BIZZY BAKES

This week,  I selected this recipe for EwE but I unfortunately did not post it in time for our weekly Thursday cooking.  Better late than never definitely is proven because this turned out to be a fantastic side dish.  The noodle with caramelized onions, garlic, parsley and caraway seeds blended together for the right flavor and the right crunch. I recommend this recipe,  Egg Noodles with Onions, Caraway, and Parsley  from Weeknights Wonders  by Ellie Krieger.  Check out our Eating with Ellie page to see what others have done with this recipe.         Foodie Friends Friday                  Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge     This is How We Roll

This dish is in prep for the cold weather that will surely come our way in the near future although that is hard to believe, at the moment, with the sun shining down upon us with such a strong force. This is the perfect dish to come home to, after work, when I am tired and want to warm up.  It can be made ahead of time and it can be served with noodles, rice, quinoa or vegetables. Rush Hour Chili was selected by Gaye and is found on page 101  in Weeknight Wonders by Ellie Krieger.  This book gets closer to my heart and tummy with each recipe I make.  This is another easy to make meal that fills you mouth with flavor.  I would gladly make this again.  Thanks Gaye. Check out what our other members did this week with chili at Eating with Ellie. (EwE)

Each week, I skim through the pages and each week, there is a recipe that I stop for, this Spaghetti with a Savory Onion Sauce.  Then I continue, to check the ingredients and keep on turning pages.  The reason is that this calls for anchovies and I don't want to use anchovies and it seems to me that would be a major ingredient with all the flavor it brings to a dish.  In trying to be true to this recipe and others that call for anchovies, I have lost the opportunity to enjoy them, I looked online for a similar recipe by Hazan an d I found it here.   This makes a larger quantity and does NOT have anchovies.  Otherwise with minor exceptions, the recipes are almost the same.  Since the ingredients are the same, I decided to make the one from the book without the anchovies. There are differences in the steps to the final dish, the reason most likely being the thirty- minute guideline.  The one on Food.com has the onions sauteing for almost 45 minute...

The clue to success - add pastrami .  I have been using pastrami recently, a meat, I rarely use because of the high salt content.  I seem to be craving it.  I see the word in print and I must make the recipe.   I make a dish and see pastrami as an added ingredient that will enrich the original recipe.  I am enjoying eating this but frankly, I have to crack down on myself and stop adding it to so many dishes.  In the meanwhile, I highly recommend the taste. Broccoli Saute Ingredients:  2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, sliced and halved 2 cups pastrami, sliced in strips  1 teaspoon minced garlic  1 large bag frozen broccoli  Method: Heat oil in a large skillet.  Add onions and sauté till golden and crispy, about 15 minutes.  Remove from skillet and place on paper towels.  Add pastrami and garlic to the skillet and sauté 3–5 minutes.  Add broccoli and s...

I bought Kosher by Design Cooking Coach for my daughter when she got married and promptly borrowed it and still have it.  While it is filled with great tips and techniques, even better, it has dynamite recipes. I made a whole bunch of dishes from the book, last week, and loved each and every one of them.  This particular dish is better than I had expected.  It is comforting and filling and scrumptious.  The mixture of the sweet topping with a savory meat goes together beautifully and is a pleasure to eat. Turkey Shepherd’s Pie with Sweet Potato Topping (adapted from Susie Fishbein) Ingredients: water 6 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1⁄2-inch chunks 1⁄3 cup real maple syrup 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt 1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided 1 pounds ground turkey 1 pound ground beef 1 medium onion, peeled, cut into 1⁄4-inch dice 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoons dried oregano 1⁄2...

I had a delicious chicken dish at a friend's home and decided then and there to make it.  When I was making salmon, last night, I thought about doing something similar with the fish.  In looking for a recipe with salmon and caramelized onions, I found this recipe, which is probably the best salmon, I have made.  The spices worked well together and the sweetness of the onions was icing on the cake. Spicy Salmon with Caramelized Onions ( allrecipes) Ingredients: 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 (6 ounce) salmon fillets 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 tablespoons minced onion Method: Combine the black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, onion powder, and salt in a small bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to make a paste. Sp...

You probably know that I love, love , love spinach so when I found a recipe for a spinach kugel for Pesach, I jumped to make it.  I had forgotten that I had previously made it which makes no difference.  This is a good kugel. I hope to make if often in the future throughout the year. Spinach Kugel adapted from Taste of Pesach Ingredients:  16 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed  2 tbsp. oil  2 onions, diced  2 tbsp. mayonnaise  2 tbsp. water  2 eggs  1 tbsp. potato starch  1 tsp. salt   ¼ tsp. onion powder  Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat oil in a large skillet.  Add onions and sauté until translucent. Drain  liquid from spinach.  Add spinach to onions and cook 15 minutes.  Remove from heat.   Cool slightly, and then add mayonnaise and water.  Beat eggs in a small bowl, and then add to skillet, stirring constantly....

I am pretty sure that the cookbook, I used the most this year, is the Taste of Pesach which is a project of Yeshiva Me'on HaTorah.  I  think the book is a masterpiece, not only for its very good recipes but also because of the arrangement of the page and the photos which give you a picture you can replicate, if you choose. Each page has a blurb about the recipe, a photo, a list of ingredients in a box on a darker background.  It is divided up into sections based on what kind of food is being discusses, meat, poultry, desserts, etc.  I like this because I plan  my own menus and have a hard time finding what I want in books that share menu after menu with all the courses lined up.  I see the value of these books if you want it basically set out for you but it does not work well for me. We limit the ingredients we use on Passover and this book makes it easy to work with what you have in the kitchen. One of the meat recipes I made is this Balsamic Fre...

Cauliflower, Caramelised Onion and Fontina Thank you Gaye for selecting this week's WwDH recipe.  I could not get enough of it.  It is a different way of making cauliflower but one I plan to repeat many times. I did not have Fontina and subbed in a smoked cheese which worked beautifully.  I made caramelized onions and differed from the recipe by  layering the cauliflower, onions, cream and cheese.  It was rich in flavor.   This is another, easy to make recipe, from Donna Hay.   Go on over to Wednesdays With Donna Hay page and see what the other cooks are making.  Please feel free to join us and find yourself some delicious recipes which are easy to make.

At first, I was making a plain spinach kugel but when peering in the refrigerator, I saw a little chimchurri dip left.  We do not waste if we can help it so into the kugel, it went.  I have no idea what chimchurri tastes like so it is hard for me to evaluate the dish.  I know, I liked it. Chimchurri Spinach Kugel Ingredients: 4 - 6  cups fresh baby spinach 1 teaspoon of olive oil 1 large onion, diced 1/4 cup chimchurri dip (store bought)1 tablespoon flour 2 eggs (I think 3 might have worked better) 1 teaspoon onion powder salt and pepper to taste 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg Method: Saute onion in heated olive oil.   In a large bowl, place spinach and add cooked onions. Add chimchurri dip, flour, eggs, nutmeg, onion powder, salt and pepper, Mix all ingredients together, mixing well. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes.  It should be dry when you put a knife into it. Eat and enjoy. Linked to:    See Ya at the Gumbo ...

My husband got it, in his head, he had to have kasha and went as far as making the kasha. I got a pretty good deal on this one. Wish, he did this, more often. Since, the kasha was cooked, I did a search on what I could add to it, to give it taste and color. This is it. It is a nice grain to work with and I imagine, with a minimum of creativity, we could come up with some really good recipes to incorporate in our diet. Kasha With Zucchini and Red Bell Pepper adapted from Foodista Ingredients: 1 cup organic vegetable broth 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup whole kasha 1 egg beaten lightly 1 onion chopped 1 red bell pepper chopped 1 zucchini scrubbed, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch slices salt and pepper to taste Method: In a saucepan combine the broth, 1 cup water, and 1 tablespoon of the oil and bring the liquid to a boil. In a bowl combine the kasha and the egg, stirring to coat the kasha well with the egg, transfer the mixture to ...

I think mushrooms are deceptive.  They aren't pretty.  They don't have a romantic fragrance.  They just sit there or are chopped up, hiding in a greater dish.  Yet, this simple dish is simple in its success.  It is a quick and easy dish to throw together any time, you have mushrooms and don't know what to do with them   Roasted Mushrooms 1 pound baby mushrooms, washed and pat dry. 1 tablespoon grated onions 1/4 teaspoon thyme 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/8 cup olive oil  In a medium size baking dish, toss the mushrooms with the garlic, thyme and olive oil. Roast until dark and tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Eat and enjoy. Linked to:  Weekend Potluck         Foodie Friday      Saturday Night Fever        See Ya at the Gumbo       Real Food Recipe Round Up        ...

This is the first week of Eating with Ellie , the one and only Ellie Krieger, who cooks health consciously and deliciously.  The recipes, at this point are coming from the book,  Weeknight Wonders . About a year or so ago, we had a group of dedicated women who belonged to CEiMB (Cooking Ellie in My Belly), a name I never liked.  What I did like were the participants and the recipes.  Each week, hubby and I would kvell over the delicious meals, I made with ease and joy. I have three of Ellie's books and they are well used.   To be honest, in recent months, I have not been making recipes by Ellie, not for any good reason, just because........ The starting of the new group is good for me. I love the recipes, we have chosen for the first two months. A new group feels like an adventure. Although, I know most of the women participating, it is nice to regroup and cook together again. Some are already in the Donna Hay Wednesday group. We welcome anyone...

I made a few mistakes with this recipe.  I made my bottom layer too shallow so the mushroom mixture was almost on the bottom of the pan.  I should have used a larger, flatter pan.  This comes out like a corn bread rather than a kugel which the original recipe called it.  Check it out on Joy of Kosher. Sliced and warm, it is a nice bit of bread.  For a kugel, I don't see it. Layered Mushroom Bread Ingredients 10 - 12 oz. mushrooms, chopped,  1 cup onion, chopped 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 cups yellow cornmeal 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup rice milk 1 cup Tofutti sour cream 2 eggs, beaten 3 tablespoons olive oil Method: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease 9 in round baking dish.  Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Saute the mushrooms and onions  for about 20 minutes, until soft.  While the mushrooms are cooking prepare the cornbread mixture. In a ...

I must make a confession.  When I see the words, "goat cheese" in a recipe, I almost always make it.  Goat cheese has a delicious flavor and it seems to improve every dish,it is incorporated in.  It certainly worked well with this frittata. Originally, I was using a dish from a magazine but by the time I finished cooking it, there was no real resemblance to the original.  I used spinach instead of asparagus, added in smoked salmon, baked instead of broil, added onion. While this is a frittata which was the original, I can't imagine much else about it that is the same. Hubby and I both ooohed and ahhhed over this.   Veggie Frittata Starring Goat Cheese Ingredients: 2 - 3 cups spinach 1 medium onion, sliced 1 teaspoon chives 1 teaspoon dill 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 6 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 teaspoon olive oil 2 ounces soft goat cheese, cut in slices 1 cup smoked salmon, shredded Method: Prehea...

Over the years, I have made many kind of muffins but not enough of the savory ones.  When I came across this recipe in "The Best of the Family Table", I jumped to make them.  The recipes in this book come from a weekly magazine, called Mispacha which means Family.  One section in it is dedicated to cooking and recipes and I have found that there are some original and tasty ones there. Cabbage is one of those veggies that I think, you either love or hate.  I love it in almost any form.  It is great in salads, soups, baked goods, side dishes and mains.  It can be mixed with a variety of other ingredients. Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable.  I included a list from the World's Healthiest Foods .  Sometimes it is hard to understand how vegetables are related, certainly not by taste or crunchiness.  I read that originally cruciferous veggies were chosen by their appearance of a cross (crucifix) but that has been changing. Cruciferous Veget...