New twists on nine day recipes from Cindy’s Corners

Freekah Stuffed Cheese Burgers, Banana Flour Cheesecake, Pop Cake Tacos, Seafood Quinoa Mac And Cheese Headline My On-The-Run Nine Days

Growing up in a traditional family, the Nine Days before Tisha B’Av was a time of reflection, reading and family discussion. Today, the Nine Days are filled with gatherings, fundraisers and Siyums. While away from home wa lot, I still have to have a full refrigerator stocked with meatless meals and snacks for those wandering in and out of my kitchen.

Supplied

Luckily, there are so many food trends, diets, and kosher products that make preparations easy. There are also many ways ways to make meatless meals interesting, mouthwatering, and never boring. With some semi-prepared ingredients, it is also easy!!

Here are recipes you will use during the Nine Days and Year Round:

QUINOA SEAFOOD MAC -N-CHEESE
Ingredients:
1 lb. Pereg Gluten Free Quinoa Pasta (fusilli or curvo rigate)
1 large can peeled tomato puree
¼ cup olive oil
1 onion, sautéed
3 cloves garlic
1 egg
3 T sugar
Dash Pereg brand oregano, basil, salt & pepper
1 lb. small curd ricotta cheese
1 pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup muenster cheese
1 package “seafood” flakes

Directions:
Crush tomatoes and put in saucepan. Add onion, tomato paste and 1 can water. Add sugar and spices. Simmer 30 minutes, covered. Combine all cheeses together with beaten egg. Mix sauce, noodles, seafood flakes and cheese (set aside some sauce to pour over top). Bake in deep pan at 350 F for ½ hour. Pour remaining sauce over top, bake 5-10 minutes until golden brown.

Supplied

GLUTEN-FREE BANANA CHEESECAKE
Ingredients: Crust
1 cup Pereg Gluten Free BananaFlour
1/2 cup crushed slivered almonds
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Pereg ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2 cups sour cream
1 3/4 cups banana puree
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Blend banana meal, slivered almonds, sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl; Stir in butter until almond mixture is evenly moist. Pour almond mixture into a 10-inch springform pan and press firmly into the bottom.
Bake in the preheated oven until crust is set, about 10 minutes. Remove crust from oven and reduce temperature to 325°. Place a pan of hot water onto the bottom rack of the oven to help reduce cracking in the cheesecake.
Beat cream cheese, sour cream, banana puree, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt together in a large bowl using an electric mixer, until filling is smooth. Pour filling over hot crust.
Place pan on the center rack in oven and bake until cheesecake peaks in the center, 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature before removing sides of pan. Transfer cheesecake to a serving plate and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator before serving, at least 2 hours.

Drizzle Chocolate and decorate with banana and strawberry slices

FREEKAH STUFFED CHEESE BURGERS
Super easy using prepackaged foods:

Add one cup of Pereg Japanese Panko Bread Crumbs, one egg and grilled green onion, scallions and mushrooms finely chopped to Pereg Frrekah with Ginger Sesame.

Shape into patties. Layer one Patty, one chunk of The Cheese Guy Havarti cheese, then stack with another patty. Cook like a burger.

Supplied

BEEFLESS TACOS
Use your favorite taco recipes using Gardein beefless ground and The Cheese Guy pepper jack cheese.

For a healthy version, instead of taco shells, build tacos on a Pure Bites multigrain flat cake that is only 16 calories. Then use a layer of Boston Bibb lettuce and fill with taco fillings.

Meatless Nine Days don’t have to be boring, unhealthy or hard to prepare.

Cindy Grosz can be reached at cindyscorners@gmail.com