Caldo De Res, Beef Stew

I think the weather is getting perfect to start enjoying some dishes that are too hot for summer. My husband has asked me to make him some caldo de res, but since is been too hot I haven't made it. Well I think this week the weather is starting to cool off a little and since I started this week making soups, I decided to make this dish. So if I don't post for a few days is because I never been able to make just a little bit of caldo. This dish is not only very healthy, but is very easy to make since most vegetables are cut very large and is almost nearly impossible to mess it up.

Ingredients:

• lbs Ox Tail
• 2 lbs Boneless Beef Chuck Roast
• 4 Garlic Cloves
• 4 Fresh White or Yellow Corn
• 4 Large Zucchini
• 8 Large Carrots
• 1/2 Cabbage
• 1/2 Lb Green Beans
• 1/2 Bunch of Cilantro
• 8 Small White Potatoes
• 1-8oz Can of  Tomato Sauce
• Salt to Taste
• Water, approximately 3 Gallons

Directions:

1.  In a large pot place ox tail, garlic cloves, and water. Let it boil for about an hour.
2. Chop chuck roast into about 2-3 inch pieces. Add to the pot and add some salt.
3. When the beef foam forms remove it with a large spoon.
4. Chop corn into 3 sections. Add to pot at the same time you add the beef chuck.
5. Let it boil for 1-1.5 hours. Check the meat to see if tender. Add tomato sauce and cilantro to the pot.
6. Cut potatoes in half and carrots into 4 pieces. Chop cabbage in half and use the bottom part where the core is. Chop the core into 4 pieces.  Add to the pot
7. Chop zucchini into 2 inch rounds. 
8. Break off the ends of green beans, they should snap if they are fresh.
9. Once potatoes are almost done add green beans and zucchini.
10. Taste to see if you need to add more salt.

Remember that when seasoning anything start with a little bit a time, is easier to add more if you need to than it is to take it away. Hope you enjoy this recipe, is great for when you are going to have family over. To finish it off I like to add some lemon to my bowl and some valentina sauce or chiltepin pepper to spice it up a bit. We also like to enjoy the caldo with corn tortillas on the side. Personally I like to take out some meat out and roll it into a taco so I can eat it along with the vegetables :)

Battered Shrimp with Buttered Rice

Isn't it funny that sometimes you plan for something and ends up not happening? Today I had planned to cleaned the house and to get ready so I can look pretty before I started cooking for my husband. We planned to have lunch together. Well I didn't get the message that he was on his way and I was in the middle of mopping! He didn't have much time so I quickly gathered the ingredients and made lunch in less than 15 minutes. So this dish will be ready as soon as the rice is done cooking. Hope you enjoy this recipe which is easy to make and you can either make two ways just by changing what sauce you serve with it.

Ingredients:

• 1 Bag of Frozen Cooked Shrimp Peeled
• 1 Cup of White Rice 
• 2 Cups of Water
• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1/4 Cup Corn Starch
• 1 Egg
• 3/4 Cup Water
• Salt and Pepper To Taste
• Oil
• 3 Tbsp of Butter

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan add white rice and 2 cups of water and put it to boil. This is the step that takes the longest so start here. Add a little salt to the water.
2. Open frozen shrimp bag and in another pan add enough water to cover them.  Put them on the stove just long enough for them to unfreeze, but not so they are warm. Turn off heat and start removing the tail and place them on a container.
3. To to the batter you need flour, corn starch, egg, 3/4 cup of water, salt and pepper. Whisk ingredients well, you want the batter to be thick not runny.
4. Add oil to pan, I used a sauce pan so I can have use less oil, bur you want about 1/2 inch deep. Once oil starts shimmering, test with a little drop of batter. If it stays whole and bounces right to the top sizzling is ready for the shrimp.
5. At this point the water in the rice should be half way gone. Add butter to the top and continue cooking.
6. Dip shrimp in batter and drop carefully in oil. Since the shrimp are cook you are just looking for a golden color in the batter. Once it turns like the picture above take out of oil and put over some paper towels to remove excess oil. Continue until you are done with all the shrimp. 
7. Once rice is done you can serve the rice and shrimp either with lemon or sweet and sour sauce. If you are going for sweet and sour sauce don't add butter to rice so you can have a more authentic Chinese dish. 

Hope you find this recipe easy to make. I like to keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer because they come very handy when I don't have much time to cook or I lack imagination. 

Menudo

I think today's weather was perfect for soup. I had a few recipes in mind, but I decided to make menudo. I haven't made it in years! I went to the store to get the ingredients and I was really shock on how inexpensive it really is to make it and how pricey it is to buy it at a restaurant. I was reminded why food is so much cheaper to cook at home. I will start making it more often since my husband and the kids love it. So if you have the time or you want to use the crock pot so you have dinner ready for when you come home I highly recommend this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs Fresh Honeycomb Tripe
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 6-8 Dried New Mexico Peppers without steam and seeds
• 1 lg Can of Hominy
• About 2 Gallons of Water, (30-32 Cups)
• 2 tbsp Dried Oregano
• Salt to taste
• (you can also add either pig of beef feet)
• 1 Bunch of Cilantro
• 1/4 White Onion
• Lemon
• Bolillo Bread

Directions:

1. Cut tripe into 1 inch cubes.
2. If you added the pig or beef feet, add water to pot and the feet and let it boil for an hour before doing next step.
3. In large pot add water, tripe, garlic, peppers, and bay leaf. You will boil it for about 2-3 hours. 
4. About 10 minutes into cooking take out the peppers and garlic and blend it. You will then add it again to the pot so it will give a nice red color. Or if you want white menudo just don't add the peppers.
5. Add oregano and salt to taste.
6. After you have the pot boiling for 3 hours, you will drain the can of hominy and give it a rinse with cold water before you add it to the pot. Then let the menudo boil for another 30 minutes after you added the hominy.
7. If you put the ingredients on the crock pot set it on low before you leave home and when you return you can do step 4, 5, 6, and 8
8. Taste the menudo before turning off the fire to make sure you added enough salt. 

Let the menudo sit for a few minutes. Once you plate the menudo add some cilantro, onion, and lemon to the plate. Enjoy with a crispy buttered bolillo. If you want to spice it up you can also add some crushed chiltepin pepper or crushed red chilly pepper.