On Sunday nights, I don't cook.  Not because I don't like cooking, you know I love it, but it's usually a day that I take off since I am in the kitchen every other day of the week.

We either snack all day long, or have cereal or sandwiches or leftovers. 

But there are Sunday nights that I feel like getting into the kitchen and making something quick and easy. 
 

Last night was one of those, I wanted a quick meal, but equally yummy, and that's when I remembered a simple, yet delicious dish that I hadn't made in a couple years.

It is quite popular in Brazil and even Portugal, and the best part is that the variations are endless, but this is the most common way I make it.  Also, it is easily adapted to cater to a big crowd, or just 2 or 3 people.





Sliced bread
Ham, Cheese of your choice - I also added some leftover mini pepperoni that I had in the fridge
Mayonnaise
Pizza sauce
Shredded Cheese
Oregano
Tomato slices
Optional:  You can add sliced onion and even olives along with the tomato slices


In a baking dish, put a little bit of the pizza sauce.  Just enough to cover the bottom.  Next cut off remove the bread crusts, and then place a layer of the slices over the sauce, covering the whole dish.

Now you're going to start layering the ingredients, starting by spreading a good slather of mayonnaise on the bread.  Next sprinkle on some shredded cheese of your choice, sprinkle some oregano, then a layer of ham, layer of sliced cheese, spread on some more pizza sauce. 

Do another layer of bread, mayo, shredded cheese, ham, sliced cheese and pizza sauce.

To finish off, another layer of bread, then a final layer of mayonnaise, some more shredded cheese, then top with sliced tomato and sprinkle some more oregano.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.

I think everyone knows how to prepare roast chicken, and there are so many variations out there and family recipes passed down from generation to generation.

Much as I love cookbooks and trying out new recipes, some days I prefer to stick to the way I have grown up cooking, the meals that I remember from my childhood.

This is a very simple way to make roast chicken, it may seem a little different to what you're used to making but it's equally delicious.  It is also a one pan meal, and that is always great as it saves on having a pile of dishes to clean up.

I do hope you'll give it a try :)





1 pound chicken (I used thighs, but you can use a whole cut up chicken, or legs, or breasts, whatever you prefer)
Vinegar
Minced Garlic
Mustard
Mayonnaise
Paprika
Salt and Pepper
2 large potatoes
Small red onion


Now here's the deal, if I'm not following a specific recipe, I always cook from the heart, which means I eyeballs the ingredients.  It's hard for me to give specific measurements, but I'll try to give you an idea of how much I used.

First thing, wash and clean your chicken well.  Place the chicken in a big ziploc bag, then squirt in some vinegar, add about 1/2 cup of mayo and 1/4 cup mustard, some minced garlic cloves (I used about 4 that I mashed in my mortar and pestle), salt and pepper to taste and some paprika.


Close the ziploc tightly and give it all a good mix, then pop in the fridge for a few hours.  It's even better overnight, but usually I'll do it either in the morning, or around noon to cook for dinner.


When you're ready to cook.  Dump the whole contents of the chicken into a casserole dish, or a baking dish covered with foil.

Add a layer of sliced onion on top, and then top with thick sliced potatoes.  Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for about an hour or until chicken and potatoes are completely cooked through.

When done, you can serve right away, or if you wish, you can remove the foil and place back in the oven to broil a bit.

I love food, always have and I think I always will, and I may sound very biased, but without a doubt, for me, one of the best foods on earth, is Portuguese.

You may say that I only think that because I'm Portuguese, but that's not necessarily true, seeing that I also think Mexican, Chinese, Indian and Italian are some of the best too.

For me though, growing up in a Portuguese home, learning to cook from a very young age and being surrounded by flavor, fresh ingredients and nothing but the simplest of homemade meals, created a love for real comfort easy dinners.

I was never one for gourmet, never one for expensive or intricate recipes or exquisite weird ingredients.  Cooking needs to come from the heart, and most importantly from your home and what you have on hand.  A little of this, a pinch of that, and a finished dinner that will stick to the ribs and leave everyone asking for more.

The recipe I'm sharing with you today is one of the simplest ways to prepare a pot of beef tips that can be served with mashed potatoes, or rice, pasta, whatever your heart desires.

I paired mine with some simple buttery white rice and some homemade pressure cooked beans with bacon.  (the recipe for those will be up shortly)




1 pound of stewing beef
4 garlic cloves
Tablespoon of kosher salt
Paprika
Chili flakes to your liking
Cheiro Verde (This is a mixture of parsley and cilantro, to taste
Olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
Half a green pepper, diced
15 oz. can of tomato sauce
2 cups of water


Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic cloves along with the salt, paprika and chili flakes.

In a pot, add a little bit of olive oil and the garlic mixture you just crushed.  Stir, then add the beef cubes.  Cook over medium heat until nicely browned.

Next, add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine, check the seasonings and add more salt if needed.  Cover and let cook over medium heat until meat is tender and the sauce has reduced to a nice thick gravy.

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.




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.

When I was growing up in Portugal, one of my earliest and most fondest memories, are of the times we would go to the local bakery for a coffee and a cake.  Usually, it would be on Saturday afternoons, and it was called "Lanche", which is not lunch or dinner, but more of a snack in between the two big meals.

The adults would have a coffee and I would eagerly await my glass of chilled coca cola with a slice of lemon and tons of ice, and along with it, one of these Bolas.


Sometimes, we would have them while at the beach, the vendor would come around yelling out "Bolasssss de Berlim", and we would buy one and enjoy it right there on the beach towel, our fingers full of beach sand and our mouths covered in sugar.

There are memories that stay with you forever, and these are certainly some of those.

I had not made these before because I always felt that they would probably take up too much time, or maybe I thought they would be difficult to make.

But recently, I got a huge craving for these and decided that it was now or never, and goodness, am I glad I gave in.

Not only are they easy to make, but even the egg custard creme inside was a pinch to make as well.  If you're wondering what it is, that is good ol Creme Pasteleiro, or Creme Patisserie.

I do hope you give these a try, they are amazingly delicious and your family will love them for sure.


325 grams all purpose flour
25 grams butter
25 grams sugar
Pinch of salt
100 ml water
2 eggs
1 packet dry yeast

Sugar for rolling

In a stand mixer, add all the ingredients, and beat well for 8 minutes.  Check the dough, if it is too dry add a little bit of water a time until you achieve a smooth elastic dough.  If it's too wet, add a little bit of flour at a time.

Pull the dough out and then measure out 50 gram dough balls.  I have a kitchen scale that works with both grams and ounces.

You should get about 12 or so pieces of dough.

Roll each into a ball and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Cover with a clean towel and let rise until triple in size.

Fry at a temperature of around 300 F, until gold brown, flipping over to ensure that both sides are nice and golden.

Transfer to a paper lined dish to remove excess oil.  Quickly roll in sugar to coat and set aside.

You can fill these with either jam, vanilla cream or creme patisserie.

To fill, make a 45 degree cut just above the middle of each donut ball,making sure not to slice all the way through, and fill.  You can also cut them straight down the middle as well, again making sure not to cut all the way through.

Enjoy :)

I grew up in Portugal, and always with my greatgrandmother in the house.  She was the matriarch, the one that oversaw the cooking and pretty much kept a close eye on everyone and everything that was going on.

While my parents had to work, it was my greatgrandma that watched us during the day, cooked our meals, waited for us at the door when we returned from school and then made dinner for everyone.

I learned a lot with her.

One of the fondest memories I have, are of these cookies sitting in a big glass jar.  There would be tons of these always available, and as we walked by the counter, my brothers and I would snatch a few to enjoy.

I will say that they are not very sweet at all, which to me is perfect as I much prefer simple cookies that I can have with a cup of coffee or tea. 

When I first made them, I was worried my husband and kids would not enjoy them, because they're not really the type of cookie they're used to, but they all love them just as much as I, and now I make sure to always have a batch on hand :)

I have my greatgrandma's recipe written down somewhere, just need to fish it out, but this recipe comes from Easy Portuguese Recipes.  It's pretty much the exact recipe that I have written down :)



3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 eggs
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg for brushing on the cookie (or you can use milk if you prefer)


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Beat together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.

Add the eggs and the melted butter.  Pinch off small balls of dough, about an inch in size, then roll into a log and overlap the ends, making a bow.

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. 

 
Brush the cookies with some beaten egg, or a little bit of milk if you prefer.



Bake for about 15 minutes or until cookies are brown.  Remove from oven and let cool.

Keep either in a glass container, or in a ziploc bag.  They will keep for quite a few weeks, but they don't usually last very long in my house.