Abuela Cordero's Pastelón (Sweet Plaintain “Lasagna”)

Abuela Cordero's Pastelón  (Sweet Plaintain Lasagna)  

One of my favorite Puerto Rican dishes that my Mom has made since I was little.  She learned how to make this dish from her mother. This recipe is a Cordero version of Pastelón with my Abuela and Mother's flair added to the dish.  It is delicious!  I could eat for days!  ...I made it for my friends Nikki, Kristen, Carter, and Heather during my visit to Lynchburg, VA this past weekend.  And let me tell you they loved it and raved that it was worth the wait!  :)  

1 lb. of ground turkey
1 garlic clove
1 small onion or 1/2 a big onion chopped
1/2 c. diced peppers (any variety)
Adobo
2 big scoops of sofrito
1 small can (8 oz.) of Goya seasoned tomato sauce
8 plaintains
2 packages of shredded mexican (mixed) cheese
Butter/cooking spray
1 bag of green beans




Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Chop onions and garlic into small pieces.

  
Slice plantains horizontally into pieces, about 1 centimeter thick.  Be careful not to cut too thin, as they will be used to layer.  Place the plantains in a skillet and fry till golden.  In another skillet add a tablespoon of olive oil and turkey meat, cook until meat is brown.  Sprinkle Adobo on the meat as it is cooking.  Mix in 2 scoops of Sofrito, 2 scoops of Goya tomato sauce, chopped onion, and chopped peppers. In a medium sized pot cook 1 bag of green beans. 

Coat a glass pan (rectangular) with butter or cooking spray, to avoid the lasagna sticking to the pan.  Now you may begin layering.  Layers are as follows:  plantains, turkey meat, green beans,and cheese.  Repeat till your glass pan is full.  Place the completed dish in the pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Once it has finished cooking it will come out just like a lasagna...Boricua style with my Abuela's personal flavoring!! :)  Enjoy!!

This recipe is dedicated to my sweet friend Nicole, who is a latina at heart. Love you Nik.  ♥ Now you have your recipe!! :)   

 

Wait ♥

"Wait" ~Unknown  ♥

Desperately, Helpelessly, Lovingly I cried.
Quietly, Patiently, Lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate.
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait."

"Wait, You say, Wait." My indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened, or have you not heard?
By Faith I have asked and am claiming your Word.
My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in balance, and you tell me Wait?
I'm needing a 'Yes,' a go-ahead sign,
Or even a "No' to which I can resign.
And Lord, you promised that if we believe 
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."
Then quietly, softly I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "You Must Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
And grumbled to God, "So I'm Waiting, for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,
And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the Heavens and darken the sun,
I could raise the dead, cause the mountains to run.
All you ask I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My Love for each saint;
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint;
You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing that I'm there;
You'd not know that joy of resting in me
When darkness and silence was all you could see;
You would never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give and save, for a start,
But You'd not know the depth of the beat of My Heart,
The glow of My Comfort, Late in the night,
The Faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The Depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God, that makes what you have last.
You never would know, should your pain quickly flee
What it means that 'My Grace is sufficient for thee!'
Yes, your dreams for that loved one overnight would come true,
But oh the loss, if I lost what I'm doing in you!
So be silent, My Child, and in time you see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me,
As though oft may My Answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still: 'Wait."

I am sure, many of us can relate to the message the author was conveying when they wrote this poem.  It so real and genuine that it speaks to the core of our heart.  I feel like, all too often this is a converstion we have with God.  On certain occasions, we make it a tug-of-war over who has control of our fate...all the while God is telling us to "WAIT" for the answer. The waiting process can be a refining fire, if we relinquish control and allow God mold us. Through the quietness He speaks to our heart and soul.  

It should come as no surprise, that waiting is a very consistent process in life.  What we sometimes fail to remember is that how we handle that waiting will determine our outcome and mindset.  In addition, waiting has the capability to remove self-reliance and teach us to abide in God.  I am sure each of us could come up with a list of things we are waiting for in a matter of seconds, but what would we learn from that?  A better use of that list would be placing at the feet of our Lord, who indeed knows what is best as we embark on the journey of waiting... 

♥ I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His Word I put my hope.  ♥

 ~ Psalms 130:5