It is almost here and the buzzing about “what I’m making” has already started. I try to put it to the back burner till about 2 weeks before the actual shopping and cooking. I have to admit to already picking up farfel, matzo, and matzo meal and a few other key ingredients.  The stores have had Passover ingredients for a few weeks already and I see a few of you sneaking peeks at my Passover Recipes already. No denying it, it’s time to at least start thinking about your menu or what you’re planning on bringing to the Seder you will be going to.

I am going to start posting all the recipes that I think you’ll be needing to look at in the next week or so.  You can also go to cookingwithcandi.com and put in the title of the recipe you are looking for,  you can also put in Passover to the search box and the Passover recipes should come up . I will try and make sure that all Passover recipes are tagged appropriately. Please do not hesitate to email me or contact me on cookingwithcandi.com , I do try and respond to all inquiries. Any suggestions?  I am always open to new and different recipes even if my family always wants the same old recipes. Tradition is what it’s all about.

Here are some of the recipes you might want to take a look at:

Let’s start at the beginning.

Homemade Chicken Soup with Not-So-Homemade Matzo Balls

Passover Popovers

Traditional Ashkenazi Charoset

Chicken Marbella-probably my go to Main Chicken Dish -it’s wonderful and spring like

Bree’s Slow Cooked Skirt Steaks

Slow Cooked Brisket-Super Easy

Happy New Year Brisket

Old School Meatballs (sweet and sour)

Un-Stuffed Cabbage

Apricot Honey-Mustard Chicken

Honey Roasted Chicken

Peach Farfel

Karyn’s Cranberry Apple Crisp for Passover

Chocolate Bark

Grandma Regina’s Farfel for Passover

Judy’s Apple Matzoh Kugel for Passover

Spinach Souffle for Passover-so very easy-Vegetarian/Dairy Side Dish

Chocolate Bark Surprise

Passover Cobbler

My Favorite Macaroons-Traditional Style for Passover

macaroons for passover

Passover spinach souffle

Cathy’s Popovers for Passover

Passover Cobbler

Bree’s Slow Cooked Skirt Steaks- perfect for Passover because it frees up your oven

Traditional Ashkenazi Charoset with Apples and Walnuts

Peach Farfel -a must make dish

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I had chicken breasts in the refrigerator ready to go and had to figure out what I was doing with them using ingredients that I had in the house. I have been waiting to try a Tikki Masala Recipe but didn’t have all the ingredients so I had lemons, garlic, even had fresh rosemary in the house. I really threw this together and the next time out I would use thin chicken cutlets .  I would use 1 package of cutlets for the 2 of us, which is usually around the 1 lb. mark. This recipe would be perfect for 1 lb. of chicken cutlets. Double up for 2 lbs.

As I said this was a very thrown together recipe. I tried to keep track of what I was doing so I could duplicate recipe. It is one of those recipes that you sort of wing as you go. We really enjoyed this chicken and I hope you will too.

Ingredients:

1 package of thin chicken cutlets or app. 4 chicken cutlets

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. Grapeseed Oil, if no Grapeseed Oil use canola or sunflower

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice ( app. 1 average size lemon)

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, if you’re gluten-free use gluten-free flour such as rice flour, or corn flour and it will be just fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped

1 Tsp. Kosher Salt and more to taste

1/2 Tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper and more to taste

1/4 cup dry white wine

Directions:

Whisk together in a large bowl the olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary and 1 tsp. kosher salt and 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper. Place chicken cutlets into bowl and place in the refrigerator for a 1/2 hour.

Remove chicken cutlets from marinade and place on a plate, discard the marinade. I sprinkled a little more kosher salt and pepper on the top side of chicken (shiny side) . Then dredge lightly in the flour, you should have more than enough flour with 2 Tbsp. but if you need more you can add it. Tap Breasts after you dredge to remove excess flour.

Turn oven on low or a warming drawer works well here , just to keep chicken warm after you cook it on stovetop.  Heat a large skillet over medium to high heat and add grapeseed oil. When oil is very hot, place one or two pieces of chicken in the pan–don’t crowd. Cook for a few minutes on each side, (try not to overcook or the chicken will be very dry) just until you see it browning up, this is why the thinner chicken works best here.  Transfer to a plate and blot the chicken with paper towel. Cook all the chicken. I placed chicken on a baking sheet and put in the oven/warming drawer while I cooked the mushrooms.

Turn burner down to medium high heat , add mushrooms to the pan and sprinkle with a little kosher salt and pepper. Let them sear for about a minute without touching them, then stir , scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. When the mushrooms start to soften add the wine, chopped thyme, and you can taste for salt and pepper. Continue to stir the mushrooms until the wine has evaporated and mushrooms are tender and ready , app. 10 minutes. I removed chicken from oven , plated it up over basmati rice and added the mushrooms over the chicken. That’s it and it was delicious.

Soup Season is officially upon us even though today is a particularly warm day in New York. It’s still the time of year that you like to hunker down with a cozy delicious meal.

This was an absolutely delicious dinner soup I made the other night. I like my soups to simmer for a while on the stove top, I made this soup about 2 hours before we were going to eat it. This soup can be made rather quickly or you can allow it to simmer for a few hours. It’s even better the next day. If serving the next day you will most likely need to add liquid, I added a little bit of water or you can add stock. Just add a little at a time.

There is a little effort involved here but mostly chopping and prepping.

I used my mini-processor for chopping carrots because I wanted them finely chopped.

The fresh herbs tasted wonderful and I wouldn’t omit.

You can use turkey or chicken sausage or any kind of sausage you would prefer.

I served alongside a crusty bread,  manchego cheese and a beautiful red wine.

*this soup can easily be frozen

*will serve 6-8 easily

Enjoy this !

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 pound spicy turkey sausage, Italian sausage (casings removed) chicken sausage, whatever you prefer, chopped.

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

3 carrots, finely chopped– to obtain this chop I used my mini processor

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 Tablespoons finely chopped sage

1 Tablespoon finely chopped rosemary

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt –which was enough

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes–clearly this is optional but it adds a little kick

4 cups Chicken / Vegetable Stock –low sodium or regular it’s you’re call

1 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes

3 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

app. 1/2 lb. baby spinach–or any greens you’d like. You can eyeball it to see how much you’d like to use. You could use heartier greens, like kale or collard greens–just be certain to cook them in the soup for at least 5 minutes prior to serving. You want them to wilt and break down a bit.

Directions:

In a large stockpot heat the olive oil over medium-heat.

Cook Sausage, stirring occasionally and breaking up any large pieces as it cooks. Cook until browned, app. 10 minutes or so. Transfer sausage with a slotted spoon to another plate.

Add onions, carrots, and garlic to pot and cook in the oil from sausage. Stir frequently, until onions are tender. App. another 10 minutes.

Add sage, rosemary, salt , pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir in chicken stock, tomatoes and their juices, and reserved sausage. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until flavors have melded together, at least 15 minutes. I let it sit and simmer for about 2 hours on a very low simmer, stirring occasionally.

Before you’re ready to serve you will do this next step: this will add 15 minutes more of cooking time, you can always simmer longer.

Coarsely mash beans from 1 can of rinsed , drained beans. You can use a fork for this or a potato masher. Then add this mash to soup. Stir in the almond milk and remaining 2 cans of rinsed, drained beans. Let simmer for another 15 minutes at least. Taste for salt and pepper at this point. I didn’t need to add any.

I added the spinach a few minutes before serving, just eyeball out about 1/2 cup of baby spinach or whatever greens you are using. The heartier greens like kale will take a little longer to break down.

You can top soup with freshly grated parmesan if you’d like.