Arroz con Pollo a la Margarita

Happy Friday, everyone! Let me tell you something. I'm not sure who this Margarita is, or why she has a chicken dish named after her, but it definitely doesn't matter because she sure knew what she was doing when she came up with this chicken idea!

I snatched this recipe from this Kraft Comida y Familia magazine, I receive in the mail. I knew I wanted to try it right away, because it is a low-sodium recipe and as you know with my chronic kidney disease, I practically live to try these recipes out!

What is so lovely about this recipe is the color and the spices used instead of salt to make it super tasty and healthy. As the daughter of a very traditional Mexican mother, it was a little hard to have my mom completely agree with my new "cooking adventures," because she has a very specific way of making her rice and her chicken. (She's also great at working with the low-sodium thing, but I love to help)! And when I'm in the kitchen, I think she is still a little scared. Fortunately, my madre is the bomb-diggity, bomb-bomb, and allows me her kitchen space when I am experimenting. And, then my dad gets to try it out. It really works out for everybody.

So without further wait! Here's how you can get started on dinner! :)

Arroz con Pollo a la Margarita

Preparation: 20 minutes     Total: 50 minutes      Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup of Kraft Zesty Lime Vinaigrette Dressing, quantity divided (I made my own)

1 chicken for baking or frying, cut into pieces (3 1/2 lbs.)

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 can (14.5 oz) reduced-sodium vegetable broth

1 1/2 cup of white long-grain rice, not cooked

1 tsp. cumin powder

2 tbsp. cilantro, diced

Instructions

1. Heat 2 tbsp. of the dressing in a big pan on medium-high heat. Add the chicken, cook 4 minutes on each side, or until each side is nice and golden. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside for now.

2. Add the red bell pepper and onion to the pan, and stir for 5 minutes, or until it's tender. Add the broth, rice, cumin, and the rest of the dressing; stir. Let it boil! Place the chicken on top and cover the pan.

3. Cook the dish on medium-low heat, maintaining a soft simmer for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and the rice is tender.

4. Remove from heat. Let the rice and chicken rest covered for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the dish with cilantro! And you are done! Enjoy and bon appétit!

I hope you guys enjoy this dish. My dad gave it a nod, and if you guys knew my dad that translates to "I did pretty awesome"! :)

Nutritional Information: Cal 470, Fat/sat 18/4.5, Sodium 390, Carb 42, Fiber 1, Protein 32 (I will try to include nutritional information from now on).

Peace out,

Maria :)

DIY String Bulletin Board

This fun DIY project has been Pinterest inspired! I am sure if you are on Pinterest (which if you are not, you totally should be, because I love and worship Pinterest) you have encountered some variation of this DIY. There are many ways to do it, and there are also a lot of cool "wall hang things" you can purchase at different stores like these here, but come on. . . who has the money to go buy expensive wall things? No one.

This wall decoration is really rustic and it was fun and SUPER easy to make. Here is what you are going to need!

Materials

thumbtacks

twine or any kind of string

cute paper clips of your choice

ruler

pictures to hang up

Instructions

1. First, make sure to cut out all your strings the same length. I chose to do four rows. 

2. Make a knot on each end, so that when you push the thumbtack through it stays. Pin the string on your wall.

3. Repeat for the following string. Make sure to measure with a ruler how far apart you want your strings to be from each other. That way your wall doesn't look all asymmetrical. Remember to leave enough space for the size of your pictures and notes!

4. Add some more decoration on top or at the bottom if you want. I added a "CAFE" sign on top of my bulletin board. I bought this little plaque at the dollar store for $2.00 on clearance! Who says you can't find awesome home decor at the dollar store?

I hope you guys enjoy this little DIY project and I hope it is inspires you to spruce up your living headquarters in some way. I am still adding things to mine, but I definitely want it to be a type of inspiration board with cool quotes and all things pretty! :) Let's get to working!

Peace out,

Maria :)

Cream-cheese Flan

Sometimes you have to mess up to get things right! Haha, what am I talking about? You always have to mess up to get things right!

I am talking about flan, people. Flan is one of my favorite desserts. (If not, my absolute favorite). The first time I made it, it was a disaster! And I mean a disaster. It tasted like nothing but eggs. My mom has used her own recipe for years, but I decided to be stubborn and use an online recipe that required WAY more eggs than she usually uses in her delicious recipe. So, the second time around I followed my mom's instructions. Mom's always DO know best.

So, along with my mother's guidance and this awesome website. . . I was able to make this delicious dessert. Here is the recipe. Good luck and enjoy!

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 12-oz can evaporated milk
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of sugar
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare a bain-Marie by adding about 2 inches of boiling water to a casserole dish. The flan mold will later go into this casserole dish. (I also placed the casserole dish on a baking sheet, so that it is easier to carry into the oven).
3. Caramelize the flan mold. You do this by placing 1 cup of sugar in a warm pan and heating it up on medium heat. Heat until the sugar browns and becomes golden like caramel. Then, pour onto the flan mold, making sure you get a little on the sides.
4. Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until it is nice and smooth.

5. Add eggs and mix some more!

6. Add the rest of the ingredients. Blend smooth, but do not overmix.
7. Pour the custard into the caramelized mold, cover with foil, and sit in the bain-Maire.
8. Place in the oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until done and knife comes out clean.
9. Let the flan cool down to the touch and place in refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.
10. Then run a knife through the edge, flip over, and serve cold!

AND YOU SHOULD HAVE DELICIOUS FLAN!