This past week I got the Morningstar Farms Grill Starters for less than $1 a package at Publix.  I adapted a Turkish style Stuffed Pepper recipe and substituted it for the ground beef.  Remember that the crumbles are dairy, so you'll end up with a chalavi kosher dish.  So ice cream might make a great desert :)

Kosher Chicken a la King — This is a kosher adaptation of one of my favorite recipes that my grandmother makes.  It is oh so yummy!

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Saute the onions, when they are translucent, turning brown, add the celery and mushrooms and oil.
2. Once the mushrooms are cooked through, add the cooked chicken and the peas.  Let them cook until the peas are thaw.
3. Mix the half a cup of soy milk with corn starch, salt, and pepper together. Add all of the soy milk, including that mixed with the starch. Bring it to a boil.  Cook until the milk thickens into a nice sauce and the peas are soft.
4. Turn off the stove and add one cup of green olives.  Serve over rice or toast.

I just read a great article by Norene Gilletz, author of The New Food Processor Bible, about how to prepare inexpensive, kosher food for traveling and vacationing titled Food for Savvy Family Travel.  The article provides little mess, travel-friendly recipes and a valuable list of ways to plan any trip in terms of food.  You probably already do some of her suggestions, but her list is very comprehensive and great to review when planning any vacation meal plan.  Check out Norene's Blog at www.gourmania.com

Here's an excerpt from her article Food for Savvy Family Travel:

* A “vacation box” can be packed with inexpensive kitchen equipment so it won’t matter if you lose something but the equipment is of decent enough quality to work properly:

1 dairy frypan (preferably nonstick)
1 pot for pasta along with a colander
1 pot for boiling eggs
1 soup pot and 1 frypan for meat
1 pot for cooking vegetables
A big salad bowl (or two)
Disposable cutting boards
A couple of decent knives
A ladle, tongs, measuring equipment
A few mixing bowls, spoons and spatulas
A grater, vegetable peeler and cheese slicer
New sponge and scrubbies

Shabbat Shalom, Y'all!  This is going to be my first Shabbat in 3 years that my husband and I are apart.  He has had a buddy pass for nearly a year, and the expiration date is set for August, so he had to use it.  Our finances have been very tight this last year after he lost his car repair shop, so we've had to save every nickle and penny for him to be able to go.  He's gone to see his parents, who he has not seen in over six years.  Te reason we were apart three years ago was because I got to go on Birthright to Israel.  I hope I won't be too lonely while he is gone, but at least I have my brother to keep us company.

So, what's on our Shabbat menu?  I'm making one of my favorite dishes that my husband taught me.  I hate to say this about my mother, but she is not such a great stew maker.  I had no idea that beef stew could taste so good until my husband made this with me.  It's very easy to make and cooks while you are making all the salads and other odds and ends for Shabbat.

Red-Wine Beef Stew:

Ingredients- 1 lb. chuck steak- cubed, 4 potatoes peeled and quartered, 2 onions diced, 8 oz. mushrooms, 2 cups red dry wine (I usually use a Cabernet Sauvignon.  This time I used Barkan Cabernet Sauvignon), 2 cups water, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, 2 tsp. parsley, 1 tbsp. flour., 2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions: Braze beef on high heat with flour for about 30 seconds, stirring.  Add oil and onions and saute for about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, potatoes, and wine, then add spices.  Add enough water to almost cover (mushrooms will float).  Bring it to a boil then lower the temperature to medium low and cook for two hours. Serve over Basmati Rice.