Yum It's Sloppy Joes Time!

I love Sloppy Joes and considering the cold rainy weather out there right now I figured its an opportune time to add this delicious recipe to the site.  Sure you can pop open a can of Manwich but this is even better tasting and without all the preservatives chemicals and whatnot.  This recipe doesn't include bell pepper because I don't really like it but if you do feel free to add it into the mix.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced carrots (can sub chopped bell pepper)
• 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt
• 1 1/4 lb ground beef
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 cups tomato sauce (or 1 15-ounce can whole tomatoes, puréed)
• 1 Tbsp vinegar
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 turns of freshly ground black pepper
• 4 hamburger buns

OPTIONAL - 1/2 green bell pepper 

DIRECTIONS

1 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. (If you are using bell pepper instead of carrots, add those at the same time as the onions.) Add the chopped onion and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent, about 5 more minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from heat. Remove vegetables from the pan to a medium sized bowl, set aside.

2 Using the same pan (or you can cook the meat at the same time as the vegetables in a separate pan to save time), generously salt the bottom of the pan (about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon). Heat the pan on high. Crumble the ground beef into the pan. You will likely need to do this in two batches, otherwise you will crowd the pan and the beef won't easily brown. Do not stir the ground beef, just let it cook until it is well browned on one side. Then flip the pieces over and brown the second side. Use a slotted spoon to remove the ground beef from the pan (can add to the set-aside vegetables), salt the pan again and repeat with the rest of the ground beef.

If you are using extra lean beef, you will likely not have any excess fat in the pan. If you are using 16% or higher, you may have excess fat. Strain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.

3 Return the cooked ground beef and vegetables to the pan. Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, vinegar and brown sugar to the pan. Stir to mix well. Add ground thyme, and cayenne pepper. Lower the heat to medium low and let simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve with toasted hamburger buns. Serves 4.

What's for Dinner? 50 Great Dinner Ideas

It happens to the best of us.  Our family expects a delicious dinner and we're fresh out of ideas, inspiration or maybe just the energy to think of something to make.  So, in order to lend you a hand I've created a list of 50 different dinner ideas that should get dinner from theory to table in no time flat.

Each of the recipes links either to a Google search where you can pick the recipe that sounds the best or a specific recipe that I've listed or tried.  Of course, if you just want ideas then feel free to browse the recipes and pick one that suits you cooking style, ingredients and skill level.

1. Fish and Chips
2. Chicken Salad Sandwiches
3. Stir-fry
4. Sloppy Joes
5. Roasted Chicken
6. Roast Beef
7. Greek Quiche
8. Pancakes
9. Waffles
10. Chicken Soup
11. Hot dogs
12. Hamburgers
13. Schnitzel
14. Chili
15. Enchiladas
16. Fajitas
17. Macaroni and Cheese
18. Shepherd's Pie
19. Gnocchi
20. Ravioli
21. Lasagna
22. Fried Chicken
23. Chicken Fingers
24. Beef Brisket
25. Tuna Noodle Casserole
26. Homemade Pizza
27. Quesadillas
28. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
29. Chicken Pot Pie
30. Minestrone
31. Pad Thai
32. Chili Dogs
33. Stuffed Peppers
34. Spinach Pie
35. Baked Salmon 
36. Vegetable Soup
37. Fettuccine Alfredo
38. Spaghetti & Meatballs
39. Veggie Burgers
40. Sweet & Sour Chicken
41. Beef & Broccoli
42. Tilapia
43. Swedish meatballs
44. Tuna Salad
45. Tortilla Soup
46. Chicken Marinara
47. Cream of Mushroom Soup
48. Meatloaf 
49. Tacos
50. Falafel

Emeril's Essence Spice Mix

This is a terrific spice mix that goes great on chicken, beef, fish, in stews, soups and sauces as well as on hummus and well pretty much anything except for dessert recipes.  Honestly, it takes things from ordinary to extraordinary.  If you have a recipe that calls for breading mix some of the essence in with plain bread crumbs - it's amazing!  Basically, you can feel free to try it on anything you like so go ahead and kick it up a notch.  As Emeril would say, "BAM!"

A Better Way to Clean Glass

Like most people I generally avoid trying to clean the windows as long as possible but after a while enough is enough and it has to be done.  You'd think cleaning a window would be easy but with the streaks and dirt it can just turn into a big mess.

If your windows have a lot of dirt or dust on them already the easiest thing to do is to go over the window with a cloth and brush as much dirt off as you can first.  This prevents it from turning into mud when you try to clean it.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever!

I have always used the Toll House cookie recipe and it has never let me down.  


I've tried fancier gourmet recipes but I always come back to this simply and delicious recipe.  I guess if it's not broke I not gonna fix it. :)

Homemade Pizza Crust

My husband absolutely loves pizza and to be honest so do I.  The best part is that pizza is fairly simple to make and it's easy to get kids to help as they generally love to help put toppings on and roll out dough.

So, without further ado here is my tried and trusted recipe for a perfect pizza crust anytime.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

This is a fantastic recipe for making your own homemade vanilla from one of my favorite blogs - Simply Recipes.  I love vanilla and if you do then you'll definitely appreciate this recipe for real vanilla extract and not the gross cheap chemical stuff you usually find in the supermarket.

Commercial vanilla extract usually has simple syrup (sugar water) added to the extract to give it a sweet aftertaste. You can do this if you want, but if you are using the vanilla for baking, there really is no need.

Red Wine Vinegar

Sometimes I have a recipe that calls for red wine vinegar and I wind up substituting something else because I don't have any and I don't want to buy it just for one recipe. However, I recently realized that I can use my leftover Shabbos wine to make my own. Cool, right?

Easy Bisquick Recipe

If you're used to using Bisquick or you just want a faster way to whip up bicuits, pancakes and the like here's an easy Bisquick recipe that can be used cup for cup in any recipes that call for it.  Please not that this mix needs to be kept cool and dry.  If it's stored at room temperature you'll need to use it within a month.  If you store it in the fridge it can be used two months and in the freezer it'll keep about 3-4 months.

Homemade Duck Sauce 2 Ways

Need some duck sauce but aren't sure where to get it?  Looking to make you own duck sauce for less?  Here are two recipes for homemade duck sauce.  The first is a quick and easy sauce although it might not be quite the same as what you're used to.  The second recipe takes a bit more time but it also make a lot more sauce and it's super tasty.

Saving Money on Mixes, Sauces and Other Basics

Some products are nearly impossible to find in Israel.  Like condensed milk.  However, I realized that I can just sub that ribat chalav for condensed milk and it works pretty well although if your recipe calls for extra sugar you might want to taste before adding it.

Then again there are certain American sauces and mixes that you can find without too much effort but oh will you pay for it.  Since I'm used to American cooking there are certain things that I take for granted that I'll be able to find and that won't cost more than a dollar or two.

It's true some makolets (Deal vZol - home to all things American) have items like Bisquick, tortillas, Gold's duck sauce, red wine vinegar, etc.  but I am just too cheap to shell out nearly 30 shekels for something I can make myself.

That's right, you can make any of the aforementioned items at home, for less, and want to know something else... it's not even that hard. :)

So, without much further ado I am starting a seres of money saving recipes.

Old Fashioned Apple Pie

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I think more specifically it’s a good pie. My dad, my husband, and pretty much any of the yeshiva guys I’ve had over when given a choice of desserts will 9 times out of 10 choose pie.

Roast Chicken with Lemon, Thyme and Garlic

• This is one of my absolute favorite chicken recipes.  This is an adaptation of a recipe from Epicurious.  While some of their recipes are a bit complicated or involve too many exotic ingredients this one is solid gold.
  
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• It always comes out deliciously moist and earns huge raves from whoever is over.  Also the high roasting temperature gives the chicken a beautiful golden color.  The recipe calls for a whole chicken but works great with thighs and breast meat.

No Cook Pasta Sauce

Sometimes, I just want a recipe that's really simple yet provides a gourmet result.  This is an easy, delicious sauce and looks more complicated than it actually is - which is always handy for impressing family and guests without totally exhausting yourself.  I've added cheese in the recipe but it's also great without.  Since you aren't cooking the sauce it's important to use high quality fresh ingredients to achieve the best flavor.

Quick Quesadillas

I love Mexican food but needless to say it’s in fairly short supply here in Israel.  One of the things I like most about Quesadillas is that they are great when you're looking to make quick a lunch or dinners.  Plus as an added bonus they look great, are tasty and filling.

Welcome to Balabusta in Training!

This site is dedicated to kosher cooks who are looking for actual recipes.  I say actual recipe because recently I’ve come across cookbooks and blogs that give you quick and easy recipes that are nothing more than just buying ready-made sauce and putting it on chicken.  Gee thanks I’d have never figured that one out on my own.   While there are tons of great recipe sites out there, often the recipes present numerous kashrus problems.  Everything from being dairy when I need pareve, to mixing meat and milk, etc.  There’s also the problem of not being able to find certain food items here in Israel or not knowing what the equivalent here is.  So what’s a kosher cook to do?

That’s where this blog comes in.  Learn along side of me as I try to attempt to find the tastiest kosher recipes out there.  If you want recipes for cakes that don’t come from boxes, wonderful tastes that you’ll never get out of a can, ingredients you can find and kosher food that’s anything but boring, then look no further.

I know many cooks are busy and so it’s easier and not to mention faster to use ready-made items.  I also used to rely on cake mixes and ready-made sauces but here in Israel convenience foods have a terribly inconvenient price. However, after some experimenting with recipes the good news is that I’ve not only lowered the food budget and made a lot tastier food than I ever thought I could, I also don’t have to worry as much about preservatives, trans fats and unwanted additives since I’m making it myself.  I’m not saying that you can never use canned items, just that it’s generally cheaper and tastier if you don’t.

For those who are under the impression that they can’t cook, that cooking from scratch will take too much time or that it’s too complicated, I’m here to tell you that you CAN do it.  While it might take it little longer,  it’s not that hard and it’s definitely worth it.  So let’s get cooking!