Carne Arreglada

From: This is one of my husband's most frequently cooked and most loved meals.  Straight from Costa Rica and delicious!

Ingredients:

1 lb of cubed steak (the kind that's pounded flat)
Add the following spices to taste:
   salt
   pepper
   cumin
   oregano
   basil
   garlic powder
   onion powder
1 Tbsp soy sauce
pinch of curry
1 green pepper sliced into strips and seeds removed
1/2 onion cut into thin rings
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

How to: 

Cut the cubed steak into half-inch cubes.  Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet.  Saute the onions and pepper on medium heat until the onions are clear and the pepper loses its bright color and becomes a little transparent (fully cooked).  Push the pepper and onion to the sides of the pan and put the meat in the middle, spread out so it cooks well.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the top of the meat except for the soy sauce.  Use the soy sauce as liquid to keep everything moist.  Once the meat is cooked, remove from heat and allow to sit for five minutes before serving over Costa Rican white rice.

Chile Relleno

From: My husband learned this one from his mom and has fond memories of her making them when he was a kid.

Ingredients:

2 green peppers
1 lb of ground beef
-spices for ground beef
Costa Rican white rice
1 small sweet potato
cheese (optional)
salsa (optional)
canola oil

How to:  

First prepare the white rice so it can be cooking in the rice cooker while you prepare the sweet potatoe sauce, the peppers and the meat.

Then cut the sweet potatoes into halves or thirds and boil until soft.  Peel the cooked sweet potatoes and place in a blender or food processor.  Add a small amount of water so it makes it into a sauce (much like the consistency of baby food).

While the sweet potatoes are boiling, start on the peppers by carefully carving out the stems of the green peppers and the insides, like a pumpkin.  Coat the outside and inside with canola oil.  Set them in a baking pan and bake at 350°F until soft (about 15 minutes).  The exterior of the peppers will become sticky and paper-like.  Peel this exterior.

While the peppers are baking, the rice is cooking and the sweet potato is boiling, brown the ground beef with the spices listed.  Set aside.

Once all of these parts are ready, place the peppers in a short glass.  (This just makes it easier to fill.)  Fill the pepper with the meat. On a plate, spoon about 1/2 cup of rice. Covering the opening of the pepper with your fingers to keep the meat from coming out, turn the glass over and remove the pepper from the glass. Place the pepper in the the middle of the rice.  Top with cheese if desired.  Pour sweet potato sauce around the outside or over the top as desired.  Add mild salsa to make it pretty.  There you go!!

Side notes: Makes two generous servings.

Ensalada de Palmito

From: Hearts of Palm (or palmito) is one of our favorite common things to eat in Costa Rica.  I had a can of them in my cupboard and was looking for a salad to put them in.  I started with this recipe and then changed it to my liking.

Ingredients:

1 (14 ounce) can hearts of palm, drained & sliced (if not already)
2 medium tomatoes, seeded & chopped
1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper (use fresh ground pepper if possible)
2 ounces parmesan cheese, freshly shaved
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 cup finely chopped iceberg lettuce (optional)

How to: 

Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Serve.

Side notes:

Serves two.

Costa Rican White Rice

From: I learned how to make Costa Rican rice when I lived there for a year.  Now, my husband and I make rice for our meals a couple times per week.

Ingredients:

2 cup white rice
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
3 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp canola or olive oil
3 cups of water

How to:  

Put all the ingredients except the water in a rice cooker or pot.  Mix well so that the rice is well coated with the oil.  Add the water.  Cook the rice.

Picadillo de Papa

From: This recipe came straight from my mother-in-law's mother-in-love's kitchen.  I still remember sitting on the stool at her kitchen counter, when my husband and I were dating, jotting down measurements and ingredients as she tossed them into the pot.  In fact...

I still pull out that battered piece of paper and unfold it to follow her recipe.  It gives me warm Costa Rican fuzzies.

Ingredients:

5 potatoes peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
1/3 of a red pepper, finely chopped
1/4 of an onion finely chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 celery sticks finely sliced
1 lb of ground beef
1/4 tsp of achiote paste (optional)
salt
1/2 tsp oregano
2 cups of water
vegetable or olive oil

How to:  

Start by chopping the potatoes and set aside.  Next chop the red pepper, onion, garlic, cilantro and celery and place in a large pot with about a tablespoon of oil.  Turn the stove on high heat and sear for about two minutes before adding the ground beef.  Lower the heat to medium and brown the meat.  While browning the meat, add the achiote, the oregano and about a teaspoon of salt.  Once the meat is cooked, add the potatoes and water.  Leave the heat on medium or high until it returns to boil and then simmer until the potatoes are soft.  Liberally add salt to taste.

Side notes:

 Serves 4 - 6.  This recipe is great topped with a little bit of jalapeño pepper or the juice from the jalapeño pepper jar.

Black Beans

From: This one came straight from my husband's brain.  It's a Costa Rican recipe and it make me feel like I'm home no matter where I am.

Ingredients:

1Tbsp of salt
1/2 onion skewered
16 oz dry black beans

How to: 

Put all the ingredients in the crock pot and fill the pot one inch below top of slow cooker.
Cook until the beans are soft (overnight on low, or on high if you can observe it and test the beans after several hours).