Author: chanie

Simple Jeweled Rice

My mom has been making this yummy rice for years. I had no idea that it was a version of Persian jeweled rice, but once I learned of the traditional Persian food, I realized that it’s the absolute perfect name for this recipe. Bejeweled with sweet and delicious dried fruits, this rice turns a simple side dish into a meal fit for a king!

I don’t even want to bring up Rosh Hashana because I cannot believe that it’s almost here. Where did the whole summer go?! But, sans the nuts, I do have to say that this would make a beautiful accompaniment to your yom tov seudah. Just thinking about sweet tzimmis and honey cake is making me pine for the sweet New Year. It’s just around the bend!

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Baked Wonton Beef Empanadas


I had never really heard of empanadas until I married my husband. My Argentinian mother-in-law loves to cook up a storm whenever we come to visit and these meat-filled pockets are often on the menu. She whips up a batch in no time and makes it look so easy! For my husbands birthday this year, I cooked him a surprise dinner that included all of his favorite family recipes including empanadas, milanesas and mechshie. It was my first try at them, but with my mother-in-laws help, everything turned out super delicious.

I made empanadas again last week on the spare of the moment, having some defrosted ground beef sitting in the fridge. Whereas my mother-in-law throws together a batch of dough in no time, I am one to avoid any recipe that calls for home-made dough. Instead, I decided to make use of the eggroll wrappers in my freezer. I had no idea if this would work, especially since I had no intention of frying them, but I decided to give it a try. And work, it did. The wontons turned out perfectly crispy without being greasy and the filling, although not traditional, was perfectly delicious. If you don’t mind frying, go ahead and make these super golden and crispy in some hot oil!

I call these “wonton empanadas” because they are a cross between traditional empanadas (filled with ground beef, olives, and cumin) and beef eggrolls (filled with meat, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms etc.). You can call them Asian empanadas or Spanish eggrolls, either way, these meat-filled samosas are sure to please!

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Cherry Yogurt Popsicles


Gone are the days when you just fill up a plastic cup with grape juice and freeze it for your kids. Homemade popsicles are all the rage right now, with lots of new popsicle books on the market, as well as a quick pop-making machine! The New York Times even ran a feature in their magazine which included lots of cool recipes for fruit, savory, creamy, and boozy pops. Who would have thought of making avocado-cilantro, fennel, or chocolate-chili ices?

Popsicles are a great way to cool down from the summer heat. Instead of store-bought varieties that are packed with sugar and food coloring, try making some at home. Here, I whipped up some cherry yogurt pops for a delicious cool and milky treat.

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Fried Fish Sandwich


Growing up, fried flounder (with a side of mashed potatoes) was always on the menu in our house during the nine days, as well as erev Tisha B’av. The fish was always perfectly golden with a crunchy breaded coating; simple and delicious. When I married my husband, I found that fried fish was a favorite of his as well, except his mother made it with tilapia in a tempura-style batter, and served it with lemon wedges. No matter how it’s coated or served, in sticks or fillets, fried fish is a favorite everywhere. You’ll find many cafe’s serving it “fish ‘n chips” style, but my absolute favorite way to eat it is in a sesame sub with wasabi mayo.

Fried Fish Sandwich Essentials:

Fish: You can use any mild white fish such as sole, cod, flounder or tilapia.
Crispy Coating: bread crumbs, panko crumbs, corn flake crumbs, cornmeal, crushed potato chips, tempura batter, beer batter.
Bun: baguette, soft bun, kaiser roll, sesame roll, rye bread, whole wheat bread, ciabatta.
Sauce: mayo, tartar sauce, wasabi sauce, pesto, remoulade.
Veggies: lettuce, tomato, pickles or onions.
Accompaniments: french fries, sweet potato fries, potato chips, mashed potatoes, lemon wedges.

When frying fish, it helps to set up a dredging station and use separate tongs or forks for each coating. Most people like to dip the fish into flour, egg, and then crumbs of choice. Personally, i find that my fish comes out perfectly crispy when dipped into eggs and panko or bread crumbs. You can season the fish, crumbs, flour or eggs with spices of choice, such as, seafood spice, paprika, garlic, or salt & pepper.

For a quick and easy alternative, you can pan-fry frozen breaded fish fillets such as Dagim’s.

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{Guest Post} Vegetable Calzones

For me being asked to be a guest blogger on Chanie’s blog is not only exciting but an honor. She sure knows her stuff. She is definitely my go to person when I have one of those ‘how do I…. ‘ questions. If she thinks Im good enough to be her guest (for the second time), I must be doing something right :) I’m not much of a take out, ready made, store bought type of aperson. If it can be done at home (and is not TOO complicated). I usually give it a try. When I was given the idea of making homemade calzones for dinner I was super excited to try it. And it has since made its way to my list of favorite dinners to make/eat! I hope you enjoy this recipe as well.

NOTE: You can also use this dough recipe to make regular dinner rolls when making soup , or even fancy it up to make garlic rolls.

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