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Flax ‘n Fruit Milkshakes

The best way to prepare for these, is to keep a constant stock in your freezer of frozen bananas, strawberries, and other fresh fruit. When strawberries go on sales, I buy lots of them and then wash and freeze them. They keep for literally months this way, and then when I want to add a few to milkshakes or smoothies, I just reach into my freezer and take some out. Same goes for bananas. When they are very ripe, peel them, put them into individual bags, tie a knot on it and then leave them in a pile in the freezer. Then they are ready for use. If you freeze them with the peels on, it is difficult to remove the peels properly when they’re frozen and often turns out to be more work than it’s worth.

Ingredients

For about four hot and grumpy kids, place into your blender:

2-3 medium sized frozen bananas
6-8 frozen strawberries
1-2 tsp. GROUND flaxseed
3 cups of milk
Note: flax can only be digested when it’s ground. But it’s very hard to grind it in an ordinary food processor, so it’s best to buy it freshly ground or vacuum packed. Once you have it, make sure to store it in your freezer. It can go rancid very quickly in your cabinet. Flaxseed has important Omega-3’s in it and is very helpful to the digestive system as well. Just be careful not to overdo it; otherwise it can be bitter and be ‘too much’ of a good thing for the digestion!

Method

Layer in the bananas, then strawberries, ground flaxseed, then pour in the milk until the blender in 3/4 of the way full. Don’t fill it to the top because it will foam and rise and you don’t want it to leak out of the blender. Turn the blender on high, let the whole thing liquidize and serve. Thick, cool, refreshing, healthy and fun!

Mini Carrot Muffins

Yield: about 50 mini- muffins
Or, if you want the easier way out, make it as a 9×3 “kugel” and cut it into squares…

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup hot water
3 cups flour, whole wheat, white, or a combo **
1 & ½ tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 – 4 large carrots, peeled

** if you use only white flour, it will come out light and fluffy. I’ve made it many times using whole wheat, a version that is very finely ground, and it comes out excellent that way as well. Plus, any leftovers, IF you have any, come in handy as a great healthy snack on the way to school for any kids in your house…

Method

Grate the carrots through a food processor. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C.

Place the ingredients in the mixer bowl in the order listed. Mix until you have a thick and smooth batter. Add in the grated carrots and mix again until just incorporated.

Line the muffin tray with paper liners or spray the tray well with baking spray. Fill the muffin cups until almost full. Bake for 8-12 minutes until they are golden brown or a cake tester or sharp knife inserted into a muffin’s center tests clean. If you took ‘the easy way out’, and made it into a flat “kugel” (a.k.a. religious word for cake!), then bake it for 30-35 minutes, until the ‘kugel’s’ center tests clean. Remove from tray promptly and allow to cool. These freeze great. I know – they even eat great straight from the freezer with only a few minutes of defrost time…!!

Simple, delicious and a sure hit Friday nights

Savory Aromatic Chicken

Serves 5-6

Ingredients

1 large chicken, cut into serving pieces for at least 5-6 people
2 medium sized sweet potatoes, cut into 5 circles each
2 potatoes, cut into 5 circles each
1 tablespoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon paprika charifa, hot red pepper, optional
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
2 teaspoons dried garlic chips OR 3 cloves garlic, diced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced

Method

I enjoy being able to roast/cook the chicken very close to when Shabbos comes in; however, I don’t want to be late to candle lighting nor do I want to be rushing around with chicken still to do at the last minute. This can be prepared early Friday morning, lined up in the pan ready to go and covered until you are ready to bake it. It makes for such an easy way to have very freshly cooked chicken, minus rush and hassle.

Clean and prepare all your chicken pieces, cut to your favorite sizes. I like to separate all the legs and thighs, as well as the other parts. Do not take off the skin. Remove excess fat.

Take out a large flat roasting pan. Spray the bottom of it with baking spray. Layer in the sliced sweet potatoes and the sliced potatoes. Layer the chicken pieces upside down all over the top and in between the sliced potatoes.

Put all the spices, including the dried garlic pieces, into a small bowl and mix it together with a spoon.

Take about 1/3 of the spices in your bowl and, using your spoon, generously sprinkle it all over the upside down pieces of chicken. Flip every chicken piece over so that it is right side up again. Lift up the skin on every piece but do not remove the skins. Sprinkle the remaining spices all over the chicken pieces, ensuring that every piece has a generous amount on it. Pull the skins back down.

Take your regular paprika shaker and shake a bit more paprika all over the chicken skins to make it look nice. If you have any spice mix remaining, use that too. Drizzle the olive oil over the top of everything. Add on the onion slices to the top of the chicken.

Cover the chicken with baking paper and then with foil (so the foil won’t be touching your food directly). Slide it into the fridge until you are ready to bake it.

Preheat the oven to 375°F/ 195-200°C for 15 minutes. Slide the prepared chicken tray into the oven and bake for 70 minutes, NOT LONGER. Turn off the oven immediately. You can now leave it in your oven until you eat it Friday night if you did this within the last 2 hours before Shabbos. If you want to cook it earlier, bake for 65 minutes; when re-warming it, do so for another 15-20 minutes to ensure it heats up properly and cooks a bit more.

Serve on a platter with chicken pieces on one side and the veggies on the other. This serves very nicely alongside any kind of rice.

So good you will use this often

I prefer this apple crisp served cold but if you are the kind that likes it warm, leave it on top of another pot on the blech for 2 hours before serving it.

Healthy Apple Crisp

No margarine, no white flour and plenty of good things in this version!
Serves 6-8

Ingredients

Use a glass pie dish of 9-10 inches in diameter.

6-8 medium sized apples, any color or a combo of colors
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup wheat germ
** note: if you don’t have wheat germ, use more oatmeal here instead
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup ground nuts, such as walnuts, almonds or pecans – or a combo
1/2 – 3/4 cup oil as needed

Method

Peel and slice thinly all the apples. Toss them with the lemon juice and arrange them all over the bottom of the pie dish. It will fill the dish nearly to the top. This is fine since the apples will shrink considerably as they bake.

Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and toss them together to incorporate. Drizzle in the 1/2 cup of oil. Toss with a fork. If the mix looks dry, add the rest of the oil. Toss with a fork until the entire mix is wet but not clumpy. If it is clumpy you added too much oil. Add a bit more flour and mix again.

Using your fingers, arrange the mix all over the top of the apples.

Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180° C. Put a piece of foil down on your rack to catch any drips that may leak over the edges of your pie dish. Place the apple crisp on the foil and let it bake for 35-45 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and crispy. Let it cool completely and then cover it until serving.

Variation: after you’ve arranged the apple slices in the dish, open up a can of cranberry sauce, mash it up with a fork, and arrange this all over the apples. Then follow with the crumb topping. Delicious!