Tag: quick and easy

Halva Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

erineatsmtlLeave a comment

Ingredients:
1 cup crumbled halva
3 tbsp halva spread
2 tsp cinnamon 
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans 
1-2 tsp vanilla
1 puff pastry rectangle
1 egg


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F 
Mix together all ingredients except puff pastry and egg. 
Roll out puff pastry to form a large rectangle. 
Spread halva mixture over puff pastry, leaving 1 inch of pastry at the far end of the sheet so it’ll adhere better. 
Roll up and refrigerate for about an hour. 
Remove from fridge and use a serrated knife to slice into 1” rounds. 
Place rounds on parchment lined baking sheet. 
Brush puff pastry with egg. 
Bake for about 30 minutes, until browned. 
Serve warm or room temp (but warm is best).

Sheet Pan Sausages, Vegetables and (fake) Bacon

erineatsmtlLeave a comment

Ingredients:
12 oz gourmet sausages, sliced (I used @jacksgourmet )
Baby carrots, sliced in half
Broccoli florets
Baby potatoes, thinly sliced 
Purple cabbage, chopped 
2 oz fake bacon (I used @jacksgourmet )
1 tbsp paprika
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp zaatar 
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp honey .

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F 
On a greased sheet pan, spread sausages, baby carrots, baby broccoli and potatoes. Mix together paprika, garlic, zaatar, salt, pepper and honey. Spread over sausages and vegetables. 
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and add fake bacon and purple cabbage to the tray. Bake for and additional 15 minutes.

Chocolate Halva Pull Apart “Babka”

erineatsmtlLeave a comment

Ingredients:
1 frozen, raw challah, defrosted completely (cover it as it defrosts)
1/3 cup coconut oil or margarine, melted 
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup crumbled halva
1/3 cup chopped pecans 
1 tsp vanilla 
2 tbsp brown sugar plus more to sprinkle on top
1 tsp cinnamon plus more to sprinkle on top

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. 
Tear off pieces of challah and roll into balls (about the size of a golf ball). Mix together chocolate chips, halva, pecans, vanilla, brown sugar and cinnamon. Take 1/3 of mixture and distribute evenly at the bottom of a greased loaf pan. 
Coat each challah ball with coconut oil or margarine. Place half of balls in single layer at the bottom of the pan. 
Top with 1/3 of chocolate halva mixture. Top with remaining balls and finally remaining mixture. 
Sprinkle with additional brown sugar and cinnamon. 
Bake for about 30 minutes, until nicely browned on top.

Quick Berry Crostata

erineatsmtlLeave a comment

Ingredients:
4 cups berries (can be frozen, I used strawberries and blueberries) 
Zest of 1 lemon or orange 
1 tbsp honey 
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water 
1 puff pastry rectangle, edges cut off to form a circle
1 egg 
1 tsp cinnamon 
2 tbsp brown sugar or turbinado sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. 
In a saucepan, over medium heat, cook berries until juices start releasing. Add lemon or orange zest and honey. Cook for a few more minutes. Mix in cornstarch and allow to thicken. Remove from heat and let cool. 
Roll out puff pastry, to form large circle. Brush with egg and sprinkle with some cinnamon and brown sugar mixture. Place fruit filling in the center of the puff pastry and fold edges over to form crostata. 
Brush egg and add sugar mixture onto folded over edges. 
Bake for about 25 minutes, until nicely browned

Sheet Pan Pesto Salmon

erineatsmtlLeave a comment

This recipe is quick & easy and kosher for Passoverbut delicious any time of year!

Ingredients:
2 salmon filets 
1/4 cup pesto sauce (store bought or homemade)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
Purple cabbage (not from a bag) cut into small pieces 
Broccoli, cut into small florets 
1 small sweet potato, cut into teeny tiny cubes 
Handful of cherry tomatoes 
@heavenandearthfoods veggie sticks (thank you to @kosherdotcom for sending these my way)

Preheat oven to 400°F. 
Spread half of pesto into salmon. 
Add oil to remaining pesto and use it to coat vegetables well. 
Spread vegetables around salmon. 
Top salmon with veggie sticks. 
Bake for about 15 minutes. .
.
Enjoy!

Brownie Surprise Truffles & Hamentaschen

erineatsmtlLeave a comment

Ingredients:
1 box @realduncanhines brownie mix (this likely works with other mixes but I haven’t tried them and I know this yields the right texture) – bake according to package directions (if you’re given the option of cake like or more fudgy brownies, choose fudgy)
Lotus 
Marshmallow fluff
Chocolate chips

Directions:
Cook brownies according to package directions. Don’t allow to cool too long – just make sure it has cooled enough that you can handle with your hands. 
Scoop out a chunk of brownie and use your hands to form a circle. Fill with topping of choice. Close up to form either hamentaschen or ball. Repeat with remaining brownie mixture – avoid edges of brownie because they’re more difficult to work with (just eat them because they’re yum). Refrigerate to set. 
Melt chocolate chips in double boiler. Dip brownie balls into chocolate and place on lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with crushed cookies. Refrigerate to set. (I did not dip the hamentaschen but you obviously could)

Tu Bishevat Chocolate Bark

erineatsmtlLeave a comment

Ingredients:
2 cups dark chocolate chips 
2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 cups chopped mixed dried fruit and nuts (I used almonds, pecans, pumpkin seeds, craisins, dried blueberries, figs, dates, apricots, dried mango)
Unsweetened desiccated coconut (optional)

Directions:
Fill a small saucepan with about 1 1/2 inches water. Water over low-medium heat. Place a heat safe bowl on top of the pot and melt chocolate inside. 
Once melted, mix in honey and remove from heat. 
Mix 2/3 of fruit and nut mixture into chocolate. Spread chocolate on parchment-lined baking sheet. 
Spread remaining fruit nut mixture on top of chocolate and sprinkle with coconut if desired. 
Refrigerate for at least an hour, until chocolate hardens. Break up into pieces. 
This can be stored on the counter in a sealed container. 
Freezes well.

Sweet and smoky rosemary grilled chicken

erineatsmtlLeave a comment

Ingredients:
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp silan (date syrup)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary 
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp smoky paprika
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp sea salt 
Freshly ground pepper 
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each cut in half to form 2 cutlets.

Directions:
Mix together mustard, silan, oil, rosemary, garlic, smoky paprika, lemon zest, salt and pepper. 
Spread over chicken. Allow to marinate for up to an hour. 
Grill on BBQ or grill pan over medium-high heat, flipping when edges get white and chicken starts appearing slightly opaque. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. (Cilantro just for picture purposes, I actually dislike it and accidentally bought it).

Quick and easy halva pecan babka (2 ways)

erineatsmtlLeave a comment

I rarely make yeast doughs and love any hacks to make desserts that are quick and easy, but look elegant! I tried both methods and they worked well. The texture of the dough was obviously different, but both results were delicious.

Instructions:
1 whole challah dough or 1 pizza dough, defrosted (~20 oz)
1.5 cups crumbled halva
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp silan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll out dough thinly to form a large rectangle. (It is much easier to roll out the pizza dough, the challah dough is much more challenging)
Mix together halva, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and pecans. .
Thank you to @naomi_tgis for teaching me how to do this. Spread over rectangle. Roll up so it’s long and thin (as opposed to short and thick). Slice down the middle to form 2 even skinnier ropes and twist them together.
Brush exposed dough with silan.
Bake for about 30 minutes.

I preferred challah dough but the pizza dough was much easier to work with.

“Krembo” Bites (4 ingredient, no-bake dessert)

erineatsmtlLeave a comment

Ingredients:
1.5-2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup cookie butter (I use @lotusbiscoff )
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup broken up lotus cookies or graham crackers .

Directions:
In a double boiler, melt chocolate. Once melted, mix in cookie butter until incorporated and remove from heat.
Allow to cool slightly (so marshmallows don’t melt) and mix in marshmallows and cookies.
Spoon into parchment lined mini muffin tin (or scoop little clusters onto parchment lined baking sheet). Refrigerate until set.
Yields about 20