Growing up in a Mexican household I got to grow up learning how to cook Mexican dishes by mom, who is an amazing cook. Chicken flautas is hands down the best and easiest dish that became my favorite to cook.
Crunchy, Spicy, & Tasty!
This was one of the first dishes my mom taught me how to make as a child, which I can make from the back of my hand without using a recipe. Sometimes on my days off I make chicken flautas for my family, which they enjoy very much. One thing for sure is that I am glad my mom was able to share this with me because now I can pass this down to my kids one day.
What You Will Need:
Corn Tortillas
Whole Chicken
Pan
2 tablespoons of Oil
Lettuce
Cheese Powder
Sour Cream
Avocado
Red or Green Salsa
First you want to strip a whole cooked chicken until it is boneless and start picking them apart in small pieces. Place the shredded chicken in a bowl.
Next you want to grab about 6-8 corn tortillas and place them in a Ziplock bag and place it in the microwave for about 1 minute. This way the tortilla comes out warm and soft for it to be rolled up with the chicken inside.
Once you finished rolling the tortillas and chicken. You want to grab a pan and place 2 tablespoon of oil inside. Once you start seeing the oil sizzling, go ahead and start placing as many flautas as you can fit in the pan for it can start grilling.
As you roll the flautas around on the pan, it should start hardening into a light brown shade. That lets you know it is ready to go and place them onto a container that will hold all flautas together.
Finally, we have the best for last, the toppings. You want to go ahead add lettuce on top, along with the shredded cheese, and sour cream on top. I personally love spice in my food, so adding salsa on flautas just makes up the whole dish a lot better. Enjoy!
I love all the fresh fruits coming into season! Making homemade jam is so easy and I can’t think of a better way to capture all the fruity flavors. Homemade jams and canned goods also make great gifts, perfect for Mother’s Day, Graduation and Father’s Day.
Here is one of my most favorite and easy jam recipes to share with you!
Ingredients:
6 cups blueberries, washed
4 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
3 oz pouch of fruit pectin
Details and supplies
15 minute prep time
15 minute cook time
canning 30 minutes
Total time – 60 min
Makes/fills 6 1/2 pint jars
Supplies you will need…
large stock pot
smaller pot (for boiling lids)
masher
measuring cup and measuring spoons
tongs
ladle or funnel
*note: it is very important to sterilize your jars and lids by boiling them in separate pots, keep jars clean and im
Recipe:
In large pot heat and mash berries
Add sugar, lemon and vanilla. Stir constantly and bring to a rolling boil
Add the fruit pectin, stir constantly, bring back to a boil and continue boiling for one more full minute
If needed, skim off any excessive foam. Then carefully ladle or spoon the jam into your clear, prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch at the top of the jar. Reminder: jars cam be hot, handle with care!
Make sure rims are clean, tap jars to release any air bubbles. Place the lids on the jars.
To can the jam, place the filled, sealed jars into the large pot of water. Make sure they are submerged at least 1 inch below the water and boil for 10 minutes.
Use tongs to carefully remove jars from hot water, place on counter and let them cool completely.
Label and date your jars. Jam should stay fresh and be used within one year. Enjoy and bon appetite!
My lovely mother grew up in Brookyln New York, not the best part she actually grew up on the other side of the tracks meaning she wasn’t having super expensive food due to her growing up in the low class. Her favorite meal growing up was spaghetti. It wasn’t all that expensive to make and most of her friends also had it with their families. After moving from Brooklyn to Manhattan to California and now being financially capable of having high class meals, her favorite plate is always spaghetti. She credited John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever for making it cool. This is the recipe for a traditional Brooklyn Style Spaghetti.
Recipe for Brooklyn Style Spaghetti
Prepare a 1 lb box of spaghetti
For the Sauce
1 Tbsp of Olive oil, extra virgin
1 tsp of minced garlic
1 can of crushed tomatoes 28oz
1 can of tomato sauce 8oz
1 can of tomato paste 6oz
6 oz of water
1 ½ tsp of dried basil
1 tsp of salt
For the Meatballs
1 lb of ground beef
½ c of parmesan cheese
2 eggs
½ c of breadcrumbs (Italian style)
1 ½ tsp of basil, dried
¼ tsp of oregano, dried
1 tsp of salt
½ tsp of minced garlic
2 Tbsp of olive oil, extra virgin (for frying meatballs)
My mom and I making Christmas tamales. I’m sorry, I can’t share that recipe.
Looking back on my childhood, I remember my mom always cooking some of the best dinners. Many of the dishes she would make came from my Great Grandmothers cook book. One of my very favorites was Enchiladas Rojas because they’re so delicious!
When I moved away from home, I had to learn how to make these. I remember calling my mom to ask her for the recipe because I was craving them and wanted to make them for my friends. Since then, I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve made them and when I do, I always think of my mom and my childhood. This recipe will definitely keep getting passed down to generations to come.
Ingredients
Las Palmas Red Enchilada Sauce
1 1/2 lbs. of ground beef
1 Tbsp. of McCormick Taco Seasoning Mix
18 corn tortillas
1 7.25 oz. can of sliced olives
1/2 cup of diced yellow onion
2 lbs. of shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Vegetable oil
Oven-safe glass dish( I used a 9.5 x 12.5) and it held 12. You can use a bigger one to make more or use more than one dish.
Servings: 8-12 Prepping time: 30 min. Cooking time: 15 min.
Directions
Set your over to 375 degrees.
Fry your ground beef with taco seasoning and onions. Set aside.
Pour some enchilada sauce in your glass dish to cover the bottom.
4. Lightly fry 1 tortilla on both sides, in a small frying pan with oil
(make sure there’s enough oil in the pan to submerge the tortilla).
5. Once the tortilla is fried, put it in your dish with the sauce. Flip the tortilla over to make sure the sauce is coated all over.
6. Add some meat and cheese to the middle of your tortilla.
7. Fold over both sides of the tortillas and flip it over, so the fold is on the bottom. Place your first enchilada at the top left of your glass dish to create a line. It’s ok if a little meat or cheese out.
Repeat steps4-7, adding more enchilada sauce as needed. When your dish is full, it should like the picture below.
Caution: Don’t submerge your enchiladas in sauce, you only need enough in the pan to coat the tortillas.
8. After your dish is full, add a light layer of enchilada sauce to the top. If you have too much sauce in your pan, you can use a spoon to take some out and pour it on top. Note: You will not use all of the enchilada sauce.
9. Add cheese and olives, if you wish.
10. Place your dish in the oven for 15 minutes.
Your enchiladas are ready to be served! You can add sour cream, if you’d like. Also, below you can find my recipe for my Mexican Rice. Enjoy!
If you were served 3 dishes that looked the same and you knew your mom made one of them, could you guess which dish was hers? I’m sure I could!Watch below👇🏼
Recipe for Spanish Rice
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of Jasmin or long grain, white rice
3 oz. of tomato sauce
3 cups of water(room temperature)
1 tsp. of cumin
3 tsp. of Knorr chicken flavor buillon
1/2 cup of diced yellow onion or 1 tsp. of onion powder
2 cloves of minced garlic or 1 tsp. of garlic powder
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 quart pot or deep pan
Servings: 12 Prepping time: 15 min. Cooking time: 20 min.
Directions
Heat up oil in your pot on medium heat.
Add rice, onion and garlic. Stir frequently Note: If you’re using powder, wait until your rice is brown before you add it.
3. When your rice is light brown, lower the heat and pour in your water slowly. It will steam a little so avoid getting burned.
4. Turn your heat back up to medium, to get your water boiling. During this time, add tomato sauce chicken bouillon and cumin. Stir
5. When your water is boiling, turn your heat down low and cover your pot. You will not need to stir your rice anymore.
6. Let your rice cook on low for 20 minutes. You will know it’s done when there isn’t any water in your pan and it looks like the picture below.
Healthy, tasty and easy to make ? Sign me up ! Chia seed pudding can take forms of different flavors and benefits. Chia seed pudding has a special place of my heart because I began making it during the pandemic. I would make it for my mom and my loved ones.
Below is a video of the benefits of chia seeds
“Once you make this chia pudding, it will be a staple in your fridge. And then you can get try more chia pudding recipes”.
In 1914 Mother’s Day became a national holiday in reverence to motherhood. Honoring the sacrifices mother’s make for their children. They say a mother’s role is to be God’s angels on earth. I thought it would be best to share an angel food cake recipe.
Ingredients
1 Cup Cake Flour
1,¼ cups of sugar
1 1tbsp sugar & 1 tbsp ground cinnamon combined ( put aside for now)
12 large egg whites
1 tsp cream of tartar
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp lemon juice
6 oz. dark chocolate 74% or higher
½ cup butter
1½ cups of powdered sugar
¼ Cup whipping cream
6 oz. almond slivers
Strawberries
Directions
Preheat Oven 350 degrees
Beat egg whites until they become foamy.
Next add cream of tartar with salt and beat until soft peaks form.
Add ¾ cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beat until stiff peaks form.
Mix cake flour with ½ cup of sugar
Add to egg white mix a 1/4 cup at a time.
Add vanilla, honey and lemon juice.
Take ⅓ of batter and pour into an non-greased 10 inch tube pan.
Take the back of a spoon and run it around the batter in pan causing an indentation.
Sprinkle 1 tbsp of cinnamon & sugar mixture around indentation.
Add another ⅓ of batter to the tube pan, create indent again and sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon mixture in the indent.
Finish pouring in the rest of the batter and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 mins.
Let cool for 45 mins.
Use a butter knife to run along the inside of the tube pan. Flip the pan over to make the cake come out of the pan.
Making the glaze
Melt dark chocolate with butter over low heat, stir frequently. Use a small saucepan
Remove small saucepan from heat.
Mix in powdered sugar and whipping cream.
Spoon evenly over cake.
Do a little extra! Pour almond slivers over cake and add strawberries on top.
Now there is something I do have to tell you and it is a bit of a confession. I took some considerations when putting this together. Some might consider this a bonus. Eggs, cinnamon, honey, vanilla, dark chocolate, almonds and strawberries are all listed as aphrodisiac foods. Why? Because every mother’s day needs a mother’s night.
I’d like to present to you my mom’s favorite dish to prepare. Today you will taste the savoring spices, and flavor of the traditional Mexican Salsa Roja. If you enjoy eating chips and salsa while watching your favorite TV show, or simply while you wait for your food at a Mexican restaurant, then you will love Chilaquiles.
Enjoy the Recipe. This Chilaquiles recipe has been passed down by my mom’s great grandmother. In mexico my grandmother would cook for her family, and always used a big pot. We laugh every time we see pictures of my grandmother in the kitchen with her big pot, because it is twice her size.
Maria Escobedo ‘s Salsa Roja (Red Sauce) Chilaquiles.
Recipe:
12 Tortillas (My mom uses Guerrero White Corn Tortillas.) You can use any type of tortillas you want, but it must be Corn Tortillas.
6 Red bell peppers, (you may use any type of pepper you want ex: Green peppers.)
3 tomatoes
Mazola Corn Oil (Any cooking oil you’d like.)
One Whole Onion
Cacique Ranchero, Queso Fresco.
Garlic
Salt
Oregano
Step-By-Step Cooking Tutorial:
Step 1: Cut up the 12 Tortillas into wedges. My mom recommends pretending like you are cutting the tortillas into dipping chips.
Step 2: (The Traditional Part) Time to make the Salsa Roja (Red chili sauce)
You will need; Cilantro, Red Bell Peppers, Garlic, Onion, and Lime.
Step 1: Chop up 2 Red Bell Peppers. (Or use Chile De Arbol, My mom recommends this tree pepper, to add intensity to your Chilaquiles. Careful, this spice is spicy!!)
Step 2: Cut up ¼ cup of cilantro, and 1 clove of garlic, then add a little squeeze of lime.
Step 3: Prepare a pot to boil, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and dump your prepared salsa ingredients into the pot, and boil for 6-10 minutes on medium heat.
Step 4: After your salsa ingredients are boiled, pull out your salsa blender,
(Make sure to have a designated salsa blender, because you do not want to be tasting red salsa on your morning smoothies.)
Add the Boiled Ingredients into the blender, and blend blend blend. Boom, you have Salsa Roja Ready to use. Enjoy with caution, your tongue may explode. (Just Joking.)
Step 3: Prepare a pan filled with ¼ cup of Mazola Corn OIl, then heat up the oil on medium heat. After 5 minutes, add a quarter of the tortilla wedges into the Oil pan.
Step 4: Every 5-6 minutes while the tortillas are fyring, make sure to take them out, place them on a Perforated Pan, let the oil drip away, while you sprinkle salt on the Tortilla wedges. You can add onions, or any toppings of your choice during this step.
Step 5: Once the tortilla wedges are fried to your liking, add your salsa into the pan, and mix it in. The tortilla wedges will turn into a red color, then heat them up on medium heat for 5 minutes.
Step 6: You are ready to taste the delicious chilaquiles. Yummm!
Now, time for dessert! Checkout our fellow classmates Arroz Con Leche for a delicious treat.
For as long as I can remember, my mother has been my source of inspiration for life advice, fashion, and homemaking. Born and raised in the tropics of El Salvador, my mother has mastered the art of embracing new traditions while still paying homage to her home’s heritage. In a true matriarch fashion, she has kept old traditions alive by passing down her inherited knowledge to the generations after her. As age inevitably approaches all of us, the importance of maintaining cultural traditions only becomes more imperative.
My mother Reina photographed at a family event—circa 1990’s.
During my coming of age, it was only natural for me to learn about the traditions that came before me, and those that will continue to exist after me. One of the most precious forms of tradition that has been passed down to me was learning how to make my mother’s arroz con leche (rice pudding). This divine confection is considered a specialty in my household—only making appearances during major holidays such as Christmas, New Years, and most recently—Mother’s Day. Enjoyed warm or cold, this traditional Salvadorian dessert is a treat reminiscent of the culture in Central America.
Arroz con leche (rice pudding) garnished with cinnamon and lemon zests.
Although I was not born in the motherland of my parents, I still find myself craving a deeper connection to the ancestors that came before me. As I become more integrated into the culture of my generation, I become worried that I am losing touch with my ancestral roots. In order to restore my sense of connection, I have found delight in learning traditional family recipes from the best chef I know: my mother.
Before she can begin her cooking tutorials, my mother finds herself immersed in memories of the past by sharing stories from her childhood in El Salvador. I enjoy listening to these tales in order to gain insight of the lifestyle in El Salvador—although in my humble opinion, this small tropical country deserves to be seen rather than described:
Views of El Salvador captured via drone.
Besides my own family’s cooking, I also enjoy finding new recipes to add to my own personal cookbook. I recently learned how to make sauce from scratch after reading about the Norris Family Marinara Sauce Recipe. (Which has since been added to my cookbook—and it should be on yours, too.)
Passing down family recipes is not just a nostalgic pastime—it allows us to honor our culture in the best way possible: by immortalizing a connection to our ancestors. Families across the world embark in this shared tradition to preserve their ancestral roots, and to create everlasting memories—one home cooked meal at a time.
Recipe card for arroz con leche (rice pudding).
Ingredients
2 cups water
1 cup white rice
1 cup milk
14 oz evaporated milk
7 oz condensed milk
cinnamon sticks
pinch of salt
lemon zest (optional)
ground cinnamon (optional)
Directions
Boil 2 cups of water in a pot under high heat.
Add 1 stick of cinnamon to boiling water.
Once water comes to a simmer, add 1 cup of white rice.
Allow ingredients to simmer for 10-15 minutes; stir occasionally.
Check that rice has absorbed water, then add 1 cup of milk. (Use dairy-free milk as a substitution.)
Add 14 oz of evaporated milk and 7 oz of condensed milk. Continue stirring to prevent rice from sticking to pot.
While stirring, add a pinch of salt. (Optional: toss in a zest of lemon for flavor.)
Do a taste test for sweetness; add more condensed milk if necessary for a sweeter flavor.
Allow pot to boil for 10-15 minutes while stirring occasionally until rice becomes soft.
Remove lemon zest. Check rice and lower heat until ready to be served.
(Optional: garnish dish with a dash of ground cinnamon for an extra kick of flavor!)
From my family to yours, enjoy a traditional Salvadorian dessert with your loved ones this Mother’s Day.
Every year for my birthday my mother always makes me one of my favorites, Cóctel de Camarón, which is a Mexican Shrimp Cocktail. For all of my brothers birthdays and I she asks us what we want to eat and makes us our favorites. From all of my brothers, I am the only one that likes it besides my mother and my father.
Every time for my birthday that she’d prepare the Cóctel de Camarón it was us two eating it together. I like to add Valentina on mine to add some spiciness and more delicious flavor. I also like to grab a saltine cracker, some people like to eat it with tostadas and dip it in the Cóctel de Camarón, bite it and eat some Cóctel de Camarón. I love the flavor of the shrimp with the avocado and cucumber. Just by thinking about it, my mouth waters, so let’s get started with the recipe.
🄸🄽🄶🅁🄴🄳🄸🄴🄽🅃🅂:
For the Cóctel de Camarón:
1 pot
1 bowl
1 pound large uncooked shrimp
About 3 cups of water for cooking the shrimp
½ of a ketchup bottle
2 cucumbers diced
1 chile serrano diced
4 small tomatoes diced if large then 2 tomatoes
⅓ cup of a diced white onion
½ of a cilantro chopped
3 large avocados diced
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt to taste
Saltine crackers or tostadas
To Serve:
Original Premium Saltine Crackers or Tostadas
Ladle
You can choose from the below:
Plate
Glass Cup
Wine Glass
Optional:
Valentina or Tapatio Hot Sauce to taste
🄳🄸🅁🄴🄲🅃🄸🄾🄽🅂:
Wash the shrimp, peel, and clean them if did not buy them peeled or cleaned
Then add 3 cups of water to the shrimp in a pot
Add salt to taste to boil in a pot in medium heat until cooked and they are soft and turn pink
Once the shrimp is boiled to a good pinkish color and soft, let it cool (do not drain you will need the water)
Dice cucumbers, chile serrano, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and avocados
In a large bowl, combine all of the diced ingredients which are: cucumbers, chile serrano, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, avocados
To the pot of shrimp add the ingredients from the bowl
Add lemon juice with half of the bottle of Ketchup
Taste for salt, if needed add more
Serve with saltine crackers or tostadas
And there you have it, you can use a ladle or regular spoon to scoop some in a plate, a cup or to make it even fancier in a wine glass. Now, take a bite of a saltine cracker with some of the Mexican Shrimp Cocktail and enjoy! Make it as many times as you like!
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