Breakfast for dinner!

                Okay, so let me start by asking this question first… who loves eating breakfast for dinner? Me too me too! Something about breaking the rules is so fun right? LOL well this dish you can eat at any time, it’s called Quiche! My aunt gave me this recipe and ever since its been one of my favorites. I just love quiche, it’s like eating a pie that’s actually good for you. The fun part is you can make this dish with whatever your taste buds desire, so have fun with it. I made this quiche with spinach, bacon and Swiss cheese; what a great combo! You’re going to need:

One pie crust, sprinkle flour at the bottom of the pie dish.

Sprinkle bacon pieces as the bottom layer, after you cook until nice and crispy.

Sprinkle Swiss cheese and chopped spinach.

Pour 5 eggs whipped and ½ a cup of half and half.

Before baking, sprinkle with nutmeg on top of everything.

Cook for 40 minutes or until nice and brown.

Edges of the pie should be crispy also.

The Italian Kitchen

           Today was pretty awesome! After church, some of my friends decided to go have lunch at the Italian Kitchen. “Bringing Little Italy and Arthur Avenue to Fairfield.” I did not know this place even existed and being from the Bronx, I know a thing or two about Arthur Ave. I was so excited to eat here because it is like walking into Italian heaven. They had everything you could imagine, from real homemade Italian food to pizza. You can shop for groceries, sit down for dinner and have one of their several desserts.   Of course I wanted to try a little of everything but I had one of their signature sandwiches, which I took half home because it was just too big. I recommend this place to anyone in the area or anyone willing to travel. You definitely will be impressed!

Stuffed filet with shrimp

I’m so excited to share this recipe because it’s my first time making fish! Not everyone is a fish person, but how about if I told you that it was stuffed filet with shrimp. Do you see why I’m so excited?! This is my new favorite way to eat fish because I’m not a big fan either but it looks so good you can’t help but want it. Once you taste it, you can’t help but want more. I ate this with my sweet mash potatoes and asparagus. Look for my chicken rolls recipe for my mash ingredients!  My friend saw a picture of it and thought I went out to dinner that’s how fancy I got, LOL! You want to start off with 3 filets and 8 shrimps:

A bowl, to mix the following ingredients for the stuffing:

Chop 8 shrimps in little bites

One onion diced

1tsp parsley

1tsp lemon juice

1 cup of breadcrumbs

1 egg

Filets- add lemon and season (adobo)

Now, roll each filet with your mixed ingredients above and hold with tooth pick

Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 30 minutes

Place each rolled filet in a glass pan with 3tbs of melted butter

787

“Yo no naci en Puerto Rico; Puerto Rico naci en me.”- I wasn’t born in Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico was born in me!

Another Latin gem for authentic Latin cuisine is “Siete Ocho Seite”. In English, the restaurant is called 787 which is the area code for Puerto Rico; pretty genius right?! I went with a friend a couple of weeks ago and all we had were some appetizers and they were amazing. I can’t wait to go back for a main course! I love this place because at a certain time a live DJ comes out and plays Spanish music along with throwbacks like disco from the 80’s. Ha, what do I know about that right?! Well, let’s just say you can definitely bring your parents and they will love it too!

We had the coconut shrimp, clams on the half shell and tostones(fried plantains) with chicken, pork, fish, and shrimp on top of them! Very yum!

Chicken Wings with pasta, Latin style

                Guess what I made tonight?! Yupp, chicken wings! I know I posted one way to do awesome chicken wings but I had to share this recipe which my family grew up eating. Spanish people like to eat everything with rice but I noticed pasta is another must have. Two things we can’t live without but sometimes we need to, LOL. You’ll need:

A pack of chicken wings slightly seasoned with adobo (another must have)

Boil 2 cups of chicken broth and throw the chicken wings in.

Let it cook for 15 minutes

Add 2 tablespoons of sofrito and recaito

One envelope of sazon

1 small can of tomato sauce, with that same can fill it up with water and add it in too

Let all ingredients simmer and cook until chicken is soft

Veggies on the side, broccoli and cauliflower, my favorite :)

Best Edibles

        I usually get bored with the lunch selection around my job. We literally have a diner and subway as options, it's depressing! Until, I found this little gem of a deli called Best Edibles. Their sandwiches are bomb and they have fun names for each kind. For example, they have a sandwich called "The Goodfella” and "The Godfather." They have a wide variety of freshly baked breads, muffins, pastries and a variety of specialty sandwiches.  In addition, Best Edibles Deli offers a variety of imported foods, gourmet burgers, salads, and antipastos. This is the best deli hands down in the neighborhood, located off of Main Street. (4235 Madison Ave. Trumbull, CT 06611)

I opted out for the Veggie Pesto Wrap which included: Fresh Mozzarella, Roasted Red Peppers, Marinated Artichokes, fresh spinach, avocado, cucumbers, Tomato, Onions, Olives w/ Oil and Vinegar. OMG! Loved it!

Chili Willy

                      Let's just say it's been chilly willy out there lately, so I decided to make some chili this past Sunday. With just the right amount of spice, this meal is sure to warm you right up! I ate this over white rice and sprinkled cheddar cheese on top. You can pretty much add anything to chili so it's hard to give you a recipe for this bad boy but I'm going to try:

3 tablespoon of olive oil, saute a medium chopped onion and 1 tablespoon of garlic in a large pot until onions soften.
Put in the turkey mix with the onion and and garlic until turkey is cooked through.
Pour in a can of pink Goya beans.
Pour in 4 tablespoons of chili powder.
Pour in 2 tablespoons of cumin.
Pour in 2 tablespoons of oregano.
Pour in 2 cups of beef bouillon and let cook for 1/2 hour.
Pour in a 14oz can of diced tomato.

If you like spice, throw in your favorite hot sauce!

Charlie's

Charlie’s Bar & Kitchen is a phenomenal place! It is located in the South Bronx's premier historic landmark building the Clock Tower—currently home luxury lofts and artists' studios. The staff takes really good care of you and accommodates any needs or special request. I've already had two birthday parties there, they let you bring balloons to decorate and your own cake if you’d like. Sunday Brunch is the bomb, they always have a live band for entertainment but their meals are so fun and tasty. The dinner is so good too, I can't begin to chose a favorite dish. It’s not a huge place but it is very mellow and the crowd is great. PLEASE GO!

"Saltimbocca"

You know the chicken rolls I posted a few weeks ago, well I've become obsessed with rolling chicken. Today I made what is called “Chicken Saltimbocca”- in Italian this means jumps in mouth. This dish will literally make your taste buds jump, it’s damn good to say the least. It’s so easy to make too: a pack of thinly sliced chicken cutlet, you should pound them so they are thin enough to roll. Us Puertoricans substitute salt and pepper with adobo which is what I season the chicken with, then you lay a slice of prosciutto along with frozen spinach and Parmesan cheese on to the chicken. Roll it and use a tooth pick to hold it in place, then cook in olive oil until golden brown. Take them out and add to the pan, a cup of chicken broth and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Then put the chicken back in and cover for 10 minutes until the juice has thicken, this calls for a delicious gravy. I ate this with sweet potato and asparagus and I’m currently still in heaven! 

Dinosaur BBQ

               If anybody hasn't been to the city of Stamford, CT yet should definitely check it out. It reminds me so much of NY and its really close too if you take the metro north or the i95. Its right off exit 8 and they have a huge mall, tons of restaurants and bars in the area. During the summer they also have "Alive at 5" every Thursday with a different entertainer. They close the streets off and you can hop around the town, each bar has a drink special going on.  One of my favorite restaurants over there is called Dinosaur BBQ! The original one is in Harlem 125^th… it just came to Stamford a few years ago and that was the best decision they made. If you love BBQ food you’ll love this place, they have everything you can imagine!

Stir Fry Pepper Steak

                Today I got out of work early because little white snowflakes were falling, LOL so I had time to make pepper steak! I decided to do this dish because I would order it from the Chinese once in a while and I thought, I can do this. I stir fried some veggies along with tostones; that’s fried plantains. So good! You can actually buy a stir fry vegetable packet at the super market which I thought was awesome. A pack of beef round steak and a few ingredients: ketchup, soy sauce, garlic, honey and beef bouillon. The smell is amazing so brace yourself. Let all the ingredients including the steak simmer for 45 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft and the juice thickens.