Main Dishes

Spicy Pinto Bean and Ham Tortas

June 14, 2019

If you’re not familiar with what tortas are, they’re a Mexican sandwich made with all sorts of different delicious fillings. The best part is that they can be eaten hot or cold, are extremely versatile and are made with the most incredible bread. If you’ve never had a Mexican bolillo, warm out of the oven, I’m here to tell you that you’re missing out. On a separate side note, a torta can also refer to a cake, and quite honestly, I wouldn’t be mad at either of these dishes. These Spicy Pinto Bean and Ham Tortas are one of the easiest sandwiches you’ll ever make. It requires practically no cooking and can be made as a quick weeknight dinner, a light weekend lunch or even a perfect picnic treat. The real star of the show however, is the spicy pinto bean spread that starts simply with a can of pinto beans, which you probably already have in your pantry, and if you don’t, then you should start stocking up because these sandwiches are a dream come true.

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Arroz con Pollo

June 7, 2019

The season 2 finale of Married and Hungry premiered this week, and the star of the show was this Arroz con Pollo. It is one of the recipes I make way too often, and yet I never get bored of it. It’s a one-skillet marvel, packed with a ton of flavor. Chicken cooked with rice in a saffron and white wine sauce, studded with olives, pimentos and green peas. Once you try it for yourself, you’ll want to make it again and again. It’s a great dish to keep up your sleeve though because it’s sure to impress everyone you make it for. Speaking of wine, this post and the season finale is in partnership with my friends over at Winc. For those of you not familiar, Winc is more than a monthly wine club. They’re a modern wine brand delivering fun and engaging wine experiences in every box. And the best part is that Winc is giving Candid Appetite readers $22 off your first four bottles of wine, plus complimentary shipping (that’s 4 bottles of wine for $40)! Just follow this link and the discount will be applied at checkout!

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Pozole Mac and Cheese

June 4, 2019

A quick chicken pozole rojo is a soup I make on almost a weekly basis. Just in case you’re not familiar with pozole, it’s a Mexican soup made with hominy, and traditionally, with pork, but I use boneless chicken thighs to speed things up. The best part is the endless toppings at the end. Think chicken tortilla soup toppings, but on steroids. I serve it with white rice on the side and of course, corn tortillas. It’s already such a comforting meal on it’s own, but I decided to take it to the next level by turning it into a delicious over-the-top mac and cheese. Pozole Mac and Cheese is my newest obsession and I can’t recommend it enough!

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Chicken Pot Shepherd’s Pie

May 14, 2019

Sometimes we’re all in dire need of comfort food. Whether that means a big bowl of chili, a couple slices of pizza, or several servings of cheesy homemade mac and cheese. Comfort food is whatever makes us happy. Whatever brings us back home and gives us that warm fuzzy feeling inside. I love that food has the power to make us feel those emotions, whether they’re happy or sad; hopefully it’s always happy though. When I think of comfort food, I usually crave either chicken pot pie or shepherd’s pie but I can never decide which one to make. Thankfully now because of this Chicken Pot Shepherd’s Pie I don’t ever have to pick one, and neither do you. This is the ultimate comfort dish that you’ll want to make over and over again, and I wouldn’t blame you.

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Maui-Style Kalbi Short Ribs

April 23, 2019

I’ve talked about my recent love of Hawaiian food two other times now on the blog, Kalua Pork and Spam Musubi, and these Maui-Style Kalbi Short Ribs from Alana Kysar‘s new cookbook Aloha Kitchen is definitely being inducted as one of my favorite all-time Hawaiian dishes. I usually order these exact ribs from the local Hawaiian restaurant down the street, the one I gushed about in the Spam Musubi post. However, I never knew that they were so easy to make at home. The hardest part is waiting for the ribs to marinate overnight. I’m not kidding. Serve them with white rice and Hawaiian macaroni salad or a simple green salad on the side and you’ll be good to go. Which by the way, if I could eat white rice and Hawaiian macaroni salad as side dishes to every meal, I would be a very happy man. This will quickly become one of your new favorite dinners, and you’ll want to add it to your menu rotation as often as possible. In honor of Alana’s new book and because I think we should all have a little bit of Island paradise at home, I’m giving away a copy of the book to one lucky reader! All you have to do is leave a comment below with what your dream vacation is (or would be) and you’ll be in the drawing! You have until Friday to enter, and it’s open to anyone and everyone. A winner will be picked at random and notified via email. It’s a wonderful book filled with must-try recipes, especially if you want to bring a little bit of Hawaii into your own kitchen without leaving your home!

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Quick and Easy Pizza

April 5, 2019

I wanted to take the time to apologize to anyone who tried to access the site over the last couple of days and received an error message. My blog was transitioning into a new server and unfortunately it was down a lot more time than I had originally anticipated. Thankfully, everything migrated over smoothly and it is finally back up and running as normal. Just in time too, as I can now share this Quick and Easy Pizza from this week’s episode of Married and Hungry! I don’t know if you go through this or not, but sometimes I’m in the biggest mood for pizza and calling for delivery just isn’t always the best option. This pizza is amazing for something that comes out of your oven. The homemade dough is made with beer, which might sound a bit odd, but works so well for a fast pizza dough that comes together in no time at all, with not much kneading and no rising time at all! The toppings might be endless, but that just means you’ll have to make it as often as possible to try them all out!

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