Favorite #CentricsFamily Recipes

A collection of tried and true recipes recommended by #CentricsFamily. Enjoy!

Churrasco Steak

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 18 minutes
Total time: 28 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

To make it tender and full of flavor, the churrasco steak is typically marinated in this marinade:

Ingredients

  •  3 pounds beef skirt steak, cut long
  • 3 heads garlic (about 30 to 40 cloves)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 1 and 1/2 cups sour orange juice (If you can’t get sour orange juice in your area, use two parts orange to one part lemon and one part lime)
  • 1 cup onion, minced
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 1 cup olive oil

Mojo Marinade

To make the marinade:

Mash garlic, salt, and peppercorns into a paste, using a mortar and pestle. Stir in sour orange juice, onion, and oregano. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or longer. Whisk the garlic-orange juice mixture with the olive oil until well blended.

Preparing the Meat

Preparing the meat is very easy. Place the meat in a large bowl or pan. Add enough mojo marinade to cover the meat. Place a cover over the bowl or pan and place in the refrigerator a minimum of five hours, but preferably overnight.

Grilling the Meat

Grill the marinated steaks outdoors on a gas or charcoal grill — make sure your coals are hot and white! You can cook them however you like your steak — from rare to well done. However, we recommend that you cook it RARE!

The rarer the meat, the more tender and flavorful!

Chimichurri Sauce

Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Yield: Enough for 4 steaks

Ingredients

  • 1 large bunch cilantro leaves
  • 8 cloves garlic need
  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • 1 lime (Juice only)
  • 2/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup onion need 
  • Dash or two red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste

Optional additions

  • 1/2 cup sweet red peppers chopped
  • 1/2 cup minced tomato
  • 1/2 cup fresh oregano,chopped need

Chimichurri Rojo de Argentina

  • 7 garlic cloves
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons Spanish sweet paprika
  • 2 tablespoons dry oregano
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 3 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
  • Salt to taste

Place all ingredients except oil in food processor and using the “chop” setting, pulse on and off until you have a thick mixture. Do not over process!

Whisk in the olive oil. (If you use the blender to incorporate the oil, the oil and liquids will emulsify, giving your chimichurri a white, paste-like texture.) Taste it and add salt as needed to finish.

Puerto Rican Chicken Soup with Salame

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

  • Medium grain white rice
  • Chicken broth (12 fl oz)
  • Water (6 fl oz)
  • Chicken bouillon cube
  • Adobo seasoning
  • Sazon seasoning
  • Black pepper
  • Tomato sauce (16 oz)
  • 3-4 cloves of minced garlic
  • 2 Large Carrots
  • 1 Green pepper
  • 1 Large red onion
  • Olive oil
  • 2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breast, fat trimmed

Preparation

  1. 2 tbsp of olive oil in stock pot
  2. Sautee chopped carrots, peppers, and onion, and minced garlic in oil
  3. Add black pepper to taste
  4. Add 1 cup of rice, stir and let cook
  5. Add chicken broth, water, bouillon
  6. Add 2 tbsp of adobe
  7. Add 1 packet of Sazon
  8. Add tomato sauce, stir all well
  9. Add chicken to boiling soup (can be frozen)
  10. Add chopped Italian dry salame to soup
  11. Cook on med-hi heat for 45-60 mins, until chicken is done. Stir often.
  12. Remove cooked chicken and shred in separate bowl.
  13. Add shredded chicken back to pot, let sit for 5 minutes in pot with soup.
  14. Serve with plantain chips.

Peck’s Marinade

Ingredients

  • 3/4 C. catsup
  • 1/2 C. chopped onion
  • 1/2 C. lemon juice
  • 1/8 C. oil
  • 1/4 C. vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 t. thyme
  • 1 t. oregano
  • 1 t. rosemary
  • 3 garlic cloves, smashed
  • few drops liquid smoke

Preparation

Combine all and pour over stake. Marinate for 4-5 hours.

Marinate the meat (cut up for the kebobs) for a few hours then put kebabs together.  Grill the kebobs.  Separately, boil the remaining marinade and serve as a dressing for the kebobs.  I recommend doubling the marinade.  Add garlic bread to the meal and you have one of the best dinners of all time.

Ritz Cracker Chicken

Ingredients

  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
  • 4 chicken breasts

Preparation

  1. Melt 1 stick butter, add garlic salt
  2. Dip chicken in mixture
  3. Roll chicken in crushed crackers
  4. Put in baking pan
  5. Pour whatever extra crushed crackers and butter were left over on top
  6. Bake until chicken is done 350 oven.  About an hour.

Minestrone Soup  (Olive Garden copycat recipe)

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small white onion diced
  • 1/2 stalk minced celery
  • 1/2 cup carrots peeled, diced
  • 1/2 cup chopped/diced zucchini
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 14 ounces canned diced tomatoes
  • 32 ounces vegetable stock
  • 15 ounces canned small white beans drained and rinsed
  • 15 ounces canned kidney beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup frozen green beans (you can use fresh)
  • 1 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
  • 1 1/2 cups hot water
  • 3 cups fresh baby spinach
  • 1/3 cup small shell pasta

Directions

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.

Saute onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent.

Add vegetable broth to pot, plus drained tomatoes, beans, carrots, hot water, and spices.

Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until desired consistency.

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 ounces fettuccine
  • Olive oil, for tossing
  • 12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 2)
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 2 pinches freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and salt generously. Add pasta and cook according to package directions, then drain
  2. Slice the chicken into 1/4-inch-thick strips and season with salt and pepper
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter. When the butter melts, raise the heat to medium-high and add the chicken in 1 layer.
  4. Cook without moving the pieces, until the underside has browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the pieces, and cook until browned and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a medium bowl.
  5. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons butter. Scrape the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon to release any browned bits. When the butter has mostly melted, whisk in the cream and nutmeg and bring to a simmer, then cook for 2 minutes. Lower the heat to keep the sauce just warm.
  6. Whisk the Parmigiano-Reggiano into the sauce. Add the chicken and cooked pasta and toss well. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot in heated bowls.

Don’t worry if it seems like there is too much sauce. As soon as everything is tossed together, the sauce will start to cling to the pasta and thicken before your eyes!

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients

  • 4 tomatoes – peeled, seeded and diced
  • 4 cups tomato juice
  • 14 leaves fresh basil
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Place tomatoes and juice in a pot over medium heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
  2. Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves, and return the puree to the pot
  3. Place the pot over medium heat, and stir in the heavy cream and butter.
  4. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Do not boil.