Tofu "meat" muffins with sauce (and great mock meat stuffing!)

This is a great versatile recipe that is a great stuffing for zucchini or other vegetables, and in a thicker form makes great muffins, meatloaf or patties.   Just add more flour to get it to the consistency that you want.

Prep time- 10 minutes

Cooking time- 20 minutes

Feeds- roughly 6

Number of things that get dirty- 3

mixer 

muffin tray

heat proof bowl

Ingredients
2 c Tofu
2-3 eggs
1 c Tomato paste divided
1 c white cheese (smooth cottage cheese would probably work but we used gvina levana) divided
whole wheat or almond flour
Parmesan
onion soup powder
garlic powder 
water


Shred 2 c dry tofu into small pieces. 
Add 1/2 c tomato paste and 1/2 c cheese
add eggs and flour to get to a sticky ish consistancy just slightly less firm than meatballs.
Add spices and parmesan to taste.
Scoop into greased unlined muffin tins
make until solid


for sauce, combine remaining tomato paste and cheese ina bowl with cheese and spices to taste.  Serve hot over muffins.

No rise pizza dough

We had this last week at my friend Sara's and it was an amazing thin crispy crust.  

Prep time- 10 minutes

Cooking time- 20 minutes

Feeds- roughly 6

Number of things that get dirty- 2

mixer with dough hook

baking trays

Ingredients
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 envelope yeast (3 1/4 tsp)
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (you can use all whole wheat)
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each basil & oregano
1 tbsp plus 2 tsp olive oil
3/4 cup lukewarm water


1. Dissolve sugar in lukewarm water. Sprinkle yeast over water. Let stand 5 minutes, then stir to dissolve. Measure flours, sugar, salt, and herbs into processor bowl. Process 10 seconds. Add yeast; process 10 seconds more. Combine 1 tbsp oil with water. Add slowly through feed tube while machine is running. Process until dough gathers around the blades in a mass. Process 45 seconds longer. Dough should be slightly sticky. If machine slows down, add up to 1/4 cup more flour.

2. Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead for 2 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Divide in half and roll into two pizzas. Let dough rise for 15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare toppings. Preheat oven to 450 F

3. Brush dough lightly with remaining 2 tsp oil and spread with sauce. And cheese and toppings. Bake on bottom rack at 450 F for 20 minutes until crisp and golden.

Tempura

Prep time- 5 minutes

Cooking time- not long

Feeds- as many as you want

Number of things that get dirty- 2

bowl

mixer

wok

Ingredients


1 C flour
1 C Ice water
1/3 C corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda


vegetables of choice


Combine batter ingredients
Dip vegetables
Fry (might work in the oven.  We had it at my friend Sara's house so I have not tried baking it yet but I am going to.  I will put it on a parchment lined cookie sheet and spray coat with pam.)

Low carb almond flour pizza crust

Base recipe from http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/ , one of my favourite low carb recipe sites.  Use with a home made tomato sauce, cheese and the topigs of your choice.  It is very thin, but make a good solution for those days where you just want pizza.

Prep time- 5 minutes

Cooking time- not long

Feeds- 1

Number of things that get dirty- 3

bowl

frying pan

spatula

Ingredients
1 large egg
1 tablespoon almond flour
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon oil, about 
garlic powder to taste
onion powder to taste
zatar to taste
Pizza toppings of your choice
basil and oregeno to taste


Mix everything in a bowl
Heat a little oil in a small nonstick skillet. 
Pour in the batter and fry like a pancake. Cook until golden brown on both sides. 
Remove the crust to a baking sheet. 


Add the pizza toppings of your choice then bake or broil to heat the toppings and melt the cheese.

Fake garlic "bread" (turned tuna broccoli quiche)

Base recipe from http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/ , one of my favourite low carb recipe sites.  

Prep time- 5 minutes
Cooking time- 20 minutes
Feeds- 24 ish servings (can be frozen)


Number of things that get dirty- 
mixing bowl
spoon
baking dish

Ingredients
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1 ounce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
optional tuna and shredded broccoli

Beat the cream cheese and eggs with a whisk until smooth. Add the cream, parmesan and seasonings (and tuna and broccoli if desired)
Line a baking dish with parchment paper (I use an 8x8 square); 
Spread the mozzarella evenly in pan. 
Pour the egg mixture over the cheese. Spread slightly with a spatula. 


Bake at 180*C for 20 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on a rack, then cut into 24 pieces. 


If desired, spread a little butter on them and sprinkle with garlic powder and parmesan cheese; broil just until butter is bubbly and very lightly browned.

One pot wonder

A throw anything in dish that works wonders for a family shabbat dinner or even weeknights.

Prep time- 10 minutes

Cooking time 1-2 hours

Feeds- as many as you want

Number of things that get dirty- 2-3

big baking dish

measuring cup

microwave safe bowl

Ingredients

chicken 

rice

random vegetables either fresh or from the freezer.

seasonings to taste

Put rice in the baking dish with as much water as it needs to cook properly.  I generally make 2 cups of rice for every 4 people.  Season rice however you like.  I use random combinations of onion soup mix, sesame oil, shwarma spice, salt, pepper, chicken soup mix, garlic, zatar or whatever else I grab.

Add a vegetable layer.  If you are using frozen, just dump them in.  If you re using fresh, parboil them in the microwave first.

place chicken on top.  season top of chicken with whatever you like.

cover tightly and cook until rice is soft and chicken is properly cooked

Peanut Butter cookies

This also works really well as a base for an ice cream cake.  WARNING- They are really, really crumbly!

Prep time- 5 minutes

Cooking time- 12-15 minutes

Feeds- makes 24 small cookies, or two loaf pan ice cream cake bases

Number of things that get dirty- 4

bowl

mixer

fork

baking trays

Ingredients

1 c natural peanut butter

1/3 c sugar or sweetener (I use splenda)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbs spoons extra sweetener

parchment paper

Combine all ingredients except for the extra sweetener (and parchment paper).

Drop by teaspoons on parchment lined baking sheets

dip fork into extra sweetener, and use to ppress cookies to about 7mm thick (ish)

Bake 180*C for 12 to 15 minutes.

Easy sweet carrot tzimmis

Prep time- 5 minutes

Cooking time it depends

Feeds- as many as you want

Number of things that get dirty- 5

microwave safe bowl

carrot peeler

knife

cutting board

pot

spoon

Ingredients

carrots

dried apricots

raisins

apple juice

2 tbls corstarch dissolved in 1/2 c water

Peel and trim carrots.  Cut into bite sized pieces or smaller.

Microwave covered in water (remember to vent the top!) until carrots are mostly soft

Drain carrots

pour carrots and dried fruit into pot.  Ad just enough juice to cover.

Simmer until dried fruit expends

Add corn starch to thicken.  You can thin it out with water if you need to.

Almond Flour Cake/muffin base

This is a really bland and sort of heavy cake (or muffin) recipe that is terrible on it's own, but fantastic as a base for all sorts of lower carb desserts.  I add strawberries and cream to make a really easy strawberry shortcake, or just leave of the berries for cupcakes kids can decorate themselves.  You can also add all sorts of things to it like bananas and walnuts, chocolate chips, berries, or lemon juice and cranberry to turn it into fantastic low carb muffins that are great for quick snacks or even for breakfast.

Prep time- 5 minutes

Cooking time 15 minutes ish.  Longer for a cake

Feeds- 12 normal sized muffins or 30 mini muffins

Number of things that get dirty- 3

mixmaster

baking tray

spatula

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup melted margarine or butter

4 eggs

1/3 c water

1/4-1/2 C sweetener

1tsp vanilla

Combine and bake at 180*C for roughly 15 minutes.  Can be frozen really well and are awesome microwaved for a few seconds.

Egg Drop soup noodles

Any soup can be made into egg drop soup.  Egg drops take the place of noodles really well without upping the carb counts at all.  Just make your soup as you normally would, then in a separate bowl beat 3-6 eggs depending on how much "drop" you want in your soup.

Once you are done, make sure your soup is at a good boil  Stir your soup to get it spinning in the pot.  Very slowly, in a thin stream, pour the egg into the spinning soup.  The "drop" cooks pretty much instantly and you look like a very impressive chef!

Veggie "Fries"

Dying for a french fry but don't really want the calroeis that go with it?  Carrots, sweet potato, and green beans all make excellent substitutes.  Sure you can deep fry them if you really want to, but why?  Toss them so they are lightly coated in olive oil, lay them out in a single layer in a baking dish, sprinkle with salt (and maybe garlic for the green beans) and bake until toasty (tossing again after a few minutes).  An amazing snack that comes together fas,t is really colourful on the table, and had a great crunch.

Easy schnitzle

So easy my 6 year old does most of the work!

Prep time- 15 minutes

Cooking time it depends

Feeds- as many as you want

Number of things that get dirty- 2

2 plates

baking tray or pot

Ingredients

skinless boneless chicken cut into 2 bite pieces ish

bread crumbs OR almond flour (the taste is almost identical.  Bread crumbs are way cheaper, but almond flour makes it a really low carb recipe)

shwarma spice

low fat mayo

oil or cooking spray

Combine crumbs and swarma spice on a large, shallow plate

Coat chicken in as tin a layer of mayo as you can manage.  I find the easiest way to do it is to drop the chicken and the mayo into a ziplock bag and smush, but as ziplock bags in this country come at a premium we tend to just roll them on a plate.

Coat with crumbs

Either fry or bake.  If baking (which is what we generally do) lay out flat on a baking tray, spray liberally with cooking spray.  Bake at 200*C for 12-15 minutes.

Lemon Chicken

This is not a low patchke recipe, but it is easy and really great for a meal where you want to impress.  Here it is fried, but the batter can be baked as well.

Prep time- a while

Cooking time- a while

Feeds- 12

Number of things that get dirty- 5

bowl

fork

pot

mixer

small pot

Ingredients

As much boneless chicken as you feel like using.  I used enough for 12 people with the rest of the amounts as listed below

3 tbls soy sauce

pinch of salt

3 eggs

1/4 c corn starch 

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp lemon juice

3/4 tsp baking powder
oil or cooking spray

Sauce

1/4 c sugar or alternative sweetner

2 tbls cornstarch

1 c chicken broth (from a mix is more than fine)

3 tbls lemon juice

3/4 tsp salt

yellow food colouring if desired

lemon slices if desired (I never bother.  Tastes the same and saves the cost)

Marinate the chicken in mixture of soy sauce and salt for 30 minutes

Combine eggs, cornstarch, white pepper, lemon juice, and baking powder into batter.  Coat the chicken i nthe batter and either bake or fry until chicken is cooked and coat is golden brown.  If you are baking it, spray liberally ith cooking spray before it goes in the oven or it will not crust up and turn golden.

In a small pot mix together sauce ingredients thoroughly (I use a handheld beater as I find I never get a good mix with a fork.  Simmer on the stove until the desired consistency is reached.  I like a fairly thick sauce, but remember that if you plan to reheat it the sauce will continue to thicken.  If this happens just add some hot water to thin it out again.

Peanut Sauce

Great on tofu, chicken, or in a stir fry

Prep time- 5 minutes
Cooking time 0
Feeds- quite a few

Number of things that get dirty- 2
bowl
fork

Ingredients
5 tbsp peanut butter
3 tbls warm water (or more depending on desired consistency- just add it slowly and thin it out to however you want it.
2 1/2 tbls chinese rice vinegar or red wine vinegar
3 tbls soy suce
2 tbls sugar or sweetner (more or less if you prefer)

Mix and use.

Tomato sauce

Because of my allergies and the habit of Israeli manufacturers not to list individual items and just call it all "spices" we never buy ready made tomato sauce.  This is a really easy and awesome recipe- yes it cheats a lot, but it tastes awesome anyway.


Prep time- 5-10 minutes minutes
Cooking Time- 20 minutes+
Feeds - depends how much you make

Number of things that get dirty- 2
pot
spoon

Ingredients
tomato paste
diet coke
onion soup powder
dill
basil
oregano
garlic


honey or other sweetner- don't skip this!  It cuts the acidity of the tomato and gives the sauce that smoother texture of store bought brands.


optional 
either ground beef or parmesean cheese
2 tablespoons of corn starch mixed with 1/2 c water


Honestly, just toss it all in the pot and simmer away until it is done.  If you want to thicken it, once the flavour is where you want it, add the cornstarch and water mixture.  


Excellent on pizza, pasta or (in the non-meat variety) salmon.

Whole wheat pizza dough

Prep time- 5 minutes, + 1 hour to rise
Cooking Time- 9 minutes per pizza
Feeds- 3-4

Number of things that get dirty
food processor with dough hook
oven tray

Ingredients

2 c flour
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs olive oil
3/4 c warm water decrease if doubling


Mix it all.  Let it rise for an hour.  Roll out and top however you would like.  Bake at 200*C for roughly 8 minutes.  Thanks Lor.