Cheiro Verde - Parsley, Cilantro and Green Onion

If I were to translate the name in Portuguese to English, it would sound so ridiculous, that you would probably laugh and laugh for days.

Cheiro Verde basically means Green Smell or Green Scent.  Go ahead and laugh LOL

It is basically a mixture of parsley, cilantro and green onion.  I use it in a lot of my Portuguese recipes, and it really does help bring out the flavor.

The best part is that it is frozen, so I can pinch off little bits at a time, and add to my food.  It's just another way to make meal prepping quicker and easier.

Cheiro Verde - Parsley, Cilantro and Green Onion

Parsley
Cilantro
Green Onion


Start by washing the parsley, cilantro and green onion, being careful to remove any wilted leaves.

Spread them out over some paper towels to dry completely.  When dry, rough chop the green onions, removing the roots which you can place in a small glass container with a little bit of water, to regrow.  I've been doing this for years and only really need to buy green onions once in a while.

Remove the stems from the parsley and cilantro.  I don't remove ALL the stems from the cilantro and parsley, but the majority, leaving just the bit closer to the leaves.  Give them a rough chop too. (you can finely dice them too if you prefer)

Mix all three in a freezer safe tupperware container, and place in the freezer.  It keeps for up to one month.

For cooking, I usually just add enough to my taste, depending on what I'm making.

Garlic in olive oil - For cooking

There are a couple things I do after grocery shopping.  I not only put the groceries away, but I leave out certain items to prep for the upcoming weeks, like fruit, veggies and so on.

One thing I always make, is my garlic for cooking.

I find it easier to have it readily available to add to whatever I'm cooking at the time, and I also don't like the store bought minced garlic, it has a weird taste to me.

This is so easy to throw together, takes but a few minutes and it cuts down on prep time when you are needing garlic for a specific recipe.  I'm Portuguese, so garlic is pretty much in every single dish I make.

Garlic in Olive Oil

1 head of garlic
Olive oil


First thing you're going to do, and this is merely to make it easier to peel the garlic cloves, is to place them all in a bowl of water.  Let them sit for about an hour.  I do this first thing when I get home, and then let them sit while I get the groceries put away.

Peel the garlic cloves, you'll notice that the skin comes right off. 

Next, chop them up finely.  You can do it by hand, or pop them in a blender, I use my handy Pampered Chef Chopper.

Give them a really good chop, then transfer them to a small mason jar.  Now the size of the jar will depend on the amount of garlic you have, I find that for one head of garlic, the small 4 oz. jar works fine.

To finish off, pour in some olive oil just until it covers the garlic.  That's it!!!

Pop it in your fridge and it's ready to use. 

It really is an easy way to have your own fresh minced garlic ready to use.  If you want to make a larger amount, just use the same process, remembering to cover with olive oil to the top.

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

A few weeks ago, I had placed down on my meal plan - Beef Teriyaki.

It used to be one of our favorite meals but it had also been quite a long time since I had made it.  Stupidly, I should have checked my pantry beforehand, but I was convinced I had Teriyaki sauce on hand.

Well, no, I didn't and honestly didn't even realize it until I had sliced up the beef and was ready to start making dinner.

One thing I'm always talking about on my main blog, is my belief that you don't need to always buy everything you run out of, because most of what you buy at the store can be easily  made at home and much healthier too.

I quickly went on the hunt for a good homemade teriyaki sauce, and found one over on Taste and Tell. It came out so good and it was easy to make.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

1 cup water
5 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons honey
1 large clove of garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water


Combine the 1 cup water, brown sugar, soy sauce, honey, garlic and ginger in a medium saucepan and set over medium heat.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with the 1/4 cup water and whisk until dissolved. Add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan.

Heat the sauce until it thickens to your desired thickness. If the sauce becomes too thick, add more water to thin it out.


**I omitted the first two steps because I was in a hurry, so I basically sprinkled the cornstarch over the meat and stirred well to make sure it was well incorporated.  Dumped the meat, and sliced onion into the skillet, then added all the other ingredients and mixed well.

Then cooked the steak as I normally would.  It turned out really well and was delicious.