Portuguese Chourico Stew

I have a weekly tradition when I go to the grocery store. After I've bought all the meat that I have for my menu plan for the week I make a beeline for the reduced meats section. I love looking through the reduced meat section! In case you have never shopped the clearance meat section, it's a section of the store where the meat that is going to expire in the next couple of days is marked downed, sometimes by as much as 50 percent. Whenever I see a great deal on a meat that I know we will use I purchase it and stick it in my freezer. This way I have meat at a much lower price which is a great way to reduce my weekly food budget. A couple of months back I bought a number of packages of Chourico sausage on clearance and put them in my freezer. Last week I searched the internet and came across a recipe for Portuguese Chourico Stew, which looked simple and a great way to use discounted sausage.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes approximately an hour of prep and cooking time and makes 8 servings. All the ingredients besides the sausage are very basic and I had no problems finding any of them at my local grocery store. The recipe doesn't specify what type of canned green beans to purchase, so I used cut regular green beans. Make sure to adequately wash the green beans to rinse off the metallic taste. I love sweet onions and used one for the onion in this recipe. The sweetness was a nice contrast to the spiciness of the sausage. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

If you love spicy foods you will like this recipe. The chourico sausage and crushed red pepper give a spicy flavor to the stew, which my husband and I enjoyed. The spiciness of the stew isn't hot like chicken wings, but rather has a temporary burn that doesn't linger. My husband thought this was one of the best stews he had eaten in a long time and ate multiple bowls. I liked that the recipe uses water and all the flavor comes from cooking the sausage and vegetables. Best of all the skill level for the recipe is low, making it accessible while maintaining flavor.

For the recipe go to Portuguese Chourico Stew.

Bon Appetit Spanish Trail Mix

As I've stated numerous times before, with two growing boys I make a ton of snacks. If given the option, my two boys would eat all carbs and no protein snacks, which would lead to two very cranky young men by the end of the day. Therefore, I try to make at least one snack a week which is high in protein and good fats, such as nuts. The January issue of Bon Appetit magazine had a recipe for Spanish Trail Mix, which looked nutritious and full of protein.

I made a number of major modifications to this recipe. The stores in my area are limited, so I substituted based on what was available locally. First, I had chourico sausage which I had purchased on clearance a while back, which I substituted for the smoked chorizo. Since my sausage was different than the once used in the recipe, I cut the chourico into cubes and quickly cooked it on the stove-top. Second, the only paprika I have been able to find at the grocery stores in my area is McCormick, so I used what I already had, instead of smoked paprika like the recipe states. I understand that the smoked paprika would have had an earthier undertone, but I like to utilize the ingredient which I already have in my pantry. Thirdly, I used dried dates. The recipe uses cubed pitted dates (which I assume are fresh). I have never seen a fresh date in my area, so I used what was available. The dried dates added a sweetness to the almonds, which I liked.

My husband absolutely loved this trail mix. His favorite part were the smoked almonds, which he has now decided are one of his favorite snacks. My youngest liked this recipe, my oldest was indifferent. I liked how high in good protein and fats this snack is, making it a better option than white bread, which is the snack my two boys usually go for first. This is an easy recipe, which could be substituted with a variety of ingredients and makes a delicious, higher protein snack.

For the recipe go to Bon Appetit Spanish Trail Mix.

Everyday Food Chorizo, Potato, and Egg Tacos

A couple of months back one of the grocery stores in my area had a number of packages of chourico marked on clearance. The final cost was 1.50 per package, which I couldn't pass up and I bought a bunch to store in my freezer. Previously, I have used chourico in number of rice dishes, such as jambalaya, but I wanted to try some new dishes given that I had so many packages to go through. While I was looking through one of my recent copies of Everyday Food magazine, I noticed a recipe for Chorizo, Potato, and Egg Tacos, which I could easily substitute with the chourico from my freezer.

This recipe has two parts, the salsa picante and the tacos. In order to save time during the busy dinner prep, I prepared my salsa in the morning. The taco portion of the meal only takes five ingredients, all of which I easily found at my grocery store. As I stated before, I substituted chourico for the chorizo. Since the sausage I bought was smoked not fresh, I peeled the casing off and finely diced. I used a toaster oven to char my poblano chile and found it took closer to 20 minutes, rather than the 7-10 suggested by the recipe. Additionally,  I ran out of eggs, so I ended up using 3 instead of 4 eggs. I found my total time with the salsa and tacos to take about an hour. Finally, This recipe made 6 tacos for my family, not the 8 indicated by the recipe.

This was a very kid friendly recipe. My two boys are often bad about eating eggs, but they loved these tacos.
My husband and I found that boiling the potatoes made them softer than we prefer, so I suggest frying the potatoes instead. Fried potatoes would provide the tacos with a nice crunch which would go nicely with the rest of the ingredients. This recipe would make a great breakfast recipe, or you can do like my family did and have it as a breakfast for dinner dish; works well either way.

For the recipe got to Everyday Food Chorizo, Potato, and Egg Tacos.

All You Chicken and Chorizo Paella

One of my four-year-old's favorites foods is chicken. If I want to make a recipe that he is sure to eat, it must involve chicken or shrimp. My husband and I get tired of the same old chicken recipes, so I am always on the lookout for new recipes to try. Oftentimes I substitute thighs for chicken breasts, due to breasts tendency to dry out and my family's preference for the darker meat. However, I have been trying to incorporate more recipes utilizing chicken breasts into my menu rotation for health benefits. Recently, All You magazine had a recipe for chicken and chorizo paella using breasts, that looked like a good recipe for my family to try.

None of my local grocery stores carry Spanish chorizo and the international market closed a while back. However, they do sell Portuguese chourico, which I substitute frequently in recipes, including this one. I had no other problems finding any other ingredients. This recipe goes together rather quickly, the total time being about 30 minutes. Most of the time is active cooking time with approximately 10 minutes of prep. I did not use low sodium chicken broth and still had to salt, so didn't go light on the salt.

This is a quick one-dish meal. The chicken breasts did not dry out as common in many other recipes, and my two boys enjoyed this dish. My husband missed the crusty bottom of traditional paella, but thought the flavor from the chourico was delicious. This is a great quick weeknight meal recipe, with minimal clean-up.

For the link go to All You Chicken and Chorizo Paella.