Thursday, June 11, 2015

Del Real Foods: Good Mexican Meals at Home, Without the Hassle, plus an awesome Giveaway!


There’s a certain sense of pride and inspiration I get when I come across a great product line that was created by a family that reminds me of my own.
Del RealFoods is one of those product lines.
It’s made up of tasty, ready-to-eat, refrigerated Mexican food items, all of which are fresh, locally sourced, gluten-free and have NO trans fats.


 
The Cardenas family (from Mira Loma, CA) founded Del Real Foods back in 2003—almost four decades after the family patriarch, Mr. Jesus Cardenas, arrived in the U.S. from Paso de Piedra, Jalisco, as part of the “Bracero” Work Program.
He arrived in 1957 and worked in the fields in Oxnard, Riverside and the Coachella Valley and a few generations later, the Cardenas family is breaking ground with delicious food products that cater to anyone who loves Mexican food but doesn’t have the time/knowledge to prepare tasty Mexican dishes from scratch.
Del Real Foods’ ready-made, refrigerated food products include pork carnitas, barbacoa, Tamales, seasoned shredded beef and shredded chicken, among others. What’s amazing is that all you have to do is heat them up and you’ve got a meal!
My family (and friends) have thoroughly enjoyed several of the food items. I’m not kidding when I tell you they have a very authentic taste. Some items even come with tortillas and salsa!
The Al Pastor Taco Kit comes ready with pre-cooked meat, corn tortillas and salsa. All I did was heat up the meat and tortillas, add sliced onions and my husband and his friends had a feast after their jiu-jitsu practice!



The cheese filled tamales are so delicious! I drizzled the Taco Kit salsa all over them and it made for a scrumptious dinner.

Now back to my pride in this brand— my grandfather, Francisco Marquez, arrived in California in 1948 as part of the “Bracero” Work Program from Jalisco too. He also worked the fields all over the state including, Riverside, Coachella Valley and ultimately settling in Oxnard, CA.
A few generations, later, one of his sons (my dad) started a catering business and his signature birria dish is often requested at banquets and parties all around Ventura County. I share this because it’s amazing to see how two hard-working men paved the way for their families in this country, so similarly. Also because as food critics that we have become, given my dad’s great cooking, I can honestly say Del Real Foods got it right!
You can purchase Del Real Foods products at many grocery stores throughout the country, including Food4Less and Vons in California. For a store locator, click here.

What I did here was add the pork Carnitas into the cheese-filled pupusas. Another great meal.
 
Wouldn’t some of these foods make a great 4th of July meal or summer party menu!?

Well, the company has been generous enough to allow me to do a “Del Real Party in a Box” Giveaway to include several food items and a cool picnic kit.

All you have to do is answer the following question: 
What summer event do you have planned where you would enjoy a “Del Real Party in a Box”?

Please answer by leaving a comment below AND copy and paste the comment in an e-mail to: mommyinlosangeles@gmail.com

The winner will be selected at random on Friday, June 12th at 8:00pm PST.
Thanks for reading and Good Luck!

I made chicken tinga nachos one night and they were gone in a matter of minutes! Tinga is a popular Mexican dish, which consists of shredded chicken with chipotle sauce. For the nachos, I simply added the pre-cooked chicken tinga and added cheese, tomato and cilantro. Simple and yummy!



En espanol 

Siento orgullo e inspiración cuando me encuentro con una buena línea de productos, creada por una familia que me recuerda a la mía.

Del Real Foods es una de esas líneas de productos.
Está compuesta de sabrosas comidas, listas para disfrutar. Son alimentos mexicanos refrigerados que se preparan con ingredientes frescos, locales  y libres de gluten. Tampoco tienen grasas trans.

La familia Cárdenas fundó Del Real Foods en 2003, casi cuatro décadas después de que el patriarca de la familia, el Sr. Jesús Cárdenas, llegara a los EE.UU. desde Paso de Piedra, Jalisco, como parte del Programa de "Braceros", donde trabajó en los campos en Oxnard, Riverside y el Valle de Coachella. Una generación después, la familia Cárdenas está abriendo paso con deliciosos productos alimenticios que se adaptan a cualquier persona que le encanta la comida mexicana, pero que no dispone del tiempo / conocimiento para preparar una platillo mexicano.

Los productos de Del Real Foods incluyen carnitas, barbacoa, tamales, carne deshebrada de res y tinga de pollo, entre otros. Lo mejor de todo es que viene preparada lista para calentar y disfrutar!
Mi familia (y amigos) ya probaron varios de los productos alimenticios. No estoy bromeando cuando les digo que tienen un sabor muy auténtico. Algunos artículos incluso vienen con tortillas y salsa!

Y bien, regresando a mi orgullo en esta marca- Fíjense que mi abuelo, Francisco Márquez, también llegó a California de Jalisco en 1948 como parte del Programa de "Braceros". También trabajó los campos alrededor del estado, incluyendo, Riverside, el valle de Coachella y en terminó estableciéndose en Oxnard, CA.
Una generación, después uno de sus hijos (mi papá) empezó un negocio de banquetes y su platillo de birria es muy solicitado en fiestas alrededor del condado de Ventura. Comparto esto porque es increíble ver cómo las dos familias han allanado el camino para sus hijos de manera similar, en este país. También porque como críticos gastronómicos que nos hemos convertido, dado el gran sazón de mi padre, puedo decirles honestamente que la familia Cardenas la supo hacer bien con su marca Del Real Foods!

¿No les gustaría disfrutar de algunos de estos alimentos para el 4 de julio o para un menú de fiesta de verano?

Bueno, les cuento que la compañía ha sido muy generosa en permitir que haga una sorteo de comidas Del Real Foods, que incluye un lindo juego de artículos para un picnic.

Para participar, todo lo que tienes que hacer es responder la siguiente pregunta:
¿En qué evento te gustaría disfrutar los productos de Del Real Foods este verano?"
Por favor, deje un comentario abajo y favor de copiar y pegar el mismo comentario en un e-mail enviándolo a: mommyinlosangeles@gmail.com


El ganador será seleccionado al azar el viernes 12 de junio a 20:00 PST.
Gracias por leer y buena suerte!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

My family and I are planning a summer party trip to Schlitterbahn Beach Water-park and having a "Del Real Party in a Box" would be the perfect fit for our trip! It's convenient,ready to eat, a variety of food choices and best of all it brings home that authentic taste! What's more to LOVE?

Irene said...

Yum! Everything looks so good. I'm craving the chicken tinga nachos now. Thanks for sharing! =)

Anonymous said...

The pupusas look delicious! I'm not a big fan of pork, but I might have to reconsider given how the presentation looks extremely appealing. The food item looks so compact and easy to eat. Perfect picnic snack that you can share. Where do I get pupusas? Please tell me I don't have to hand make them! #help #foodster

Anonymous said...

The Del Real Party in a box would be the perfect addition to our annual 4th of July BBQ, where we would use these products to help us celebrate our latin culture which is one of the many great things about living in such a multicultural country! =)

Unknown said...

These would be perfect for play dates. I've been wanting to host summer play dates at my house but always wondered what i'd serve, these look delicious and so easy to prepare!