Recipes: Comforting Classics for your Camper

As the camp season comes to a close, your camper is returning home with hundreds of amazing memories, an expanded sense of self, a deeper appreciation of Judaism and lots of smelly clothes.  Although he likely had an incredible time, he has probably had enough of camp food and is counting the minutes until his first home cooked meal.  August seems like an odd time to be discussing comfort food, but when you have a child who has seen too much peanut butter and jelly, frozen fish sticks and questionable spaghetti and meatballs it makes sense to be thinking of making your old, homey classics.

Comfort food is aptly named because of its ability to bring us a sense of calm, happiness and nostalgia.  Often, however, comfort food is laden with unnecessary calories and is devoid of vegetables, whole grains or other foods that are comforting to our bodies rather than our souls.  If we really want to bring ourselves and our children a full sense of comfort after a summer of bug bites, bug juice and stomach bugs we should meld soul-warming comfort classics with some new, healthy tips and tricks.

Try these “cleaned up” comfort classics to enjoy as a family.  Over the meal you can find out what your camper learned about Judaism over the summer and you can share with her the Jewish reason for eating healthy: Shmirat HaGuf, or guarding one’s body because it came from God.

Crispy, Flavorful “Fried” Chicken
Serves 6

1 8-piece chicken cut up chicken, skin removed
2 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 ½ cups crushed cornflakes
1 cup crushed whole-wheat crackers
1 teaspoon smoked or hot paprika

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.
2. On a large plate combine flour, salt and pepper.
3. Immediately next to the plate of flour, mix the egg, mustard and vinegar in a shallow bowl.
4. Finally, combine the oats, cornflakes, crackers and paprika on a large plate next to the egg mixture.
5. Dip the first piece of chicken in the flour and cover it completely and shake off any excess.
6. Next, dip the chicken in the egg mixture and let any excess drip off.
7. Last, cover the chicken in the crumb mixture and place it in the baking pan.
8. Repeat with each piece of chicken, and to avoid breading your fingers, use one hand for dipping in the dry mixtures and the other hand for dipping in the egg.
9. Once all of the chicken is coated bake for around 40 minutes, or until done.
10. After removing from the oven let the chicken rest for 5-7 minutes to allow the seal in the juices and make sure the crispy coating stays on!

“Tastes like home” Green Bean Casserole
Serves 6-8

2 teaspoons canola oil
2 lbs green beans, ends removed and cut into 2-inch pieces
½ lb cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups natural, low fat cream of mushroom soup (ie- Imagine brand in a box)
2 tablespoons low fat sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in large non-stick sauté pan and add green beans, mushrooms and 1 onion.
3. Cook until the vegetables are browned and fragrant, 7-9 minutes.
4. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more.
5. Meanwhile, warm soup just to a simmer in a small saucepot, stirring occasionally.
6. Melt butter and flour in a separate medium saucepot over medium heat.  Whisk constantly, about 5-7 minutes, until the mixture turns a shade darker and begins to smell slightly nutty.
7. Pour the soup into the flour and butter mixture, whisking continuously until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 5 minutes.
8. Add the sour cream and cook 1-2 minutes more.
9. Combine the vegetables with the sauce in a large bowl and pour into a 8 x 8 baking dish.
10. Sauté the remaining onion in the remaining oil over high heat until it is crispy and browned.
11. Add the breadcrumbs and cook 30 seconds longer, then pour the onion-breadcrumb mixture over the green beans.
12. Bake about 30 minutes, until the top is browned and crispy and the liquid is bubbling.

Spinach Artichoke Mac and Cheese
Serves 8

1 lb whole-wheat elbow macaroni
2 tsp canola oil
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups 1% milk
8 ounces shredded sharp low-fat cheddar cheese
1/3 cup low fat ricotta cheese
½ tsp granulated garlic
1 cup defrosted chopped frozen spinach
1 cup defrosted frozen artichoke hearts
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray and set aside
3. Bring water to a boil and cook pasta 1-2 minutes shorter than instructions on package
4. While water is boiling and pasta is cooking warm milk just to a simmer in a small saucepot, stirring occasionally
5. In a separate pot melt butter and flour in a medium saucepot over medium heat.  Whisk constantly, about 5-7 minutes, until the mixture turns a shade darker and begins to smell slightly nutty
6. Pour the milk into the flour and butter mixture, whisking continuously until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 5 minutes
7. Add the cheeses and garlic and continue to cook 1-2 minutes more
8. When the pasta is cooked, drain, toss with oil, and set aside
9. Roughly chop the artichokes and squeeze out the spinach until very little water comes out
10. Mix the cheese sauce with the pasta, sauce and spinach and artichokes in a large bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper
11. Pour the pasta into prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes, until the top is crispy and golden.

 

 

 

 

kosher

Pronounced: KOH-sher, Origin: Hebrew, adhering to kashrut, the traditional Jewish dietary laws.