Homemade Taco Seasoning

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Tacos are a popular dish for us. However, store bought Taco seasoning is full of chemicals, which are not Feingold Diet friendly. So, this is my most recent recipe for Taco Seasoning.

Ingredients

1 part chili powder

1 part ground cumin

1/2 part garlic powder

1/2 part onion powder

1/8 part oregano, paprika, pepper, and cayenne or hot pepper flakes (according to taste)

What this can look like is

¼ c chili powder and ground cumin

2 T garlic and onion powder

1 t oregano, paprika and pepper

1 t hot pepper flakes, according to your taste

Directions

Mix all the spices together and store in an airtight container.

Homemade Taco Seasoning.docx

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Basic Cholent Recipe

Basic Cholent Recipe

I struggle with making cholent, as I like to have something hot to eat on Shabbat, but, my husband does not. So, my quest for the perfect cholent recipe continues. Below are the basic proportions for traditional cholent, which can be adjusted to suit your family’ tastes. This recipe is easily adjustable for larger and smaller crowds.

Ingredients

2 cups beans: any variety you like. For vegetarian cholent, I recommend lentils or split peas, which will break up and help make a better texture.

2/3 -1.5 cup grain: I recommend barley, but, you can experiment with rice, quinoa or even steel cut or rolled oats. I recommend oats only with vegetarian cholent, as it gives a very nice texture. During Passover, my friend Devorah recommends using frozen potato lakes.

4-6 potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters.

1 large onion, chopped

3 (or more) cloves of garlic, crushed.

3 carrots (can omit if your family doesn’t like carrots. I think that it adds color and a touch of sweetness)

Salt, pepper and paprika. I also sometimes add my chicken spice blend

2 lbs. meat, of your choice. We like flanken, or beef stew. Omit for vegetarian cholent.

Water to cover

Instructions

I place all the ingredients in the pot and let simmer until done. Adjust seasoning and water.

Variation

Sauté onions and garlic with salt and pepper and paprika before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Homemade Chili Powder Recipe

Homemade Chili Powder Recipe

Ingredients

3 T paprika
2 T oregano
1 T cumin
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper (omit or increase to taste)

Instructions

Place all ingredients in container and blend well.

Jam Diagonal Cookies

Jam Diagonal Cookies

I rarely make “dot cookies” as my daughter calls them.  To save time, I tend to make bar cookies.  What is nice about these cookies is that by using different jams, the cookies are more colourful and elegant.

Ingredients

¾ cup oil

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla

2 cups flour

½ t baking powder

½ t salt

1/3 cup jam of your choice

Instructions

Food processor: mix oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and salt until just blended.

Shape dough into logs on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Using the edge of your hand or a wooden spoon, make a depression down the center of each log. I try to make it as deep as possible without making the dough too thin or fragile.  It could be up to ½ inch deep.

Fill the groove in the dough with the jam of your choice.

Bake in 350*F oven for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Cool slightly while still on the cookie sheet and then cut diagonally into ¾ inch slices.  Let cool completely on wire racks.

Tip: I use a serrated bread knife to cut the cookies.

Jam Diagonal Cookies

Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies

This is my basic cookies recipe.  I like to make the dough in advance, and then I bake the cookies when I have time later.

2 eggs

1 c sugar

1/2 c oil

1/4 c lemon juice, water or milk

1 t vanilla

3 c flour

1 t baking powder

Variations: 4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted.

use brown sugar or half brown sugar/white sugar

1 c chopped nuts

1/4 c poppy seeds. Then also add lemon rind and lemon extract and lemon juice

1/2 c chopped apricots with orange rind and crushed pistachios outside

Outside the cookies roll

Roll cookies dough with ground nuts, cornmeal, colored sprinkles, cocoa and sugar or cinnamon sugar

Instructions

Using food processor:

mix eggs, sugar(s), oil, liquid and vanilla.  Add flour and baking power and pulse until just blended.

I use plastic wrap to shape dough into 2 logs which I then wrap in parchment paper and foil and store in freezer until ready to use.  If desired, roll dough in nuts, sprinkles, sugar and cinnamon/cocoa.

Baking instructions

Slice cookies about 1/8 inch thick.  Bake cookies in 375*F oven on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper until lightly golden brown.

I used double insulated cookie sheets to prevent burning.

Here are different ways of baking them:

With this batch I either flattened the dough with a glass that I oiled and then dipped in sugar or used icing sugar.

Forgive the shadow. Icing sugar added.

Yum! Freshly baked.

Sugar Cookies

Fava Bean Salad

Fava Bean Salad

Ingredients

2 c fava beans, dried

3 T fresh parsley

1 t cumin (or more, to taste)

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1-2 fresh lemons, juiced

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

I cooked the fava beans all day in a 1.5 quart crock-pot.  If you want, fava beans can be made in a pressure cooker, 40 minutes to pressure.

When cooked, I added the other ingredients.

To serve

I added olive oil, and fresh tomatoes, and cucumbers.  Goes well with rice too.

This is a more recent picture of this salad:

 

Fava Bean Salad

Zucchini-Potato Kugel

Zucchini-Potato Kugel

Ingredients

3 onions, chopped and sautéed in oil

4 zucchini grated

3 carrots, grated

4-5 potatoes, peeled and grated

7 eggs, whisked

1/2 c matza meal, potato starch, tapioca starch or flour

1 T salt

1 t pepper

Instructions

Pre Heat oven to 350*F and if possible, heat pan, lightly greased.  Mix all ingredients together.  Bake until golden brown.  The trick here is not to add the flour or matza meal until the end.  I have also cooked potatoes and mashed them in with the eggs and then added the grated vegetables with the sautéed onions.  If making gluten free, that makes for a more firm and drier texture, which my family prefers.

Zucchini Potato Kugel

Extra notes:  I just finished making this now. I would say, the more onions, the better.  However, since I didn’t have time, I added onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste and sprinkled paprika on top for color.  Definitely need to add the starch near the end. Be careful not to add too much, or it will give it a gummy texture.

Final product

Lemon Chicken

Lemon Chicken

I recently acquired this recipe and it is a hit every time!

Ingredients 

1 chicken cut in pieces

4 Fresh garlic cloves minced

Fresh lemon juice, about 4 lemons

Salt, and pepper to taste

Parsley — fresh is best but dried works too, about 2 Tablespoons.

Optional: 4-5 potatoes, peeled and quartered.

The original recipe called for olive oil but I have not made it with that.

Instructions 

Preheat oven to 425*F

Season chicken with spices. Place chicken (and potatoes) in large pan. Season with salt and pepper, garlic, lemon juice and parsley.

Cover chicken and place in oven for 45 minutes. Uncover chicken and roast until done.

My husband likes me to sometimes finish off the chicken by broiling it for 2 minutes to give it a nice color and slightly drier texture.

Here are the pictures:

   
 Lemon Chicken

 

Ratatouille

Ratatouille 

  

This is one of my signature dishes that I make all the time. Always a hit!

Ingredients 

1 eggplant 

1 onion, chopped 

16 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 pepper, I prefer yellow or orange, chopped 

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, including juice

Salt, pepper, oregano, basil, mix Italian spices. I use about 1/2 teaspoon of each but adjust as preferred.

Instructions 

Cut eggplant into cubes and roast in 425*F oven. I spray oil a pan and the eggplant and salt lightly to get out any bitterness.

Spray oil pressure cooker and lightly sauté onions. Add the rest of the ingredients. Add the whole can of tomatoes including juice. Seal and bring to pressure for 2 minutes and when done use quick release method by running cold water over lid to release the pressure. Adjust seasonings.

This can also be made in a crock pot but I find that the pressure cooker is much better. The tomatoes don’t oxidize this way.

Final product 

  

Pargiyot and Sausage Stew

Pargiyot and Sausage Stew

This is another great recipe from my friend Malka.  Amazing!

Ingredients

1 tray dark chicken cutlets cut into quarters (called pargiyot)

1 kohlbas sausage (Meal Mart makes it I believe) cut into slices

2 onions

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

Bunch of potatoes (depends on how many guest you have) cubed smallish

salt, pepper, garlic and paprika

Instructions

In a dry pot, heat sausage circles on low flame, to let out some fat, and lightly brown on both sides.

Remove sausage slices to cool onto plate or onto pot lid.

Lay out pargiyot on silver foil and sprinkle one side with pepper, garlic, paprika.

Place pargiyot in oil of sausage (tasty), spice side down, and sauté for 5-10 minutes.

Turnover and sauté on other side for 5 minutes (add oil if necessary).

Take out pargiyot and put onto plate or pot lid to cool.

Add olive oil to pot and sauté onions until lightly brown.

Add diced raw potatoes to onions; add boiling hot water, less than to the top of potatoes.

Add salt and paprika to water and mix.

Cook for 20 min or until potatoes are soft.

Add pargiyot and sausages on top of potatoes.

Cover pot and cook together for about 5 minutes.

Mix together and serve

Enjoy!

Pargiyot and Sausage Stew