Category: Dinner

Rice Vermicelli

Is your pantry filled with little bags of assorted leftover pasta? That extra orzo from when you only made half the box?  Or the scraps from the 10 oz. bag of egg noodles (whose recipe only called for 7 oz.)? Well luckily, I have a great recipe to use up your leftovers before Pesach! This Shabbos, you can turn your simple plate of rice into a two-toned pilaf that is just as pleasing on the palate as it is on the eyes! It’s simple, easy, and kids love it!

 

Rice Pilaf

2 cups white rice
3/4 cup fine egg noodles, spaghetti cut into pieces, orzo or other fine pasta
4 cups water or chicken stock
3-4 tbsp oil
2 tsp salt

Method:

Heat up oil in a saute pan and add pasta. Saute over medium heat, stirring constantly, until pasta is fragrant and golden. Watch the pasta carefully because it can quickly go from golden to burnt. Add the rice and stir for a minute or two. Add water or stock and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

1 year ago: sesame linguini with marinated chicken breast

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Sweet Pepper Burgers

Unless you’re the type of person who has all their Pesach food cooked in advance, most people are pretty sick of cooking by the time Chol Hamoed comes around. Quick and easy dinners are a must!  This simple recipe is a nice change from the standard chicken & potato fare, and works for lunch or dinner. The burgers can be broiled, grilled or pan-fried, and seasoned according to your Pesach pantry. If you use ketchup or spices, feel free to add some. In my case, I need to peel the peppers, but the sweetness it adds to the burgers makes the effort worthwhile.

 

Sweet Pepper Burgers

2 lbs ground beef
1 cup mixed colored peppers, diced
1 small onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 eggs
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix gently to combine. Scoop out palm-sized portions of meat and shape into patties. Place on a baking sheet lined with foil and broil on high for approximately 7 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes on the opposite side. Drain on paper towels. Alternatively, you may cook the burgers on the grill.

TIP: Always mix the beef gently and pack the burgers lightly as squeezing the meat results in tough, rubbery burgers.

NOTE: I like to switch to a clean cookie sheet when I turn the burgers over so that they don’t cook in the fat that was released from the first round of broiling.

1 year ago: mock chopped liver

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French Fried Chicken Nuggets

I would imagine there are about as many Pesach minhagim as there are recipes. Each family has their own book of standards and mine is no different. Thankfully, my husband’s family grew up similar to mine so I don’t have to go eating shmaltz or anything! I always considered myself lucky that my family wasn’t that strict, but I guess compared to some people they are. Basically, we use nut oil, peel all fruits & veggies, use liquid sugar and salt (no other spices). The only processed foods that we buy are orange juice, chocolate, potato chips and lady fingers.

On the days leading up to Pesach, once the kitchen has already been cleaned, my mom likes to use many of the processed kosher for Pesach (non-gebroks) products in her cooking. This way, we don’t feel like we are eating Pesach food too early, and we don’t have to eat pizza out of a plastic bag on the front stoop. The following recipe is great for those who use processed ingredients on Pesach, and for those who only eat it before. The instant mashed potato flakes form a crust on the chicken that tastes similar to french fries. It also reminds me of tater tots.

 

French Fried Chicken Nuggets

1 pkg chicken breasts
2 cups instant mashed potato flakes
2 eggs
onion powder, to taste
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
oil, for frying

Method:

Trim chicken cutlets and cut into bite sized pieces. Set up a dredging station with separate plates of chicken, whisked eggs and potato flakes. Season the potato flakes with onion powder, salt and pepper. With tongs, dip the chicken into the eggs and then the flakes. Place in a pan of sizzling hot oil. Fry on each side until golden. Place on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

1 year ago: breaded gefilte fish patties

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Stuffed Roasted Butternut Squash

It’s been almost a week since my last post, and I just couldn’t push off blogging any longer. I know a week doesn’t sound like much, but I know myself. If I go for a week, I’ll go for two, maybe three, and before you know it, It’ll be a month without blogging.

And I have reasons too. For one, I’ve been working on Purim recipes. More importantly, my internet connection has been out of whack lately. I’ll be just in the middle of pinning an amazing recipe onto my drooling board on Pinterest when my internet goes down on me. Up and down, and up and down. And you know what the embarrassing part it is? My husband is a computer technician. But you know how it goes. The shoemakers kids and their shoes. That’s me.

So now that I’ve braved my unreliable connection (my cable has gone down about 10 times since I started working on this post), let’s get to why you’re really all here. The food.

This is one of those recipes that I dreamed up one night…literally. Does anyone else develop recipes in their sleep, or am I the only crazy one? The worst part is, I usually forget them once I wake up, but this time, it stuck with me. Maybe that’s because it’s not that complicated, and there aren’t that many ingredients.  Jack’s Gourmet sweet Italian sausages are so full of flavor, you just don’t need to add much for the recipe to sing.

OK people, I’m gonna be honest here. We’re talking full disclosure. I haven’t blogged because I’m too busy on Pinterest. I’m obsessed. If you haven’t checked it out yet, go to http://www.pinterest.com/busyinbrooklyn and follow me!

 

Stuffed Roasted Butternut Squash

2 small butternut squashes
2 Jacks Gourmet sweet italian sausages, finely diced
2 apples, cored and thinly sliced
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
3 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Place butternut squashes on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees until it pierces easily with a fork, about 1 hour. Saute the sausage for a few minutes until it has browned and rendered some of its fat. Remove the sausage from the pan, but leave the drippings. Add the apples and saute until softened. Add maple syrup and continue to saute until golden and caramelized. Return the sausage to the pan and mix into the apples.

When the squash is ready, leave it to cool for several minutes. Cut it in half, lengthwise, and remove the pits. Scoop out most of the flesh, leaving about 1/2″ of squash all around. Add squash pulp, brown sugar, salt and pepper to the pan and mix to combine (dont overstir the squash, you want it to be lumpy). Lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Return the squash to the oven and bake, uncovered, until browned around the edges, about 15 minutes.

1 year ago: organic oven baked sweet potatoes

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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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