A few favorite Brazilian Recipes....

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Living outside the U.S. has been a challenge cause not everything just comes ready- one being yummy tomato sauce. My sister-in-law taught me this EASY way and it is soooo good not to mention organic! 

Chop up all ingredients into smallish pieces. Depends on the quantity you want to make but the ratios are about: Tomatoes (5), onions (2) , green peppers (1) , 2 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped up, 1 tsp salt, a few Tablespoons olive oil, and a few spoons butter (optional). Let it cook on medium high until the ingredients are cooked through and tender. 

Brazilians love to put everything in the blender including the sauce. So that's what I do but I like to leave it a little bit chunky. Put over noodles, chicken, etc. "Que gostoso!" 

Brazilian White Rice

I remember my first time eating their authentic rice on my mission I thought it was so flavorful. Why? Cause they're not afraid of onions and fresh garlic- and neither should you be. Poor a bit of olive oil in a pan and chop finely half an onion and sauté together with a clove of fresh garlic (peel, add some salt and mince). Don't let the onions brown but just saute enough to get that fragrant smell going. Add 2 cups of rice (or however much you want) and mix around a bit. Add necessary amount of water (here for 2 cups rice it would be like 4 cups water). Important: stir and taste the water- it should be salty enough before you cook it. If it's bland in flavor add more salt. Let come to a boil and cover half-way cooking on med-high until the rice is cooked. Tip: spoon down to the bottom when you think it's done to make sure there's no excess water at the bottom. 

Cuscuz

Another go-to dish we make a lot is based with couscous. Cook the couscous like normal, then at the end you will add the following ingredients: a little scrambled egg (like they do in fried rice), saute onions chopped small along with a green pepper finely chopped and saute until tender, then chop up fresh tomatoes, and don't forget the chopped cilantro. Mix all together and you've got a yummy dinner. 

Desserts

Brazilians love to use sweet and condensed milk "leite condensado" in practically every dessert. (ever tried drizzling a little over jello? E bom!)  An easy and yummy recipe that I make when I'm missing rice-krispy squares and those kind of american desserts is this "Palha Italiana". Combine in small pan one can sweet and condensed milk, 1 generous spoon butter or margarine, and 2-3 spoonfuls of powdered chocolate (like Nesquik/ aqui "Nescau" like you use in chocolate milk). Mix and stir over medium heat until it thickens and isn't sticking to the side of the pan (takes 5+ minutes). (at this point you've made 'brigadeiro' which is rolled into little balls and chocolate sprinkles, but that's another dessert) For this one add crumbled cookies (aqui biscoito Maizena, 400g) but if I were in the U.S, I would use like 2 packs of crushed graham crackers. Mix into the ingredients and then spread into greased glass pan. Press down into the pan and lightly sprinkle sugar over the top. Let cool (even better in the refrigerator when served chilled) and then cut into squares to serve. Que delicia! 

Another easy dessert is making mousse. Combine 1 can sweet and condensed milk, 1 can "creme de leite" (they say the closest thing to this creme is found in the hispanic section of the market and it's by Nestle called "media crema". Add a packet of lime flavored instant powdered juice. (like koolaid, chrystal light, etc.) and mix in the blender until creamy. Pour in a bowl and put into the refrigerator to serve cold. It would also taste awesome poured into one of those graham cracker ready pie crusts. E uma delicia tambem!