I can’t stand when people say “Oh, my kids love this!” I always think – well, good for you! Your kids probably eat spinach too. Well, here I am doing the same.

If I’m perfectly honest, I had to BEG them to try it. My older kids are starting to warm to broccoli in general, but this one they devour. It’s really a kid-friendly recipe, and a bit less diabetic friendly. But it’s not sugary sweet. A drizzle of honey to complement the butter goes a long way, and this is like broccoli crack.

While I make this for dinners year-round it’s also perfect for Chanukah or Shavuot where the tradition is to double down on dairy!

How to Cook your Buttery Broccoli

In the Betty Crocker Pizza Maker

This originated from a mixture of “how can I get my kids to eat some greens” and “how can I get dinner on the table in minutes” issues. So I made it in the Betty – and it came out delicious.

The Betty Crocker pizza maker that I used has a pretty high temperature (I find it similar to frying). I think it’s officially about 450°F. While it’s close to roasting temperatures in the oven, it’s directly in contact with the food. This allows the liquids that drain off to dissolve quite quickly.

I find that it comes out so good like this and is ready in about ten minutes from frozen! It’s definitely my best way to make it – so do it that way if you can. It’s moist and soft, with a hint of sweet, and packed with cheesy flavor.

In the Oven

There’s no reason you can’t make this in the oven! The biggest drawback: you’ll probably want to defrost and drain the liquid first. I do it in a covered pan, and do it at 425 for about an hour. It’s more of a soft cooked recipe than a roasted one, and that’s the idea. My kids are averse to crispy edges and this recipe doesn’t need it.

While I used mozzarella, if you use parmesan and open it for the last ten minutes, you’ll get crispy deliciousness if that’s what you’re after.

In the Air Fryer

I haven’t done this in the air fryer – mine is dedicated to meat dishes – but I’d imagine it would be delicious. The texture would be very different – dryer and crispier. It also wouldn’t sit in the butter as much as you’re cooking it, so you’ll likely get less butter and more salty flavor, but you can also melt butter and toss it for the last few minutes.

I would recommend first melting the butter with the other ingredients. and tossing it thoroughly with the broccoli if you plan to air fry it.

Tips for prepping and serving buttery broccoli

Can you Make Buttery Broccoli in Advance?

I hate answering this question but I get it, I always have the same. Obviously it’s yummiest fresh!

But the truth is, you can prep it a couple of days in advance – it’ll last 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. But if you’re crisping it at all, you’ll lose that. If not, it’ll be quite delicious still if not totally fresh.

Cooked vegetables tend to not freeze very well. It’ll get mushy and lose its delicious texture. It’s very simple to prep so you really don’t need to advance freeze.

What to serve with buttery broccoli and cheese

I usually make this as a healthy addition to a pasta dinner. It goes great with rice as well, and is the perfect vegetable side for a salmon dinner.

I plan to serve it alongside potato latkes, an assortment of pastas and salads, and salmon sushi cups at our Hanukkah party.

Buttery Broccoli with Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

• 16 oz frozen broccoli (you can, of course, scale this up. If making more than 48 oz/ 2-24 oz bags, just double the other ingredients)
• 1/2 stick butter
• Drizzle of honey
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Season it well – I use salt, pepper and a good spice mix in addition (such as Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning salute)
• A Betty Crocker pizza maker

Process

1. Line your Betty Crocker with parchment paper.
2. Put in your broccoli and cut pats of butter to place all over it.
3. Drizzle on honey and season it.
4. Close your Betty Crocker and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes, checking frequently after the 5 minute mark.
5. Turn it off when it’s still bright green but just starting to crisp at the edges.
6. Sprinkle Mozzarella on top and cover the Betty Crocker for another few minutes until the Broccoli is very soft and cheese is melted.

Enjoy it fresh! Try topping it with crispy onions, parmesan, or whatever you think will complement it!

Yield: 4

Delicious Cheesy Buttery Broccoli in the Betty Crocker (or oven!)

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

This delicious cheesy broccoli can be made in the Betty Crocker pizza maker or the oven! We prefer to make ours in the pizza maker. It's drizzled with honey for a hint of sweet, and is full of cheesy goodness. It's packed with nutrients and a kid-friendly recipe that even my pickier eaters enjoy.

Print

Ingredients

• 16 oz frozen broccoli (you can, of course, scale this up. If making more than 48 oz/ 2-24 oz bags, just double the other ingredients)
• 1/2 stick butter
• Drizzle of honey
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Season it well - I use salt, pepper and a good spice mix in addition (such as Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning salute)
• A Betty Crocker (or similar) pizza maker

Instructions

1. Line your Betty Crocker with parchment paper.
2. Put in your broccoli and cut pats of butter to place all over it.
3. Drizzle on honey and season it.
4. Close your Betty Crocker and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes, checking frequently after the 5 minute mark.
5. Turn it off when it's still bright green but just starting to crisp at the edges.
6. Sprinkle Mozzarella on top and cover the Betty Crocker for another few minutes until the Broccoli is very soft and cheese is melted.

Enjoy it fresh!

Notes

Try topping it with crispy onions, parmesan, or whatever you think will complement it!

I usually make this as a healthy addition to a pasta dinner. It goes great with rice as well, and is the perfect vegetable side for a salmon dinner.

You can prep it a couple of days in advance - it'll last 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. This will get mushy if frozen.

You can make this in the oven at about 425 for an hour (covered). You'll need to defrost your broccoli and drain the liquid first. If cooking it uncovered, check after half an hour and gauge accordingly.

Try it with maple syrup for a slightly different flavor!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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  Amazon Grocery, Golden Pure Honey, 16 Oz (Previously Amazon Fresh, Packaging May Vary)
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  Baking Parchment Circles, Set of 100, 12 Inch
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  Betty Crocker Countertop Pizza Maker

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The post Best Ever Buttery Broccoli with Cheese (Betty Crocker or Oven) appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

Shavuot can feature some pretty hot weather – especially if you’re in a warmer climate.

So why not feature a fun, frozen variation on traditional cheesecake? These cheesecake popsicles are heavenly cold treats on a sweltering late Spring day.

While these cheesecake popsicles were made with blueberries, you can try it in other flavors too! The blueberries, of course, have an incredible, rich color, but others will look – and taste- fabulous too!

The obvious choice would be to try making a strawberry cheesecake popsicle. You can try other berries, and even switch out the fruit completely!

And if you mix blueberries and strawberries, and make the swirl variety (more on that soon) you’ll have a patriotic Fourth of July dessert too!

The best part about making these: they come together literally in minutes (minus the cleanup)! Yes, you don’t need more than ten minutes to make this, so if you remember half an hour before Shavuot that you flaked on tomorrow’s dessert, you’re covered! Yes, this has actually happened to me. I plan a complex menu and forget the desserts… Our Shavuot menu planner can actually help with that.

Note: You’ll still need eight hours for it to freeze.

Tips for making cheesecake popsicles

You can play around with the amount of sugar in these, if you want to reduce your intake. However, a lot will depend on the sweetness of your berries.

One way to allow for less sugar is to avoid tart berries. You can even use slightly overripe ones. You can also add in overripe bananas, but don’t put too much or the flavor will come through strongly.

The gorgeous marbled effect on this cheesecake popsicle recipe is totally optional, and yes, it does make the process into much more of an operation. But it’s optional! This is one of those recipes that you can literally just dump, blend, and freeze.

Skip the lemon zest if that’s beyond your scope of easy recipes! It definitely adds a lot, but it’s not necessary. You can replace it with two additional tablespoons of lemon juice, half a teaspoon of lemon extract, or another citrus fruit’s zest.

If you’re making cheesecake popsicles for young children, you can make them as freeze pops instead! Just use these disposable ice pop bags, or these reusable silicone ones. We’ve been using the disposable ones for years to make juice pops for the summer and my kids love them! They won’t look as pretty and classy, but they’ll be a hit among the littles!

What you need to make the cheesecake popsicle recipe

• Yield: 10 pops
• Prep: 8 min
• Freeze time: 8 hours

Equipment needed

• Popsicle molds
• Popsicle sticks – food grade (you can get reusable ones too)
• Blender
• Measuring Cups
• Optional: lemon zester
• Optional: Saucepan if making the pretty marbled version
• Recommended: hand or stand mixer if making the pretty marbled version
• Optional: piping bags if making the pretty marbled version

Ingredients to make blueberry cheesecake popsicles

Note: While I do my best to link appropriately, I can’t take responsibility for the Kosher status of any of these ingredients. Please double check according to your standards!

• 1 cup frozen blueberries 
• 1/3+1/3 cup of granulated sugar (separated if you’re making the marbled version)
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest (or an additional 2 tsp lemon juice)
• Optional: Milk (if you feel you need additional liquid to enhance the texture)

There are two ways to make blueberry cheesecake popsicles

As you can see here, these cheesecake popsicles feature a gorgeous swirl. But that’s optional. I’m going to show you how to make it both ways – the easy way and the pretty way!

If you’re hosting a classy Shavuot meal and making this for dessert, you may prefer to put in the extra effort and go all-in with the pretty way.

If you’re simply making these as a summer treat, are short on time, or don’t care about how it looks, definitely go with the “dump, blend, and freeze” version!

How to make them the pretty way

First, combine the frozen blueberries, 1/3 cup of sugar, and lemon zest in a small saucepan.

Heat it until the sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Keep an eye on it – you don’t want to leave it at this point.

Pour the blueberry and sugar mixture into a blender and blend it until you get a smooth consistency.

Mix your cream cheese, the second 1/3 cup sugar and lemon juice together. Mix until smooth

You may need to add a little milk to your cream cheese mixture if it’s chunky. That’ll loosen things up and help you get a smooth consistency.

Add roughly 1/3 cup of the blueberry mixture to the cream cheese and fold it in gently.

Optional: if you want you can work with piping bags, if you have good control with them and want to be more specific with where you place your two shades of mixture.

Start by adding some cream cheese mixture to the popsicle mold. Then add some blueberry mixture. Keep rotating. This is what gives it a two-toned, gorgeous marbled effect.

You can use a skewer, knife, or toothpick to swirl it gently if you want, but don’t overdo this as you’ll be mixing the colors together if you do. This will also help to pop air bubbles, if there are any.

The cool thing about marbling your blueberry cheesecake popsicles is that each one will be totally unique!

Cover if your mold comes with it, and then add add a popsicle stick to each mold.

Freeze for 8 hours or overnight and then enjoy!

How to make these the easy way

Short on time, don’t care how it looks, and want to save time? Simply dump all your ingredients into a blender, blend it, and pour it into a mold. Freeze it for at least eight hours and enjoy! These will be a solid color and won’t have the gorgeous marbled effect featured here.

Which occasion will you be making this cheesecake popsicle recipe for? Comment below!

Yield: 10 Pops

Frozen Berry Cheesecake Pops

Prep Time: 8 minutes

Additional Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 minutes

These decadent blueberry cheesecake popsicles can be made in any berry flavor! Make these as a delicious Shavuot dessert, and mix berries for patriotic July 4th treats. There are two ways to make these: marble two tones of mixture for a beautiful, elegant look, or blend, dump, and freeze for a 5 minute treat!

Print

Ingredients

Equipment

Toggle ingredient group

• Popsicle molds
• Popsicle sticks - food grade
• Blender
• Measuring Cups
• Optional: lemon zester
• Optional: Saucepan if making the pretty marbled version
• Recommended: mixer if making the pretty marbled version
• Optional: piping bags if making the pretty marbled version

Ingredients:

Toggle ingredient group

• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/3+1/3 cup of granulated sugar (separated if you're making the marbled version)
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest (or an additional 2 tsp lemon juice)
• Optional: Milk (if you feel you need additional liquid to enhance the texture)

Instructions

The pretty way:

1. First, combine the frozen blueberries, 1/3 cup of sugar, and lemon zest in a small saucepan.
   
2. Heat it until the sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Keep an eye on it - you don't want to leave it at this point.
   
3. Pour the blueberry and sugar mixture into a blender and blend it until you get a smooth consistency.
   
4. Mix your cream cheese, the second 1/3 cup sugar and lemon juice together. Mix until smooth
   
5. You may need to add a little milk to your cream cheese mixture if it's chunky. That'll loosen things up and help you get a smooth consistency.
   
6. Add roughly 1/3 cup of the blueberry mixture to the cream cheese and fold it in gently.
   
7. Optional: if you want you can work with piping bags, if you have good control with them and want to be more specific with where you place your two shades of mixture.
   
8. Start by adding some cream cheese mixture to the popsicle mold. Then add some blueberry mixture. Keep rotating. This is what gives it a two-toned, gorgeous marbled effect.
   
9. You can use a skewer, knife, or toothpick to swirl it gently if you want, but don't overdo this as you'll be mixing the colors together if you do. This will also help to pop air bubbles, if there are any.
   
10. The cool thing about marbling your blueberry cheesecake popsicles is that each one will be totally unique!
    
11. Cover if your mold comes with it, and then add add a popsicle stick to each mold.
    
12. Freeze for 8 hours or overnight and then enjoy!
    

The easy way

1. Short on time, don't care how it looks, and want to save time? Simply dump all your ingredients into a blender, blend it, and pour it into a mold.
2. Freeze it for at least eight hours and enjoy! These will be a solid color and won't have the gorgeous marbled effect featured here.

Notes

You can substitute 2 tsp lemon juice for the zest.

To reduce added sugar, use sweeter berries.

You can make these in freeze pop sleeves too - ideally for young kids.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Popsicle Molds Set
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  Jewish Recipe Binder Organizer for Jewish Holiday | Etsy

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The post Blueberry Cheesecake Popsicle Recipe – an Easy Shavuot Dessert appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

Scroll to the end of this page to get the printable Mushroom Medley Muenster Quiche recipe. 

When I got married, a wonderful friend of mine gifted me a binder full of tried and true recipes- her recipes, her mother’s, my mother’s, etc. In the dairy section was a recipe for mushroom quiche. I’m actually not the biggest fan of mushrooms, but I do like them in two types of dishes- quiche, as I discovered when I tried her recipe, and soups.

I was such a novice when I first started cooking that when I saw the recipe called for a pie crust, I baked the quiche in a graham cracker crust. I had no idea there were frozen pie crusts for savory dishes!

Over the year, as I fell in love with cooking (and eventually baking!) I tweaked her recipe and made it my own. The original called for canned mushrooms; in this Mushroom Medley Muenster Quiche, as the title hints, I use three types of mushrooms, slowly sauteed for maximum flavor.

Ingredients for Mushroom Medley Muenster Quiche

• 9″ deep dish frozen pie crust
• oil for sauteeing, about 1/2 TBSP
• 1 white onion, diced
• 4 – 6 oz white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 4 – 6 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 4 – 6 oz crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 4 oz muenster cheese, shredded
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme

How to make Mushroom Medley Muenster Quiche

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. Using a fork, prick small holes into the frozen pie crust. Place in oven for 10 minutes. When done, remove from oven and let cool.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan. Saute onion for 5-7 minutes, until translucent.
4. Add mushrooms to pan. On medium-low heat, saute mushrooms, stirring occasionally until mushrooms have reduced in size and darkened in color. This will take between 10 and 20 minutes.
5. Add garlic to pan and saute for an additional minute or two.
6. Set mushroom mixture aside and let cool.
7. In a small bowl, combine heavy cream, egg, egg whites, flour, muenster cheese, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
8. Set the pie crust on top of a baking sheet in case of leaks.
9. Pour mushroom mixture into pie crust.
10. Pour cheese mixture over the mushrooms. Sprinkle with thyme.
11. Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or until golden brown and top is set.
12. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before slicing so the inside has a chance to firm up.

This Mushroom Medley Muenster Quiche freezes very well in an airtight bag. Reheat directly in oven. 

The post Mushroom Medley Muenster Quiche appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

I like to make both dairy and meat meals on Shavuot, but I save the dairy meals for nighttime for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we don’t like heavy meals at night. We eat low carb, and not too much cheese and feel better than eating meat and potatoes. In addition, the men would prefer to drink coffee through the night, and real milk is always the better option.

This golden onion soup with a delectable pastry crust is the perfect way to start a meal. It whets the appetite, but doesn’t leave you feeling too full.

I like a pastry crust over a floating piece of cheese toast because it presents nicer. It’s also keeps the pastry and cheese separate from the soup so the pastry doesn’t get too soggy right away and the cheese doesn’t congeal or clump inside the hot soup.

If you’d prefer to keep the pastry separate so people can opt whether they want it or not, simply bake them without attaching them to the ramekins for the same amount of time on a (real, metal) baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

If you’ve made onion soup before, you already know that the most important step is caramelizing the onions. This is done low and slow, and it’s a process that cannot be rushed. The end result is so worth it. I recommend leaving the pot alone, just a quick stir every ten minutes. Set a timer so you don’t forget.

For a printable version of the Classic Onion Soup with Cheesy Pastry Crust recipe, scroll to the end of this post.

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Supplies you’ll need to make Classic Onion Soup with Cheesy Pastry Crust

• baking sheet (not disposable!)
• oven safe ramekins
• stock pot

Ingredients for Classic Onion Soup with Cheesy Pastry Crust

1 TBSP butter

1 TBSP vegetable oil

6 large vidalia onions, sliced into half moons

1/4 tsp sugar

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup dry sherry or marsala

2 cups vegetarian chicken broth

4 cups water

2 bay leaves

1 TBSP kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

mini puff pastry squares, defrosted (You’ll only need as many as you are planning to prepare in individual ramekins.)

sliced Gouda cheese (the same amount as the pastry squares)

grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp dried rosemary, divided

How to make Classic Onion Soup with Cheesy Pastry Crust

1. In a large stock pot, heat butter and oil over medium hot.
2. When the butter is just melted, add sliced onions and sugar into pot. (Pot will be full, but the onions will shrink considerably once caramelized.)
3. Saute over medium to high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, than lower heat and cover. Check on the onions every 10 to 15 minutes and stir. This process will take a minimum of 45 minutes, but can last longer. You’ll know they’re ready when your house smells incredible, onions have reduced greatly in size and have a rich, dark hue.
4. Uncover pot and add sherry, just a little at a time to deglaze. Stir as you pour.
5. Add all remaining ingredients and stir well. Cover pot and cook over low to medium heat for 45 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare baking sheet with as many ramekins as you need.
7. Allow soup to cool slightly. Remove bay leaves and discard. Pour soup into ramekins, until 3/4 full. Do not overfill.
8. Using your hands, stretch each pastry square over the ramekin. Top with Parmesan cheese, than Gouda. Sprinkle dried rosemary on top.
9. Bake uncovered at 350 F for 25-30 minutes or until pastry crust is golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbly.
10. Serve immediately.

Do you love onion soup? What is your favorite meal to enjoy on Shavuot?

The post Classic Onion Soup with Cheesy Pastry Crust appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

Even before I knew that Baby Y is allergic, I was already looking for a change from the same old sesame noodles. I needed a cold pasta alternative that will be a crowd-pleaser, easy to bring to family events, and not too complicated.

I ended up throwing some ingredients together with some friends’ suggestions that kind of mimic a caprese salad (tomatoes, herbs, mozzarella) but not in its true form. It’s quick and easy. It’s usually extremely popular. And best of all: it’s allergy-friendly!

I also put in black olives because M loves those, but they’re totally optional – be sure to leave that out if you’re working with a crowd who prefer a milder dish (I made that mistake at our family Chanukah party…) It adds a LOT to the salad but it doesn’t need it.

Instead of soft mozzarella balls I chunked up some cheese sticks. A friend of mine taught me this trick for when I want larger pieces of mozzarella without having to dissect a huge hunk… and without having to tear awkward slices, or putting in shredded cheese that disappears right in.

I serve it in this bowl.

It’s not as yummy, but much easier to find and more affordable if you’re cooking for a crowd, especially considering Kosher concerns. I did it the lazy way with Italian seasoning instead of fresh basil – you can pick your level of involvement!

Grape tomatoes cut in half keep it flavorful and sweet, while being easy to eat. I’ll bet it would taste great if you replaced it with sun dried tomatoes too! If you have babies eating it, quarter your grape tomatoes and olives, and cut your cheese stick chunks in quarters the long way too.

For the pasta I really like Ditalini but elbows work great too, as would any small pasta.

This pasta caprese salad is also very kid-friendly (leave out the olives if your kids don’t like it!!) and perfect for kids who will ONLY eat white pasta (like mine) and who end up without the veggies.

Ingredients for the Pasta Caprese Salad Recipe:

1 lb Ditalini pasta

1 6 oz can black olives

1 dry pint grape tomatoes

8-9 cheese sticks or string cheese

Dressing:

2 T olive oil

1 T red wine vinegar

1 T Italian seasoning or dry basil (or replace with fresh)

Garlic powder

Onion powder

How to make Pasta Caprese Salad:

1. Cook your pasta in salted water till al dente, drain, and rinse, and allow it to drain well. Add it to a large salad bowl.
2. Cut olives and grape tomatoes in half the long way and add it to your salad. Cut the cheese sticks into chunks. Add it to your room temperature or colder pasta. Make sure not to add it to the pasta while it’s hot – you DON’T want it to melt. You want to bite into nice chunks of cheese!
3. Mix together your dressing ingredients and add it to your salad. If you’re using fresh basil, add that right before you serve it so it doesn’t wilt.
4. Serves approximately eight. Doubles easily for a crowd. Serve chilled.

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What is your favorite pasta salad recipe? Comment below!

Print the recipe:

The post Pasta Caprese Salad Recipe appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.