I’ve been confused about the difference between atole and champurrado since forever. And would you believe that it’s been this week, yep…just this week, that I’ve actually taken time to learn about the difference?

And apparently they’re pretty similar. The difference is that champurrado has chocolate. Simple.

This is a corn based drink, that is thick, creamy, and sweet. Atole dates back to Mesoamerican times, and today is common to have this drink during the colder months in the holiday season, but can also be a traditional breakfast drink. In Mexico you’ll see vendors selling tamales with atole/champurrado in the mornings as people head to the bus stops for work. The last time I was in Puebla, I stopped at one of these corners and bought atole and tamales for breakfast, and it was delicious.

I know that the winter season is halfway over, and most of the holidays have passed, but with Dia de la Calendaria come up in a few weeks, I still feel like we’re still in cozy drinks and dessert mode. So I’m sharing the basic recipe with you. There are so many variations that you can make by adding things like vanilla, fruit, and nuts.

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Gather Ingredients

1/2 cup Masa

1 cups Water

3 1/2 cups Milk

1 small piece of Piloncillo (or brown sugar) about 1.5 oz.

2 Cinnamon Sticks

For Champurrdo:

also include 1 disk of Mexican Chocolate

*serves 2-4.

Note: The measurements I used will give it the consistency and sweetness I prefer. I don’t like atole super thick, but slightly less thick than a smoothie or milkshake. I also like a noticable cinnamon flavor to add to the sweetness. Feel free to add a little more masa or another tablet of piloncillo to thicken or sweeten it up.

Now what?

1. Put milk, piloncillo, cinnamon sticks, over medium heat until piloncillo is dissolved. If you’re making champurrado, this is where you can add the disk of chocolate.

2. In a separate saucer, put water and masa. Whisk until dissolved.

3. Add the thickened masa to the milk mixture. (Be sure to take out the cinnamon sticks first.)

4. Whisk together for about 5 minutes.

5. Let cool. It will thicken as it cools.

6. Enjoy!

   *I personally like this consistency. I don’t like atole too thick. Add masa for a thicker drink, but please note that it thickens as it cools. You can also save leftovers for the next day, and add a little bit of milk as you warm it.

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Today I’m sharing a pretty simple drink that’s perfect for the fall. This weekend is Dia de los Muertos, and cafe de olla is a common drink to include on an ofrenda or to drink along side pan de muerto. A few weeks ago I hosted a workshop with Jess from Xochimilli Sweets. She talked us through how she makes cafe de olla while we waited for our bread to bake. At first, I thought cafe de olla was complicated to make since it tasted so good, and was full of so many flavors, so I had been intimidated to try it for myself. But Jess talked us through all of the ingredients and it was so simple to do! Usually recipes call for one or two of these ingredients, but I love how she uses all of the them, and her recipe is the only I’ve seen that adds a little orange zest!

During the workshop we even mixed a little cafe de olla with a little chocolate caliente…and it was the best thing ever!

Gather the Ingredients

4 1/4 cups water

1-2 oz of piloncillo** (For me adding 1 is just the right amount of sweetness, since I don’t like things too sweet)

1 star anise

2 cloves

1 Mexican cinnamon stick*** (I personally will add two because I like cinnamon)

small piece of orange zest

4 tbsp coarsely ground coffee

Now what?

1. Put the piloncillo in a pot with the water & bring to a boil until dissolved

2. Once boiling, turn burner off and add in the rest of the ingredients.

3. Cover & let the coffee steep for 10 minutes.

4. Strain & enjoy!

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**Piloncillo is a raw form of cane sugar that is commonly used in Mexican cooking, and can be used as substitute for any type of sweetener. It’s unprocessed and has no other additives, which is why it has a golden color.

***Mexican cinnamon (canela) or Ceylon cinnamon (Native to Sri Lanka) is used in a lot of sweet and savory Mexican dishes. I always have a bag of these cinnamon sticks in our home. The cinnamon in stick for will last longer.

This would be a great drink to try to make for Thanksgiving or Christmas as a little something different to have with dessert. Jess mentioned that she sometimes makes this in her french press and lets it steep overnight in the fridge for a cafe de olla cold brew. I haven’t tried that yet, but I’m sure it will be just as amazing! Let me know if you try it!

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Today you’re getting two for one! These two recipes are super easy, and they go together perfectly: Salsa Roja, and Migas. Migas are fried tortillas with scrambled eggs; and as I got older I started adding salsa to it, to give it a little kick.

Salsa is a something I have every day. Everyday! I used to buy salsa fresh from the store. I found one I LOVED, but then they stopped making it. No other one was the same…so when I went to Mexico a few months ago, I scheduled a class with Ruth to learn how to make salsa. We learned how to make 5 different kinds of salsas, and I’ve been working to perfect salsa roja for the family since her class.

The recipe for the salsa will last you about two weeks unless you share. It makes quite a big batch, about 45 oz. I usually make this once every week or two.

Gather Ingredients for salsa roja

Tomatoes (2 lbs, or about 8 medium tomatoes)

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

dried chipotle peppers

1 tbsp of salt or more to taste

Now what?

1. Wash tomatoes, peel onion and garlic.

2. Put tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a pan with med heat.

3. Let it all brown. Turning every few minutes to make sure it browns until skin of tomato starts peeling. This part is about 30 minutes.

4. Put tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a blender. Add about 8 oz of water.

5. Blend until it’s smooth.

6. Add chipotle & salt. I usually use 4 chipotle peppers. Start with two peppers, taste, and add more for more spice.

7. Blend until smooth.

8. Enjoy!

Gather ingredients for migas

One serving

2 Tortillas

2 eggs

1 tbsp oil

salsa

Now what?

1. Cut your tortillas into little squares.

2. Put oil in the pan, heat, add tortillas

3. Coat tortillas with oil and let tortillas brown.

4. When the tortillas are getting toasty, add eggs.

5. Scramble the eggs into the tortillas

6. At this point you can add the salsa in the pan and mix, or save the salsa for the topping.

7. Once eggs are cooked, it’s done! Enjoy! 

There you have it! A whole meal, all from scratch, and under $10! My mother used to make me migas pretty often when I was younger, and now it’s my comfort food. I hope you enjoy! Ask me a question or leave a comment below if you try it.

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Sometimes I’m intimidated by making meals. Ok, most of the time; which is why Michael does the cooking. But I think that if I can’t replicate the exact recipes from the restaurant then it’s pointless to even try. But there can be an easy way to make this delicious meal…that’s simple and doesn’t take all day to make.

So today, I’m sharing another super easy recipe: pollo con mole. The hardest part of this meal is opening the mole container. I’m serious, wear an apron, and use a can opener. But after you get it open, you’ll be good to go.

Gather Ingredients

Chicken (Raw chicken)

Mole - Doña Maria

Mexican Chocolate -Abuelita or Ibarra

Arroz

Tortillas

Now what?

1. Set your chicken to boil in a large pot of water. (About 45 minutes - hour)

2. About 20 minutes after starting the chicken boiling make your arroz. I’ve shared this recipe before…and it’s optional…but I don’t consider the dish pollo con mole without arroz.

3. Scoop out about half the bottle into a sauce pan.

4. Cut up a few triangles of Mexican chocolate and add to the sauce pan. (The more you add, the sweeter it will be.)

5. Take a ladle-full of water from the pot the chicken was boiling in and add to the mole and chocolate.

6. Stir continuously. Add more water to make it thinner until it’s a nice not too runny, not too think consistency.

7. Plate chicken and arroz, and top with mole.

8. Heat up tortillas and enjoy!

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See, doesn’t that sound super easy? Yes of course. I don’t share this recipe because it’s complicated or new, but because it’s a meal that makes me feel at home. We eat this a few times a month and usually make this when we have company. It’s a nice and easy meal to feed a larger group. It’s definitely a comfort food/winter meal. And I hope you can now enjoy some too.

*Just a little side note: taking pictures of food while making it look as appetizing as it is, is hard…especially if that food is brown and runny. So I didn’t include many pictures in this recipe.

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Fideo was a staple in my home. A comfort food. When my aunt visits from Pennsylvania she really only requests one thing from my mom; fideo with beans and tortillas.

Lately, we’ve been trying to be super tight with our weekly food budget and having a meal like this on the menu is great since it only costs about $5 to feed the family. Not only is it an inexpensive meal, but it’s super easy, and super fast to make.

GATHER YOUR INGREDIENTS:

4 cups of hot water

1 bag of fideo I use La Moderna

1 small tomato

1 small onion

2 TBSP oil

1 TBSP of Knorr Chicken flavor Bouillon

2 leaves of garlic

NOW WHAT?

1. You're going to need hot water, so you'll want to make sure you put your 4 cups of water on the stove to boil. 

2. Put oil in the pan, and add your noodles and coat in oil.

3. Let noodles brown. This will happen really fast. (Less than 5 minutes) You want it to look toasty, not burned. 

4. When the noodles are tan, add the water in.

5. Add tomato & onion. Mix.

6. Add in the bullion, mixing throughly so that it all gets dissolved.

7. Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes. 

8. When the noodles and onion are soft, it’s done! Enjoy!

This is a quick meal to make on the fly. It only takes about 20 minutes total, and can serve a lot. Add beans, avocado, and tortillas on the side, and you’ve got a whole meal for the family for about $5!

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