It has been three months since my little girl came into this world, and though I am still adjusting to my new routine, cooking remains a big part of my life.  Finding recipes that are both easy and delicious has become an even bigger priority for me these last three months.  When I was pregnant, I loved roasting a whole chicken on the weekends for our family to eat.  This recipe was inspired by those days.  It uses chicken thighs instead of the whole chicken, since they are easier to handle and quite frankly, my favorite part of the chicken.  Even though this recipe takes a bit to come together, 95% of it is inactive time when you can be tending to those zoom or in my case, nursing a newborn.  

You can season the chicken the night before and pop it in the oven an hour before dinner or lunch.  Most of the time I let this marinade for 30 minutes, and make it around 12pm so we can enjoy it for both lunch and dinner.  Hope you all enjoy, make and share! 

Xo, 

Bricia 

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POLLO EN ADOBO (ROASTED ADOBADO CHICKEN) 

INGREDIENTS: 

4-5 bone in Chicken Thighs 

2 tbsp Salt 

Fresh Ground Pepper 

2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar 

1 Tbsp. Piloncillo (or brown sugar) 

1 tsp. Chipotle powder 

½ tsp California chile powder 

1 tsp Paprika powder 

1 tsp. Ginger power 

1 tsp. Mustard powder

1 tsp. Dried oregano 

2 bay leaves, torn to pieces

6 Allspice, whole 

Rub chicken breasts with salt, pepper and apple cider vinegar.  In a small bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients.  Rub the mixture all over the chicken.  Refrigerate the chicken for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. 

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Transfer the chicken to a baking dish or sheet.  Roast for 40-50 minutes.  I recommend using an instant read thermometer to check the thickest part of the chicken reads 160. 

Remove from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving.  (You want to make sure all the juices stay in the chicken so its nice and moist inside). 

Serve with warm tortillas.  

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Everyday during his virtual kindergarten schedule, my son has a “choice” section.  One of the choices we’ve offered him, is to help with the cooking in the kitchen. Not only is there tons of math to be learned there, but it also allows me to entertain him all while making our lunch that will also double as dinner.  Last week, we decided on taquitos dorados.   The filling is a spin on a Oaxacan favorite, pollo en oregano. Feel free to use this technique on left over thanksgiving turkey. It makes for INCREDIBLE tortas the next day. I like to serve them with refried beans as a dipping sauce, but feel free to serve them with guacamole or any leftover salsa you may have in your fridge.

Hope you enjoy, hope you love, hope you tag when you make ✌🏾

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Makes 16 taquitos:

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp dried oregano 

1/2 tbsp salt

9 garlic cloves

1 tbsp water

2 Chicken Breasts, cooked 

Avocado cooking spray 

16 tortillas 

DIRECTIONS:

Add oregano, salt, and garlic cloves in a molcajete.  Grind until ingredients have become a thin paste.  Mix in a tbsp of water.  Set aside 
Shred the chicken.  Heat up a large frying pan and spray with cooking oil.  Once oil is hot, add the shredded chicken and oregano paste.  Stir everything together, until paste has been fully incorporated and chicken is crispy, about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat, set aside and allow to cool 

Preheat your stove to 425.  Heat up the tortillas to softened them up, and set aside.  Spray tortillas on both sides with cooking spray.  Wrap the tortillas with chicken and secure with a toothpick so the taquitos don’t come apart. Lay evenly on a baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, flipping them over once so they cook evenly on all sides. 

Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce! 

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Made these churros for my little man a few weeks ago.  They came together super fast and were absolutely delicious.  Be careful when frying, and make sure you fry don’t fry more than 2 or 3 churros at a time.  I like to use a spider strainer ladle to turn them and make sure they are fully fired before removing them from the hot oil.   Have fun making these and let me know how you like them :) 

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Makes about 20 6”churros  

INGREDIENTS: 

For Churros:

1 cup water 

1 cup milk 

1 cinnamon stick 

4oz butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour 

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 egg 

sugar and ground cinnamon 

For Tres Leches Dip

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup condensed milk

1/2 cup evaporated milk 

2 tsp spiced rum

2 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

In a large saucepan, bring water and cinnamon sticks to a boil.  After water & milk have come to a boil, discard cinnamon and remove saucepan from heat.  Add butter and vanilla, stir until butter has fully dissolved.  Next, add flour and salt all at once, stirring vigorously. Continue stirring until the flour is fully incorporated and it becomes a smooth ball.  Stir in egg, until fully incorporated.  

Heat 4 to 5 inches of oil in large Dutch oven or deep-fat fryer until it registers 325 degrees on a deep-fat thermometer.

While the oil reaches temperature, make the sauce by combining all ingredients in a saucepan.  Cook sauce down to half on medium heat, stirring constantly for about 7 minutes. 

Transfer some of the dough into a piping bag with a closed star tip. Holding piping bag a few inches above oil (taking care not to get too close to oil to avoid getting burned), pipe out strips of dough, cutting off 6inch lengths with a knife or scissors. Cook as many as will fit comfortably at once, turning as they brown, about 5 minutes.

Drain on paper towels for 30 seconds and then roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.  Serve with tres leches dip and enjoy immediately

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