Veggie and Soy Chorizo Burritos

April 3, 2011 · by ·

It was a Thursday night like any other. Need to get some shabbat shopping in. Need to get some shabbat cooking in. Would love to get a gym session in. Any other night, right? On a typical Thursday night, we have a bad habit of running to get takeout. It’s so much easier, but it adds up, you know?  J doesn’t like pizza. The kids don’t like eating meat, and recently both J and I both get sick whenever we eat from the kosher Chinese place. Our options are limited for dining in town. I am trying to limit the eating out to places that are really worth it.  A $50 meal out where I feel good about eating it – both health wise and taste wise.

So this past Thursday, found me in the kitchen, as always, with little time to spare. The kids had pasta, cheesy noodles – a reward for behaving so well in the grocery store. All right, all right, it was a bribe. I admit. Through all this, I am also trying to clean out the kitchen for Pesach. Trying to use stuff up for the big royal clean up/clean out.  I found some soy chorizo in the fridge and this can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce that have been begging to be used up. Burritos it is! Yummy!


Veggie and Soy Chorizo Burritos (serves 6-8)
Ingredients:


1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1  package soy chorizo (I recommend Frieda’s or Trader Joe’s brand – Frieda’s has a hechsher)
cumin
salt
pepper
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup red pepper, chopped
1 cup corn
1 can small white cannellini beans
1/2 small can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
6-8 flour tortillas (depends on how much filling you like in your burritos
cooked white or brown rice
shredded cheese blend (monterey jack, cheddar – it’s all good)
sour cream (optional)




In a large saute pan, saute the onions and garlic in a small amount of oil.  Maybe two teaspoons.


Add in the soy chorizo and cook it a bit. Note: The casing is inedible in the soy chorizo. squeeze the soy meat into the pan.


Add in the cumin, salt, and pepper.


Add in the veggies. Saute for a few minutes..you don’t need the veggies too soft.


Now add the corn and beans. Cook a few more minutes. 


Stir in the peppers in adobo sauce.  This gives the whole mixture a nice smokey taste. So good.


Lay out your tortillas on a plate. It’s good if you heat the tortillas covered in warm oven for a few minutes. 


Plop some rice, then some filling, and then the cheese onto your tortilla.

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Now it’s time to roll up your burrito.  Fold the bottom in a bit and also the top. Now roll up from the side. Now take a bit. You know you want to. Enjoy!
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Filed Under: Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Chicken with Chickpeas

March 31, 2011 · by ·

Some people collect stamps. We collect cookbooks. The cookbook doesn’t have to be popular. It doesn’t have to have a celebrity chef attached. It just has to be interesting. I like the cookbooks that come with stories attached to each food. I rarely cook straight from a recipe anymore, but I like the cookbooks for inspiration, and they keep me company in the kitchen.

Several years ago, while on a visit to my aunt, I came across her well leafed copy of Claudia Roden’s cookbook “The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey From Samarkand to New York.” Paging through the recipes that span the world…I knew I had to have this coobook. We finally found the cookbook reasonably priced at a Half Priced Books and quickly got to work deciding what to cook first.  To be honest, I have only made maybe three recipes from this cookbook, but cookbooks to me are more for inspiration rather than cooking straight from them.

On a whim…we randomly opened to a sephardi section of the book – and blindly pointed to a recipe. In a “pick a card any card” fashion, our finger landed on the Chicken with Chickpeas recipe. The first time I made the recipe, I followed it to a T, and it was amazing. The next couple times, I slowly adapted it.  This past shabbat, I made this dish for Friday night dinner…and then and there, my husband and guests insisted I make it again during the week to be eaten and posted to the blog. I laughed…and I obliged.


Chicken with Chickpeas – adapted from “The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey
From Samarkand to New York.” by Claudia Roden
Ingredients:

1.5 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. ginger paste
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 whole chicken, cut up
1.5 cups of cooked chickpeas
lemon zest (from a whole lemon)
juice of 1 lemon
10 cardamom pods, cracked
salt
pepper

In a large dutch oven, saute the onion until soft. Add in the turmeric, garlic, and ginger and sautee until fragrant.

Add in the chicken pieces and brown the chicken.  Turn them over after about 8 minutes.

Add in the chickpeas and the cardamom.

Add in about 4 cups of water.  Bring the mixture to a boil. Turn down the heat and cover.  Cook for about an hour.  Serve with rice.  Enjoy!


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Filed Under: chicken, Dinner, fleishig, Gluten Free, Main Course, poultry, shabbat · Tagged: , , , , ,

Curry Turkey Burgers

March 30, 2011 · by ·

The hubster did the Trader Joe’s shopping this weekend, and excitedly brought home a package of ground turkey. I’m not usually a fan of turkey, so I kind of shoved it to the back of the fridge.  Today was the day. Had to use it or freeze it. Burgers sounded good for today. I’ve been on a curry kick and these burgers hit the spot. I served these with some curried sauteed onions and mushrooms and broccoli on the side, but they would be excellent with a side of  baked sweet potato fries.

Curry Turkey Burgers
Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp. garlic paste
1 tbsp. ginger paste
2 scallions, chopped
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp. dried coriander
1 tbsp. curry powder
salt
pepper

Mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl.

Form into patties. This recipe mkde me around 8 small burgers.

Fry the burgers on medium-high for a few minutes on each side. Transfer to a 425 degree oven to finish cooking, around 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Filed Under: poultry · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Homemade Spaghettios

March 29, 2011 · by ·

My daughter loves to get me to reminisce about the past. When I try to get her to eat certain things, she brings up my past food transgressions. As in, “Savta said you loved Kraft Dinner when you were my age..” or lovely tidbits like, “Savta said that you always refused to eat meat.” Well….


I can’t complain about my past.  We were raised well and fed even better.  Those Kraft Dinners were at our pleading and probably only served between the ages of 5 and 6. One of those forbidden foods that I remember well were Spaghettios. That ring shaped pasta from a can. It probably would taste awful to me now, but I do remember being a little twerp and enjoying it. Sprinkled with “parmesean” from a can – we gobbled that stuff up.


While wandering the aisles of Trader Joe’s a while back, I spotted some anelletti (ring-shaped) pasta. I knew I had to try making a copycat recipe of the spaghettios…well at least make it better. I vaguely remember Spaghettios being gloopy and had a somewhat sweet & tinny tomato taste. I didn’t want to recreate that part, but wanted to just recreate that warm comfort food aspect I remember. I wish I had my parent’s white vintage Denby bowls with the green leafs. That would really bring the dish home.


Here is what I came up with….nothing gourmet…just an attempt.


Homemade Spaghettios
Ingredients:


Anelletti Pasta – about 1/2 lb.
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2.5 cups of tomato sauce (I used a roasted garlic marinara sauce)
3 tbsp. half & half
parmesean
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used a mixture of cheddar and mozarella)
2 tsp. italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste


Cook pasta in salted, boiling water according to the directions on the package. Cook the pasta until it’s al dente.


In a pot, heat the olive oil and the butter together.


Saute the onion and garlic in the pot. Once soft, add in the tomato sauce. Slowly stir in the rest of the ingredients. Taste test the sauce.  Stir in the pasta.  Serve the pasta with a sprinkling of parmesean.  Enjoy!



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Filed Under: pasta, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , ,

Meatless Monday: Baked Salmon Patties

March 28, 2011 · by ·

So it’s kind of meatless. Does fish count? In searching around through other Meatless Monday recipes, I came across many posts that included fish. I hope you like this.

I make salmon patties about once a month. If I don’t have leftover baked salmon, I like to use the canned salmon from Costco, the Kirkland brand. It’s boneless and skinless and tastes very good.

Baked Salmon Patties
Ingredients:

1 can of salmon or use leftover baked salmon
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. dried, mixed herbs (I like using an Italian seasoning)
1 egg
1 tbsp. horseradish sauce
1/4 cup bread crumbs (or to desired consistency)

Preheat oven to 425.

Spray a baking sheet with oil spray.

Mix up all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Form patties into balls and flatten. I get about six small patties from this mixture. Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Flip and bake for another 5-7 minutes. Enjoy!

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Filed Under: fish, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , ,

Couscous and White Bean Salad

March 28, 2011 · by ·

When shabbat comes, I like making a variety of salads. I love looking at the assorted colors on my table. It’s just pretty, and it tastes good too. I had the chance to get to the vegetable market during the day this week. It’s a rare opportunity. With the crazy weather around the world, the vegetables and pricing have been all over the place. Green peppers are $2/lb, while the usually expensive colorful peppers are now .99/lb. My favorite veggies were all pretty cheap this week. Love when that happens.

One of the salads we enjoyed with this past shabbat lunch was a couscous and white bean salad. It’s an easy salad to make. I prepare the couscous on Friday before shabbat starts and then add the rest of the ingredients Saturday morning when everybody is in shul. Like all of my dishes, it can be tweaked. Use the veggies that make the most sense to you.

Couscous and White Bean Salad
Ingredients:
1.5 cups whole wheat couscous
1.75 cups boiling water
2 tsp. olive oil 1 can of white beans, drained
1/2 cup orange pepper, chopped
1/2 cup yellow pepper, chopped
3/4 cup seedless cucumber, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1 shallot, minced

Dressing Ingredients:
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
3 cloves of garlic, mashed
2 tsp. honey
a couple of squeezes of fresh lemon juice
salt
fresh ground pepper

In a bowl, pour the boiling water over the couscous and cover for 5-8 minutes. Uncover the couscous and fluff with a fork.

Sprinkle in the two teaspoons of the olive oil.

Mix in the various chopped veggies.

In a separate bowl, whisk up the dressing ingredients. Mix the dressing into the salad and let the salad sit for about an hour before serving. Enjoy!

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Filed Under: Salads, Side Dish · Tagged: , , ,

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

March 24, 2011 · by ·

Cooookies! Did someone say cookies?

I took a day off work today to get some appointments out of the way, and then lo and behold, two of those three appointments got cancelled. Doctors get emergencies? Who knew? Anyhow, I had lots of time to kill and no plans.

I got my shabbat shopping and a Target run out of the way and I still felt like I had endless time. I decided to knock out the shabbat desserts. I first made an apple crisp. Easy peasy, right. But then I had leftover flour, brown sugar, and oats. They are useful to have around, but not in the amounts I had. A cup or two here and there. These leftover ingredients screamed cookies to me. I love a good oatmeal cookie. Always, always with chocolate chips and never with raisins. I also had some peanut butter at the bottom of the jar begging to be folded in to the cookie. Voila! The cookie was born!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Pareve)
Ingredients:

1 cup earth balance or butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
3 1/2 cups oats
2 tbsp. coconut milk or regular milk
3/4 cup peanut butter – creamy or nutty would work
1 + bag of chocolate chips (I had a 1/2 cup or so chocolate chips left in a bag begging to be used)

Preheat the oven to 360.

Cream the butter with the sugars until smooth.

Add the vanilla, cinnamon, and eggs. Beat some more.

Add the rest of the ingredients slowly, one by one. Mix well with an electric beater or mixer.

Drop by rounded spoonful on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for around 8-9 minutes for yummy chewy cookies.

Enjoy!

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Filed Under: baked, cookies, Dessert · Tagged: , , , , ,

Crab Spring Rolls: Well, actually Krab (Surimi)

March 23, 2011 · by ·

Some people window shop for their next pair of Jimmy Choos or their next evening dress. Don’t get me wrong…I do that too. I also window shop our next meal. When I pass by an interesting menu, I get ideas for what to cook next. So much of what is out there that is tasty, is not served at kosher restaurants. I get tired of the bland and boring options out in kosherland. So I wander the ethnic restaurants paired up with ethnic grocery stores to find kosher options for my home.

I love a good Spring/Summer roll when I’m in an Asian restaurant. I love the fresh flavors inside. It’s so easy to make. You can change up some of the veggies, if you’d like. Play with it a bit. I don’t know why it’s never on kosher restaurant menus, but it’s so good and the ingredients are readily available.


Crab Spring Roll (Using the Surimi Sticks)
Ingredients:

Spring Roll wrappers (found in your asian food section, or in a Vietnamese or Thai store)
Bean thread noodles or rice vermicelli noodles, cooked
Surimi Sticks
Avocado, sliced
Seedless Cucumner – sliced lengthwise
Red or Green leaf lettuce
Cilantro, chopped


Prepare all your filling ingredients.

Soak the spring roll wrappers in warm water. Soak one at a time. They are very easy to rip and hard to handle until you get the hang of it. Soak it for about 30 seconds, until the wrapper has a soft, leathery texture.

Lay the wrapper on a plate or cutting board. Fill the center of it with your filling, like you would do with sushi. Leave space around it to allow for folding.

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Fold the bottom edge towards the center, and then fold the top edge down. Roll the wrapper jelly roll style. Be gentle and squeeze like ingredients in like you would with sushi. Slice the roll at an angle and serve with dipping sauce of your choice. I like mine dipped in peanut sauce.

Enjoy!

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Filed Under: Gluten Free, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Meatless Monday: Veggie and Cheese Quesadillas

March 21, 2011 · by ·

As you all know, I love easy recipes. I also demand tasty recipes. Emphasis on the flavor. Anything that works out well that my kids will eat is extra special in my book. I have two daughters, and as far as eating habits go – they are night and day. One kid is extremely adventurous, and the other one is very limited. It can get frustrating…for me. I have two rules when it comes to dinner time. One is that the food must be tasted. Even if it’s “weird” and “funny looking.” We often have surprise hits with the picky kid. The second rule, is that the food must be balanced. Dinner is not just the pasta. There has to be a veggie and a protein included in the meal.

One meal that works in our house are quesadillas. I always have tortillas and cheese lying around. It is one of those meals that can be a “build-your-own.” There is no right or wrong recipe for this. Use whatever is lying around the house. The kids like it because they can pick what they want to go in to their quesadilla. My daughter might choose a totally tame one made up of just egg and cheese, and us adults will opt for a more sophisticated variety.

I whipped up a veggie and cheese quesadilla tonight, with a bit of soy sausage thrown in for protein. Fast, easy, and tasty! Hope you like it.

Veggie and Cheese Quesadillas (serves 4)

2 tsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
1 small onion
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
5 baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1/2 ground soy sausage or 1/2 cup black beans (use what you have)
2 tsp. cumin
salt (to taste)
1.5 cups of shredded monterey jack/cheddar blend
4 tortillas

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes.

Add in the rest of the veggies and beans or soy sausage. Cook for 5 minutes. Add in the salt and the cumin. Do a taste test. Cook veggie mixture until veggies are softened.

Remove the mixture to a bowl and wipe out the pan

Back in the saute pan, heat a drop of oil or spray the pan with the oil spray.

In a tortilla, place some of the cheese over half of the tortilla. Put 1/4 of the mixture on top and sprinkle with more cheese. The cheese works like a glue. Fold the tortilla over and transfer to the hot pan. Cook for a few minutes and then flip. Cook on the other side for a couple minutes or until desired crispness. Cut into wedges and serve.

We devoured ours with some rice and veggies. Enjoy!

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Filed Under: Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , ,

Glazed Corned Beef with Potatoes

March 21, 2011 · by ·

Another shabbat dish with no pictures for proof.

We did eat this and it was good.

And if a vegan eats this hunk of meat, you know it’s really good.

There’s a custom to eat smoked meats on Purim. I have no idea why or where this custom came from, but I can’t complain. I liked smoked meat and it results in discounts on corned beef in our local kosher market. Coincidentally, it times out well for the custom of corned beef on St. Patricks day. This year it played out really well, with St. Patricks Day falling a day away from Purim. Of course my purchase had nothing to do with either holiday, it just worked out that way. I saw corned beef. I drooled a bit. I saw it was on sale, and in the basket it went.

I am not a boiled meat kind of gal. I like some oomph thrown into everything I eat. Glazed corned beef it is. It just works.
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Glazed Corned Beef
Ingredients:

1 – 3 lb corned beef (or more, it’s what they had that fit in my budget)
1 large onion, cut up
2 potatoes, chunked
pickling spice – 2 tbsp

Mustard Glaze:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 ketchup

In a large pot of water, boil the corned beef with the potatoes, onions, and a cheesecloth pouch filled with pickling spice.

Cook the corned beef in the water for a bit over an hour.

Preaheat oven to 350

In a small mixing bowl, whisk up the glaze ingredients.

Transfer the cooked corned beef to a roasting pan. Lay the potatoes and onions around it. Pour the glaze over the roast. Cover the pan with foil and cook in oven for a half hour. Uncover and cook for another 20-25 minutes. Slice meat against the grain. Serve with cabbage or egg noodles or whatever you are in the mood for. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Dinner, meat · Tagged: , ,
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