BIZZY BAKES

I have been trying with a minimum of success to share with you the recipes I made for the jewish holidays.  I look at my photos and unfortunately, in some cases, I have no idea what they are.  Kugels and casseroles have similar looks.  I am guessing, this is a cabbage casserole but I am not sure.   What I am sure of is that it was delicious and went quickly.  I am finding more and more ways to make cabbage.  It is a versatile vegetable and mixes with many other ingredients.  Forget only using it for cole slaw.  It is a multi-"talented" veggie. Cabbage Casserole   (adapted) 1/4    cup butter  1  bag shredded cabbage (green or white) 1   large  onion, finely chopped 3/4  cup milk 2   eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup panko crumbs 1/2   teaspoon salt 1/4  teaspoon black pepper Method: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Sp...

I don't think this tastes like cabbage.   We didn't expect to love this but we did.  I shouldn't be surprised since I was brought up on a sweet and peppery cabbage and noodle dish which has always been a favorite.  I don't love cole slaw but I do like it and I really enjoy stuffed cabbage.  I think, other people's taste is getting to me.  Bottom line - people took a piece with trepidation and then took another with enthusiasm. Cabbage Kugel - adapted from Culinary Kosher Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 bag shredded cabbage 1 carrot, shredded 1 very large onion, diced salt and pepper to taste 1 tablespoon sugar 3 eggs, slightly beaten  1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup potato starch  Method: Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook for about ten minutes until soft and golden. Add shredded carrot and shredded cabbage.  Mix together and cook for an additional ten minutes. Add ...

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....

As I cook for the holiday, I am attempting to get some of the recipes here, for you so that if you are looking for new recipes, you will have choices.  Since, I am one of the biggest mini-fans, this is one of my favorite kugels in mini form. Potato Kugelettes Ingredients: 1 onion 2 potatoes 2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 2 tablespoons potato starch 1 tablespoon oil paprika spray cooking oil Method: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 6 cups of muffin tin. Chop onion fine. You can use a food processor but I find they get mushy. Shred potatoes and combine with onions. The potatoes, I do shred in food processor. Add eggs and dry ingredients. Mix well. Fill muffin tins almost to top. Top with paprika and spray with cooking oil. Bake 400 degree for 20 minutes. Linked to:   Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays

It's time for another  Improv Challenge !   Apple kugels are a favorite in our home which meant, to me, I had to make one for the Improv Cooking Challenge which this month is featuring apple and cinnamon.  I must admit that apple and cinnamon are two ingredients that often are found together and it was easy not to push for creativity. When this kugel is so delicious, why go exotic? I can't wait to see how some of our creative members use their apple and cinnamon. Lesa Roemke from Edesia's Notebook 's leads this group and you can reach her on her blog, if you would like to join in.                                             Apple Kugel - Improv Apples and Cinnamon                                                     ...

What a fabulous combination!!!!!  Apples, sweet potatoes and carrots.  I had to make a few carrot dishes since I bought a huge bag of carrots from Costco.  We are going to love carrots, more each day. Sweet Vegetable Kugel  (Adapted from  Southern Living APRIL 2008) Ingredients 4 cups peeled and grated sweet potato 3 cups peeled and grated carrots  2 cups peeled and grated apples 1 cup brown rice flour 1/3 cup margarine, melted 1/2 cup sugar  1 large egg, beat  1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Method: Preheat oven to 325°.  Stir together sweet potatoes, next 9 ingredients  in a large bowl until blended. Spoon mixture into 9 x 13 inch baking pan..  Bake  covered , at 325° for 45 minutes.  Increase oven temperature to 350° U ncover and bake 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Eat and enjoy. Linked to  Saturday Night Fever ...

This is truly one of those dishes that resulted from what I could find in the kitchen.  I took a long look and realized that both hubby and I brought home zucchini, leaving me with 8 of them.  I had bought the cole slaw mix to make cole slaw but didn't get to doing it so I threw it into the mix. I scoured the refrigerator and found part of all three dips and I had no plans for them so in they went.  The rest  of the ingredients are usually in the house.  Putting all this together ended up with a great flavored dish despite how random, my choices were. Zucchini Cabbage Kugel Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 3 zucchini, shredded 1 large onion, diced 1 bag coleslaw mix 1 tablespoon fresh basil 3 eggs 1/4 cup dill dip 1/4 cup spinach dip 1/4 cup red pepper dip Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a medium sized skillet. Add onions and cook for ten minutes, stirring every once in the while. In large bowl, mix zucchini, sautee...

I have a cookbook called Chic made simple by Esther Deutch.  It is a beautiful book but I have not made very much from it.  I had noted, in the past, this recipe for potato kugel with pastrami included in it.   My hubby is the potato kugel maker.  He does a great job and is a willing kugel maker so I happily turn this over to him.  This time, I encouraged him to try this recipe.  He was hesitant because we seem to have a winner in ours by baking it at a very high temperature.  We get this white inside which was not touched the brown that potatoes can change to. This recipe is made at a lower temperature and we were both dubious about how well it would turn out.  I decided it would be worth a try.  Unfortunately, my photo looks almost green and that is not the color it was.  It came out as white inside as our original recipe except where the pastrami is. Before, I share the recipe, let me tell you a little abo...

I have mentioned, several times, how much I love minis.  I turn many dishes into minis, anything from muffins to meatloaves.  Thus, it is not surprising, I did the same with these delicious mini spinach kugels.  This is another Pesach recipe. I love my Passover cookbooks and manage to buy a new one each year.  Good thing, the Jewish publishers accommodate my wants and publish these almost annually.  This particular book has been sending a paper booklet to homes across the country for a number of years.  The recipes have been proven and I mean by me.  They are some of the best Pesach recipes, I have come across.  When I found out, a book was being published with those recipes and more, I immediately ordered it.  The book was not out yet but it could be pre-ordered and that is what I did. I couldn't wait for it to arrive and when it did, I found a quiet place and checked out each page and wrote down page after page or dishes, I just had ...

I made some unique and fabulous dishes over the Passover holiday.  I had no time to post them, at that time , but now I would like to share them with you.  They can be made all year and certainly flour can be subbed in for potato starch.    It is amazing how good the food is considering our limitations.  There are some different customs amongst groups of Jews and ours is not to use rice, beans, peas and corn along with any of our usual flour.  Sephardic Jew use these. Some of us don't wet matzah which means no matzah balls.  I know there are some who make these with potato starch.  I tried one year and we did not like them.  The truth is we eat kneidlach (matzah balls) throughout the year so we don't miss them for a week. My kitchen is filled with fresh fruit and vegetables.   It seems like we peel and chop for the entire week.  Fortunately, I have a food processor which does make a major difference in the work load.  We ...

I would like to continue my train of thought from the last post about changes to this blog.  Besides adding a new dimension of life in school, I want to focus on my cooking and baking.  I asked myself  questions and the answers made my think, quite clear. To work in my schedule, I want to make quick and easy and delicious recipes.  That was the initial intent of this blog but at that time, I was labeling these recipes, as special.  They are not special.  They are what makes me a cook. I learned a long time ago that the difficulty of a recipe does not make its merit.  There are times two or three ingredients, mixed together, make magic.  Usually, they are not as beautiful or intricate as those that we put hours into.  I don't have those hours, not if I want to keep my life to open to family,  job and other interests. Life throws us curves and we can only go with them and make the best of them.  At this point in my life, we have...

Today was my baking day for at least part of Chanukah.  I made both cakes for the party and for our Shabbos (Sabbath) company and of course gluten-free for Hubby.  My son who is coming with his family for Shabbos asked for an apple kugel.  I have made many of these, over the years, and I now know that I like them when they have large chunks of apple inside and lots of it.  Any recipe, I draw on, I alter to fulfill these requirements. Gluten-Free Apple Kugel Ingredients:   3 eggs 1/4 cup oil 1 teaspoon orange juice 1 cup gluten-free flour mixture 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 apples, chunked into about 1/2 inch pieces Topping: 1/3 cup white sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/4 cup gluten free flour (I used brown rice flour.) Method:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.   Grease an 8×8 square baking pan with spray cooking oil. Mix together eggs, oil, brown sugar, and orange juice.   In a separate bowl, combi...