Celebrating Day of the Child with Herdez!

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Ever since I can remember, my Grandma “Ma’Maria” always celebrated “Dia de los Niños” in English it’s known as “Day of the Child/Children”. She would make us our favorite treat for lunch, which was fresh made tortillas and refried beans, she would give us small presents and then she would take us out to the “Children’s day” celebrations around town.  There always was a large grocery store that would give kids baby chicks as a gift.  It was always our favorite thing to do. When the day was done and we would get home, Ma’Maria would cook our favorite dinner: “Pollo en mole poblano”.   Ma’Maria always knew how to make us feel special. This is why I am happy to be able to share with you how we are Celebrating Day of the Child with Herdez!

Growing up with my Mother, we never celebrated it, and I always said that when I had my own kids; I would never miss a single “Dia de los Niños”.  A funny and purely coincidental thing:
My husband and I got married on April 30…
On “Dia de los Niños”.
It is extremely fitting because indeed we are children at heart.  After leaving the courthouse when we got married, we went to Chuck E Cheese with our son.  After being married and within a 16 year marriage with 6 kids and 6 deployments; I realized why my Mom couldn’t celebrate with us when I was a child.  She was always at work, working 2 jobs after my Father passed away.  I always meant to keep the tradition but with life being so busy, it would just go by.
Last October we lost our house in a house fire, it brought reality and life to the forefront.
I decided that I wasn’t going to let life go by anymore, I wasn’t going to take my days here on earth for granted, and I certainly wasn’t going to let Holidays and special days just skip by because I was busy.
After being homeless for over 4 months, we finally got to move back to the rental.  I had to get an outside job for the first time on over 16 years, and it has been so hard; but I haven’t stopped looking at the calendar.

Celebrating Day of the Child with Herdez!

I have been looking forward to today.  Not only because April 30th is our 16th Wedding Anniversary, not just because it’s “Dia de los Niños”, but because we got a second chance at life.
We are here, we made it through the toughest 5 months of our lives, and I was definitely going to celebrate my kids, our marriage, and our life.  I decided I was going to make mole!

After my Husband and I got home from work, the kids asked where we were both going to go eat, we told them to go get dressed.  We surprised them with an advanced screening of a movie they have been waiting for, for over 2 years.  When we got home, I made Mole Poblano, the exact same way my Ma’Maria made it!

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Recipe: Pollo en Mole Poblano

Pollo en Mole Poblano
(keep in mind that we are a Family of 8)

Ingridients:
1 tray of chicken legs (approx. 5-7 lbs)
1/2 onion
1 glass of Dona Maria Mole paste
4 cups of broth or water
*My Ma’Maria would always add 1/4 cup of Coke & 1/4 cup of sugar to the sauce mixture to give it a sweeter, less spicy taste*
sesame seeds at your own discretion

boil chicken and onion until chicken is fully cooked.
In a saucepan, add 2 cups of water or broth and mix in 2 tbs of mole paste.  Mix thoroughly until dissolved, and continue to add the remaining 2 cups of water/broth and paste.  Add more water if a different consistency is required. Add sugar/coke mixture if sweeter taste is desired.  

When your sauce is smooth and the taste is to your liking, add the chicken to your sauce.  Simmer for 15 minutes to let sauce flavor the chicken.
Serve with a side of refried beans and Mexican/Spanish rice.

 

Tacos de Mole Poblano


follow recipes from above for Pollo en Mole Poblano.
Shred chicken.
Place inside corn or flour tortillas.
Add Herdez Salsa Verde on mole.
Add a little cilantro;
and Viola! 

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Recipe: Tacos de Pollo en Mole Poblano
The HERDEZ® Brand cares about authenticity in both food as well as culture and tradition. In honor of the authentic holiday, Día Del Niño, the HERDEZ® Brand will celebrate the joy that children bring to our daily lives! We’ll recognize their favorite Mexican foods, create an avenue where caregivers showcase the love they feel for the children in their lives and one that invites adults to celebrate their inner child.

 

 

This marked our 1st official “Day of the Child”/ “Dia del Niño” celebration, the 1st of many!
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As this holiday celebrates the kid in everyone, HERDEZ brand is holding a #ThrowbackThursday photo contest on its Facebook wall! This promotion will last from April 6th to – April 30th.

Each week, three winners will be chosen to win a Día del Niño prize pack. One grand prize winner each week will win a socialmatic camera, film, HERDEZ product, HERDEZ apron and recipe cards. Two runner up winners each week will win a selfie stick, HERDEZ product, HERDEZ apron and recipe cards.

To enter,  submit your favorite childhood photo tagged with #ThrowbackThursday directly on HERDEZ’s Facebook page.