Category: Brunch

S’mores Oatmeal

I don’t know if I’ve ever walked you through the BIB process before, but I think it’s about time. Let me start by telling you that my posts don’t happen in realtime. If you want to follow what I’m cooking/eating now, check out my Instagram feed or follow me on Facebook. As for the blog, the stuff you see here may or may not have been cooked weeks, or even months, ago. Case in point: I did not make this decadent s’mores oatmeal for breakfast today (I am currently on the Whole30 diet cleanse!). I didn’t make it yesterday, or even last week. I made it back on December 24th – last year! Even I can’t believe it’s been that long! Why has it taken me so long to post? Read on.

As you might imagine, blogging takes up lots of time. From testing the recipes to photographing them – there are hours of work involved. Hours, that I don’t usually have with 4 kids in tow. So instead of cooking and photographing every day, I usually reserve a day for a full-fledged cookingfest. I’ll make and photograph 3 or 4 recipes at a time and save them on my computer to post at a later date. I usually invite over some family or friends to share the bounty!

When I have a handful of recipes saved, plus some ideas for future ones, I set up a blogging calendar that I fill up between holidays. Sometimes, recipes get lost in the shuffle, especially when I have to squeeze in holiday-related posts some 2 weeks before it begins. This is one such recipe, and I’m sorry it’s taken so long. I guarantee it was worth waiting for!

Breakfast could not get any better than rich and creamy chocolate oatmeal topped with toasted marshmallows and crushed grahams. The best part is, you get to make it from scratch, so it’s not full of ingredients you can’t pronounce, like all those funky flavors in the store. I love that you get to deguiltify the whole smores-for-breakfast thing by incorporating into a healthy dish like oatmeal. After all, who said oatmeal has to be boring?

S’mores Oatmeal

1 cup quick cooking oats (see note)
1 3/4 c milk
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp sugar or sweetener of choice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 handful mini marshmallows
2 tbsp chocolate syrup
1 graham cracker, crushed
warm milk, for serving

Method:

Bring milk to simmer , stir in oats and salt and cook for 1 minute. Stir in cocoa, sugar and vanilla and stir to combine. Divide oatmeal between 2 ramekins and top with marshmallows. Broil for 1 minute, until marshmallows are toasted. Drizzle with chocolate syrup and top with crushed graham crackers. Serve with warm milk.

NOTE: You can adapt the recipe to use old fashioned or steel cut oatmeal. Just prepare according to package directions (adjust milk amount, as needed) and proceed as above.

TIP: To avoid the cocoa from clumping inside the oatmeal, whisk it with the sugar to break up the lumps before adding, or, dissolve it in a bit of water.

Related Posts:

baked pumpkin oatmeal
oatmeal cookies
pear, ginger & oat smoothie
banana oat muffins

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Scrambled Hard-Boiled Eggs

They say necessity is the mother of invention and I guess that’s how this recipe came to be. I mean, you can’t say you’ve really tried every type of egg dish over Passover until you’ve tried scrambled hard-boiled eggs, right?

My mother has been making these on Passover for as long as I can remember. She learned to make them from my grandmother, who learned to make them from her mother. I’m not sure if this is a traditional Hungarian dish, or if my great-grandmother invented it. I imagine there wasn’t much else to eat back in Europe besides for eggs and potatoes, with a little chicken or meat on the side, if they were lucky. So creativity with eggs and potatoes was a must. How else can you explain adding hard boiled eggs to runny scrambled ones?

Eggs on eggs might sound kind of weird. Ok, it does sound really weird, but trust me when I tell you that these scrambled hard-boiled eggs are incredibly delicous. Adding hard-boiled eggs to the scrambled ones make this dish substantial enough to serve for lunch, with a side of salad or matza and cheese.

Scrambled hard-boiled eggs is just one of the interesting recipes my family whips up with eggs over Pesach. There’s also our sweet nut omelette that we’d whip up for breakfast and the mock chopped liver that begins with some deeply caramelized onions.

Aside from eggs and potatoes, sauteed onions are the other quintessential Passover ingredient. Since we don’t use spices or processed ingredients over the holiday, sauteed onions are a crucial base for adding flavor to every dish. These scrambled hard-boiled eggs are no exception.

Scrambled Hard-Boiled Eggs

2 tbsp oil or shmaltz
1 small onion, thinly sliced into half rings
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and mashed
4 raw eggs
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Saute the onions in oil until deeply golden and caramelized. Add the mashed eggs and saute for 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. whisk the raw eggs and season with salt and pepper, Pour over the cooked eggs mixture and stir until scrambled but still slightly wet (but not runny). Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 -5 servings

 

Related Recipes:

how to make perect hard-boiled eggs
Passover sweet nut omelette
Passover baked portobello shakshuka

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Baked Portobello Shakshuka

Salad or sandwich, you ask? (ok you didn’t ask, but I did!) I’m a sandwich gal all the way. Offer me up a plate of beautiful greens and veggies, versus a sandwich on crusty bread – I’ll choose the sandwich every time. There’s just nothing like stuffing food between two slices of carby goodness! This, my friends, is what makes the 8 days of Passover so hard for me.

The hardest part about not eating bread or gebroks ( (dishes that allow for matza to absorb liquid) over Pesach, is not having a vessel to eat my food with. I don’t smear dips over matza or eat matza pizza or matza sandwiches. Which means, I’ve got to look for things to stuff my food into. Kosher for Passover pizza omelettes, portobello pizza,  chessy stuffed peppers, roasted eggplant parmesan – these are some of the recipes that get me through the holiday.

When you really think about it – it’s just 8 days, just shy of a week of going gluten free, whats the big deal, right? Somehow though, Pesach seems like an eternity. When I was growing up, we’d wait on line for hours after Pesach to get a pie of pizza. What is it about the holiday that makes us feel so deprived?

Maybe it’s that us non-grebrosters are not thinking outside the box enough. Meat & potatoes, chicken & potatoes, and eggs & potatoes really does get kind of boring. With stringent Passover customs, the lack of variety induces many-a-craving. I think that’s where the endless hours at the pizza store comes into play. Not only did we not enjoy matza pizza over Pesach, our family custom was to avoid dairy altogether – so no cream cheese on matza or even yogurt for breakfast. Breafast was always the hardest part of the Chag. We ate a lot of omelettes!

With dairy off the table, I try to come up with unique dishes, especially for breakfast/lunch when I prefer to avoid meat and potatoes!

One of my favorite breafast/brunch dishes of all time is shakshuka! Shakshuka is a classic dish of eggs poached in a peppery tomato sauce. I like to take the shortcut and use matbucha (or even marinara) as the base – but I’ve taken it up a notch here by baking the shakshuka in some portobello “cups”. This makes for the perfect base to catch all those yummy egg drippings. Sabra’s Kosher for Passover matbucha (no kitniyot) makes preparing this dish a cinch – perfect for Chol Hamoed brunch!

This show stopping dish is sure to please many-a-Passover-palate! Really, who needs some fresh hot pita when you have a roasted portobello mushroom to sop up all that rich egg yolk? Ok, ok I admit I’d go for the pita, I’m a sandwich gal after all. But for 8 days of the year, I think  the portobello makes for a perfect stand in. And they’re cute too!


For the recipe, head on over to Joy of Kosher. And don’t forget to enter into Sabra’s sharesabra giveaway! All you have to do to win a $200 gift card is show and tell Sabra what you’re eating and who you’re eating it with. Take pictures of your food or family and friends at meal time and post on Facebook, Twitter or Instragram with the hashtag #ShareSabra for a chance to win.

This post was sponsored by Sabra.

Other Sabra recipes: Israeli style tuna salad

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Israeli Style Tuna Salad

When I was growing up, my brother would often buy Israeli-Style tuna from the prepared salad section in the supermarket. He’d come home with his little black bag of tuna and fresh bread, and I’d look at him oddly while he ate the weird concoction of tomato-smothered tuna for lunch. Tuna was suppposed to be mixed with mayo and squeezed between a slice of fresh tomato and lettuce on some freshly baked bread. It wasn’t a salad, unless you added some fresh cucumbers and dill, and it surely wasn’t a dip, right? Wrong.

One day, I was digging through the fridge looking for something to eat when I spotted some leftover  Israeli style tuna. I had no patience to prepare something from scratch so I decided to give it a try. One spoon and the rest is history – I was an Israeli tuna salad convert! I had always wanted to try making my own, but I wasn’t quite sure what they put into it. When Sabra sent me over a bunch of samples of their Kosher for Passover line, including caponata, matbucha and turkish salad, I decided to test it out with their already delicious dips. I knew I hit the nail on the head when one taste transported me back into my mom’s kitchen, sneaking some of my brother’s tuna dip.

This recipe makes the perfect Passover lunch when served alongside some crispy matza. Head on over to Joy of Kosher for the recipe!

But wait, there’s more! Not only did Sabra develop an amazing selection of Kosher for Passover dips that taste just as good (or better!) than the chometz variety – they’re also sharing the love with an amazing contest! All you have to do to win a $200 gift card is show and tell Sabra what you’re eating and who you’re eating it with. Take pictures of your food or family and friends at meal time and post on Facebook, Twitter or Instragram with the hashtag #ShareSabra for a chance to win.

This post was sponsored by Sabra.

Related Recipes:

tuna salad with a twist
baked portobello shakshuka with Sabra matbucha
Kosher for Passover egg salad dip (mock chopped liver)

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Roasted Eggplant Parmesan

This is one of my favorite recipes of all time. Not only is it low carb, gluten free, and unbelievably delicious, it’s also quick and easy – no breading required!

I posted a similar recipe back in 2012, where I went light and healthy using feta cheese and tomatoes. It’s one of my most popular posts on the blog, and for good reason. It may be dietetic, but it still hits the spot to curb your calorie cravings.

This more authentic version of roasted eggplant parmesan stays true to the cheesy goodness of the original. It’s packed with grated parmesan and mozzarella cheese, but leaves out the frying and breadcrumbs for a guilt-free dish that’s as good as it looks!

With Passover soon approaching, I thought this would be the perfect time to post a gluten free dish that’s just right for the intermediary days of the Chag. If you’re like me and you don’t eat matza pizza, this is the perfect way to enjoy a cheesy dish that’s not gebroks (dishes that allow for matza to absorb liquid). Thankfully, Natural & Kosher parmesan and mozzarella are kosher for Passover so you can prepare this dish without having to search for the afikomen (ie. look very far!). If you’re not a fan of eggplant, read on for other cheesy gluten-free ideas, you’ll be sure to find one that suits your fancy!

Roasted Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant (use mini for appetizer, large for entree)
olive oil
kosher salt, to taste
marinara sauce
Natural & Kosher grated parmesan cheese
Natural & Kosher shredded mozzarella
fresh parsley or basil, for garnish (optional)

Method:

Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and place flesh-side down on a greased baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and broil on high on the top rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes (35 for larger eggplant), until skin is charred and the flesh is soft.

Turn the eggplants over and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Top with marinara and shredded mozzarella. Bake at 400 degrees until cheese is bubbly and beginning to crisp up around the edges. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve immediately.


This post was sponsored by Natural & Kosher Cheese. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, or via their Blog

Related Recipes:

portobello pizza
pizza omelette
cheesy stuffed mini peppers
pasta free spinach manicotti
spaghetti squash baked ziti
roasted eggplant parmesan with feta

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