Day 21

A recipe ~
I hate cooking.Although I hate it, I do it because it is cheaper and healthier than eating out. I put together the easiest things I can for dinners. I like to use very few ingredients for meals. Baking is another story, as you saw in my post a few days ago. There is one recipe that I feel is share worthy because I fell in love with Cuban food from Versailles, a wonderful restaurant in Los Angeles, and I had to learn to make some Cuban food when I moved back to Iowa. There are no Cuban restaurants here. So I did online searches for a similar dish I would order there that was my fav. So here it is (and it is more than a few ingredients).

Carne Con Papas

2 lbs. beef stew meat
3 white or yellow potatoes
15oz. tomato juice
32oz. beef broth
1/2 small white onion
1/2 green bell pepper
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. Spanish saffron (yes, I use a lot, you don't have to use as much -I love the strong flavor)
pinch of salt

Chop green pepper, onion, and garlic finely or put in a food processor (that is what I do). Heat olive oil in pressure cooker on medium heat. Saute green pepper,onion,garlic,cumin and saffron & cook for about a minute then stir in tomato juice and broth. Bring to simmer, add the beef and potatoes. Cover with lid of pressure cooker  and cook under pressure for about 30-45 minutes.

Serve over jasmine or basmati rice. I also warm up some black beans with a dash of vinegar and onion powder added. And when I have been really ambitious or craving the full dish. I also fry up some plantains, mmm mmm good!

I went out and bought a pressure cooker just for this recipe- that's just how much I HAD to get me some Cuban food! This might discourage you from trying this recipe but I tell you a pressure cooker is definitely worth having  if you don't already. I also make beef stew and chicken curry in mine. It makes meat soooooo tender! They only cost about $25 and it comes with very thorough instructions that I suggest following. If I can do it anybody can!