It’s time again for comfort food: casseroles, soups, puddings and cakes.
Here are three super easy recipes that should hit the spot on a winter’s night.
What to do with leftover baked goods like hallah or Hanukkah’s jelly donuts? Make bread pudding, of course. We were left with a surfeit of jelly donuts from Hanukkah’s Shabbat kiddush. Not wanting to just throw them out, I went to my reference library-also known as Google- and looked for Jelly Donut Bread Pudding recipes. To my amazement I found not just one but scores of recipes, each just a little bit different. So I put a few together and came up with Shomrei’s Jelly Donut Bread Pudding which was a hit at a recent Shabbat.
Jelly Donut Bread Pudding
serves 18 to 24
Ingredients
about 8 cups of torn pieces of donuts (about 8-12 donuts depending on size) – this amount is very flexible
2 cups whole milk or for a lighter pudding use 2 % milk
2 cups heavy cream or for a lighter pudding try all milk
3/4 cup of sugar or according to taste
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or a little more)
8 tablespoons jam or preserves or more to taste
3/4-1 cup raisins, craisins or dried cherries, optional
butter for greasing
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 X13 with butter.
Mix milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon together well.
Combine with donut pieces and mix well.
Let stand for a few minutes until the donuts have absorbed some of the milk mixture.
Put donut mixture into greased baking dish.
Plop spoonfuls of jelly on top of mixture and swirl gently to barely combine.
Bake for 40-50 minutes until the pudding is set and the top is brown.
May be served with ice cream or whipped cream.
Optional Rum Sauce
Melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. When melted, remove from heat. Add 1/2 pound confectioner’s sugar to the melted butter and whisk to blend. Add dark rum to taste. Pour the sauce over the bread pudding and allow to soak in.
Notes: While this is best right out of the oven, it is still very tasty refrigerated and reheated at 325 for about 15 minutes. You may dot the top with additional butter. Can easily be halved and baked in an 8×8 pan.
Our MESH guests love soup as a first course. There’s nothing better on a cold winter day than a bowl of hearty soup. But who wants to wait hours for it to simmer? This soup is delicious-if one can judge by not only the MESH guest’s reactions but also the MESH volunteers’.
Quick Minestrone Soup
makes 8 appetizer servings; 4 entree servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
2 carrots, sliced (about 1 cup)
2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/3 cups)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth (use packaged low sodium, add salt if needed)
1/3 cup dry sherry, optional
1 medium zucchini, chunked (about 1 cup)
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced or 14 oz can chopped or crushed tomatoes
¼ pound fresh green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cups cooked kidney beans, drained
¼ cup fusilli (spiral) pasta
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional for the table
Instructions
Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in carrots, celery, garlic, basil, and oregano.
Then add the broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
5. Add the sherry, zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, kidney beans, and fusilli.
6. Simmer an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until pasta is cooked.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Taste and adjust seasoning. Stir in Parmesan just before serving.
9. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese at the table, if desired.
Notes: Use precut vegetables to save time. Throw in some canned or frozen corn if you like .For a parve soup, omit cheese and use the vegetable broth.
For a meal in a dish, add chunks of chicken breast which will cook quickly, hot dogs, sausage or left over beef.
Slow cookers are perfect for winter meals. This chicken recipe goes together in a flash using skinless, boneless chicken thighs and voila, a few hours later is a delicious meal. Just add a grain and pour the sauce over it.
Honey Garlic Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs
serving size one thigh
Ingredients
4 large skinless, boneless chicken thighs, for a 4 quart slow cooker
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/2 cup of ketchup
1/3 cup of honey
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
parsley and /or scallions for garnish
Instructions
Lay chicken thighs on the bottom of a slow cooker.
Whisk soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic and basil together in a bowl.
Pour it over the chicken.
Cook on high for about 4 hours or on low about 6 hours.
Garnish with chopped parsley
Notes: For a larger cooker, use more thighs but do not add more liquid. For a thicker sauce, stir a little cornstarch or potato starch into cold water and then add to the liquid in the slow cooker. Cook sauce on high for about 1/2 hour.
Chunked Vegetables such as celery, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, carrots can be added along with the chicken. Make sure that the firm vegetables are in contact with the bottom and sides of the slow cooker as vegetables cook more slowly than proteins.
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