West Valley Cooking Club: Holiday Favorites

Well, it’s been over a month since we met for our WVCC “Holiday Favorites” meal. It was delish! The funny thing about it was that we didn’t have a lot of holiday-ish food. We were all talking and it seemed like there weren’t a ton of family traditional foods between us. I was surprised. Here are some of the recipes of what we did have, and I’d say give them a try whether or not it’s holiday season.

Black Beans and Rice 

Ingredients:

• 3-4 cans black beans (drained and rinsed) OR 3 cups dried black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 6-10 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
• olive oil
• lots of salt and pepper

Directions:

• Make a sofrito by sauteing onions, green peppers and garlic in olive oil until onions are soft and transluscent
• Add black beans, salt, and pepper to pot if using canned BB and several cans of water. Cook on low for 3-4 hours. Season with more S & P as needed.
• If using a crock pot, transfer the sofrito to  crockpot, add the 3 cups dried beans, salt, pepper, and 8-9 cups water. Cook on high for 8-9 hours.

Serve over white rice.

Mint Chocolate Crossants

Ingredients:

• mint chocolate chips or chopped up Andes mints
• package of crescent rolls

Directions:

• spread each crescent triangle out on a cookie sheet
• lay a scoopful of mint chocolates in the middle
• roll into a crescent shape
• bake according to package and lightly browned.

Chicken Adobo

You decide how many pieces of chicken breast you would like to cook (you can also use chicken drumsticks or thighs if preferred). Place frozen, thawed, or fresh chicken into crock pot. Then add:

Ingredients:

• Soy sauce: 1 T per pc of chicken
• White vinegar (or lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar, or any other type you have): 1T per 2 pcs of chicken
• Garlic (pressed): 1 piece per pc of chicken
• Ginger: 1 t per 2 pcs of chicken
• Bay leaves: 1 per 2 pcs of chicken
• Black pepper to taste
• Pickling spice: fill up one side of a tea strainer
• Chicken bouillon (cubes or granules): 1 cube per pc of chicken
• Olive Oil: 2T

Directions

• Put all ingredients into crock pot.
• Add about 1 cup of water per pc of chicken. You can add less or more depending on how much broth you want, or how strong you want the broth to be.
• Cook on high for 5 hrs.

Serve chicken and broth over hot rice.

Until next time! Bon Appetite and Happy Cooking!