BIZZY BAKES

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)

Shepherd's Pie is an annual feature on our Pesach menu.  It calls for very few ingredients and is quite filling.  This is a family favorite. Traditional Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients: 3 tablespoons oil 3 pounds ground beef 2 medium onions, chopped 4 tablespoons parsley, chopped 1/2 cup bell pepper (any color diced) 1 can tomato paste (I had some sauce from stuffed cabbage which I used in place of tomato paste) 6 potatoes, cooked and mashed 1/4 - 1/2 cup vegetable broth Method: Heat oil in a large skillet.  Add ground meat, onion, tomato paste, parsley, and a dash of salt and pepper in a pot.  Cook until meat has browned. Stir and break up meat so that the pieces are small. While these are cooking, boil whole potatoes in water until soft. Then peel and mash. Add bell pepper and broth to potatoes.  (You can add shredded carrots or shredded zucchini as well) In  2 - 3 quart casserole, laye...

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...

I made something similar to this, in the past, but the meatballs had rice in them and the seasoning was different.   I am sure, I am not the only one who does not want to repeat recipes but after a certain amount of time, without even knowing it, finds it has to happen.  I found out about this one, when I went to get my photo and saw a picture and grabbed it.  My mistake  of course, was that it was a different soup.  Below is the photo and you probably can see, why I confused them.  If you look closely, you can see the rice in the meatballs and even the way, I broke the egg down is different. Italian Egg Drop Soup - adapted from Rachel Ray Ingredients: 4 cups vegetable  broth 1 pound ground turkey Salt and pepper 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 3 tablespoons grated onion 1/2 cup corn flake crumbs 4 eggs, divided ( 1 & 3) 2 tablespoons  parsley, finely chopped 1 bunch scallions, very thinly sliced 1 tables...

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.

I kvelled about this meatloaf in my last post.  It is also from Kosher Scoop and specifically from Estee Kafra and her new book, Cooking Inspired.  Maybe it is just me but I don't think so.  I have never tasted a meatloaf like this.  Adding the sausage (pastrami originally) was a stroke of genius and the duck sauce put a whole new spin on the recipe.  No Estee, I don't think a meatloaf is a meatloaf is a meatloaf.  I think this is far superior to the tomato sauce versions. I have made meatloaf in a variety of ways, with spinach, with hard boiled eggs, with barbecue sauce and with any other food that made sense.  None came near this.  I hope you will get a chance to make this and that you enjoy it as much as we did. As you can see, I served it with plain broccoli and parsley oven fried potatoes.  This worked perfectly. Secret Ingredient Meatloaf (adapted from Estee Shafer who calls this her New Meatloaf) Ingredients:  4 – 5...

After the holidays, leftovers are the main dishes, for a while.  Last night, I looked and found about one half pound of sliced corned beef, a package of cabbage and a bag of potatoes.  Throw it together and you have a modified corned beef and cabbage. I have been eating yummy lunches from food that my daughter-in-law brought to us which made it so much easier on me.  Not only did she bring a lot of food, she brought tasty dishes that everyone loved.  Having a few pieces left of these has made three small meals for me . Skillet Corned Beef and Cabbage Ingredients : 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, thin sliced 1 bag of shredded cabbage 1 cup water 4 medium potatoes, thin sliced 2 cups sliced corned beef, roughly chopped in 1 inch pieces Method: In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil. When translucent,  add cabbage and stir. Pour water over, cover and simmer gently on medium low for ten minutes. Add potatoes and mix into c...

Do you know about My Kitchen My World ?  Each month, they travel to a new location and we cook dishes from that place.  Last month was Argentina and this month is Cuba.  The group is open to everyone.  If you are interested, go on over and leave a comment.  There are no requirements as to how often you have to cook.  Simply, join in and have fun. Cuban cooking is enjoyable.  For me, the word mango is magic and I made two recipes using mango and then made myself Mangolope (a drink I created, blending mango and cantelope). " Cuban cuisine is a fusion of Spanish , African , and Caribbean cuisine ." You will find my Caribbean coconut chicken here. Black Beans and Rice with Mango -- adapted from  Cocina Cubana Club  Ingredients: 1/4 cup mild sausage crumbled (not married to my husband, you can use something spicier) 1/2 cup red pepper, chopped 1/2 cup onion, chopped 1//2 teaspoon minced garlic 1 (15oz) can black beans, rins...

This month, I cooked for our monthly Ina linky, weeks ahead of time and promptly forgot about it so here I am, at the last minute, scrambling to get something out.  I had taken ina's meat loaf and made burgers from the mixture, rather than a meat loaf and they came out, just right.  The recipe, I used can be found here.   We grilled the burgers instead of baking the meat loaf.  They stayed together which is something, I was concerned about. I think this is the correct photo but I am no longer sure of this. Check out what other members made this month. Ansh @  Spice Roots  (Ansh will return in June) Barbara @ Moveable Feasts  Bhavna @ Just a Girl From AAmchi Mumbai Chaya @ Bizzy Bakes            Linda,  @ Tumbleweed Contessa   (Beginning in June) Linda @ There and Back Again   (beginning in June) Martha @ Simple Nourished Living   Minnie @ ...

T here are certain items, I like to eat, and when I shop, I generally pick these up and figure, I will make use of them.  When I looked in my refrigerator, I found these ingredients to be used: Spinach, Sausage, Mushrooms and Bok Choy.  They tended to make sense to me as possibilities for a dish.  I thought about it and decided, the most logical dish, would be a stir-fry. This was such a delicious meal.  Sausage may not be the healthiest food but it has such a yummy flavor and I love it.  I don't often make it so when I do, I doubly enjoy it.  It adds a wham to any dish.  I bought a sweet sausage for hubby who is not a fan of spicy and found this sausage too much for him.  Strangely, he managed to eat it, heartily. Spinach-Sausage Saute    Ingredients 2 sausages (I prefer chicken) spray olive oil 2 bok choy, sliced 1 cup spinach, torn 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced 4 button mushrooms, sliced Method Spray l...

As I mentioned previously, each week, I hope to cook from another published cook book. This week, I am proud to be cooking from Faith's, "an edible mosaic".   I have admired Faith's blog and particularly her photos for a long time, which means, I was enthusiastic about cooking from her newly published book.  There is a major problem with this cook book.  There are just too many recipes, you are going to love.  I decided to be organized and write down those recipes that I wanted to make and had the ingredients, in the house.  My list went into the tens, twenties, thirties.  You get the idea. Faith has a chapter where she has recipes for basics you can use in a number of recipes.  Now that I have used some of the seasonings, I have to make up batches and save them in small containers, for future use.  Great flavor. The first recipe, I chose to make, was these eggs with meat.  Although, I have made eggs with sausage, I have never made t...

Today, I went to prepare my room for the school year.  I have the same room as last year which is a plus.  It is sunny and airy and has enough space for the class.   I had forgotten, I had left some of my bulletin board displays, at school and this was a pleasant surprise.  I ended up doing more than I thought, I would accomplish.  Even though, some of the borders are still missing, my handiwork looked good and will be a pleasant welcome for the kids.   I am as excited about the new year as I was when I was a kid.  I love new beginnings and the hopes and dreams that come with them.  I love, even more, the end of the year when I can look back and hopefully see some of those dreams come true.  I came home, exhausted.  I have to get into the routine of having work, in my schedule.  Hubby was great and offered to barbecue until, I asked if he would prefer Sloppy Joes.  Back to the kitchen with me.    Tot...

The summer is passing by much too quickly, for me.  It is hard to believe, it is time for another posting for the SRC.   You do know what the SRC is?  In case, you missed what has been going on around you on Mondays, this is a group of foodie bloggers who are assigned bloggers to cook from and to reveal on their assigned Monday.  Each Monday, a different group reveals the fruits of their labors of love. A genius is our Amanda who created this group.  Even, she could not have known how this was going to take off and become part of all of our lives.  Thanks again, Amanda.  Jane is the leader of my group and I will vouch for the hard work she puts in and the nonsense she ends up taking, at least from me.  You can find our wonderful Jane at the Heritage Cook .  Please do visit all the gals who work so hard to make the SRC a reality.  There are many others and you will find them listed at SRC.  Each month, I describe a fantasti...