Tag: Mexican food

How to make caldo de pollo

Momma Bear

Caldo de pollo has been one of my favorite dishes since I was a little girl. I remember my mom used to make it all the time whenever the weather was cold, which is rare for south Texas, so when she did make it , it was a delicacy. Growing up I never really appreciated the hard work that went into making caldo de pollo, it was delicious but I recall telling my mother that it was just a ‘side dish’ and I needed more food. I know, rude. Now that I am older and have a family of my own I try my best to make the healthiest and most nutritious foods for my babies so that they can get the best out of their meals, and this has become one of their favorites. Thankfully, they are a lot more appreciative than I was as a younger child and they always tell me how much they love their caldo de pollo. This last time it was freezing down here, I happily gathered all off my ingredients and set off to make the best caldo ever. After all of the chopping and hard work we sat down to enjoy our bowl of caldo. Well guess what this super smart momma did? I totally forgot to put the CHICKEN in the caldo! I know, totally dumb air-headed move but I managed to save the day however by placing my chicken in the oven so it could heat up and then shredding it into the caldo; the meal was saved! Alright , so enough silliness, here is how I make my caldo.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Chicken (I get mine ready to go, oven roasted chicken from the market; already cooked) I prefer the orange pepper rotisserie chicken from HEB

2. Chicken broth

3. Carrots

4. Celery

5. A couple zucchini squash

6. Potatoes

7. Corn on the cob (I use about 3 of the long corns but I rip them in half)

8. Cabbage

9. A couple Chayotes

10. One or two cloves of garlic

11. Red onion

12. Spanish rice ( I like to add Spanish rice to my caldo, that’s totally up to you) I have a post that I made a while back on how to make the Spanish rice.

13. Serrano pepper (this one is up to you if you like spicy stuff. I love taking bites of it as I eat my caldo)

14. Knorr

15. Salt & pepper

16. Garlic salt

HOW TO MAKE THE CALDO:

1. In a large pot (where you can for a lot of water) fill it about halfway with water and add in the entire container of chicken broth and set to a medium high to start boiling

2. After you wash all your veggies, start chopping the carrots and potatoes into little chunks and throw them in the pot. (I start with the carrots and potatoes because they take the longest to boil) boil that for about 12-15 minutes until they are fork tender.

3. While the above is boiling, chop the celery, garlic, and some onion and throw it into the pot once the carrots and potatoes have softened. Leave that for about 8 minutes and add a tablespoon of Knorr, sprinkle some salt, pepper, and the garlic salt. (Not too much because we will gradually be adding more)

4. Now is a good time to take that chicken and start shredding it into the pot, and add another tablespoon of knorr and mix everything up.

5. Chop the chayotes and zucchinis and go ahead and add them to the pot as well. These cook pretty fast so you only need to leave them for about 10 minutes.

6. Now is a good time to add the corn and let it boil along with the chayote and zucchini because it also needs to boil for at least ten minutes. While that’s happening add shreds of cabbage (I like to chop it into little one inch squares because it’s easier for the babies to eat rather than when it’s large, long chunks)

7. Your masterpiece is complete, add salt and pepper to taste, and another tablespoon of knorr to taste and let everything boil for those 10 minutes or so. (Not too long because then everything gets a little mushy, which I don’t mind at all but some people do)

8. Now this is optional but if you’re going to add the Serrano peppers, wash them and cut a thin slice in the middle of the pepper, not all the way through just a surface slice and throw it in to boil when you throw in the chayote, corn, and zucchini. It won’t make the whole caldo spicy so so t worry, I just like to take little nibbles of the Serrano pepper as I eat my caldo.

9. Now if you made the Spanish rice as well , you can add some of it to your caldo along with some lemon and enjoy this magical dish! (The rice takes about 30-32 minutes to cook so make sure to start at the same time that you start your caldo so that everything will be ready at the same time.

I hope you guys enjoy, and yes I know it seems like a lot of chopping and work but TRUST me it is so worth it and it’s packed with vitamins and minerals!

How to make delicious Spanish Rice!

Momma Bear

Growing up Hispanic, in the south of Texas meant that there was always amazing Mexican food on every corner. My absolute favorite thing when I was a kid was when one of my moms friends, Señora Newkirk, would make us a huge pot of that red Spanish rice. Oh my GOD! I could eat that entire thing by myself I swear, she just made it so scrumptious. Anyway, I got older and one day I decided to try to make some Spanish rice for my own family now; and I think I accomplished something delicious. Now, my Spanish rice has a long way to go before it reaches Señora Newkirk’s, but here is how I did it!

Ingredients:

1/2 onion (I use the brown one)

1 tomato

2 cloves of garlic

1 can of tomato sauce 8oz

2 tablespoons of avocado oil (or olive oil)

1 cup of white rice long grain

2 cups of water

1 table spoon of knorr

1/2 table spoon of chili powder (or less depending on taste for spice)

A sprinkle of oregano

Tiny shake of cumin

Dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

-First, prep the onion, garlic cloves, and tomato by chopping them up. I personally like chunks of tomato in my rice, but you can chop them as big or small as you’d like. Now, set that aside.

-in a large cup, add the two cups of water and mix into it the 1 tablespoon of Knorr, 1/2 tablespoon of chili powder, a sprinkle of oregano, and a teeny shake of cumin, mix well and set aside.

-In a large/medium sauce pan add the two tablespoons of oil and turn it up to a medium high. Once the oil is hot enough, add the 1 cup of rice . How I can tell when the oil is hot enough, I will drop a grain of rice into the pan. If the grain of rice wiggles around and bubbles; it’s ready. Now, I like to use a wooden spoon or spatula (true Mexican) and just continuously mix around the rice letting it cook in the oil. -Once the rice starts turning a golden brown color lower the heat on stove a little and add in the chopped garlic cloves and the onion. Mix the rice around letting it cook a bit more with the onion and garlic, the. Add in the tomato. Mix for a few more seconds, never letting the rice burn.

-turn off heat and add in the 1 can of tomato sauce, continuously mix it around in the tomato sauce, letting the rice cook.

-After a couple minutes of really letting the rice soak up the tomato sauce (that’s what will give it the nice red/orange color), add in the water mixture you created. (The two cups of water with the powders)

-turn up the heat back to a medium high , add in a little salt and pepper and just gently mix the rice around in the water until it comes to a boil. Make sure there is a good amount of bubbles.

-once the rice boiled for a couple minutes and you mixed it up real good, turn heat down to a low simmer and put a lid on the pan. Let it sit for a good 20-22 min.

-turn off heat completely and let it sit for another 10-12 minutes. DO NOT TAKE OFF THE LID. Not even for a second, it will ruin the rice.

– remove lid and stir it up, let it cool for a few minutes and enjoy!!

So there it is! I hope I helped as much as I could, feel free to comment any extra add one you think are worth trying! I love trying new food. ❤️