Start a Fiesta in the Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken

One of my favorite types of food is anything Mexican. This chicken dish has all the great flavors of Mexican cooking and is a dish that I don't mind taking short cuts with. I use jarred salsa, frozen corn, canned black beans, and lots of fresh veggies. This is also a recipe that the amounts and ingredients aren't crucial. You can add what you like or what you have in the fridge, sticking to the Mexican flavors. It's also a  good way to use up some extra peppers and tomatoes that might be a little soft.

This is an easy go to dish that defiantly looks and taste impressive and delicious. There is nothing like leaving an assortment of ingredients in a slow cooker in the morning and coming home to an amazing aroma of a home cooked Mexican meal. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds of chicken cutlets fresh or frozen

16 ounce jar salsa

1 Poblano pepper seeded and 1/2" chopped

1 red pepper seeded and 1/2" chopped

1 large red onion 1/2" chopped

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

16 ounce bag frozen corn 

15.5 ounce can of black beans drained and rinsed

1/2 lime juiced

1/2 cup chopped Cilantro

1 teaspoon ancho chili powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon mild chili powder

salt and papper

First prepare all your ingredients your fresh ingredients. Chop the peppers, red onion and tomatoes. The pablano pepper can have some heat so wash your hands well after chopping.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker, the salsa, then layer the rest of the ingredients. cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 6 hours.

Cilantro Lime rice

A great anchor and accompaniment for the Mexican Chicken is a rice with the fresh flavors of lime and cilantro. I like to use a Basamati rice, and prepare that as it says on the package. I would make about a cup and a half of dry rice and add this to it when the rice is fully cooked. The juice and zest of 1/2 a lime, about 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, a pinch of saffron, salt and pepper. Mix it up.

When you remove the chicken from the slow cooker you will see it is tender, and full of all those amazing flavors. Garnish with some more fresh cilantro.

Happy Cinco de Mayo.

Enjoy!!

Cooking Kugel!!

Broccoli Tomato Potato Kugel

I wanted to try and change up a traditional potato kugel, so I figured broccoli and tomatoes go great together in an omelette so why not in a kugel.  I made this as one of my sides for the Sedar, but it could be a good addition for during the week to any dinner dairy or meat. Not a bad way to combine a veggie and a carb.

Ingredients:

1 medium white onion chopped

olive oil

3 cloves of garlic grated

3 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes 

6 eggs

1/2 cup matzo meal

2 cups Broccoli florets cut 3/4" -1"

5-6 small Roma or Pearl tomatoes about 2" in diameter sliced 1/4"thick 

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Peel, cube and boil potatoes till they are tender.  Saute onions in olive oil till they are soft add the grated garlic and continue to cook for another minute or so, you should smell the fragrant  of the garlic.

Steam the broccoli till its cooked but still firm.

Mash the potatoes, and mix in eggs one at a time. Add Matzo meal and mix well. Stir in broccoli and onions, add salt and pepper.

Grease either a 10" x 10" or 9" x 13" pan with the olive oil. pour 1/2 of the batter in the greased pan. Arrange a layer sliced tomatoes then cover with remaining batter. dress Top with a few small pieces of tomato slices. 

Bake for 50 minutes till top is golden brown.

Serve it up to your friends and family!

 

 

 

My nephew William is always a good taster.

Enjoy!!

A Sweet Treat!

Passover Fruit & Nut Cookies

Some times you just need a little sweet, and this is a great way to get through the eight long days of Passover. It is a cookie with a nice crisp outside but soft middle. Filled with an enticing hint of salt and sweet.

This is a recipe I cut out of a magazine many years ago, that I have tweaked and transformed into one of my traditional Passover treats . It  also happen's to be one of my Mom's favorite's. Use what ever dried fruits and nuts you like, but I think a good balance is 3 dried fruits and 1 nut. They would be good prepared with dates, dried mango, golden raisins, pistachios, pecans or macadamia nuts the combinations are endless. I make them with margarine so they are parve, but they would be delish with butter too. This is how I made them this year.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups cake meal

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup margarine room temperature

1 cup brown sugar packed

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut flakes

3/4 cup dried Turkish apricots chopped

3/4 cup dried cranberries chopped

3/4 cup dried pears chopped

1 cup slivered almonds

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper. This way you can have two in the oven while you are scooping the dough for the other two sheets.

In a medium bowl mix together the cake meal, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl with a stand up mixer or a hand held mixer to the margarine add the brown sugar and white sugar on medium speed till smooth, gradually add eggs mix till smooth. while you are mixing add in the flour mixture on low speed till it is totally blended. Mix in the coconut , apricots, cranberries, pears and almonds.

With a spoon drop the cookies about 1 1/4 inches in diameter.  These cookies don't raise much from when when they bake, so pretty much how you drop them is how they will look They are a rustic looking cookie treat.

Bake 13-15 minutes till they are a nice golden brown.

Makes about 54 cookies. Have a Zissen Pesach!!

Enjoy!!

Prepping for Passover!

Israeli Salad

great for Passover

This salad is a family favorite, and a dish I can usually recruit my kids into helping me make. It is a refreshing, light and parve salad traditionally served in Israel. I use the classic veggies but this can also be your base to add other ingredients like chick peas, quinoa, black beans, corn and avocados. It can be served as a side dish or breakfast with some farmer cheese and an over easy egg.

It is important that the size of the chopped veggies are consistent, so that one flavor doesn't over power. I like to use my Great Find #3, the vidalia onion chopper to make this salad. It makes the cubes a nice uniform size of 1/2". It also comes out great just using a knife.

I am a big cilantro fan so I often substitute the parsley for cilantro. either works well, it 's a matter of preference.

Ingredients:

3 medium tomatoes

1 bell pepper red, yellow or orange cored & seeded

1 English cucumber peeled & seeded

2 scallions

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

1 lemon juiced

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

salt & pepper 

Using the chopper or a knife, cut the tomatoes into 1/2 cubes. Be sure to slice the tomatoes to the same size width as the same size width as the chopper squares so the pieces come out in cubes.

click on photo to purchase Vidallia onion chopper on Amazon

Cut peppers into 1/2" cubes as well.

click on photo to purchase Vidallia onion chopper on Amazon

Scoop out the seed in the cucumber. 

If you are using the chopper, cut cucumber into 1/2" thick slabs first so that cubes come out square. or else chop with a knife

Add Parsley, lemon juice, salt & pepper, and toss. It's good severed room temp or cold.

Enjoy!!

Great Find #3

Vidalia Onion Chopper

This is one of my most used and favorite kitchen gadgets. This chopper makes uniformed cubes small about 1/4" and a little larger about a 1/2". I use this if I have to chop a lot of ingredients, and for messy veggies like tomatoes. It chops a lot, quick and contains the chopped veggies in the holder. Great for onions less tearing time.

When you use this gadget you have to slice your veggies to the same size as the chopping blade you are using, so all four sides of each cube are the same size,. For instance if you are using the 1/2" cube you would want to slice a round or solid veggie  like a tomato, cucumber or onion into 1/2" slices.

click on photo to purchase Vidallia onion chopper on Amazon

There are many brands that make this gadget, I'm sure they all meet the same needs.

I love to use this for Israeli salad, or pico de gallo. Check out my next post for a nice Israeli Salad!!

Enjoy!

Basting in Balsamic!

Balsamic Grilled Chicken

Scott and I headed into the city to see Carly. When I gave her a choice of what I can bring her a definitive choice was Balsamic Grilled Chicken. One of her favorites.

This is an easy dish to make for a dinner, or great to make ahead to have for lunches for the week. Not many ingredients, and most of them are things that I  have on hand. I like to keep a few fresh herbs in my fridge, usually rosemary, thyme, cilantro and parsley. I keep them each in a separate plastic bag or if I buy them in a plastic box I leave it in that in the produce draw. They usually last 2-3 weeks in my fridge.

To save dishes and to really coat all the chicken I like to mix this marinade and let it sit in a gallon zip top bag. to keep the liquid from spilling out while I am adding the ingredients, I prop the bag over a  glass jar or vase. Then I have two hands to add everything and take pictures.

I usually grill inside so I like to use a grill pan or a double burner grill pan. They both work great and leave the nice grill marks on the chicken. Also amazing to cook on a gas or charcoal grill.

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken cutlets

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 lemon juiced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

salt & pepper

Enjoy!!

Beat It!!

Roasted Beet and Ginger Salad

This is a recipe I have been making as a side dish at my Passover Seders for years. It is a great parve accompaniment that has a nice fresh flavor from the ginger. I am showing this recipe using both golden and red beets, but it can be made with all red beets. This is a perfect side to make ahead a day or two. As the beets marinate in the dressing the flavors blend nicely. The onions get a sweet pickled flavor and color from the vibrant red beets.

Ingredients:

6 beets washed and trimmed

1 large red onion

1 lemon juiced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard ( if making for Passover Omit the mustard, since the mustard seed is                                              not kosher for Passover)

1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated

1 teaspoon fresh ginger finely chopped

1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper seeded & ribbed finely chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

To roast beets put 3 washed and trimmed beets in the middle of a piece of aluminum foil and pull up sides of foil to make a pouch around the beets. Repeat for other 3 beets. Place in middle rack of oven and roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes till a knife slides into the center of the largest beet smoothly.

Grate Ginger

rib, seed and finely chop jalapeno pepper

finely chop ginger

whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt & pepper

To the dressing add in the ginger and jalapenos,

Let the beets cool. Since the beets stain your skin, it's a good idea to wear gloves. Gently rub off skin. It should come off easily.

Slice the beets, then slice in half to make a half circle.

Thinly slice the red onions.

Toss the dressing , beets, onions, and cilantro.

Enjoy!!

Smokey Salsa!

Roasted Kumato Salsa

This is an amazing smokey flavored rich salsa with a kick. I started making it with these beautiful brown Kumato tomatoes, and have been hooked ever since. I also use a Pablano pepper which some tend to be splicer then others. Both the Pablano and the Kumato can be substituted. You still get that amazing smokey flavor because you are roasting the veggies.

Ingredients:

6 Kumato brown tomatoes small to medium, or plum tomatoes

1 1/2 large red onions 

1 red bell pepper

1 Pablano pepper (can substitute with another bell pepper, red yellow or orange)

1 lime juiced

3/4 cup cilantro ( heaping hand full)

olive oil

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cube Kamato tomatoes , red onions red bell pepper and pablano pepper into 1 inch cubes.

Coat a cookie sheet with olive oil, arrange cubed veggies, drizzle with olive oil, and salt and pepper. 

roast for 45-50 minutes till the veggies start browning and charring on edges.

Scrape veggies and all crispy charred bits that are stuck to the tray into the food processor.

Add cilantro, Lime juice a little more salt and pepper. 

Pulse till roughly chopped you want to have some chunks.

Serve with chips for a great parve appetizer, or on fish or fish tacos.

This salsa is great to make ahead and refrigerate, but best served room temperature.

Enjoy!!

Passover Preview!

Chocolate Covered Matzo Brittle

I thought it would be nice to get a preview on the Passover planning. I have a few of my favorite recipes to share, and the best place to start is with dessert. Chocolate melted with butter and brown sugar, Yum! This is a recipe I've been making for Passover for years. It's only a few ingredients, easy and pretty quick to make start to finish. I know it is a favorite of my nieces Julia & Elizabeth which makes me Too Happy!

 

 

 

Ingredients:

1 cup ( 2 sticks) Margarine or butter

1 cup brown sugar

1  bag of chocolate chips 10 ounces

8 - 10 boards of Matzo

Toppings if you like: dried cranberries and apricots chopped, coconut flakes, chopped pecans

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cover 2 cookie sheets with foil. This tends to get a little messy and the foil makes the clean up much easier.

Line the sheets with the boards of Matzo end to end covering the cookie sheets. If you need to break some to fill in the spaces do so till both pans are covered with Matzo.

In a sauce pan over medium heat melt margarine or butter depending if you want to make this parve or dairy, add brown sugar and boil for 3 minutes constantly stirring.

Pour the brown sugar and margarine mixture, distributing it evenly over the Matzo so that the boards are all evenly covered. you might need to help it along with a spatula.

Bake for 5 minutes, the mixture will start bubbling on the Matzo.

Pour chocolate chips over the hot brown sugar and margarine mixture. Let the chocolate chips melt a little, then start smoothing the chocolate chips with a butter knife or this spatula, till the Matzo is totally covered with chocolate.

If you want to add toppings, sprinkle them on now while chocolate is still soft and they will stick in the chocolate.

Refrigerate for an hour. The chocolate will harden. Break it up, and store it in an airtight container with a lid. It will last the eight days of Passover,  if it's not eaten up by the second Seder.

Enjoy!!

I'll Take Two!

Shari's Kadima Hamantashen

This is a a recipe that I have had since I'm about 13 years old. I made them the for the first time at a Kadima youth group meeting at the Wantagh Jewish Center, with my good friend's still Bonnie & Gail. 

It is a a sweet soft dough that comes out delicious every time. The original recipe calls for margarine, so they can be parve, but they are just as delicious with butter if you want a dairy Humi .I have experimented with a bunch of different fillings, and I am going to show you the crowd pleasers and my favorites.

Over the years I have shared this recipe, many times I still have my original copy which was printed in a ditto machine, with many stains and wear to show how loved it is.

Ingredients for the Dough:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup margarine or butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg 

2 Tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling:

Apricot Jam, Raspberry Jam with seeds, Prune Butter (Lekvar), Chocolate spread (I Like Hershey's), Chocolate chips, Marshmallow Fluff, Creamy Peanut Butter

This recipe makes 25-27 hamantashen when you roll out your dough to 1/8 " thick and use 2 3/4" circles. I usually double or triple the recipe.

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.

Mix flour , baking powder & salt.

Cream Margarine, sugar egg, orange juice & vanilla. Add flour mixture and blend till the dough starts forming into clumps. I have mixed in a food processor and a mixer. Both work great.

Remove dough from mixer and form into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a half hour. This dough can be made ahead and refrigerated . Technically I don't know what this does to the dough, but I find it easier to work with and less sticky.

Generously flour the dough, both sides of the dough disk and the rolling pin before rolling. 

Roll out dough to as close as you can to 1/8" thick. With the mouth of a glass or a round cookie cutter that is well floured cut as many circles as you can, and remove excess dough around circles. You will repeat this step till there is no dough left.

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Fill:

apricot & raspberry jam

chocolate spread & chocolate chips

chocolate spread & marshmallow fluff

Pinch:

Pinch corners to form triangle.

Bake:

Use baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone liner. 

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Peanut butter & chocolate spread

peanut butter & raspberry jam   my favorite & peanut butter & marshmallow fluff

Any and every combination is good, use what you like the best!!

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Happy Purim!!

Enjoy!

Spring Ahead with a Crispy Shaved Fennel Salad!

Shaved Fennel Salad

This is a great light go to salad. It is good on it's own as a side salad, and it is good served in a one bowl meal with  pulled Brisket or chicken. The fennel has a naturally pepper flavor, and also is known to have the slight taste of licorice. It is bright and has a ton of great flavors. I like to combine it with the brussel sprouts and celery , all hearty vegetables that won't wilt right away when dressed. This salad you can make a few hours before you are serving.

Ingredients: 1 fennel bulb, about 10 brussel sprouts, 6 to 8 celery stalks with leaves, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice , 1/4 cup olive oil, salt & pepper

In a food processor with slicing blade slice trimmed brussle sprouts, and celery stalks with leaves.

Cut Fennel bulb in half, cut out core, trim off top and bottom of the bulb.

Slice the fennel with a mandolin for a thinner slice, or a thick shave. The Fennel being the heartiest of the three vegetables can hold up to a thinner slice, this also gives the salad a softer feel, instead of a slaw consistency

Add chopped cilantro. Combine the lemon juice, olive oil salt and pepper. and toss in salad. The salad does soak up the lemony flavor, so let it sit and then taste, you might need to add a drop more dressing. If not drizzle with olive oil before serving.

Too Happy it's Spring!!

Bring On The Barbecued Brisket!

Barbecued Marinaded Brisket 

This Brisket leans away from the traditional brisket. It's sauce is a hearty and sweet barbecue sauce. It comes out soft and tender, with some nice crisp edges.It is easy to make and comes out amazing every time. 

Ingredients:

3 yellow onions sliced about 1/4" wide &  5 pounds of Brisket, I like to use two 2.5 pound pieces, they cook more evenly and it is easier to handle, but you can also use one larger piece.

Marinade: 

1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar, 1 cup Ketchup, 1 Bottle Chili sauce, 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard,      I Tablespoon Molasses, 1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce, 3 Tablespoons Chili powder, 1 yellow onion 1/2" chopped, 3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar, 3 cloves of Garlic grated, 1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper, Kosher Salt & Pepper

Arrange sliced onions on the bottom of a roasting dish sliced. Generously season Brisket on both sides with Kosher Salt and Pepper, and place on top of sliced onions. Mix together all the ingredients of the marinade. Pour marinade over brisket. Let Marinade covered with foil, at least two hours up to overnight in the fridge. The longer the better.

Preheat oven 325 degrees. Place brisket tightly covered  with foil in the oven, baste every 1/2 hour. If using 2.5 lb pieces after the 2 hours remove the foil and keep in oven for another hour. If using one 5 lb brisket you might want to keep in covered for three hours and then keep in oven uncovered for another hour. The brisket will brown and crisp in places one you take the foil off.

Remove from oven and let it rest. Slice brisket and serve with the marinaded sliced onions, and extra sauce from pan.

Enjoy!!