Red Beans Soup

Who does not enjoy a good bowl of red beans "con todos los hierros" as people say in Cuba? This recipe makes about 8 servings and can also be served in the traditional Cuban way over white rice. Try and enjoy it!
Ingredients:

10 cups of water (2 cups to be added)
1 pack (12 oz.) of red kidney beans, well rinsed (canned below)
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 inch cube of salt pork
3 garlic cloves
1 medium onion
1/4 green pepper
4 oz. tomato sauce
1 tbsp. salt

Directions:

In Dutch oven, soak beans for 1 hour in 10 cups of water. Add 2 cups of water. Cook uncovered at medium-low heat until beans are tender (about 1-1/2 hours).

In blender or food processor, blend onion and green pepper together (add 1 or 2 Tbsp. of water if necessary). Set aside.

In a frying pan, heat the oil on medium-high. Add the garlic cloves and sauté until browned. Add the onion/pepper mixture to the oil, stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes until the sauce is a deep, rich red. This mixture is called sofrito.

Stir the sofrito into the beans. Add the salt and allow to simmer another 1/2 an hour or until tender.

Serve as a soup or over white rice.

Serves 6-8.

Note: When you're making any Cuban-style bean "potaje", if it doesn't thicken properly, for whatever reason, scoop out some of the beans and puree them in the blender. Add the pureed beans back into the pot to help the thickening process.

Teriyaki Chicken Recipe "Latin Style"

When I got this teriyaki chicken recipe in my hands, I was not convinced with the ingredients. So I decided to change it and make it my way. After some trials and errors, oh boy! It was amazing.

Now it is healthier and tastes so much better. You can cook it really easy and fast. As soon as you wash and cut your chicken into pieces, chop your vegetables, mix and bake. You see? There's no complications at all.

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts or 6 boneless chicken thighs
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 red bell pepper cut into thin strips
1/2 green bell pepper cut into thin strips
1/4 white onion cut into wheels
Some cilantro leaves finely chopped (it's optional but I love it!)
2 tablespoons mustard
2 tablespoons ketchup (try to buy the one without high fructose corn syrup, it has mercury which accumulates in the body and can cause cancer and other deseases)
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
3/4 cup water
Ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup white vinegar

Ok! Now let's cook this delicious teriyaki chicken recipe. Wash the chicken with lots of tap water and 1/2 cup white vinegar. Cut it into thin long pieces and put it in a bowl. Season with mustard, ketchup, teriyaki sauce and water. Mix everything well.

Putting the Teriyaki Chicken in the baking dish

Add some ground pepper and all the vegetables. Mix from bottom to top until all the ingredients are well combined. Let marinate for 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 450º F. Grease a baking pan (I use olive oil in spray). Put the marinated chicken, add the vegetables and finally pour the juice. I always fit the vegetables nicely over the chicken pieces to accentuate the flavor (as you can see in the bottom picture).

Bake for 45 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown. Turn over the chicken pieces one by one and bake for 15 minutes more or until that side also turns golden brown. Remove from oven and... Enjoy!!!

I love this teriyaki chicken recipe with latin white rice and my delicious dominican stewed red beans.