JesusRamos-2

Meet Jesús.

He lives in Bolivia. When he was a boy, his family was very poor. But, thanks to the goodness of God, Jesús was a part of the Compassion program. Plus, he had a sponsor to encourage him!

With all the encouragement from the Compassion program and his sponsors, Jesús discovered that he LOVED to cook! He even dreamed that he might become a chef one day. And guess what? He did it!

Today, Jesús is the main chef at the very same Compassion center he grew up attending. He loves serving the kids at the center. And he’s got another big dream in mind …

“One of my dreams is to have my own restaurant,” says Jesús. “My goal is that, every Saturday, I would like to feed all the people who need it for free.”

Jesús seems like an awesome guy, doesn’t he? We think he’s going to achieve his dream of owning his own restaurant someday!

Try preparing the recipe below! It’s called Arroz Navideño, a special Christmas rice that’s popular throughout Latin America.

Arroz Navideño

Yields6 Servings

Adult help needed.

 1 tbsp unsalted butter
 4 tbsp canola oil
 1 white onion, chopped
 1 each of red, yellow and green bell pepper, chopped
 3 cups extra-long-grain rice
 1 ½ cups cola
 2 ½ cups water
 salt to taste
 ½ cup raisins
 ½ cup walnuts, chopped
 ½ cup ham, diced
1

Grab a large pot. On medium heat, melt the butter in the pot. Add canola oil. Sauté onion and half of the chopped peppers for 2-3 minutes.

2

Add rice. Sauté for another 1-2 minutes.

3

Add cola and water. Then add salt to taste. Once you do that, raise heat to high and bring everything to a boil.

4

Once it’s boiling, cover pot and reduce heat to medium low. Let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes. When the rice is cooked, remove the pot from heat.

5

Mix in walnuts, raisins and ham. Garnish with remaining chopped peppers and enjoy!

Ingredients

 1 tbsp unsalted butter
 4 tbsp canola oil
 1 white onion, chopped
 1 each of red, yellow and green bell pepper, chopped
 3 cups extra-long-grain rice
 1 ½ cups cola
 2 ½ cups water
 salt to taste
 ½ cup raisins
 ½ cup walnuts, chopped
 ½ cup ham, diced

Directions

1

Grab a large pot. On medium heat, melt the butter in the pot. Add canola oil. Sauté onion and half of the chopped peppers for 2-3 minutes.

2

Add rice. Sauté for another 1-2 minutes.

3

Add cola and water. Then add salt to taste. Once you do that, raise heat to high and bring everything to a boil.

4

Once it’s boiling, cover pot and reduce heat to medium low. Let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes. When the rice is cooked, remove the pot from heat.

5

Mix in walnuts, raisins and ham. Garnish with remaining chopped peppers and enjoy!

Arroz Navideño