Comfort Food

When I decided to cook dinner last night I was really hungry and in a hurry so I thought to myself, "Well, I guess I can always start doing recipes for the blog tomorrow". I put some rice on, hopped in the shower, came back down to the kitchen and finished cooking. I literally threw food into a pan, how great can this be? I took a QC (quality control - shout out to Anne Burrell) bite just to make sure I could serve it to my husband and son and actually expect them to eat it. Dang! Sprinkle on some Sazón Goya with Azafrán and WOW, it just keeps getting better! This is one worthy of putting in your recipe book, but it's so simple and easy you won't ever need to look it up.

Now on to the real reason you're here: my witty personality the food! Some might think this odd but my comfort food is almost always Cuban or some other Hispanic origin. Do I have an abuelita who taught me all her family secrets? Nope. Did my mom "cook around the world", exploring a variety of different cultures through food? Definitely not. I was raised on unseasoned baked chicken, white rice, and a frozen veggie of some kind. Don't get me wrong, my mom definitely has some great recipes that I want to share with you, and baked chicken can be delicious when spiced up a little bit. It's a great standby, but there's so much more out there than baked chicken Wednesday and taco Tuesday!

So why my love for all foods latin? I really don't know. (I grew up in South Florida. I know, when you read that you think "Oh, duh"..., but I think more of my friends and classmates were Jewish than hispanic.) Maybe it's because I love all things exotic, and colorful, and flavorful, and spicy; not just my normal, typical, plain Jane self. Afterall, I grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood filled with people who were really all just like me. I always dreamed of travelling the world and exploring new people and places and trying new foods. Doing that through food is a heck of a lot cheaper, so I'll stick with this for now! (More about my actual world travels another time..)

Note: this makes about 3 adult servings - let's be honest, who actually eats the serving size posted on the labels of their food? First, cook some good white rice. (None of that par-boiled junk..who's idea was that anyway? Gross.) I like to salt my water a little bit every time I boil something. It helps the temperature come up faster and it makes your food taste good. Drizzle 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet and set on meduim heat, just to warm things up a bit. Chop one medium onion (white, yellow, red..whatever you have on hand) and one medium green pepper. (Practice Kitchen Secret: I'm not a fan of green peppers, or any other sweet peppers for that matter, so I don't really ever buy them. But I do enjoy what they can add to a dish like this. So if you're like me, or just looking for a short cut, buy them diced and frozen! You can get your onions this way too, and your meals will turn out just as good.) Add to pan and increase heat to medium high so you can start softening your veggies, then add a sprinkle of salt. You want them to just cook down enough to be soft, but not caramelize the onions. Chop up 3 cloves of garlic and add to the pan.

While the veggies cook down, cut up the meat of your choice into bite size pieces. You can really use whatever you have on hand in this dish: chicken, pork, etc. If the meat you are adding is raw, you may want to cook it ahead of time first. I had half a package of turkey kielbasa in the freezer, and it thaws out really fast, so I opted to use that. Add the meat to the pan, and then add a can of black beans, drained and rinsed. You may find that a little water will help everything cook down and come together better. Start with adding 1/4 cup and add as needed, or to your preference. I let everything come to a boil, put a lid on it, then bring the temp back down to medium again to let it finish up.

Now the best part. After about 5-10 minutes give it a taste! If it's good, but still tastes like it needs something add a packet of Sazón Goya with Azafrán (azafrán is saffron in spanish, so don't be alarmed when it turns your food yellow or orange). I'm telling you, it will change your life! This will also add salt to your dish, so be sure not to over salt in the beginning. Serve over rice!!

Thankfully I thought to snap a quick picture with my cell phone.

For those of you out there who just HAVE to have a recipe, here it goes:

1 cup uncooked rice

2 cups water

1-2 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium green pepper, diced

1/4-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3 cloves garlic

1/2-1 pound meat of your choice

15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4-1/2 cup water

one packet Sazón Goya with Azafrán