FUSION: Remake alert! Portuguese Egg Rolls IN THE AIR FRYER!

So as you may or may not know, we have done the Portuguese Egg Rolls before, but now with an air fryer, we can make it healthier and faster! Which I know we could all use.


I also went ahead and tweaked it a little bit to make it even better.

Portuguese Egg Rolls-Air Fryer

1 lb. of Michael's ground chourico (BUY IT HERE)
2 red bell peppers, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 teaspoons of Corisca Pimenta Moida (BUY IT HERE)
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 package of Topo Queijo Sao Jorge, Shredded (BUY IT HERE)
1 packages of Egg Roll Wrappers (these are found in the product section in the fridge part-usually where you find the hummus and stuff)
Egg Wash


1. Heat your skillet to med-high heat. Once hot add your bell peppers and onions. Cook until tender. about 7 minutes. Add in your ground chourico
2. Add in your spices and pimenta moida, turn skillet to low and allowed to cook together for about 10 minutes, to get all the flavors to melt together.
3. LET IT COOL! This is important, or you will have a mess!
4. Put the mixture in a blender and blend until you have a paste.
5. Now it's time to start making your egg rolls. Put one done and spoon about 1-2 tablespoons of the paste on the egg roll wrapper. Top with your cheese. Now put a little of the egg wash on your finger and rub it on the edges of the wrapper. Fold the ends in and then roll until your egg roll is created.
6. Put your rolls in the Air Fryer (400 Degrees) for about 10 minutes. If you want a nice golden crisp look, you can spray with Olive Oil to get that look. For myself, it was just going to be eaten right away, so I wasn't cooking for looks!
7. Pull them out and let cool for a few minutes.

FUSION: Queijo Sao Jorge & Chourico Mac and Cheese

Many years ago on this blog I made chourico mac and cheese for Fusion Friday, and I had mentioned wanting to remake my recipe with Sao Jorge cheese.

Well I finally did it.  I also tweaked the recipe a bit as well, and I think it's got a great balance now, and a little less work using ground chourico.

Without further ado, here you have it! I have linked places to buy the products I used for those who do not live in an area that is easy to get these products.   Our friends, the Portuguese Kids, have made it as easy as possible for everyone to get their Portuguese favorites!

Queijo Sao Jorge & Chourico Mac and Cheese

1 pkg of elbow macaroni (or your favorite pasta shape will work!)

1 lb of ground chourico (We love Michael's!)

1/4 cup of butter

1/3 cup of flour

2 1/2 cups cream (or milk if you want to lighten it up)

4 oz. Topo Sao Jorge Cheese-shredded + 2 oz shredded to melt on top

8 oz. of Extra Sharp cheddar-shredded

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 teaspoons of Corisca pimenta moida (Corisca is spicy!  and delicious!)

1. Cook macaroni to the directions on the box, once done reserve about 1/2 cup of water for sauce.  Pre-heat oven to 400 Degrees

2.  Melt the butter on med-low heat.  Once melted add in the flour and whisk until smooth.  Let it cook for a minute or two to break up the starches. 

4.  Whisk in cream slowly.  Continue to whisk until smooth.  Add in salt and pimenta moida and whisk.

5. Add in cheese and continue to stir until completely melted.  

6.  Add in chourico and let it simmer on low for about 3-4 minutes.

7.  Add cheese sauce to macaroni and combine completely.  If your sauce is too thick, add in some of your reserved water until the sauce is the consistency you'd like.

8.  Once completely mixed, put into a 9x13 pan and top with Queijo Sao Jorge and bake for about 10-15, just enough to get your cheese nice and melted.

And here is the recipe card for you :)

Travesseiros

Ola Amigos!

I know, it's been a long time since anyone has update this blog, and I'm sorry.  Work, family, friends, travel and more got in the way.  

The thing is with this blog, it's so hard to nail down the moms!  As you know we have always watched what they do, and translated it into English (and with measurements!  a handful doesn't work for some people, we know!), but I'm sure like any parent, you get "farto e cheio" (if you don't know, google!) of your kids in your face.  So I stopped asking to be honest.  I still cook and bake, but nothing like I did before, but that's it.  I'm putting my foot down.

I'm here and I tried something totally new.  And took it from a completely Portuguese recipe (measurements and oven temps and all!)  and made it alone (well, I shouldn't say alone, hubby helped me de-skin almonds for about 45 minutes!)

Last year I had the privilege to lead a few groups for work (I am a Travel Advisor for Sagres Vacations and we specialize in Portugal and Spain) to Portugal.  In 3 months, I went to various parts of Portugal 3 times!  It was a lot, but it was a blast!

During the trip in July, I was lucky enough to be on the mainland of Portugal, (add it to your bucket list!) with the Portuguese Kids for their annual group trip.

The trip was amazing and I am so happy I got to finally head to the mainland to see some of the sights that I have only read about.  It was a completely different experience from the islands, and I would never even compare the two. (I was also lucky to go on a multi-island tour of the Azores, I'll share those pictures with you soon!)  The group of 31 was amazing, and we had a great time!  So much so, that several are signed back up to go on groups with us again this year!  (Before the dreaded Corona happened 😠)

While on the trip to the mainland I was able to get to Sintra, and got to try their famous Travesseiros de Sintra.  Pillows of just sugar, eggs and almonds that make my mouth water just thinking about them!  Today, I looked at my husband and said "it's time to make the travesseiros".  To be honest, I've been nervous to make these because I hate working with Phyllo Dough.  Today I had enough with the fear and I dove in.

So here you go!

Travesseiros.

And truth be told, this was so easy!