Easy Erev Shabbat Meals - Winter

Here are 10 of our family favorites that are really easy to make right from oour family recipes book! They are "unique" and tasty, which makes them special for Shabbat, while still being easy for momma to make! Now its like you just came over for Erev Shabbat at our place. See how the Internet makes the world a little smaller. :-)

Whiley Potatoes
When I was a girl in Michigan, there was a small take out resturant that was famous for thier Baked Potatoes. They were HUGE and they piled toppings on them. Our family favorite was the Whiley Potatoe. My mom learned how to copy it and I still do today, it now one of our family favorites. I wonder if that resturant is still in business today??? I like to serve it wiht a salad.

Preheat the oven to 375F

1. Scrub a batch of Russet Potatoes and prick them with a fork all around the potato. Rub potaoes down generaously with oil (I like olive oil) and sprinkle generously with course sea salt. Put on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour give or take depending on the size of the taters(or until fork tender).

2. Chop an onion small and saute it in a hot skillet with some oil. When the onion becomes translucent add 1-3 pounds of ground beef (depending on the size of your family and how many taters you are making) and brown. Drizzle beef with Worchestershire Sauce, than add a can or two of Cream of Mushroom Soup* mix well. Keep warm until time to serve.

3. When the tater come our split them, and generously pour meat sauce over top and put a generous amount of shredded cheddar on top.


**Most Commercial Cream of Mushroom Soup have additives and preservative in them...please be conscious of what you my buy or make your own. If you go with a can, I recommend Amy's Cream of Mushroom Soup. It is semi condensed, not like most which is fully condensed. If you use theother kind you might want to add a glurg of milk to your skillet.


Tex-Mex Chicken (Crock)
This is delicious served over rice, with corn chips, or cornbread or with tortillas. Also very tasty over salad like a taco salad, with chips and sour cream. It is so so so easy! Also good to serve with shredded chaddar and sour cream.


1 bag of frozen corn
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
2C of Salsa (16 oz jar)
6 boneless breasts


Put all ingrediants in the crock, cook on low 7-8 hours or low 5 hours. You an even put frozen chicken in the crock and it is ready at the same time!


(This is also something I like for our main mid-day meal on Shabbat.)


Stuffed Red Pepper Soup
1 pound of gr beef
2 qrt water (8 cups)
1 qrt tom juice (or tom sauce)
3 sweet red bell peppers, chopped
1 1/2C Chili Sauce
1C uncooked brown rice
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 large onion, diced
2 tsp browning sauce (optional)
2 garlic cloves, minced

In a large pot, brown beef, add remaining ingrediants and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 1 hour or until rice is tender.

Makes 1 gallon of soup.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
My husband grunts with manly satifaction when I make my meat sauce and it is SO easy! The key is my premade Italian Sausage Seasoning Mix! I just brown a couple pounds of ground beef and add the seasonings and pour canned (or jar) organic tomatoes sauce over it and heat through. This can be done over spaghetti (my preference) or mixed in a casserole dish to be heated later as a make-ahead dish. You must try it! We are hooked!


Salmon w/Pineapple Sauce
This is the recipe that put Salmon on the map for my family. They never liked it before. They LOVE this recipe and it opened the doors for me to prepare it in other ways as time went on.

1 Salmon Side

Marinade: 1T Maple Syrup, 1T Teriyaki Sauce(I Like Soy Vay), 1T Pinapple Juice, 1 tsp (+) Fresh Ginger

Sauce: 1C Pineapple chuncks, 1tsp honey, 1/2-1tsp salt

1. Mix Marinade
2. Put Salmon in Gallon Ziplock or shallow pan and pour marinade in- let sit for 1-24 hours.
3. Prepare sauce by cooking all ingrediants in a small saucepan on low for about 5 minutes.
4. Bake, broil or grill Salmon about 3-4 minutes on each side. (I have never flipped mine)

Lemon Coconut Chicken
Preheat 375F

6-8 pieces of chicken
4T butter
1/2C Shredded Coconut
3/4C finely Crushes Wheat Crackers (or bread crumbs)
1-1 1/2tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dr. ginger
2 eggs

In 9x13 pan, melt butter in oven. Remove from oven when melted. In a shallow dish mix together coconut, crackers, zest, salt and ginger. In another shallow dish - beat eggs. Dredge each piece of chicken in egg, than pressinto crumbs to coat. Arrange breaded chicken into the 9x13 pan on top of the melted butter in a single layer. Bake 1 hour - turning over at the 30 minute mark.

Day Ahead Dijon Chicken
(We double this for our family.)

4 boneless pieces of chicken
1/2C honey
1/2C dijon mustard
1T curry
2T Soy Sauce (or Braggs Liquid Aminos)

Mix all 4 sauce ingrediants into a 2 qrt baking dish. Add meat, coat well, cover and refridgerate overnight. Bake covered @ 350 for 1 hour (or 375 for a little less). Uncover and and baste with saucein the pan and cook (uncovered) for an additional 15 minutes.

Serve over buttered rice with sauce spooned over top.

Baked Apricot Chicken
3T + 1T of Apricot Preserves
2T Prepared Mustard
1T Honey
1/2C Bread Crumbs or Crushed Corn Flakes
2T Flour
4-5 Boneless Chicken
1/2 tsp garlic powder

preheat oven 375F and grease baking dish.

Combine 3T preserves, mustard, honey, crumbs, and flour and mix well. (It is thick) Set aside.

Arrange Chicken in a the pan, sprinkle with garlic powder and spread 1T arpicot preserves on top. Now spread, the apricot mixture on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Turn broiler on High for 1 minute to crisp before removing from the oven.

Recipe Serves 4 (We double it)

Marinated Beef
This can be used in so many ways. Served over rice with steamed peas or broccoli. Tossed into pasta with steamed green beans or serve over a salad. Can be served, warm, room temp or cold (on salad). We've used it all these ways! You marinate it ahead, so it helps releave the pressure on Erev too! You can use nay thins strips of beef. I have sliced up a serlion roat thinly and prepard it this way too. I have even made jerkey with this marinade!

2-3 lbs of beef, sliced into thin strips
3/4C olive oil
1/2C soy Sauce (or Bragg's Liquid Aminos)
1/4C honey
2T apple cider vinegar
1/2 onion, chopped (or dried onion flakes to taste)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2tsp dr. ginger (2 T Fresh)

Mix sauce together and pour over beefin shallow dish, make sure all is covered and let sit in fridge for 1-2 days.

White Chili (Crock)
This is a staple meal in our home in the winter. I always serve it to company. It is so easy but so good!

3- 15 oz cans of great northern beans, drained
8 oz chicken breast, shredded
1C onions, chopped
1 1/2C red bell peppers (about 2-3 peppers)
1 small can of chopped gr. chilies
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tsp gr cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dr oregano
2 qrts of chicken broth

Sour Cream, tortilla chips and shredded cheddar to garnish while serving.

1. Combine first 10 ingrediants in crock.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high 4-5 hours

Forget to defrost your chicken? Its OK...essemble this dish with frozen meat and cook as usual! Ladle soup into bowls and serve with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheddar and chips crushed on top.

If you try any of my recipes, please come back and comment on them...It will inspire me to post more!

May You Be Blessed as You Enter Into His Rest!

May your Erev Dinners be filled with love, laughter and satified bellies!

Pineapple Stir Fry

MSF's Pineapple Stir Fry

I am pleased to share this with you. It was a hit and has many variation possibilities! It is colorful and easy to make. The kids will love it! This is a wonderful one pot meal or a delightful side to grilled meats and great to take to group meals! It is also a great way to use up left over rice...just add a little bit of water or more moisture if your rice is coming out of the fridge, this rehydrate it and keeps you from getting that hard left over rice disappointment.

This is an intuitive recipe that does not require measurements.

Cooked (and preferable soaked) brown rice about 2-4 cups

Fresh Pineapple*, cut in chunks

Carrots, sliced

Onion, chopped

Red Bell Pepper, Chopped

Fresh Garlic, minced (1-2 tsp)
Shredded Coconut

sea salt to taste (optional)

1. Put some coconut oil in the bottom of a large skillet or wok, set the heat to med- high to get your skillet hot and toss in your onions and carrots and saute unit your onions, start to get translucent.

2. Add your bell pepper and garlic, cook for a couple minutes more until your pepper starts to soften slightly, stirring frequently.

3. Add your cooked rice, peas and shredded coconut, mix well and drizzle your pineapple juice over top if you have it. (a lemon or lime would be very nice if you are using fresh pineapple and have no juice, but this is optional) Turn frequently to heat through, salt to taste. (You may turn heat down to warm and cover to make sure the whole batch is heated through and address you other tasks for the meal.)

*Or good canned pineapple is great - USE the juice! Or dehydrated pineapple, reconstituted - use that pineapple water! YUM!

* Delightful variations to consider:

Add cooked chicken (or cook the chicken in oil as step one and proceed with the remaining steps in order)

Add cooked ground beef or thinly sliced beef ( or cook the beef in as step one and proceed with remaining step in order)





Toss in a can of coconut milk for moisture and creamy texture.





Add fresh minced ginger or sub the fresh minced ginger for the garlic





Frozen mixed veggies can be easily subbed for fresh for a fast meal.





A small squirt of Braggs Liquid Aminos instead of salt

By the way....Don't forget to where your protective kitchen eye wear, experimenting can be dangerous! :-)

Vegan Pate' - Who Knew?

I have never been fond of Pate' but thought I would give this one a "whirl". It is from The Raw Food Gourmet and I was so pleasantly surprised! This one has made it to the family recipe book!

Once you soak and sprout the seeds, it a zip to make. Its nice to have on hand for Shabbat or lunches during the week, because is it make ahead and easy to use different ways. It is tasty just as it is, but she also has recipes to use it in Raw Lasagna, Chilie Relennos, or Asian Style by adding other seasonings and ingredients. I have used it "plain" to dip veggies and crackers and have stuffed peppers with it and warmed them in the dehydrator. VERY TASTY. She also explains that it stores up to 2 weeks in the fridge, and can be made with any kind of nut and is easily adaptable with other seasonings. I am looking forward to playing with variations too.

Pate'

3C sunflower seeds. (Soak in water for 8-12 hours, drain and sprout for 2 hours)

1C lemon juice
1/2C chopped green onions
1/4-1/2C raw tahini
1/4C Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1 small red onion coarsely chopped
4-6T coarsely chopped parsley
2-3 med cloves or garlic
1/2 tsp dr cayenne pepper
pepper to taste

When seeds are ready, put all ingredients in a large food processor and chop until uniformly blended into a smooth paste.

Adjust seasoning to taste if needed.

Garlic gets stronger as it sits.

Mks 7-8 C servings

Asian Lettuce Wraps

This was a delicious recipe I got from my friend Dawn J. SOOO Yummy; It's now a family favorite!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Sauce: (premix in small bowl and set aside)
3T grated fresh Ginger
2T Tamari (Soy Sauce)
1T Rice Vinegar
1T Rice Wine
1T Lemon Juice
1T Rapedura (Sucanaut)
1/3 tsp dr. garlic powder

The Wrap/Salad:
Coconut Oil
2# ground turkey (or gr beef)
2 carrots, shredded
1 red bell pepper, diced
2C water chestnuts, sliced
4 green onions, sliced (or dr. chives)
2 dozen large lettuce leaves (or spring roll wrappers or cabbage leaves)

1. Brown meat in skillet w/ oil, than add carrot; cook a few more minutes.
2. Add peppers; cook unitl desired tenderness (crisp tender preferred)
3. Add sauce and water chestnuts, cook about 2 minutes more.
4. Serve with large lettuce leaves as wraps or on a bed of lettuce like a salad.

* May sub any meat, vegies, tofu or tvp
* May stretch by adding in cooked rice at the end or serving with rice or other grain.
* Mat sub 1T each of Rice wine and Rice vinegar for 2T Ricewine Vinigar.. In a pinch you could sub white vinegar and white wine...but it won't be as good. :-)

The Delightful Flavor of Fresh Ginger

Here are few delicious recipes to get you started using fresh ginger or add to your list of favorites. You can find it in the produce section of most grocery stores. It is a tan colored root. You can just break off a small piece of it, than peel the paper like skin off with a veggie peeler (like you would a potato or carrot) than grate it with a hand grater or a food chopper or a sharp knife. (I like to use a micro plane) Fresh Ginger is a lively addition to so many dishes and is so good for you! It also comes pre-minced in a tube which is very handy and keeps longer, so you can have it on hand. Fresh ginger tastes different than dried. It is sweeter and lighter, where as the dried is stronger and spicer.

Ginger Carrot Salad
This was a yummy salad that I whipped up when my husband's family was visiting. We had been hiking the property and enjoying the spring weather when I realized I had not given lunch a thought and I had 12 people who's hunger was quickly mounting. The measurments here are a guess, because I just tossed it together and gave it the "finger test". I suggest you do the same. :-) (I am cutting it in half for the blog, so I am going to say it will feed 6 people as a side dish.) We served this beside and inside turkey wraps (with sweet pea sprouts). It was quite good!

1lb bag Carrots, shredded (I used baby carrots)
1-2 Apples, chopped (I used pink lady, but gala, braeburn or fuji would be very similar.) No need to peel.
a hand full of Raisins
2-3 tsp fresh Ginger
about 2-3T Mayonaise
juice of 1 Lime
1-2 T raw Honey

Mix it all together and serve immediatly.

(This gets soupy as it sits so it is best assembled and eaten immediatly for maximum freshness. If you want to make it ahead, shred your carrots, chop apples and squeeze the lime over them and toss to keep the apple from oxydizing; than add the raisins. Mix the sauce seperatly and store it in a jar. Toss together right before serving.)
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Asian Ginger Dressing
Once you start making your own salad dressings...you'll start to wonder why you ever bought the bottled ones! You can save your store bought jars or just use a pint size Mason jar. (Thats what I do.) Home made dressings can also be made at a fraction of the cost with premium ingrediants and freshness; And the best part is that they tend to help you eat more glorious greens and raw vegies! This is one of my favorites and it always gets rave reviews.

This dressing has many flavors coming through it, with ginger only being one...you don't have to be a "ginger lover" to really appreciate this dressing. This is also tasty as a merinade for chicken, or used to dress cole slaw (instead of the typical white sauce).

3 cloves of Garlic, minced
2T minced fresh Gingerroot
1/2C Olive Oil
1/4C Dark Sesame Oil*
1/3C Rice Vinegar
1/4C Soy Sauce
3T raw Honey**
1/4C Water

Put all ingrediants in a pint jar and mix.

Shake before serving. Makes 20 servings - store in fridge.

*There are two kinds of sesame oil, dark and light. The dark is a very dark brown in color and this is used to flavor dishes. It is rich and delicious. Light sesame oil is a shade similar to other typical cooking oils and has a slight sesame flavor, but used more as a cooking oil (much like olive oil or grapeseed, etc) because the flavor is very subtle. There is a big difference in how it affects your recipe's flavor.
**If your honey is cold and thick, just add hot water in the recipe to disolve than mix. Let it cool.
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Maple Salmon with Pinapple Sauce
This is a recipe I got from Beth Holland (Bread for Life, cookbook series). My husband doesn't care for salmon, but he actually raves about this dish and asks for seconds. He said it beats any resturaunt he has ever tried.

(serves 4)

1 Salmon Side

Marinade:
1T Maple Syrup
1T Garlic Teriyaki Sauce (or regular teriyaki with 1 tsp fresh minced garlic)
1T Pineapple Juice
1tsp Fresh Ginger

Sauce:
1C Pinapple Chuncks
1tsp Honey
1/2-1tsp salt

• Mix marinade.



• Put Salmon in zip lock or dish and pour in marinade. Let sit in fridge for 1 to 24 hours.



• Prepare sauce by cooking all ingrediants in a small sauce pan on low for about 5 minutes. Serve cool or warm in a seperate ramican (side dish).



• Bake, broil or grill salmon about 3-4 minutes on each side.

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Miscellanious Ginger Tip: Use crystalized ginger to sweeten your brewed tea. It is soothing to the digestive tract and very pleasing to the pallet!

Asian Meals - Fried Rice

2 eggs
1T butter
1 onion, chopped
3T oil
1c peas
1c corn
1 carrot, grated
1 tsp sugar
1T fish sauce
2T soy sauce
4c cold cooked rice (leftover)

• Scramble egg in butter and set aside.
• In dutch oven saute onion in oil
• Add veggies and cook 3 minutes
• Add sugar and sauces
• Add rice, mix in and cook 5 minutes more, stirring.
• Top with cooked egg.

Serves about 8

Asian Meals- Sesame Noodles

This dish is delicious served warm or fridge cold. This is great summer or make-ahead dish of Thai influence. It's one of our favorite warm weather lunches and often serve it to friends who come over for a play date. I often sub veggies with what I have on hand and it is always good!

1 lb Soba Noodles (thick spaghetti works well!)
1/4C soy sauce (I use Braggs Liquid Aminos)
1/4C maple syrup
3T dark sesame oil
2T dr. chives
1 1/2T sesame seeds
1tsp onion powder
S & P to taste
1/2C diced or shredded coconut
1/2C cashews finely chopped
1C bean sprouts or other veggie

Cook noodles and run cold water over top to cool. Put noodles and veggies in a bowl and set aside.

Mix sauce ingredients together and poor over noodles and veggies and toss.

Asian Meals - Orange Beef Stir Fry

This recipe was the start of my love for recreating Chinese Food at home. So often Chinese restuarants use premade sauces they purchase from resturany supply companies and slap the dishes together in the back like fast food. These sauces have all kinds of dies and preservatives in them. Of course it doesn't have to be that way! That is not how millions of Chinese momma's cook, they do it from scratch with items form the local market. That is what I wanted to do! (In PA I had the luxury of a Asian Market, which I do not any here, but many things can be gotten or made from ingrediants that you can find or sub.) We were spoiled in San Francisco by REAL Asian food, the variety and styles from differnt regions are unbelievable. SF is the best place in America to samplea wide variety of Asian fare! (Even better than NYC in my opinion! I've spent time in both places.) Anyway.....Back to this recipe - You can easily sub chicken or Tofu for the beef. Serve over brown rice with either steamed brocc, peas, green beans, or sliced red or gr. bell peppers. Serves 6.

2lbs (or 3C) flank steak sliced thinly against the grain.
1T oil
1/2 tsp + fresh ginger chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, crushed

*Brown the meat together with the ingrediants above, then set aside and keep warm.

Sauce
1c orange juice
1c broth
1/4c maple sugar, rounded. (you may use brown sugar)
3T soy sauce
1T fr. ginger, chopped
1T fr. garlic, minced
1T+ corn starch
pinch of cayenne
pinch of dr. red pepper flakes (to taste)

* Mix sauce together and pour into beef skillet, bring to boil and until thickened. Add meat and toss to coat. Serve over steamed brown rice.

Asian Meals - Bourban Chicken

I am especially excited about this one, because it is an "original". (However the photo is not. I use brown rice!!) This sauce would also be delicious with Tofu or Beef. Enjoy.

Sauce
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2- 1T fresh ginger
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2C apple juice (or water)
1/3C soy sauce
1/2C bourbon
3/4C + - maple sugar
2T of tomato paste or ketchup
1T apple cider vinegar
1T +- cornstarch

* Mix the above ingredients and set aside.

2 lbs boneless skin less chicken breast, cut into thin strips
oil

* Put oil in skillet and cook chicken, allowing it to form some brown crusties on the shillet if you can.
*Add sauce to cooked met in skillet. Bring to a boil, let simmer to blend ingredients and cook off the alcohol.

Serve over rice with steamed broccoli.
Serves 6-8

*If you don't want to use bourbon you could try cutting the ginger and garlic in half and double the juice.

Asian Meals - Pineapple Chicken

Pineapple Chicken
This is a large dish that serves 8. You need a big skillet to accomidate. You can cut it in half, but keep in mind left overs are tasty! :-)

Marinade
1/4C cornstarch
1/3C oil
1/2C soy sauce
2T sherry
Salt and pepper to taste
5-6 pounds of chicken, cut into pieces

• Mix marinade and pour over chicken pieces and marinate for 30 min+.


• Prepare Sauce by mixing the following ingrediants, and set aside: 2T oil, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1C pineapple juice, 1/4C sherry


• Time to cook: Drain marinade from chicken into the prepared suace and set aside, again.


• Heat skillet with 1/4 C oil and brown chicken for about 5 min. Add 1C pinapple chunks, turn down heat, cover and simmer for 12 min.


• Spoon out chicken and pinappel pieces and keep warm.


• Pour sauce in skillet and bring to a boil and simmer a couple minutes, then pour over chicken and serve.

Serve over rice. (Brown Jasmine rice is especially good.)