 1/2 lb), stems removed, finely diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeño chili pepper (stems, ribs, seeds removed), finely diced
1 serano chili pepper (stems, ribs, seeds removed), finely diced
Juice of one lime
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: oregano and or cumin to taste

Directions

1 Start with chopping up 2 medium sized fresh tomatoes. Prepare the chilies. Be very careful while handling these hot peppers. If you can, avoid touching them with your hands. Use a fork to cut up the chilies over a small plate, or use a paper towel to protect your hands. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after handling and avoid touching your eyes for several hours. Set aside some of the seeds from the peppers. If the salsa isn't hot enough, you can add a few for heat.

2 Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

Taste. If the chilies make the salsa too hot, add some more chopped tomato. If not hot enough, carefully add a few of the seeds from the chilies, or add some ground cumin.
Let sit for an hour for the flavors to combine.
Makes approximately 3-4 cups.

Serve with chips, tortillas, tacos, burritos, tostadas, quesadillas, pinto or black beans.

Bubble Paper Mother's Day Card

What you'll need:

For bubble paper
White cardstock cut to 5" x 4 ½"
Shallow pan, such as 9" x 13" casserole dish
Dish soap
Food coloring
Water
Straw
Wire baking rack (optional)
For the card
Pink cardstock, about 5 ½" x 10"
3 scraps of patterned paper, about 3" square; or ink and stamps
Adhesive such as double-sided sticky tape, glue stick, liquid glue or mini glue dots
Paper trimmer
Scissors

How to make it:
Put a small amount of dish soap and a few drops of food coloring into the shallow pan. Add about an inch of water.
Use the straw to blow bubbles until the pan is covered with a fairly even layer of bubbles.
Hold the white cardstock by the edges and gently press it against the bubbles. The bubbles will pop, leaving a colored design behind. Repeat until you get the design you want.
Place the cardstock on the baking rack to dry.
Trace, stamp or print off two letter "M"s and a heart. Use your scissors to cut them out. The Ms should be about 3 inches high and 2 1/2" wide and the heart should be about 1".
Glue the "M"s onto the bubble paper. Glue the heart in between, overlapping each "M" slightly.
Glue the bubble paper to the pink cardstock.
Write, stamp or glue your Mother's Day greeting inside.

Tips:
To get an even layer of bubbles, use the straw in a zig-zag pattern, going from left to right to left while blowing.
If the cardstock has curled up a bit once it's dry, place under a heavy book for a few hours to flatten.
For a multicolor look, allow the bubble paper to dry, then repeat using another color of bubbles.
Don't use regular printer paper for the bubble paper, as it absorbs the bubble liquid and gets floppy.
White cardstock seems show off the bubbles the best. If you're using pastel cardstock, you'll probably need to use more food coloring to intensify the color of the bubbles.
If you're pressed for time, just use a patterned paper instead of bubble paper.
Keep mom's interets in mind. Try replacing the "O" with a large round flower sticker or hockey puck cutout instead of a heart.
Choose mom's favorite colors!

Give mom a break on mothers day

Ingredients -Gourmet Chicken Sandwich

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons prepared Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
8 slices garlic and rosemary focaccia bread

Cooking Instructions

Sprinkle pepper on one side of each chicken cutlet. Heat oil in a large skillet; brown garlic in oil, then add chicken, pepper-side-down. Saute chicken until cooked through and juices run clear, about 12 to 15 minutes.
In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, mustard and rosemary. Mix together and spread mixture on 4 slices focaccia bread. Place 1 chicken cutlet on each of these slices, then top each with another bread slice.