I wanted to make a lighter version of lasagna, but without sacrificing any flavor.  I added spinach to make the dish a little healthier.  I used my simplest homemade marinara sauce.  The homemade sauce makes all the difference!

for the marinara sauce:

about 1/3 cup olive oil ( I use light)

2 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes (preferably Sclafani brand; these crushed tomatoes are so delicious, you could eat them right out of the can!)

1 medium onion, medium dice

3 large garlic cloves, grated

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1/4 to 1/2 cup water

for the lasagna rolls:

about 1 pound uncooked lasagna noodles (do not use the no-boil noodles)

1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese (either whole milk or part skim)

1 10 oz. box of frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry

1 large egg

1 pound of grated mozzarella cheese, divided (I usually use whole milk)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (I prefer thyme)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

light sprinkling of red pepper flakes

some freshly cracked black pepper

for the sauce:

In large deep skillet or saucepan, pour the live oil.  Sprinkle in the red pepper flakes and the diced onion.  Saute for about 4 minutes over medium flame until onion is translucent.  Grate in the garlic, and saute 1 more minute.  Pour in the crushed tomatoes, sprinkle in the salt and the freshly cracked pepper.  Cover and simmer over lowest flame for about 20 minutes.  Sprinkle in the fresh thyme leaves and stir.  Add about 1/4 cup water if sauce is really thick.  You may even need another 1/4 cup of water.  This will make about 2 quarts of sauce.  You will need about 1 quart of sauce for this recipe. You can freeze the leftover sauce.

for the lasagna rolls:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

In a medium mixing bowl, mix the ricotta, the spinach, one cup of the Parmesan or Romano cheese, salt, red pepper flakes, freshly ground pepper, 1 large egg, 1 cup of grated mozzarella, the fresh thyme leaves or the freshly chopped basil, and about 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water.  Set aside.

Boil lasagna noodles until cooked, reserving some pasta water.  Rinse under cold water, and lay noodles out on sheet pan. 

Spoon some marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13 oval or rectangular baking dish (sauce should be about 1/8 inch high in pan).  Take one lasagna noodle, and spoon about 3 tablespoons of the spinach cheese mixture on the noodle. Then with a knife or rubber spatula, smooth the mixture evenly on the entire noodle.  Roll the noodle up, and place seem side down in the dish.  Repeat with each lasagna noodle.  You should have enough filling for about 17 noodles.  Then spoon some marinara sauce on top of each lasagna roll.  Sprinkle lightly with the 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan or Romano.  Then sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over each roll. 

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.  Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat some leftover marinara sauce and serve it alongside.

Notes:

I usually try to buy mozzarella that is not pre-grated in the bag, because the pre-grated mozzarella is just not as good.  It is very easy to grate the cheese yourself, it is less expensive, and it is just better all-round.

I make this and freeze it unbaked.  Then I let it defrost in the refrigerator the day I want to bake it.

The Gravy In This Pot Roast Is Rich And Delicious! 

My boyfriend Jim really loves pot roast. His mother made it often when he was growing up, and it was one of his favorite meals. I didn’t grow up eating pot roast, because my mother made brisket. Brisket and pot roast are very similar, but the difference is in the cut of meat. Here is a simple and delicious pot roast recipe which he said was as good, if not better, than his mother’s pot roast, and that is quite a compliment!

• 3 - 4 pounds of rump or bottom round foast beef
• 1 tablespoon light olive oil or other vegetable oil
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• 1 large onion, cut into a medium dice
• 1-8 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock (I used Kitchen Basics)
• 1/2 cup water

Season the meat on all sides with kosher salt and pepper (I use regular ground pepper for this). Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a dutch oven or pot. Add meat and diced onions to the dutch oven or pot and brown the onions and the meat (on all sides) over a medium to high heat for about 10- 15 minutes. The onions should be really browning along with the meat. You should have lots of browned bits on the bottom and along the sides of the dutch oven or pot. Then take the meat out (temporarily). Add the beef stock and water to the dutch oven or pot. This is called deglazing.  Keep the flame on low, and use a wooden spoon to mix all the browned bits in with the liquid. Those browned bits are what really give flavor to the pot roast and the gravy. Add the tomato sauce, and mix in with the wooden spoon. Put the meat back in. Smoosh the meat around in the gravy. Cover the dutch oven or pot. At this point, you can either cook the pot roast on the top of the stove over the lowest flame if you are using a regular pot. If you are using a dutch oven, then place it in the oven at 325 degrees for 2 1/2-4 hours, depending on the thickness of the roast. If you are cooking the pot roast on top of the stove, turn the meat every 1/2 hour. Even if you are cooking the pot roast in the oven, you can turn it over every half hour, but this is not necessary. Check the meat after 2 1/2 hours to see if it is tender. A fork should go in quite easily when it is done. Thicker pieces of meat will definitely require more time.  When it is done, take the pot roast out of the pot or dutch oven to rest on the counter for a few minutes.

Then make the gravy. You can do two things. You can serve the gravy as is right from the pot, which is basically au jus, or you can make a thicker gravy using about 1 1/2 cups of the pan drippings.  To do this, take about 1 1/2 cups of the au jus out of the pot, and put it through a sieve or strainer. Then pour the liquid into a small saucepan. Whisk in about 2 tablespoons of flour until you can’t see any of the flour. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 3-5 minutes until thickened. If the gravy is too thick, add a little water. If you think it’s too thin, turn the heat off, add a little more flour, whisk it in, and then simmer for a few more minutes. (For those who like au jus or the natural gravy, you should still have some of that left in the pot to serve.)

Slice the roast with a sharp knife into about 1/4 inch thick slices. Place on serving platter and either drizzle some of the au jus or gravy over it, or serve it with the au jus or gravy on the side.

Note: You can make this in a crock pot, but you should do the first steps of browning the meat and onions as stated above. Instead of cooking the meat in the oven or on top of the stove, transfer it into a crock pot, and cook on low for about 4-5 hours until tender.

Serving Suggestions: Serve with either baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, or egg noodles.

Learn To Make This Delicious Fried Veal Or Chicken Cutlets With Fried Potatoes!>
I have many wonderful memories from my childhood associated with the Linder family. Chippy and Dave Linder and their children Meryl and Michael were very, very close friends of our family, and I loved being with them. What a wonderful family they were! I especially loved being around Chippy. She had (and still has) a quick wit. She just had a unique way of saying things; I never wanted to miss one word. Everything that came out of Chippy’s mouth seemed to have a touch of common sense and wisdom, tinged with humor. A memory I have is sitting in her beautiful kitchen on Buttfield Drive in Plainfield, New Jersey and just enjoying being there and listening to her talk. Anyway, I’m pretty sure that Chippy got this recipe from her wonderful and legendary mother in law, Rose Linder. This recipe calls for veal cutlets, but when I have made it, I have used chicken cutlets. If you try this recipe, you will not be disappointed!

• 1 pound of veal or chicken cutlets
• matzoh meal
• corn flakes crumbs
• 2 pounds of potatoes
• 2 eggs
• fresh cracked black pepper
• kosher salt
• paprika
• corn or light olive oil for frying

Parboil about 2 pounds of small red or small yukon gold potatoes until they are just starting to get soft. (If you are using red potatoes, you can leave the skins on. If you are not, then peel the potatoes before you parboil them.) As soon as you can pierce the potatoes with a fork or a knife, drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Slice into 1/4 inch thick slices, and sprinkle with a little kosher salt (if you are using salt) and paprika, and set aside.

Crack 2 eggs into a bowl and mix with 2 teaspoons of water, some kosher salt, and some fresh cracked pepper. Then pour equal amounts of matzoh meal and cornflakes crumbs onto a plate. Dip the cutlets first into the egg mixture on both sides, and then into the matzoh meal and corn flakes crumbs mixture on both sides. Then sprinkle some paprika on top of the cutlets. Pour some oil in a large frying pan, only about 1/8 of an inch high. When the oil is hot, place cutlets in. Toss the sliced potatoes in with the veal or chicken. As you fry and turn the cutlets and the potatoes, the potatoes will start to brown and pick up some of the crumbs too. Fry the veal or chicken and the potatoes until they are beautifully browned. Serve.

Note: I recommend that you use a really big non-stick frying pan (industrial size) which you can purchase at Costco or at a restaurant supply store.

Serve This Bread Pudding For Breakfast, Brunch, or Dessert!

I have a few recipes for bread pudding. This recipe is so easy to make, and it is delicious. Even if you don’t fancy yourself as a baker, you can definitely make this bread pudding! The taste reminds me of a really good cinnamon danish. Of course, this bread pudding isn’t low in calories, but unlike other bread pudding recipes, this recipe uses milk instead of half and half. So, it is lower in calories than some bread puddings. Yet, it still tastes sinfully rich. This dish makes a nice addition to a brunch buffet or even a dessert buffet. It really is comfort food at its best.

• 8 - 10 1 inch thick slices of challah
• 4 extra large or jumbo eggs
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup of raisins, currants, or dried cranberries

Grease an oval or rectangular 8 inches by 10 inches by 2 inch baking dish.

Slice the challah into 1/2 inch thick slices. Then cube the bread into 1/2

cubes. Cut the crusts off of the slices of challah. Put the bread cubes in

the prepared dish. It’s okay if you have 2 layers of bread cubes. Sprinkle

the raisins, currants, or dried cranberries throughout and on top of the

bread. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, the milk, the vanilla, the

cinnamon, and the salt together. Ladle the custard mixture over the

bread making sure that you get the custard over all the bread uniformly.

Sprinkle the top with additional cinnamon. Cover the dish with

plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. Preheat

oven to 350 degrees. Bake uncovered 40 to 50 minutes until a toothpick

inserted in the middle of the pudding comes out clean. Serve hot out of the

oven or at room temperature.

Note: Using challah that is a few days old is fine, because if the bread is just a little stale, it will soak up the custard even better. If you are using fresh challah, I recommend slicing it and letting it sit out on the counter for 1 or 2 hours to let it get a little stale.

Learn How To Make This Versatile Recipe For Chicken Cutlets That Can Be Used In Many Chicken Dishes!

I make these chicken cutlets all the time. They are so easy to make, and they are so delicious! I always have a few packages of thin sliced Purdue cutlets on hand in my freezer. When I get home from work, I take a package out out of the freezer and put it in a pan of cold water. In about 1/2 hour, the chicken cutlets are ready to use. What’s really great about this recipe is that it is so versatile. You can serve the cutlets plain, or you can turn the recipe into chicken parmesan or chicken marsala or chicken with lemon sauce. I usually serve the cutlets plain with some homemade marinara sauce on the side. That way, I’m not adding too many extra calories.

• 1 pound of thin sliced chicken cutlets (I use Purdue)
• plain breadcrumbs or Italian bread crumbs
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 extra large egg
• oil for frying, such as light olive oil

In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix 1 egg with 1 teaspoon of water. Set aside. On a large plate, put some breadcrumbs. If they are plain breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper. If they are seasoned breadcrumbs, you will not need to add any salt, but I still recommend adding a little pepper. Set aside. Put all the cutlets in the egg mixture. Smoosh them around really well so they are coated all over with the egg. Then one at a time, take cutlets out, place on top of the breadcrumbs, turn a few times and really use your fingers to get the chicken coated with the breadcrumbs. Then place the breaded cutlets one at a time on a cookie sheet or half sheet pan.

Take out a large non-stick frying pan (I use a really good, but inexpensive, industrial one that I bought at Costco). Heat the pan before you put the oil in. After about 4 minutes, pour some oil in - about 1/8 inch high, to coat the pan well. Let it sit for another minute over a medium-high flame. It will heat up really quickly because the pan has been heated first. Place the cutlets in one at a time. If you can’t fit them all, just fry them in 2 batches. Let the cutlets fry for about 4 minutes. Let them get beautifully browned before turning over. Then, when they are browned on the underside, flip them, and cook them until they are beautifully browned on the bottom. Drain them on paper towels to soak up any extra oil. Serve.

HINT: Most recipes tell you to dip the chicken first into flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. You absolutely can skip the step of dredging the cutlets into flour before you dip them into your egg. I never do that. It is unnecessary!

Chicken Parmesan Variation: Place the fried cutlets on a half sheet pan covered with aluminum foil. Spoon some homemade or store bought marinara sauce over each cutlet. Sprinkle some grated mozzarella cheese over the sauce, and then place into a 375 degree preheated oven for about 5 minutes. Then what I do at that point is change the oven setting to broil, and then I make sure that my oven rack is in the middle of the oven, and I watch the cutlets carefully. The cheese will get bubbly and browned, and then I take the cutlets out after only another 2 or 3 minutes. If you do turn your oven to broil, you must watch the cutlets to make sure they don’t start to burn. You can leave the oven door open while you are watching the cutlets. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and some extra marinara sauce on the side.

If You Make This Meatloaf Recipe, You Will Never Cook A Dry Meatloaf Again!  

This is another favorite recipe of my mother’s. And this was one of the few meat dishes that my father really loved. When I make meat loaf, this is the recipe that I usually use. I think this recipe came from one of my mother’s wonderful friends, Anita Lapidus. The first time I had this was at a fund raising dinner at the wonderful temple we belonged to in Plainfield, New Jersey, Temple Beth El. They served this meatloaf as the main course. We loved it, so my mother started to make it regularly. Now, I make it for my mother, she freezes the leftovers, and uses it for dinners during the winter.

• 2 pounds of good chop meat – I use 85% lean
• 2 tablespoons Lipton’s onion soup mix
• 8 ounces unsweetened applesauce
• 1 small can tomato sauce (8 oz.), plus enough ketchup to make 1 ½ cups
• ½ cup plain bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, mix together the meat, the onion soup mix, the apple sauce, about 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and ketchup mixture, and bread crumbs - as gently as possible. Spoon some of the reserved tomato sauce mixture on the bottom of a 13 x 9 in. Pyrex baking dish. Put the meat mixture in the dish. Shape the loaf so that it is about 10 inches long by about 7 to 8 inches wide by about 4 inches high. Brush the remaining tomato sauce mixture all over the top and sides of the meatloaf. Bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes.

This Meat Sauce is the Tastiest Meat Sauce  You Will Ever Eat!    This recipe was adapted from my Aunt Sally’s recipe for her spaghetti and meat sauce.  If I had to name the all-time favorite family recipe of my immediate family and my Aunt Sally and Uncle Nat’s family, it would be this recipe for spaghetti with meat sauce.  My cousins Paul, Bobby, and Janie, and my brother Kenny and I all loved this dish.  And when you are dealing with picky eaters, and my cousin Janie and my brother Kenny would both get first place in that category, that’s pretty good.  

    My mother made this recipe at least once or twice a month.    My father also adored this dish, and it was one of the few meat dishes he really loved.  I can picture my wonderful father sitting across from me eating his spaghetti and sauce with pure delight as he sopped up some of the extra sauce with one piece of garlic bread after another.  My father always had a piece of garlic bread in his left hand at all times!  I still remember the bowl that my mother used to serve the sauce in.  It was a pink, plastic bowl.  (Just the other day when I was over my mother’s house, I checked up in the kitchen cabinet to make sure that pink bowl was still there.  I was actually relieved when I found it.  It’s amazing how we can associate certain inanimate objects with some of our most treasured memories.) Anyway, back in the day when my mother brought that bowl of steaming, red, thick sauce over to the table, I thought I was in heaven!  I couldn’t wait to spoon a ton of that sauce on top of my plate of spaghetti.  

    When I began to cook for my own family, of course this became one of my children’s favorites.  Of all my children, my youngest son Benji was the one who really went crazy for this.  He literally would (and still does at 18 years old) pick the plate up and lick every last drop of sauce off the plate.  Benji could eat this 3 times a week and never get tired of it.  I loved watching Benji eat his food!   Of course, I also enjoyed cooking this dish for my parents.  I got such pleasure looking across the table at my parents as they enjoyed my spaghetti and meat sauce the same way my parents kvelled (Yiddish for beamed) as they watched me devour my plate of spaghetti when I was a child. 

    The meatballs were something I added because my children started to request them.  My mother contended that there was no need for meatballs, since there was so much meat in the sauce.  But my father loved the meatballs, and so did my children, my husband, and I.  So the meatballs stayed, and I’ve been making the meatballs ever since.  These meatballs are light and juicy and tasty.  Everyone who eats them says they are the best meatballs in the world!  Oh, and don’t forget to try my recipes for my Aunt Sally’s Amazing Garlic Toast and Shirley’s Easy but Delicious Garlic Bread!

for the sauce:

• about 2  pounds chop meat- 85% - 90% lean (original recipe called for 2 1/2 lbs) 
• 2 medium onions or 1 large onion
• 6-7 garlic cloves
• 4-26 oz. boxes of Pomi strained tomatoes or 4-28 oz. cans whole plum tomatoes in either thick puree or tomato juice - You don’t need to do anything with the Pomi strained tomatoes; they are already pureed.  If you are using the plum tomatoes in the can, then you will need to put the tomatoes into the bowl of the food processor with the metal blade, reserving the puree or juice in the cans, and pulse until the tomatoes are just slightly chunky- about the consistency of chunky applesauce.  If you use tomatoes in thick puree, your sauce will be thicker.  If you use tomatoes in juice, then your sauce will be a little less thick.  I use the Pomi strained tomatoes because they are amazing, and they don’t need to be chopped or processed in the food processor!)  
• 3 6-oz. cans of tomato paste- I usually use Contadina or organic if I can find it.
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• kosher salt to taste (about 2 teaspoons)
• freshly ground pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)
• red pepper flakes to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon)
• herbes de provence or Italian seasoning (about 1/4 teaspoon)
• light olive oil- about 1/4 cup

for the meatballs (meatballs are optional):

• 2 pounds of chop meat (85% - 90% lean)
• 2 eggs, large or extra large
• 1/2-3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup ketchup
• kosher salt, ground or freshly ground pepper to taste

Peel and cut onion into quarters.  Put quartered onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade.  Pulse until onions are very finely chopped and look about the consistency of apple sauce.  (In the original recipe, the onions were not this finely chopped, but I started to do this because my children did not like to see pieces of onions in their sauce.) Then peel and crush garlic cloves and set them aside.  Put about 1/4 cup oil in bottom of very large pot.  Sprinkle the red pepper flakes in the oil  Heat for a minute.  Add the onions, and saute for 5 minutes or so until totally translucent.  Add the crushed garlic.  Cook for one minute more.  Add the 2  pounds of chop meat.  Cook for 2 minutes or so.  You do not really want to brown the meat too much.  (I use a potato masher to make sure the meat does not clump up while it is starting to cook.)  Add all of the Pomi strained tomatoes, or all of the plum tomatoes which you have processed as well as the reserved puree or juice.  Then add the tomato paste.  Mix well with a spoon or a potato masher to totally incorporate the meat with the tomatoes. (I use a potato masher because it works great!)  Add salt and pepper.  Cook covered over a low flame for about an hour, mixing every 15 minutes or so.  Then add some more seasonings, the 1 teaspoon of sugar, and a light sprinkling of herbes de provence, and maybe some more salt.  Cook for another half hour to hour,  mixing every 15 minutes.  If you are not adding meatballs, continue to simmer over a very low flame for another 1-2 hours until the sauce has turned a deeper red, and the sauce is done.  Check for seasoning every so often, and add more salt or red pepper flakes if you like your sauce a little hotter.  Your sauce should have cooked somewhere around three hours altogether if you are not making meatballs.

If you are adding meatballs,  prepare them while the sauce is simmering.  You will want to add the meatballs about 1 1/2 hours after the meat sauce has been simmering.  So you have plenty of time to get them ready to go into the pot of sauce.   In a large bowl, place the 2 pounds of chop meat.  Add 2 eggs, about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, about 1/2 cup of ketchup, and about 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper .  Mix gently with a large fork or with your clean hands.  If the mixture seems too dry, add a little more ketchup.  If it seems extremely loose, add a little more breadcrumbs.  Do not over-mix.  Make your meatballs, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  Set them aside on a large plate until you are ready to place them in the sauce. 

As mentioned above, add the meatballs into the pot after the sauce has been simmering for  to 1 1/2 hours over a very low flame.  Carefully place the meatballs in the sauce.  Cover the pot, and after about 20 minutes, take the top off, and rotate the meatballs gently.  You can be less gentle after the meatballs have cooked and firmed up some.  Continue to simmer the sauce covered on the lowest flame possible for another 2 hours or so after you put the meatballs in.  During this two hours, mix every 15 minutes or so.  Taste periodically, and add more salt, pepper, hot pepper flakes if you think it’s necessary.  When you mix, be sure to get to the bottom of the pot to insure the sauce doesn’t burn. Serve over pasta. 

Note #1:  This sauce is very meaty.  You can reduce the meat to 1 pound or 1 1/2 pounds and the sauce will still turn out great!

Note #2:  Freeze any leftovers in quart containers, dividing the meatballs evenly between the containers.

Note #3:  I usually double this recipe when I make it, and I use 1 huge pot or 2 very large pots.  If you are doubling the recipe, you can reduce the meat in the sauce from 4 to 3 pounds, but still use the 4 pounds of meat for the meatballs, because you can never have too many of these meatballs.

Note #5:  If you enjoy casual entertaining, make this and serve it with salad and garlic bread, and everybody will be happy!  Try my recipes for Aunt Sally’s Amazing Garlic Toast or Shirley’s Easy Garlic Bread!

Make this tasty chicken dish that is similar to a stew!

This recipe was adapted from my Aunt Sally’s recipe for chicken fricassee.  My memories of this dish are from when I was growing up.  Chicken fricassee was one of my Aunt Sally’s specialties.  Almost everyone in her family loved that dish, but I think my cousins Bobby and Paul especially loved it.  I don’t think my cousin Janie liked it as a child, because as I recall, Janie only liked 2 things, plain noodles with butter and spaghetti with sauce.   Well, when my Grandpa Hindes was living with my Uncle Nat and my Aunt Sally after my grandmother died, my parents, my brother Kenny and I would go every Friday night to my aunt’s and uncle’s house to visit my grandfather.  Sometimes when we got to the house, the chicken fricassee leftovers from dinner would still be sitting out on the counter.  As I walked through the kitchen to go into the porch where my grandfather would be sitting and watching tv, I would literally stare at the plate of leftovers.  Yes, my mouth would start to water just looking at the chicken.  The smell was incredible, and aesthetically, I just liked the way the dish looked. (My aunt was a fabulous cook!)  My cousins Bobby and Paul would usually be watching tv in the porch too.  Inevitably, they’d get up and make themselves plates of the leftover chicken fricassee.   I was so jealous.  I wanted a plate too, but I never had the nerve to ask.  Sometimes, I’d go in the kitchen and steal a little taste.  It was so delicious!  Another memory I have associated with this dish is that when my Grandma Fried died and we were sitting shiva at my Aunt Florence and Uncle Larry’s house, my Aunt Sally made a hug shissle of her chicken fricassee for our whole family.  Even in the midst of mourning, I specifically remember how delighted I was that my Aunt Sally cooked this for us.  How I was loved eating this chicken! 

• 2 medium or 1 very large onion
• 5-8 garlic cloves
• 5 large chicken breast pieces on the bone or one whole chicken cut up in eighths
• 1-  28 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes in tomato juice (crush by hand or roughly chop), including juice in the can
• 2 tablespoons white wine (optional)
• 1 bunch fresh carrots, peeled and cut up into large chunks
• kosher salt
• fresh cracked pepper
• paprika
• garlic powder
• olive oil (I use light)
• rice or egg noodles for serving 

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, a little garlic powder, and a lot of paprika.  Set aside. 

Peel and chop onion to your liking, either diced or roughly chopped.   (If your children don’t like to see pieces of onion in their food, you can chop the onion finely in the food processor, using the metal blade.)  Then peel garlic, crush it, and set aside. 

Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons light olive oil in the bottom of a large dutch oven, large and deep frying pan, or large saucepan.  Put onion in, and saute over medium flame.  When onion is almost translucent, put the garlic in.  Season the onion and garlic mixture with salt and pepper.  Saute for another minute or two.   Place the chicken pieces in the pot or pan, and brown lightly on one side over a medium-low flame.  Turn the chicken, and brown on the other side.  (After you turn it, sprinkle it with a little more paprika.) After chicken in lightly browned on both sides, pour the chopped tomatoes and juice in, put the cut up carrots in, and add the white wine (optional).  Put the top on.  Cook about 1 hour  to 1 1/2 hours over a low to medium heat to maintain a definite simmer.  Give chicken a light sprinkling of paprika once or twice.  If you notice that the sauce is getting a bit dry, add a little water.  When you think the chicken is cooked, start preparing either rice or noodles to serve it with.  You can keep dish at a simmer while the rice is cooking ; the chicken won’t dry out if it cooks a little longer.  You may do a few things at this point.  You can serve the chicken on top of rice or noodles on a platter, or you can serve the rice or noodles separately. 

At this point, I do something different, though.  My children don’t like to eat chicken on the bone.  So I take the chicken out of the pot, I take the skin off, and I cut the chicken into nice chunks.  Then I put the chicken back in the pot, and I cook it for another 15 minutes or so to really get the gravy into the meat. Then I ladle the chicken,  and the sauce and vegetables on top of rice or egg noodles on a round or oval serving platter.

Note:  If you want to make this according to my Aunt Sally’s recipe, serve the chicken on the bone.    

Make this tasty, rich beef stew for a meal that will warm you on a cold winter day!

My mother, Shirley Fried, loved this recipe.  She got it from her best friend, Adele Hochheiser.  Adele was a wonderful Jewish cook.  As a child, I loved going over to Adele’s house because of all the delicious food preparations and food goings on there.  I especially loved being there for one of her Friday night (Shabbat) dinners.  The smells in her house were intoxicating.  One of my vivid childhood memories is going over for dinner to the Hochheiser’s on the Jewish holiday of Sukkoth.  We ate dinner in the beautifully decorated succah at least 3 times during my childhood.  What a treat!  Those dinners in the succah were so delicious.  The whole experience of eating dinner with the Hochheiser family, with Al and Adele and their three girls, Gail, Rhonda, and Nancy was wonderful.  The dinner I remember best is when Adele made duck with a cherry sauce. It was elegant and delicious.  Now, getting back to this stew recipe, I really have not changed Adele’s original stew recipe at all.  My ex-husband, Joe Kahn loved this stew, but my mother loved it the most.  I have made this stew for my mother often.  She freezes it and eats it for much loved meals during the winter.  My mother likes to eat it over brown rice.

• 2-3 pounds chuck stew meat
• 2-3 cans Condensed Rokeach Mushroom and Barley Soup
• 2-3 small 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
• 1 large onion, peeled (whole)
• kosher salt
• pepper
• corn or light olive oil

Put a little corn oil or light olive oil in the bottom of a large pot.  Put the stew meat in pot, and season the meat with salt and pepper.  Brown the meat.  Pour off any fat, or drain the beef in a colander and then return to the pot.  Add the soup and the tomato sauce.  Peel the onion, pierce it with the prongs of a fork to allow the juices to flow out of it as it cooks, and add it to the pot.  Add a little water, so that the meat is almost covered with liquid.  Bring to a simmer over a medium flame, and then cover the pot.  Cook about 2 1/2 to 3 hours over a very low flame or until the meat is very tender.  Season to taste with additional pepper.

Note:  You don’t need to go too heavy on the salt, because the salt content in the soup is very high already.

This is another outstanding recipe from my Grandma Hindes.  I never had her apple fritters, but I did have my mother’s.  This dish was one of my mother’s favorites when she was growing up.  My mother always mentions what a great cook her mother was, but for some reason my mother didn’t appreciate most of her mother’s cooking when she was growing up.  But my mother did love my grandmother’s apple fritters - a lot.   I remember hearing my mother explain how my grandfather and my Uncle Nat would come home every noon from the dress factory they owned and worked at in South River, N.J. (The South River Dress Company), to one of these delicious full course lunches.  The apple fritters were one of the delicious side dishes she made for them for lunch.  My mother made these when I was growing up, too.  These are delicious!  When most people think of fritters, they think of something that is roundish in shape and deep fried.  These are neither. They are more like a pancake, with a light and airy batter, with delectable chunks of sweet apple inside.  You have to try them.  Really, I can’t tell you how lucky you are to have the opportunity to make this family, heirloom recipe!  Don’t miss this rare opportunity!

• 4 extra large eggs
• 1 cup of regular milk
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour (plus an extra 1/4 cup if necessary)
• 2 generous pinches baking powder (each one about 1/2 teaspoon)
• 2 pinches Kosher salt (each one about 1/4 teaspoon)
• 2 heaping tablespoons granulated sugar
• 6 large Rome, Winesap, Granny Smith, Yellow Delicious, or other baking apples, cut into thinish chunks
• oil for frying ( corn or canola)

Peel and slice the apples.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk the milk with the eggs.  Whisk in the flour, the baking powder, the salt, and the sugar until the mixture is as lump free as possible.  I usually need to add the 1/4 cup more flour mentioned above if the batter is too thin.  Fold in the apples with a rubber spatula.

Heat corn oil or canola oil in a large frying pan, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch high.  Drop spoonfuls in about the size of silver dollar pancakes.  The batter will get a bit puffy, and when it is nicely browned on the bottom, flip over with a spatula.  Brown on the other side, and drain on paper towels.  I serve them with granulated sugar served on the side, but I guess you could sprinkle them with confectioners sugar.  The taste of the granulated sugar on them is perfect, though! 

Note:  These may be frozen in an aluminum tin.  Lay them so they are not overlapping.  Then put a sheet of aluminum foil over the first layer, and repeat with a second layer of fritters.  You can heat them directly from the freezer.  Put them on a half sheet pan or on a cookie sheet covered with foil into a preheated oven, about 350 degrees until they are hot and bubbly (about 20 min.) 

In the summer, I substitute peaches or blueberries for the apples.