BIZZY BAKES

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...

The choice of dish for Eating With Ellie is a shrimp pad thai, something I can't have, being kosher.  I subbed in turkey to make the dish work and the turkey was a good fit.  Thanks to Glennis  for selecting this. I had some cute problems making this dish.  I bought a bag of shredded cole slaw and when I went to get the components of the recipe, I discovered the cabbage was bad.  As a result,  I made a tiny faux salad to show you how it looked with slaw.  Then I made my own meal without the cole slaw and that is the other dish. Without the slaw When I had put it all together, I thought to myself, this would be better warm rather than as a cold salad.  I took the bowl and put it into the microwave for about a minute.  It was delicious.  I would make this  as a main course, a little heavier on the protein, served hot. Ellie mentions, in the beginning of her book, Weeknight Wonders, that she gets these recipes to be under th...

I shouldn't like chili because I don't usually like mixed meat and vegetable dished but this chili was very good.  I went back for seconds. Turkey Chili Ingredients: 1 pound lean ground turkey (lean) 28-ounce can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes 2 cups water 2 large onions, chopped 1 tablespoons chili powder 1 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (or more to taste) 2 teaspoons brown rice flour one 15-ounce can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed 2 cups frozen corn kernels  Method: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the turkey, stirring to break up the meat.  Drain the fat. My turkey had almost no fat. Add the tomatoes, water, onions, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, cumin, oregano, and red pepper. Mix thoroughly. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Stir in the flour, and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in the b...

You may feel like Joy Bauer is living in your home.  I certainly do and she would make a great guest and we would be eating healthier and more delicious meals.  I am doing second best and simply cooking her recipes and we are a happier family. My husband loves meatloaf and I tolerate it.  When I eat it, I like it but I wouldn't just make it if hubby didn't consider it a favorite.  I saw a photo of this Mediterranean Meatloaf i n Joy's book, Slim and Scrumptious.  The picture showed this turkey mixture loaded with veggies and it was pretty with all the colors shining out.   I made it that night.  Mediterranean Meatloaf  (adapted from Joy Bauer) 1 pound lean ground turkey  1 cup packed chopped spinach cup diced roasted bell peppers (in a jar)   I must include these more  often. ½ cup shredded zucchini ¼ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, diced (another winning addition ) ¼ cup dice...

Meatballs with apples had instant appeal to me.  I particularly like that the apples are both in the meatballs and in the sauce.  There seem to be a lot of ingredients that go into this  but when I collected everything, it was all in the cupboard or refrigerator. I made the meatballs first and while they were cooking, I prepared the gravy.  The final dish was a dream come true;  I left small apple pieces in the sauce instead of making it plain creamy and this was a good decision.  It was a delight to get these chunks of apple which were still crisp with the creamy sauce and meatballs. I served this with roasted potatoes and a tossed salad. A true success story...... I felt happy feeding this to hubby and even better, I love it. Chicken Apple Meatballs in Onion and Apple Gravy adapted from Joy Bauer Ingredients: for the meatballs: 1 pound package ground turkey 2 (heaping) tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon granulated onion 1...

Not too long ago, I made an Italian Egg Drop Soup with Mini Meatballs which is similar to the soup, we made tonight in our Ellie Krieger group, Eating With Ellie (EwE). I knew, I would like tonight's soup, Shotgun Wedding Soup which is also of Italian origin because it had chopped turkey, spinach and egg drops, as did the previous soup.  I liked the meatballs better than the browned turkey but it was still a very good soup. It contained, onion, (garlic), ground turkey, salt, black pepper, broth, parsley, eggs and spinach.  It was easy to make and I had it ready quickly for my hungry hubby.  He is happy that once again, I am cooking Ellie Krieger recipes and so am I. All the members who made this soup will be found at this site dedicated to Eating with Ellie.  We welcome new members so come on and join in or if you just want to cook, on occasion, that is also fine with us.   On  February - 5 - Peggy  has chosen Penne with Grape Tomatoes, Spina...

This was the best chili we have had and hubby proudly made it.  It was light with the turkey and zucchini as major players.  The original recipe was to be more spicy but according to the chef, it should not be that way so out went the chilies and garlic. It is unusual for me to take a second plate but I did.  I was not full after one dish; it was really light.  the original recipe called for bulgar and we chose brown rice in place of this.  Hubby made it separately from the rest of the chili. This is a great dish for the colder weather and my reaction to hubby was, you can make this once a week, for the rest of the cool and cold weather. Turkey Chili Compliments of Hubby  ( adapted f rom Eating Well - Sept/Oct 2013) Ingredients: 1 pound lean ground turkey 1 large onion, diced 2 medium zucchini, diced (about 3 1/2 cups) 2 tablespoons dried oregano 4 teaspoons ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground 2 15-ounce cans no-salt-added...

One of my more embarrassing moments.  I can't find my Modern Classics 1 by Donna Hay.  I searched my house and it is no where to be found yet I remember exactly where I put it or at least, I thought I did. This is not the first time, I misplaced it.  One time, I did the house search and finally after two or three days, found it in my son's bedroom, which is now a guest room.  We have a computer in there and evidently, I went in there to check something out with book in hand.  I left without it and forgot completely about taking if from its designated spot. The next time, I misplaced this book, I found it in our den.  I had gone to chat with hubby, again, book in hand and put it down.  Once again, I walked away without Donna's hard work and also found it a few days later. Where did I take it this time?  I will let you know when I locate it. You would think, I didn't like Donna Hay, the way I lose her book so often.  On th...

A while ago,  Wednesday with Donna Hay 's made   Beef Burgers !  Recipe can be found  here. I had chopped turkey so my beef burger is really a turkey burger.  I was in trouble again with the call for buns.  Since hubby has celiac, we do not have any hamburger buns, in the house and buying them, just for me, would be a waste.  So, my turkey burgers are nude. Despite this, we were happy with these tasty burgers and finished them all up, quickly.  They were nice and thick and hubby kept telling me to press them down to be flatten.  I did not listen, as you can probably see.  The caramelized onions and tomatoes were to go on the bun with the burger so I served them, this way.

Mostly, we have chicken for Friday night dinner but on occasion, hubby asks for a meat loaf.  That is what happened, this week.  I am a fan of Indian spiced foods so I looked for a recipe, combining the two, the Indian spices and the meatloaf. Fine Cooking had the answer.  I made so much more than we need, we are eating for a dinner during the week. Indian Spiced MeatLoaf 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1/2 cup small-diced red bell pepper 1/2 cup small-diced carrots (I use my mini food processor) 2 cups gluten-free bread crumbs 1 cup Rice Milk 1 pound. ground beef 1 pound ground turkey 2 large eggs 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 2 teaspoons. peeled and finely grated fresh ginger 2 teaspoons garam masala 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce freshly ground black pepper to taste 2 tablespoons honey Heat oil in a 10- to 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the onion, bell peppers and carrots, stirring freq...

****I have decided to move my Donna Hay posts here from My Sweet and Savory since I have put it to sleep.  I love my Donna recipes and want to share them with you.  There will be several new posts brought over and I do hope you make some of them.  Donna produces good recipes.*** This photo was blurry.  I worked with a photo program and it pulled the lines from the blurry area and they can now be seen.  If it is a bit sharp, that is the reason why, but now you can see that they egg is an egg. This is a wonderful omelet  that could be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  I chose to make it our last meal of the day.  You can find the recipe on  Donna's site  and below. Bacon is not a kosher food so I subbed in some roast turkey pieces.  I browned them a bit before using them.  This recipe is simply roasting the tomatoes for about ten minutes and making the meat and then the egg, topping it with the tomatoes and I u...

***I have decided to move my Donna Hay posts here from My Sweet and Savory since I have put it to sleep.  I love my Donna recipes and want to share them with you.  There will be several new posts brought over and I do hope you make some of them.  Donna produces good recipes.*** This week , Gaye chose Shepherd's Pie (page 158 in Modern Classics I).  I have made variations of Shepherd's Pie over the year and this was not that different.  It did have peas and carrots which I didn't  include before this.  Havin g the veggies added nutrition, color and taste.   I subbed chopped turkey for beef.   I stuck with the  vegetables and spices and ended up with a filling dish which was completely satisfying and got a thumbs up from Hubby.

This month, the Kosher Connection is recognizing the odd combination of Thanksgiving and Chanukah.  It is a once in a lifetime event that the two coincide and people are having a blast preparing food that covers both holidays.  The kosher cooks have their challenge to come up with appropriate food for the holiday.   I made Turkey-Mashed Potato Burgers with Cranberry Stuffing Cups.  That would cover the turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and turkey.  As far as I am concerned, the burgers could have shared the honors with mashed sweet potatoes.   Cranberry Stuffing Cups - Gluten-Free Ingredients: 1/4 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped celery 1 - 2 tablespoons oil 6 cups seasoned bread cubes (gluten-free challah or white bread) 1/2 cup dried cranberries ½ teaspoon dried thyme 1 egg, beaten 1 cup organic vegetable broth Salt and pepper to taste  Method: Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly coat a 12 cup muffin pan with nonstick spra...