Mexican Inspired Quinoa Soup

If you would have told me last year that I would be sharing my love for cooking, baking and food on my blog I would've laughed.  But here I am, sharing my recipes and loving every bit of it!  

First, what is quinoa?  Quinoa is a grain.  Quinoa are seeds.  You cook them almost like rice but the texture is different and much lighter.  I dig it!  Now when Goya reached out to me to try their quinoa and extra virgin olive oil I was EXCITED!!!  See, we're not that lucky here in California to have all the good Goya products like the East coast has!

How to make quinoa:

1 cup Goya Quinoa, pre-rinsed
1 1/2-2 cups Water
1 tablespoon Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Bring water to a boil, add quinoa, extra virgin olive oil and salt
Bring water to a boil again, put on low-medium heat and cover
Cook for 15-20 minutes
Water should be absorbed (add more water if you need to-white germ should separate from seed)

Fluff with fork and set aside  

This recipe makes 2 1/2 cups - only use half.  Save the other half for Quinoa Tabbouleh!

Mexican Inspired Quinoa Soup Ingredients

• Cooked Goya Quinoa
• 1 cup El Pato yellow can hot salsa
• 4 cups Water
• 2 tablespoons Knorr Chicken Bouillon
• Shredded Cheese
• Leftover chicken  

Directions

• Bring water to a boil, add hot salsa, bouillon and quinoa
• Simmer on low for 20 minutes
• Remove from heat, ladle into bowl
• Add cheese and chicken
• Serve

The reason why I call it Mexican Inspired is because my Mexican husband Chris loves my tortilla soup and this is a little bit healthier than it and I couldn't very well call it tortilla soup!  So easy and tasty!  I really loved it for the texture and flavor!  Of course you don't have to use chicken and you can add vegetables - I suggest corn!

Disclosure:  Goya provided me with products to review.  All thoughts are my own.

Crock Pot Frijoles Recipe featuring Mazola Sobrecitos

I'm a busy woman but I love cooking for my family.  There is nothing in the World like a homecooked meal!    One pot meals are great because you can throw everything in the Crock Pot and get other things done around the house.  I call most of the recipes I create, "semi-homemade" because I need the help of good products to pull it off.  The magic is in making your family think you spent the whole day in a hot kitchen.  

I'm very proud of this recipe because it took one try in my test kitchen and my Husband loved it.  He has never liked any of my beans!  I've made chili, borracho beans, refried beans and he rejected all of them.  A few days after I created this recipe, Chris asked me to make it again!  It's also great for bean burritos the day after.

Crock Pot Frijoles Ingredients
1 Mazola Sobrecitos de Caldo de Tomate Packet
8 oz. Pinto Beans
1 7 3/4 oz. El Pato Tomato Sauce with Jalapeno Can
4 cups Water
1 tbsp. Oil

Directions

• Rinse and soak pinto beans for 8+ hours in cold water, drain and rinse again
• Add beans, water, Sobrecitos packet, El Pato sauce and oil to Crock Pot
• Stir, cover and set Crock Pot to Low
• Stir every couple hours
• Cook for 12+ hours

12+ hours?  Yes.  It depends on the beans.  It could take up to 18 hours but ohhh is it worth the wait.    About 12 hours in, I added some jalapenos.  When the frijoles were done, I added it to leftover Spanish Rice with Queso Fresco.  If you want to take it to another level of flavor, you could also add cilantro and/or squeeze half a lime.

Hope you like it!  Enjoy!



New Mazola® Sobrecitos® bouillon packets feature the goodness of all natural sea salt.
Did you know that sea salt is less processed than regular table salt?   I love the option of seasoning my dishes with all natural sea salt because it is less processed than table salt.

Visit the new Spanish-language Facebook page for Latinas! Visit www.facebook.com/MazolaEspanol  to check out new recipes for delicious dishes and special offers from Mazola®.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  This is part of a sponsored campaign with Latina Mom Bloggers and Mazola® Sobrecitos®. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

The Best Chilaquiles In The World...

because my Husband makes 'em special for me!  He knows how much I love 'em and it's a good day when he gets in the kitchen!  I had to beg to share his recipe but it was worth it, his chilaquiles are so good and super easy to make!  Thank you baby!

C's Chilaquiles Ingredients
1 Dozen Corn Tortillas
1 7 3/4 oz. El Pato Yellow Can
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

Directions

• Cut a dozen tortillas into quarters (like a pizza)
• Fry tortilla triangles in vegetable oil till crispy
• Drain oil
• Add the whole can of El Pato until all the chips are covered in sauce 
• Simmer and stir for about 2-4 minutes 

That was just the foundation recipe - You can sprinkle with cheese (The picture shows Queso Fresco but you can use any Mexican cheese or shredded cheese) or add eggs or do both.  Chilaquiles are great with a side of beans.  If you want your chilaquiles a little spicier - add chopped, dried red chile peppers after you add the sauce.    

Note:  Only use El Pato brand sauces for maximum flavor!  DO NOT SUBSTITUTE!  

  

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post.  We are big fans of El Pato and El Pato gave me some samples .  All opinions expressed are our own.  

El Pato Tour!

My husband Chris and I have our own signature dishes with El Pato as the base ingredient.  I love his chilaquiles and he loves my chicken tortilla soup.  We live on El Pato, it is definitely a staple in our home.

I was honored (floored would be a better word - I ran around the house so excited) when I was offered the opportunity to tour the factory in LA.  I extended the invite in my social circles and finally got to meet some of the lovely ladies from SoCal Lady Bloggers.  My friend Ariana was in town from Houston and got to enjoy the tour too!

Walker Foods is a true family business and has been around for almost 100 YEARS.  They have 65 employees and their longest employee retired after 58 years.  That's unheard of these days!  Definitely a company we should all look up to!  I would love to work for them!

Walker Foods, the first to produce salsa in the United States, was founded by James Walker in 1914 and has remained a family business ever since, The current company President is Robert Walker, James' grandson. The company occupies its original site adjacent to the Los Angeles River in the heart of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The eight-acre complex covers the greater part of an industrial city block.

The company holds several "firsts"! In addition to being the first to produce salsa in the United States it is also the first American salsa to be exported to Mexico, and the first, and largest user of Cascabel chiles in the world. Pure, natural ingredients are the hallmark of Walker Foods and they are all that are used in their salsas, chilies, vinegars and mustard.   

Not only did we get to tour the factory but we got to meet and chat with company President Bob Walker!  He discussed running a business with us and these keys are what stuck out to me the most:

• You must keep learning
• Admit when you don't know
• Understand talent

We were amused that Mr. Walker doesn't own a cellphone (he likes his freedom) or know how to use a computer.  Other interesting information about Walker Foods - all their products are Gluten-Free!  Walker Foods labels are El Pato, Golden State and Walker.  Southern California based In-N-Out Burger uses Walker Foods mustard in their special sauce!  El Pato's newest releases are Green Enchilada sauce and Chipotle sauce.

I was a huge fan before but learning all this information about the company and people behind it make me love it even more!  We really enjoyed ourselves!  (Hey Mr. Walker, give Craig, Cesar and Elizabeth raises!  They are fantastic and really passionate about the company!)  Huge Thank You to Craig, Cesar, Elizabeth and The Walker Family for hosting the tour and hooking it up with yummy El Pato products!      

You can find El Pato at Ralph's and Walmart.  Like El Pato Brand Products on Facebook and follow El Pato on Twitter.

My Tortilla Soup recipe will be coming soon!

What is your favorite El Pato sauce?  

That's Cesar - he works for El Pato and is hilarious! Bloggers Sujeiry, Ana-Lydia, Valerie and Kristin putting on white coats, hair nets and earplugs!

The huge wooden crates are full of tomato paste - the drums are full of chiles!  Massive!

Mmm the cooking and canning room!  Smelled so good in there!

Back in the old days, these were used to tie horses up while they loaded up product!

24 hour Security!

The Walker Family!  They meet every week for lunch at the factory.

Ariana modeling the white coats we had to wear!


Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Weekend Roundup

I've had an adventurous week... and tomorrow my girl Ariana from Houston will be in town till Friday so the fun continues!  We'll be hitting Disneyland, OC Fair and going on tours of the El Pato factory and Homeboy Industries (& having lunch at Homegirl Cafe).  I am so excited because she's the only girlfriend I have that hasn't flaked on me for the past 3 years.  We enjoy her company!

Ready for some exciting news?!  I'm planning a small UNconference in November with some kickass speakers - I can't wait to share the details but waiting till I secure the venue.    

Here's some sites I enjoyed this weekend: 
Desboobs of The Boobs fame launched her Mommy blog last week and it's fantastic - You'll love it Moms Of Badassery.

This is a great read - Questions My 5-Year-Old Sons Ask After Watching the Greatest Rap Videos of All Time

Adorable Spanish Alphabet Printable - FREE!

I use Passionfruit to run my ads, it's amazing and now there is a blog directory!

I don't listen to Murs but this is pretty awesome.  Loving the Hip Hop Community lately Rapper Murs Supports Gay Rights, Kisses A Man In "Animal Style" video

I'm sad I won't be attending BlogHer this year but I'll be doing this!












Nas & Amy Winehouse "Me & Mr. Jones"

Terry Urban Presents: Nas x Amy Winehouse - Mr. & Mr. Jones by Okayplayer on Mixcloud