BIZZY BAKES

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 large skillet with olive oil.  Heat to medium

My lunches, this week, were not inspired, at least on Tuesday and Wednesday, when I made a Ramen dehydrated soup. I will say, it comes with tons of thin noodles, and is very good. I am not missing anything, eating this.  Tons of noodles = tons of enjoyment. Today, I opened the refrigerator door and spied, a bit of left over Spinach Egg Puff, from last night's dinner.  I decided to plop at egg on top of it, and microwave it, for two minutes.  This lunch seemed inspired or perhaps, I should say, it tasted inspired.  A little pepper on top perfects it.  The recipe for the Havarti and Spinach Egg Puff is found here.   It was certainly quick, easy and delicious.  

  There is this small cookbook called The Complete Yom Tov Cookbook which has a number of good recipes.  Yom means Day and Tov means Good.  Good day and for the Jewish people Yom Tov refers to a holiday.  The recipes, in this book are meant to be used in three of our major holidays. I was looking through it, since I hadn't used it, in a while.  Hubby wanted a cake, easy to cut and neat to eat.  The cinnamon cake sounded right to me.  I have mentioned before, hubby likes plain cakes, especially with nuts.  They are not necessarily exciting to make but they are usually easy to put together.  I lose some of the creativity while I do save time. C innamon Cake Ingredients: 3 eggs 1 1/2 cups sugar 3/4 cup oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup orange juice 2 1/2 cups flour 3 teaspoons baking power 1/4 teaspoon salt   Crumb Topping 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 tablespoon margarine 2 teaspoons flour 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped  Method: Beat eggs until light

I fell in love with Karl Kabocha the first time I met him.  Yes, love at first sight.  I bet you did not believe it happens but I am here to tell you that it certainly does.  While other look across a crowded room and their eyes meet, I tasted kabocha and my life changed. Karl must be in the house, at all times.  Who knows when I will crave kabocha?  What is especially good about Karl Kobacha is that he is willing to change for the occasion.  If I need a side dish, he is mashed.  If I want soup, he is liquified.  Other "men" have to be dressed up in a suit and bow tie or a pair of jeans and turtleneck.  Not Mr. Kobacha.  He is delicious plain. When I am done with Karl, I think, I will be able to write a book.  Will the book start with today's lunch, Roasted Kabocha Soup with Caramelized Onions?  Hmmm, it could. Truthfully, this soup is out of this world.  I was going to leave it completely plain but for soup, it did have to be thinned out.  I ate the first bowl a

   It is time for me to get organized again.  I am finding my lunch project is helping tremendously.  Now, I am returning to Menu Plan Monday .  I found, last year, having dinner planned when I am teaching, makes all the difference in the world.  Knowing what I am doing,means having the ingredients, in the house and being able to cook in the mornings or at least, set up so when I come home, I will be able to get to work, without hesitation.  Most of the recipes will be new ones so I don't have the appropriate photos for the dishes.  I plan to post these after, I make them and we h opefully enjoy eating t hem. All my food is gluten-free unless, (very unusual) I mention there is an exception.  When I bake for my class, the cookies are not gluten-free.  Otherwise, there should be no issue.   This week, I am using Faith Durand's, " Not Your M o ther's Casseroles".  This is an interesting book, not a photograph in sight.  Usually, I want the

Sometimes, the best recipes are the simplest. This one took very little effort, except for peeling and cutting the sweet potatoes. It tasted as if it were fit for a king. Sweet potatoes are good alone but with this caramelized glaze, we have gone to a whole new level. It doesn't surprise me that this is a Cooking Light recipe. I do love Cooking Light.  On t he other hand, for a Cooking LIght recipe, this d id not turn out to be the healthiest recipe around. This wou ld b e perfect for Thanksgiving. Glazed Sweet Potato Wedges  Ingredients: 1/8 cup margarine 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup water 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1 teaspoon cinnamon 5 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cut in half crosswise, and cut into 1/2-inch wedges Cooking spray  Method: Preheat oven to 400°. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add sugar, water, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon; bring to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Combine sugar mixture and

   I have only had okra, once before, and could not remember if I liked it but I am a braver cook, now and I made this recipe from Faith's book, An Edible Mosaic.  This could be made as a vegetarian dish but I liked the idea of meat being included.  That may be because we don't usually eat meat. This is yet another successful dish from our friend Faith.  I tried to use the recipe from the book but it would not allow me to save this post so I had to remove it.  I know, this does not do justice to a delicious meal but it clearly shows the different ingredients.  Okra with Tomatoes in a Fragrant Sauce BAMIEH BIL ZAYT Recipe courtesy of An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair by Faith Gorsky (Tuttle Publishing; Nov. 2012); reprinted with permission. To make this dish a full meal, cook some stew meat (lamb or beef) and add it to the okra before serving. (I used chopped beef.) Serves 4 to 6 Preparation Time: 12 minutes Cooking Time: 35 m

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 them with ground meat.  Sur

When I make chicken soup, I always question, what to do with the chicken pieces.  Sometimes, I shred it all and freeze the pieces to add to some of the containers of soup, I also freeze.  Other times, I make a dish out of the chicken.  If I bake it with a sauce, it is good.  Other times, I shred the chicken and make patties. That is what I did, today, and I topped them with smoked paprika for added flavor.  Often, I shred the chicken in the food processor and I get more of a minced chicken.  I like to have a more meaty texture so this time, I took the bench scraper and used it and it made a decent texture. I have said it before and I am going to repeat myself.  I love this tool and use it, almost daily.  Have you ever spilled flour or sugar on the counter?  Sure, you have and if you really haven't, please don't tell me about it.  I spill much too often.  I use this scraper to pick up the sugar or whatever else and it gets every grain.  I use this to chop, slice and dice

Squash Alfredo on Spaghetti How could I resist then when the Alfredo Sauce was made with squash ?   Miriam suggest yellow squash but I only had zucchini.  This was a lot more healthy than a full fledged alfredo sauce. I made this because, I had to find out, how this sauce turned out.  It is a first for me.  I apologize for the poor quality photo.  None of the pictures came out but I expect to make this again and hope to add a better photo. Squash Alfredo Sauce on Spaghetti ( adapted from Meatless Meals fo r Meat Eaters) Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped ¾ cup milk ¾ cup pureed zucchini squash (puree the raw squash in a food processor) 1 tablespoon  GF flour 2 tablespoons whipped cream cheese 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded Salt and pepper to taste   Method:   In a saucepan, heat olive oil and cook onion.    Whisk in the milk, pureed squash, and flour.  Stir in the remaining ingredients and continue to stir frequ