Sunday dinner recipes from our house 2 you (anyone can make)

Ive always wanted to share our recipes with as many people as possible because we all cook so diffrent. When I first met my G nana cooked much of the foods from home. It is very true a way to a guys heart is thru his stomich. If u can cook u can look like a goola gong and get a great catch. But then you must keep it up...

Every Sunday in our house is Arroz con pollo we eat chicken every sunday. Tho I dont care for pork in Panamanian cooking its a stable! My nana would turn over in her grave for her to know sometimes I do not add the pork to this recipe but if you cook it right you will not miss it. I will include it here. i hope those of you who love to cook find this very easy. I have made this for so long I just know it with out the measures! My mother never really used a measuring a cup and the more you make these recipe you to wont. I dont think honestly we have any measuring spoons! I have addded measurements for you though have fun

Ingredients:

3 lbs chicken pieces
about a cup of crisco (sometimes i use virgin olive oil but it is very expensive to do so!)
1 lb pork cut in sm. pieces (sometimes i omit or use just half)
1 can pimientos (sliced)
4 chorizo sausages
1/2 bottle stuffed olives
28 oz can tomatoes (i use hunts)
2 bay leaves 15 oz tomato sauce (i use hunts)
4 cups rice *
1 bunch parsley (chopped)
1 tsp saffron *
2 large onions (chopped)
Salt & pepper to taste
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 can peas

Very simple directions:

Brown chicken and pork in Crisco. Add sausages and cook. (I take out some of the grease before adding the rest of the ingredients.) Then add tomatoes, tomato sauce, parsley, onions, garlic, bay leaves, saffron, salt and pepper. Let Simmer until chicken is very tender. Remove chicken and add rice. Cook on medium high until liquid is absorbed. Then cover tightly and steam until rice is done. When serving, add can of heated peas and pimientos over the top.

Arrange chicken around the sides. (Or remove chicken from bones and add to rice.) Parsley may also be used if your into decorating or your going to put it on the dining room table.)

This recipe is very, very easy . I fix a Panamanian style dinner as my nana did for years every Sunday. Sometimes during the easter season I subsitute and use Hens. However, do not use the basic fowl as its mad tough and just takes forever to get tender. With chicken with arroz con pollo, plantain (which I will share recipe with next) stuffed chayote, mango salad and usually a coffe dessert. Everyone sleeps after this meal and we look forward to it here.

Please rember or make note saffron is kind of expensive and hard to find. When we lived in North carolina I had a really hard time finding it. Until I find a mexican store in Thomasville, NC sometimes tho you can find it in the spanish section of wal mart super centers tho. NMy nana would do this when things were hard to get she would buy the packaged saffron rice and subsitute half of that with regular plain white rice. Dont mix it with converted rice though ok? Just plain rice you get a lot of flava.

If you are inviting a few friends say its football day or even desperate housewives night these are good things to add they are really simple and can be made really quick trust me on that.

these are called plantains what many people dont know is that you can make them with rum! We do this mostly at Christmas time or during cold weather.

6 ripe plantains
2 tbsp. rum (clear)
2 tbsp. margarine
1/2 cup lime juice

Directions: You must use your oven dont try to cook this in a microwave. They wont taste the same
pre heat your oven to 350 degrees while your like prepping this this recipe. In saucepan mix sugar, lime juice, margarine, and rum. Heat 15 min. to boiling. Peel the plantain, cutin diagonal slices, and arrange them in a baking dish. Cover plantain with the mixture and bake for 30 min. Turn it over every 15 min. If you dont like alcohol you must remember that when you cook it the alcohol evaporates so you wont really get sstoned or nothing like that.

oh i forgot to add for those of you who dont know how to buy platains the yellow is best as they are sweet ones. The green ones are good for brekfast cereal recipes. so for this get ripe yellow plantains they are usually a few cent more than the green.