Names have been changed to protect the innocent...and my husband...and me...but not the dog. His name is Dexter.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Recipe Swap Wednesday- Brazilian Valentine Dinner

For Valentine's Day this year, I decided to make a Brazilian Feast! Well, a Brazilian dinner. CG served his mission in Brazil, as well as half the other return missionaries in Utah, and I thought he would appreciate a little culinary walk down memory lane. Lame Valentine's Day gift? Possibly. But that's what I did. We'll look into getting me gift giving lessons for next year. In my defense, I also got him heart shaped peanut butter cups.

Anyway, back to the meal....

We had Pao de queijo, which are cheese rolls. I used this recipe here.

We also had Coxinha de falinha, which are yummy chicken drumsticks. I used this recipe and I would highly recommend starting the preparations for these the day before. Because they can take a long time.

We also enjoy some Caipirinha, which is an amazing lime drink. Since most versions of this recipe calls for large amounts of alcohol we had to make up our own recipe. And you're lucky enough that I'm willing to share. Because it's that good.

Caipirinha(lime drink)
10 small limes, squeezed to within an inch of its life.
7.5 cups of water
1.25 cups of sugar

Mix it all together and enjoy. You might want to strain it unless you like it chunky.

Which brings us to the main attraction of the meal. Feijoada. This is something that I've been trying to find a good recipe for for quite a while. The problem is that most recipes list suggested seasonings, but not measurements. So I looked at this recipe and also looked at the instructions from That Girl (formerly in Brazil) for cooking beans. The only problem I had was that I don't have a pressure cooker. Or a place to store one. And I'm kind of scared of them. So I came up with this recipe and it turned out pretty good.

Feijoada-Brazilian Black Beans
4 cans of black beans, un-drained
1/2 pound of bacon
1/2 pound of kielbasa
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Cilantro-about half a bunch, or whenever you get sick of picking off the leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Put the black beans in a crock pot and let them start heating up. In a frying pan, fry up the bacon. I recommend turkey bacon. It's lower in fat, tastes just like regular bacon, less messy to cook AND it's usually cheaper. Once the bacon is cooked and crumbled, add the kielbasa, onion and garlic. Then add the oregano, cumin and cilantro. Once the onion is soft, add this to the beans in your crock pot. This is also when I add a little salt and pepper. I highly recommend sea salt. Because it is awesome.

Let it cook in your crock pot for as long as you like, but I recommend at least 2 hours so that you can get the full flavor. Serve on rice.

Health nut tip: you can make this recipe without any of the meat and when it's combined with the rice it makes a complete protein that's low in fat. Wish I had known that when I was pregnant with Lolly and on a fat free diet!

And I'm sorry to say, but I don't have a single picture from this meal. Frankly, after 3 hours of cooking it didn't even occur to me to take pictures. I just wanted to sit down and have a huge glass of Caipirinha.

7 comments:

Kristina P. said...

I had no idea you made Brazilian food!

hairyshoefairy said...

I want to try these! We had a Brazilian night in CA with some friends who also served in Brazil. It was cool. The loved the pao de queijo. I want to try all these recipes now. ODD wasn't really a big fan of the whole beans and rice thing but I don't mind it and since I cook dinner I get to choose.

Jill K said...

You're so Brazilian with your sexy swimsuits.

I love eating and I love recipes of new things for me to eat. Thanks!!

Not From Lapland said...

umm, this sounds lovely. i've never tried Brazillian food.

steenky bee said...

Ooooh! I'm doing ALL of this, with the exception of the beans. I just had a stomach flu incident with beans and um, I'm just not ready. Delicious!

Anonymous said...

It was awesome! Thanks for the fabulous Valentine's gift. You are incredible. Love you Babe. - CG

Helena said...

Hope you enjoyed the Caipirinha. I've never heard of it....*blush*

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