BIZZY BAKES

This is one of our favorite dishes.  It is creamy and sweet and delicious.  I had some strawberries, in the fridge and I thought about putting them into the kugel.  I was afraid, they would not do well baked like this.  I wondered what the juice from the strawberries would do it.  So, I passed on the strawberries and debated blueberries or bananas.  I ended, using apples. I have been making many dishes with the summer fruits. Using them in salads or desserts, they make delicious additions. Apples are on vacation (until they show up on the trees again).  OK, I took away a little of their well deserved rest but I was yearning for apples. I adapted this one from About.com Kosher Cooking Lokshen Kugel In gredients:  1 2/3 cups low fat sour cream  1 cup Ricotta  1/4 cup melted butter 3 eggs, lightly beaten  1/4 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon  1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract  8 ounces medium noodles, cooked  1/2 c...

It is time for Taste and Create, an opportunity to cook from another foodie's blog.  Many of us have our Secret Recipe and are having fun doing this there.  I love this opportunity to cook, in this manner, twice a month. There is a difference between the two groups.  I am not sure how long Taste and Create has been around but I do know I have been participating in it for at least a year.  I have met the nicest people and cooked some new food and some familiar recipes.  Unlike Secret Recipe, the two partners cook from each other's blog.  That can be convenient if you have questions about the recipe. Both groups have in common fun and cooking. My partner is Melynda from Mom's Sunday Cafe.  She organizes Cookbook Sundays and works on Hearth and Soul amongst many activities that I don't know about.  I do hope, I will get to know her better. Now, I have to make a huge admission.  Yesterday, I woke up asking myself if I hadn't committed...

 I love sweet potatoes and over the years have come up with new ways to make them.  This time, I was struck my recipe in my Pillsbury Annual 2006 - page230.   It was grilled halves but it was stuffed with the sweet potato mixed with marmalade.  I had some marmalade that I had cooked down, in my refrigerator and wanted to use it up, and Pillsbury presented me with the perfect opportunity. I had not looked at this particular book, in quite a while and I am glad I did.  I found a number of recipes to make, after Passover.  Putting cook books away is great when one takes them out again.  I had such fun, reading through the book and checking off recipes to make.  Their photos are good also. Orange and Ginger Stuffed Sweet Potatoes    QED Ingredients: 2 large  sweet potatoes (about 12 oz each) 2 tablespoons orange marmalade 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup ground walnuts (Us...

I love these and don't make them often enough.  Fries are part of our American culture, stemming back to the colonial times, in this country.  I can see how easy, they would be for the early colonists, to cook and eat. Was this their dessert or a side dish or possible a main? All I know, is that I am glad, these have come down the generations and are cooked in a variety of ways.  One of my favorites is the savory sweet potato salad and then there are times that candies sweets, call my name. This time, it was baked fries.  I am attempting to stay away from frying foods.  Note, I say this as I plan to make won-tons, later which will probably be fried.  Back to my more nutritious sweet potatoes.  This is a Quick and Easy recipe.  The baking time is over the goal of thirty minutes but the prep work is fast and if you have the extra time to work on your other dishes, this is perfect. My husband won't let me use our new mandolin because of the bl...

  This was not what I had planned having for dinner, Thursday, but I had not made Giada's Fried Mashed Potatoes which had left me, in the mood, for potatoes.  I was also in a hurry and I find soup very quick and easy to make with a shortcut or two.   Potato Soup with Cabbage and Cream   Ingredients 4 potatoes, peeled and cubed 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste 1 carrot, chopped 1 cup shredded white cabbage 1 stalk celery, chopped 1/4 onion, chopped 2 - 4 cups vegetable broth 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables 1/8 cup fresh parsley, chopped ground black pepper to taste Directions: In a microwave, on high, cook potatoes with skins, washed thoroughly, for 5 - 10 minutes, depending on the power of your microwave.  I used small to med...

Kugel may be a new word to you so let me explain.   Kugels are side dishes or desserts that come in the form of a casserole.  They are both sweet and savory.  As an example, for this meal, I made this sweet kugel along with a savory potato kugel.  The texture of each is quite different from the other with the butternut squash/sweet potato being soft and a little creamy to eat.  The potato is drier and I make it it in a square or 9 x 13 pan.  Kugels are fun.  They can be made with many different fruits and vegetables.  I have made cauliflower, broccoli,carrot,  cranberry, apple, noodle (both sweet and savory), spinach, and onion kugel.  I am sure I have made more but at this moment, this is all I can think of.  I, hopefully can share this with you as I make them.  For many of you, this will be a new dish and I suggest, you try any of these.  The most common are Potato kugel and Noodle Kugel. Here are some places to fi...