Category: Shavuous

Cheesy Stuffed Mini Peppers


At one of our Chanukah parties recently (was Chanukah really that recent? It feels like ages ago!), my sister in-law decided to bring over some food for the low-carb dieters at the party. I was really intrigued by her idea of making stuffed shells without the pasta. Mini peppers stand in as a great replacement, adding color and sweetness to the dish. I decided to whip up my own variation by peppering up (pun intended!) a version of my mom’s famous lasagna recipe. Truth be told – I still made some stuffed shells for my pasta-loving kids, but I was more than satisfied with my lighter and lower-carb variation.

Cheesy Stuffed Mini Peppers

1 15 oz. container ricotta or reduced fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
1 10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove water
1 bag sweet mini peppers
1 jar marinara sauce
1 8 oz. bag shredded mozzarella cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl, mix cheeses, egg, spices and 1/2 of the spinach. Pour half of the marinara sauce into a 9×13 pan. Dot with remaining spinach. Cut the tops off the mini peppers and remove the veins and seeds. Fill with cheese mixture and place in the pan on top of the marinara sauce. Pour remaining 1/2 jar of sauce over the peppers and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, or until peppers begin to soften. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the cheese is browned and crisped around the edges.

VARIATION: For traditional stuffed shells, use large shell pasta in place of the mini peppers.

1 year ago: spinach pasta

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Cheese Latkes with Raspberry Sauce

If you follow my blog, you know that I’m not much of a baker. You also know that I’m working hard to stick to my diet plan. Which might explain why I’m not about to post a recipe for delicious, chewy, deep-fried jelly donuts or crunchy golden potato latkes. Instead, I decided to whip up a sort of deconstructed jelly donut in the form of cheese latkes with raspberry sauce. These fun mini cottage cheese pancakes are reminiscent of the classic chanukah treat with just a few less calories. Fry them up nice and golden, dust with powdered sugar, and don’t forget the whip cream!

Cheese Latkes
adapted from the Spice & Spirit Cookbook

3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 8 oz. container ricotta or cottage cheese (drain, if needed)
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
canola oil, butter, for frying

Method:

Mix all ingredients besides for oil until smooth. Heat up a skillet and grease with butter or oil. Add batter 1 tbsp at a time and fry until golden on both sides. Continue with remaining batter, adding additional oil or butter, as needed.

Serve with raspberry sauce, whip cream and a side of maple syrup.

Raspberry Sauce

1 bag frozen raspberries
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water or raspberry liquor
1 tsp lemon zest

Method:

Add all ingredients to a pot and simmer over medium heat until raspberries are soft and fall apart when mashed with a spoon, about 10 minutes. Add to a blender and puree. Pour the raspberry mixture through a cheesecloth and squeeze out juice. Chill. Serve over pancakes or ice cream.

Alternatively, pipe some raspberry jam in the center of the latkes and dust with powdered sugar to resemble jelly donuts!

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Peanut Butter Fudge Ice Cream Pie

Dont forget to enter our Ella’s Kitchen Giveway to win an assortment of gourmet baby food pouches! See this post for more info.

I almost dont want to give this recipe away, it’s that easy! Whenever I serve it for dessert, my guests always seem to think I’ve patchked for hours making gourmet fudge. But the secret is out. This “fake-it-gourmet” ice cream pie is as easy as, well, pie :) If you like peanut butter, you’re in for a real treat!

Since the fudge topping is super rich, I like to use Double Rainbow Vanilla Bean Ice Cream as the filling. I’ve also used their cookie dough ice cream, as well as others. I find that simple vanilla is the best way to go, but if you really want to indulge, you can also use chocolate. To really up the ante on this recipe, use dairy ice cream, but if you are serving it after a fleishig meal, I recommend So Delicious or Double Rainbow ice creams.

I use chopped viennese crunch for this recipe, but feel free to use any topping you’d like. Sprinkles, toasted coconut, chocolate or peanut butter chips and nut crunch or brittle are all good choices.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie

1 graham cracker crust
1 pint Double Rainbow Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, softened
1/3 cup chocolate syrup
1/3 cup corn syrup (light or dark)
1/3 cup peanut butter
5 viennese crunch chocolates, chopped

Method:

Spread softened ice cream into crust and freeze until firm. Mix chocolate syrup, corn syrup and peanut butter and pour over pie. Top with chopped viennese crunch. Serve with strawberries.

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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.

Vegetable Calzones

Dough:
1 tbsp dry yeast (1 packet)
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
3 1/2-4 c flour

In a small bowl, combine yeast with warm water and sugar (the sugar activates the yeast). In a separate bowl, mix flour, oil and salt. When yeast mixture begins to bubble, add it to the second bowl and mix. Knead and let rise for approximately 1 hour.

Filling:
onions
mushrooms
eggplant
squash
broccoli
yellow, green and red pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil, for sauteing
shredded cheese of choice (I use mozzerella)
1 egg yolk, for brushing
marinara sauce, for serving

Saute vegetables to your liking and season with salt and pepper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out a piece of dough into a circle (do not make it too thin). Place some of the vegetables on the lower half of the circle and top with cheese. Take top part of circle and fold it over to close, creating a moonlike shape. Brush with beaten egg yolk. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

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“Magic” Salmon

Even though we’re not big dairy eaters around here, I’m so excited to cook for the Nine Days. It gives me a chance to think outside the box, and a rest from typical chicken dinners. I’m grabbing at the chance to make delicious and healthy fish recipes which are a great source of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids.

There are many different ways to prepare fish, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. You can grill, pan-fry, bake, poach or steam fish in many different preparations, but it is best cooked quickly over high heat. If your fish is cooked right, it won’t taste “fishy”.

When purchasing fresh fish, it should smell like the ocean, not like fish. It should have a vibrant color. Pale fish or fish with discolored patches is not fresh. A great tip is to tell your fishmonger that you are making sushi with the fish. This will ensure that the fish is fresh enough to be eaten raw.

One of my favorite ways of preparing baked salmon and tilapia is using Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Seafood Magic Seasoning Blend. The blend is exactly as it is named; pure magic. When baking fish, the key is to bake it at a high temperature for a short period of time. Your fish will be soft, tasty, and best of all, so incredibly quick and easy to prepare. Recipes follow below.

I have lots of ideas brewing for the upcoming week, so I thought I’d share some ideas for those of you who like to plan ahead:

Dairy Recipe Ideas:

– homemade pizza
– lasagna
– quiches
– risottos
– quesadilles
– stuffed shells
– eggplant parmesan
– fettucine alfredo
– penne alla vodka
– french onion soup
– cream of any vegetable soup
– stuffed mushrooms
– eggplant rollatini
– macaroni and cheese
– pancakes, waffles or french toast
– baked potatoes with broccoli and cheddar or other fillings

Meat-Lovers Recipe Ideas:

– vegetarian chili with cheesy corn bread
– portobello mushroom burger
– tuna steak
– grilled halibut
– fish tacos
– falafel

Light ‘n Healthy Recipe Ideas:

– salad nicoise
– shakshuka
– portobello pizza
– sushi rolls or sushi salad
– chickpea patties
– cheesy stuffed mini peppers
– stir fry with tofu and rice
– steamed fish and veggies au papillote
– baked sweet potatoes with cottage cheese or other fillings

Other Pareve Recipe Ideas:

– tuna or salmon croquettes
– tuna casserole
– salmon pasta salad
– Crispy breaded fish sandwich or “fish and chips”

Please feel free to share your Nine Days Menu ideas in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you!

Quick & Easy Salmon or Tilapia

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

For salmon, rinse fish and pat dry. Sprinkle very generously with Seafood Magic spice and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until flesh is opaque and flakes with a fork.

For tilapia, rinse fish and pat dry. Squeeze a lemon over the fish, sprinkle very generously with Seafood Magic and brush with canola mayonnaise. Bake for approximately 12 minutes, until flesh is opaque and flakes with a fork.

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