From The Rebbetzin’s Kitchen

FROM THE REBBETZIN’S KITCHEN:

Hamentashen — Dairy/Pareve    (yields about 5 doz)

 3 eggs

1 cup oil

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ cup water

½ cup orange juice

⅛ tsp salt

4 cups flour

Desired fillings

Combine the ingredients in order given above using enough flour to make a soft dough which is not sticky. Let stand 15 mins. Divide the dough into 4 parts. Roll to ¼” thickness on a floured board. Cut into 4” circles. Place a tsp of desired filling in the center of each circle or leave empty for buttercream filling. Form triangles by folding the sides in towards the middle. Be sure to form a space if you choose to use buttercream. Brush with a beaten egg. Bake on a lightly greased baking pan/sheet @350 degrees F for 30 minutes until golden brown.

For buttercream filling  – you want to “blindbake” the dough. (you bake without filling which you add after to the hamentashen.

Options for dough/flavors:

• Chocolate Dough: add 1 ½ cups cocoa powder; reduce flour by 1 cup
• Nut dough: chop your choice of nuts finely to make 1 cup. Add this to the mix and reduce flour by 1cup
• Black forest hamentashen – make with chocolate dough, cherry buttercream top with a dab of cherry pie filling
• Lemon Merinque – use basic dough. Add lemon pie filling and basic meringue. Place pie filling center in the hamentashen form top with piped meringue and bake according to directions
• Pina Colada – use pina colada mix instead of orange juice in the dough recipe. Add coconut and some crushed pineapple to the buttercream
• Rum Raisin- soak raisins in rum and let them get soft and add to buttercream mixture

CRANBERRY CHICKEN

Ingredients:

Skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs

1 jar of French Dressing

1 can of Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

1 tablespoon Onion Soup mix

Directions:

• Place the skinless chicken in a baking pan top sideup
• In a mixing bowl mix the cranberry sauce, french dressing and onion soup mix together. It should be a pinky/peach color
• Pour mixture from the bowl over the chicken. Make sure to cover all or as much as the chicken with the mixture as possible
• Cover pan with tin foil and place in oven
• After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and take off the aluminum foil cover. Place pan back in the oven and cook for the remaining time
• Total cook time is approximately 1 hour (Varies by stove)

When chicken is finished you will have a delectable liquid and the juiciest of chicken. Make with rice or veggies and pour the liquid over the rice/veggies when serving. It is YUMMY! And very easy to make.

Mock Lamb Pilaf

INGREDIENT:

2 lbs Wheat Meat (Seitan)

1 ½ tsp Salt

Freshly ground Pepper (to taste)

2 little cans of Plum Tomatoes (do not discard the liquid in the can. You will need it)

1 ½ cup Bulghur Wheat

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1 cup chopped Onions

½ – ¾ can of sliced Mushrooms

3 large Garlic Cloves

3 tbsp fresh chopped Basil

½ tsp Oregano

1 Bay Leaf (optional)

PREP:

Add water to the liquid in the can with the tomatoes in it.

Chop Basil

COOK:

Soak Bulghur in water for 1 hour. After drain water. Heat oil in casserole dish. Brown the Seitan, Garlic and Onions. Add mushrooms, tomatoes and liquid from tomato can. Add bay leaf for taste.  Cook over a low heat for 20 minutes. While cooking add the Basil and Oregano. Cook til absorbed.

Blueberry Meatballs (Passover)

 Ingredients:

1lb ground beef (or ground turkey) — 1lb makes about 15 meatballs

Matza Meal

Onion Powder

Paprika

Garlic Powder

Ketchup

Brown Sugar

Blueberry Preserves

Salt

Pepper

This is made on the top of the stove

Directions:

To make the meatballs –

Everyone makes their meatballs differently.

I add a ½ cup matza meal (to hold the balls together)

1 dash of onion powder

1 dash pepper

1 dash of garlic powder

1 dash of paprika

½  a dash of salt

• Form the meatballs

In the pan, Add:

1 tablespoon of Ketchup

1 ½ tablespoons of brown sugar (or sugar substitute)

½ jar of blueberry preserves

Mix the mixture so it covers as much of the pan as possible.

• Place meatballs into pan. Make sure you get them in or as close to the mixture as possible.
• Cover pan
• You will need to turn your meatballs once one side is cooked so keep checking them (mine usually take about 20 minutes til finished)

At this time the sauce has filled up the pan.

• When all sides are browned, leave the meatballs in the pan for about 5-10more minutes on a low flame. This way they cook through and get the flavor of the blueberry sauce.

To serve:

• On a little plate,or in a little bowl take some of the blueberry sauce and pour/place into the bowl/plate.
• Lay meatballs on top of sauce
• Serve

*I have people asking to come to my seder just for these meatballs.

Apricot Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

1 jar of apricot preserves

1 tablespoon onion soup mix

1 jar of french dressing

1 small can of chunk pineapple with the juice — take 1 teaspoon of juice

4 – 6 skinless chicken breasts

In a pan lay the skinless chicken. Make sure they do not overlap

In a small bowl mix the entire jar of apricot preserves, entire bottle of french dressing and the tablespoon of onion soup mix. Mix well. Mixture should be a pinkish orange color.

Add the teaspoon of juice to the mixture in the bowl. Mix well

Pour the mixture from the small bowl over the chicken thighs

Place the pineapple chunks all around the chicken

Finish by pouring the pineapple juice still in the can over the chicken

Cover with tin foil and cook at 375 for 30 mins

After 30 minutes, remove the tin foil and cook for 30- 45 more chicken til golden brown

Serve over rice

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Apple Cinnamon Challah (make two 1 lb challahs or one 2 lb challah)

For the filling:

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup all purpose flour

2 large apples peeled and finely diced (around ¾ lb each)

Challah:

2 lb challah dough divided making two 1 lb challahs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and then with parchment. Set aside

In a small bowl combine the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour. Set aside

For each challah roll the dough into 22” long logs.

Use a rolling pin and roll the dough into a 22” x 10’ rectangle allowing for the dough to rest periodically

Sprinkle with ¼ of the diced apples

Sprinkle on an additional ¼ of the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the apples

Tightly roll the challah (like a jelly roll) pinching along the seams and ends to tightly seal

Wind the challah into a circle tucking the end under the challah for a clean finish

Place challah on a baking sheet

(Repeat the steps above for the second challah)

Cover loaves to allow for the 30 minute rise

Place in the oven

Bake for 40 – 45 minutes until its a deep golden brown color

*For the one 2lb challah follow the same steps as above. Bake for 45-50 minutes until cooked through