Learn more about this beautifully magical pixie photo and how to have one made of your special little sprite! Learn More!
Dinner With Woody And Buzz!
Learn more about this dynamic duo and how your kid’s can have fun while you enjoy watching their little faces light with joy!
Local Business Spotlight with Jennifer DaPonte
I met with a good friend of mine, Jennifer DaPonte of South Coast Home Sales, to shoot a video about my various business interests. The Portuguese American Mom, StacyCakes and SC Events. (If you look up at the top of your screen on your PC you will see a tab for StacyCakes and if you are on a mobile device you can just scroll to the last part of the menu button for an easy way to get there.) Jen is a wonderful realtor. She sold my last house and has sold many homes of people I have referred over to her, but one of her specialties is working with buyers. Jen has a special way of connecting with people and sensing what it is exactly that they are looking for in a property and then guiding them through the whole process. She knows the market in Southeastern MA and RI inside and out, so if you are looking to buy or sell, a full time realtor like Jen is the way to go for sure! If you would like to find out more about her and what she does, please contact her here –> SouthCoast Home Sales with Jennifer DaPonte
In this video we talk about my business interests and Jen did a fast forward video of me decorating this Salted Caramel Drip Cake. Drip cakes are all the rage in cake decorating today and I had a lot of fun with this one adding on caramel pop corn, pretzels and cookies! Check it out!
If you are in the local Southeastern MA and RI area, check out one of my events at Adagio Restaurant and Lounge in Fall River, MA.
StacyCakes and SC Events
Buy tix through Eventbrite or right at Adagio Restaurant in Fall River, MA
Bacon Crack
This recipe may be the absolute easiest recipe in my repertoire and is by far one of my most requested. It is simple, straight forward, different and delicious! Once you place the sweet, savory, salty, chewy, crunchy goodness in your mouth, the name will not be lost on you. Each time this little morsel of goodness is bitten into, it inevitably leads to another and another! It is something of an addiction. I recently brought a tray to a PTO fundraiser for my volunteers and by the end of the day I had been dubbed the PTO crack dealer!
Start with cold bacon out of the fridge and cut it in half. I like to cut right through the package. This makes life a little easier than fighting with raw slippery bacon. Note: Do not use thick cut bacon.
Even though I am using a non-stick sheet pan, I am covering it with parchment paper. Do not skip this step! Hot molten brown sugar is like glue. You don’t want to fight with your pan when it is time to serve up these little treats, but more over, you probably really don’t want to struggle when clean up comes along!
Now, lay out each half piece of bacon individually and lay one club cracker on top if each, salt side down.
Next, pack a teaspoon with light brown sugar.
Place each spoonful of brown sugar on top if each club cracker.
Now fold bacon over top and bottom.
It should look like you have a little bed of sugar with a bacon blanket.
Once you have gone through your entire package of bacon, you’ve come to the end of what you need to do.
Place tray in a pre-heated 225 degree F oven for 2 1/2 hrs. Che k to be sure they look nice and crispy and cooked through. The sugar should be molten and the entire little morsel will have become one.
Bacon Crack
Ingredients:
1 16 oz. Pkg regular cut bacon (not thick cut), cut in half
1 cup light brown sugar
2 small sleeves Club crackers
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 225°F. Place separated bacon slices on parchment lined sheet pan. Place one Club cracker on each piece if bacon. Add 1 tsp. Packed brown sugar to each cracker. Wrap each cracker and sugar with the bacon. Place sheet pan in oven and check at 2 1/2 hours. When bacon looks crisp and cooked through, recipe is done. (If not done, bake an additional 15-30 mins.) Allow to cool, carefully remove from pan and serve. Enjoy!
Mexi Pasta Salad
I am always on the hunt for a good summer cookout side. There are only so many times a person can make a great Potato Salad before you feel like you have potato salad coming out your ears! I have always enjoyed a good pasta salad though. So, I made it my mission this summer to perfect a great pasta salad and by golly, I think I got it… In fact, I know I got it.
This pasta salad is something different, out of the box and packed with fresh ingredients and delicious flavors all marrying to become one heck of a side dish. I served it at a cookout just yesterday along-side some BBQ chicken and grilled Montreal Steak. But, I can totally see it with some Southwest Turkey Burgers or even just topped with some fresh avocado and Grilled Shrimp or chicken.
The trick is not to gobble it all up before you get it to the party! I call it “Mexi Pasta Salad” because although I am pretty sure there isn’t an Abuela in Mexico throwing this together, it gives a good solid nod to the flavors of Mexico. With all your basic taco toppings thrown in and some cumin to spice things up, this salad is not your run of the mill deli get.
Add salt to a good size pot… a pot larger than you think you need for the pasta if possible.
Campanelle Pasta is what I am using today, you can really use any type of pasta for this.
Be sure to stir the pasta a few times throughout the cooking process to ensure nothing sticks together.
Here are some of the fresh ingredients you will need.
Some halved grape tomatoes.
Dice up that jalapeno into a nice small dice after removing seeds and ribs. (Unless you like a kick, then you can leave in as much of the innards as you like haha)
Dice up the bell pepper (any color is fine, I like red for it’s sweetness and color)
Once you dice up half your red (it’s really purple, I never understood why we call them red onions) pepper be sure to soak them in water for a bit to take out that onion tang that makes you cry, it’s a bit too strong for a pasta salad.
Roughly chop up half a bunch of cilantro.
Roughly chop a can of black olives. You can use freshly brined black olives if you like, but there is just something about the canned variety I like here.
Now for the little to no prep ingredients… Start with about 3/4 of a bag of frozen corn… If you happen to have fresh, please use that, I didn’t have any handy.
Rinse out a can of black beans.
Drain your pasta… I cook mine just past aldente. Also, I did not feel like having to wash another bowl, so my extra-large pot (Magic Pot from Pampered Chef) was perfect for mixing everything in together!
In a small mixing bowl, add in 1 cup of may.
To that, add about 1/2 cup of sour cream. This may seem like a lot of moisture, but we are adding a lot to this pasta.
Now the zest of one lime.
You could add in the juice of the lime, but I find the zest strikes just the perfect balance and the juice is really not needed… Save the juice for your Blueberry Mojito!
Next add in about 1/2 tsp of ground cumin.
Now a good pinch of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
Mix your dressing.
Add corn.
Add beans.
Add dressing.
Drain onions and add in.
Add your chopping block stuff.
Mix together.
And for some extra crunch, add in half a diced english cucumber. If you prefer to use a cuke from your garden, just be sure to seed it first to reduce water content.
Mexi Pasta Salad
Serves 10-15 as a side
Ingredients:
1 lb. pasta, cooked in salted water
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced small
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced and soaked in water, then drained
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 can black olives, drained and roughly chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 bag frozen corn or 2 ears fresh corn grilled
For the dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
zest of 1 lime
1/2 tsp. cumin
kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Directions: Prepare all ingredients as stated in ingredient list. Drain pasta. In a small bowl mix together mayo, sour cream, cumin, zest, salt and pepper. Add dressing to pasta. Add beans, corn, both peppers, drained onion, tomatoes, cilantro, cucumbers and black olives. Mix well. Taste for salt. Pour into serving bowl and chill at least 2 hours.
Low Carb Caribbean Shrimp Bruschetta
Last year at this time my family and I were just coming back and recovering from an amazing trip to Jamaica where we celebrated my sister and brother-in-law’s wedding! There was sand, there was surf, there was a beautiful beach chair and tropical drink waiting for me daily, ahhhh. I’m not gonna lie, it was nice!
Although I won’t be traveling to the Caribbean this year, there is always a vehicle to get me back there if just for a few moments… FOOD Food glorious food can really take you anywhere in the world and with this dish I am transported right back to those white sand beaches and clear blue waters!
If you are looking for a fancy shmancy appetizer to serve at your next cocktail party or if you are having a fun and festive Caribbean style get together, this dish is easy, delicious and can totally be made ahead and built just before serving! AND its low carb, gluten-free and super healthy!
Start with a ripened plantain.
Taking the peel off is not quite as easy as with a banana.
Slice thinly on an angle.
Deep fry in veggie oil.
Drain fried plantains on a paper towel.
Immediately salt.
Grab some bacon.
Cut bacon into three segments.
Sprinkle shrimp with some Jamaican Jerk Rub. This one is by Pampered Chef.
Pan fry in either butter or veggie oil.
Now you have three elements ready to go.
Gather these ingredients for your caribbean style pico de gallo.
I am using my Pampered Chef Manual Food Processor today because I want to be able to control just how processed the ingredients get, I want a small dice, but I don’t want to liquefy.
Dice up your tomatoes, red onion and peppers. For this, I am using sweet peppers, but you can totally use jalapeno peppers or even ghost peppers if you want to really go Jamaican!
Place the onion, tomato, peppers and cilantro in the food processor.
Process lightly.
Add the squeeze of half an orange.
Continue to process. Add in kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.
I added in some Portuguese hot ground pepper. (Pimenta Moida)
Cover the fried plantain with the pico de gallo.
Add a piece of fried bacon.
Add a little more pico de gallo.
Add your shrimp right on top and sprinkle with a bit more cilantro.
Low Carb Caribbean Shrimp Bruschetta
Yield 12 Bruschetta
1 ripened plantain, sliced and deep-fried in 2 cups Canola Oil
12 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined with tail on
4 pieces of bacon, cut into thirds and fried until just crisp
For Pico de Gallo:
1 plum tomato, roughly chopped
1/2 red onion, roughly chopped
3 sweet peppers, roughly chopped
1/2 small orange, juiced
1 small handful cilantro
1 Tbs. Pimenta Moida (Portuguese ground red pepper)
1 tsp. Pampered Chef Jamaican Jerk Seasoning, plus more for shrimp
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Deep fry 12 slices of ripened plantains, set aside on paper to drain. Season shrimp with a sprinkle of Jamaican Jerk seasoning and salt. Pan fry with butter. Set aside. Pan fry bacon until just crisp, set aside on paper to drain.
For salsa, add in tomato, peppers, cilantro, onion, Pimenta Moida and Jamaican Jerk Seasoning and a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste into a food processor. Process until a fine salsa is made.
Build your bruschetta = 1 plantain, 1 tsp pico de gallo, 1 pc. bacon, a little more pico de gallo, top with shrimp. Garnish with more cilantro.
Portuguese Chicken & Rice (Arroz com Frango)
Spring is a funny time of year here in the Northeast. Some days it’s sunny and you want to stay outside and grill and enjoy the beautiful day and the very next week, you can have 5 days of clouds and rain. It makes for an interesting trip to the market when trying to plan out meals. One thing that works rain or shine and really can provide some rainy day comfort is this one pot Portuguese dish, Arroz com Frango (Chicken & Rice)!
I have loved chicken and rice ever since I was a little girl. What’s not to love right? There is a juicy flavorful chicken combined with equally flavorful rice and potatoes, not to mention the nuggets of chouriço that are tucked away in there. It’s really everything you could want from Portuguese cooking all in one spot.
This meal is also quite versatile. In my house, my dad has always been a big fan of chicken legs, so my mom always made it with just legs. And if you like that, great, make it just like we do! But, if you prefer thighs or even breasts, this recipe accommodates that too. Also, we make this with beer as many of my Portuguese recipes have, but white wine works well too and if you don’t keep alcohol in the house, just use some chicken stock. It will still be delicious! The key here is those main Portuguese spices, the crushed red pepper, the chouriço (which is used as much for its flavor as for the meat itself), the garlic and of course the Portuguese All Spice (which can be swapped out for sweet paprika in a pinch).
It’s an easy recipe that has something for the whole family. Take a look at how I do it…
Start with some fresh chicken. I prefer legs for this recipe, but thighs would be great and if you only do breast, then that works too. I also prefer that it have skin as the skin imparts quite a bit of flavor. It can be removed after cooking if you like.
Start by searing your chicken. (Sorry this picture is so dark! It’s a big dark pot.)
You want to get every side.
Remove the chicken from the pot.
Peel and slice up some hot chouriço.
Chop up a large onion.
Saute the onion in the chicken fat you have just rendered. If not enough fat has been rendered, then you can add some olive oil.
Add in chouriço.
Get a few cloves of garlic.
Smash them with your knife and this makes the peel easy to remove. Add the peeled garlic into the pot.
Chop up about 6-8 potatoes… You want about one small potato per piece of chicken you are using or 1 large for every two pieces.
Add in a bottle of beer. Use that bottle of beer to measure out about 6-8 more of water. (white wine can be substituted for the beer)
Measure out your rice. This is NOT par boiled, medium grain rice. Uncle Ben’s does not work here, neither does any kind of quick cooking rice. Just good old-fashioned rice. I like River Rice.
Add rice into pot.
Add in one small can of tomato sauce.
And one to two heaping Tbs. of ground red pepper.
Add in a good pinch of kosher salt.
Add in Portuguese All Spice. If you don’t have this handy, add in about a tsp. of sweet paprika. (NOT SMOKY)
Keep an eye on it, if the rice needs more water. Once the potatoes have cooked through and the rice is plump and has absorbed most of the liquid, You are through.
Portuguese Chicken & Rice (Arroz com Frango)
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
3-4 lbs. chicken, skin on
8-10 small potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups medium grain white rice
1 large onion, diced
1 beer (or 1 cup white wine or chicken stock)
3 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
1 lb. hot chouriço, peeled and sliced
1 (6 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 Tbs. Pimenta moida (crushed red pepper)
1/2 tsp. Portuguese All Spice
1 Tbs. kosher salt
8 cups water
Instructions:
In a large heavy pot over high heat, sear chicken. Remove chicken from pot and turn heat down to medium heat. Add in onions, saute. Add in chouriço and garlic. Add chicken back in to pot. Add in beer, water, rice, potatoes, tomato sauce, pepper, All Spice and salt. Stir. Cover and cook on low until potatoes are fork tender and rice has plumped to become fully cooked and absorbed most of the liquid. Watch pot throughout cooking time, stirring and adding water if needed.
*This is a gluten free recipe so long as white wine is used in lieu of beer.
Sausage Patties
Spring is here and Mother’s Day is upon us. A Mother’s Day tradition in many a household is breakfast in bed for mom. Why not make it extra special this year by going that extra mile? Making homemade sausage may seem out of reach to many, but with this simple recipe, you will not only get a more delicious patty, but a healthier one!
Made from simple ingredients. It’s always nice to know exactly what goes into our food and be able to control the quality of what we put in our bodies. These little patties are without casing, which is just one more reason I love them.
These pork breakfast sausages are perfect for freezing and can be ready to go whenever you want to make a special breakfast or just have a quick breakfast ready to go in the morning. I enjoy them along side pancakes, but they go really well with eggs or waffles or whatever your favorite breakfast food is!
Slice up one small onion.
Place it in the food processor… I am using the Pampered Chef Manual Food Processor.
Process onions.
Process until finely minced.
Add some olive oil into small skillet.
Add onions into skillet.
Run a large garlic clove or two smaller ones through a garlic press and add in. This Pampered Chef Garlic Press is fantastic.
Add bacon into skillet.
Brown everything up and remove from heat to allow to cool a bit.
Start with a package of ground pork.
Use your favorite bacon.
Snip through some bacon. These Pampered Chef Sheers are perfect to get this job done!
Prepare your spices.
Add your spices into your meat.
Add in plain bread crumbs.
Add in one egg.
Add in cooled skillet mixture.
Stir together.
Form patties.
You can form regular circular patties… I like a 2″ patty.
Or you can make them into heart-shaped patties for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or a special anniversary breakfast.
Using a medium skillet, turn burner heat to medium.
Add patties into skillet.
Turn.
Cook all the way through.
Flash freeze the remaining raw patties for a half hour in freezer bag laying them flat and then remove as much air as possible from bag and place back in freezer for storage.
Sausage Patties
Makes 18 2 oz. patties
Ingredients:
1 lbs. ground pork
2 eggs
1 small onion, minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
5 slices bacon, cut into 1/4″ pieces
2 cloves of garlic, run through press
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. sage
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
1 Tbs. olive oil
Directions:
In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in onions, bacon and garlic. Saute until golden brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
In a medium mixing bowl, add in ground pork, bread crumbs, spices and brown sugar. Stir together. Add in skillet mixture. Form into 2 oz. patties.
Heat a medium skillet and add patties without crowding. Brown patties on both sides (4-5 mins on each side). (Sugar will caramelize as pictured.)
Serve hot, enjoy!
*Recipe can easily be made gluten-free with the replacement of bread crumbs with gluten-free bread crumbs.
Portuguese Style Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers are a meal all in themselves. They have protein, grain and vegetable all in one perfect package. Adding in the chouriço, portuguese ground pepper (pimenta moida) and Portuguese Allspice really bring it into “Portuguese Style” territory!
These are great for a weeknight meal, to bring in to work for lunch or make some of the stuffing, freeze in an airtight bag and stuff fresh peppers whenever you get the inkling!
I like the red, orange and yellow peppers myself because they are sweeter, but if you prefer green, go ahead and use green!
Cut each pepper in half lengthwise. This will later lead to a more crispy top on your stuffing.
Seed the peppers removing as much of the white pith as you can.
Dice up a medium onion.
Fresh parsley is important here.
Chop it up.
Use one large can of plain tomato sauce. reserving about 1/3 of it for topping the peppers before they go into the oven.
The meat for this stuffing is made up of half ground beef and half chouriço.
Add in the onion.
Brown everything together in the skillet.
Once browned, add in 2/3 of the can of sauce.
Now add in a couple of cups of cooked white rice. If you prefer brown rice here, that’s fine, just be sure it is thoroughly cooked, this is not the time for aldente anything.
Add in Pimenta Moida.
Add in some salt and pepper to taste and your stuffing is ready!
Select a baking dish that will comfortably fit the number of peppers you are looking to bake without being too tight.
Grease the baking dish with some oil.
Place your peppers with the cut side up on your baking dish ready for stuffing.
Stuff each pepper 1 and a half times its size so that it has a nice rounded top of stuffing.
Cover with some plain sauce just to keep the stuffing moist.
Portuguese Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
2-3 bell peppers, cut in half and seeded
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground chouriço
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups cooked rice
1 can tomato sauce
2 Tbs. parsley, chopped
1 Tbs. Pimenta Moida (ground pepper)
1/2 tsp. Portuguese Allspice
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
Brown ground beef, ground chouriço and onion in a skillet over medium heat. Drain if there is an excess of fat (a little fat is ok). Add in Pimenta Moida, parsley and a little salt and pepper (don’t over do it here) and 2/3 can of tomato sauce. Stir. Add in cooked rice. Stir.
Stuff filling into peppers and place in an oiled baking dish. Top stuffed peppers with remaining 1/3 can of tomato sauce. Bake for 30 minutes until pepper has cooked through. Serve hot.
***Gluten-free
Basic Spaghetti & Meatballs
It’s not often that you can find a meal that is as great as a Sunday dinner as it is a week night meal, but Spaghetti and Meatballs fits that bill. We are talking REAL Spaghetti and Meatballs, the kind where you actually roll the meatballs with your own two hands.
I must make this dish a dozen different ways, but this is a nice basic recipe. If you like to add parmesan to yours, feel free, if you like to add anchovies, go for it… But, this recipe is simple, not too complicated and because the meatballs are slowly simmered in the sauce instead of baked or pan-fried, they are nice and tender and help to flavor the sauce at the same time.
This sauce and these meatballs are also great when you make a big batch and freeze them! So, put in the effort on a Sunday afternoon, have it for dinner, freeze the rest and a week later, you have a great Wednesday night meal! Just boil up some more pasta and you are good to go!
Start with ground beef.
Grab some parsley.
Add in some bread crumbs.
Then some Worcestershire sauce.
Add basil and half and half to moisten the bread crumbs.
Saute some onions.
Add in an egg as a binder.
If you wet your hand, it’s easier to form the meatballs.
Make golf ball size balls.
Get them ready for the sauce.
In a large pan start with olive oil.
Saute some onions.
Add in some garlic when your onions are soft.
Next add in som San Marzano whole tomatoes. You really want the whole tomatoes here, because you know they aren’t just giving you left over scraps, these are good.
Add into your pot with your onions.
Take a potato masher gently to the tomatoes. If you go crazy here, you will be wearing tomatoes, so easy does it.
Get them good and mashed.
Now add in some tomato paste.
You need to give it time to melt in.
Mix it in well.
Add some Worcestershire sauce here as well.
Now a palm full of Italian seasoning mix.
Mix.
Gently drop meatballs in.
Make sure they are all nestled in well.
Get some sauce over top of them.
Cover and simmer on low.
Add in some parsley.
Stir it in.
Cook your pasta to package instructions for aldente pasta and drain. I am using Barilla’s Spaghetti Rigati because it has ridges that help to hold on to the sauce!
Ladle in a ladle or two of sauce to coat pasta, do not over sauce!
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 lb. Spaghetti Rigati (or your favorite cut of pasta), cooked aldente to package instructions
Meatballs:
2 lbs. ground beef
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 onion, small diced and sautéed until tender
1/2 cup half and half or whole milk
1 egg
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup basil, chopped
2 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. Italian seasoning mix (optional)
Sauce:
2 large cans San Marzano whole tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup basil, chopped
4 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning Mix
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 cup red wine (optional)
Directions:
For Meatballs:
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Wet hands and form golf ball sized balls. When sauce is ready, place in sauce and gently simmer.
For Sauce:
Saute onion in olive oil. When tender, add whole tomatoes, mash with potato masher until broken down to your liking. Add remaining ingredients. Add meatballs, bring to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.
To plate:
When pasta has come to aldente (after sauce is ready), drain and add in 2 ladles of sauce. Coat pasta with sauce. Top with meatballs. Serve hot and enjoy!