Potato Kugel

Could it feel like a real holiday?  My daughter is away at school.  Our family unit has changed a lot.  I mean, yeah, it ain't the same but there are good things too.  For example, it worked out my son will be here with my mom and I for brunch and I made a holiday feeling dish... KUGEL!

If the kitchen smells good like a holiday and your belly is full of food you don't normally get to enjoy, I declare it real!

I sort of read a few recipes for potato Kugel and combined them to fit my needs.  Meaning, I did not want to use any starches or matzo or grains of any kind.  I also don't do onions.

My Cuisinart made quick work of shredded these potatoes I tell ya what.

Real Holiday Kugel

3lbs Yukon gold potatoes (peeled and shred)
1/2 cup of Earth Balance stick margarine, divided
4 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put 1/4 cup of margarine in a 13x9 Pyrex dish.  Put Pyrex in the hot oven until you are ready to fill the dish with Kugel.

Melt the other half of the margarine and set aside.

Combine your peeled and shredded potatoes and eggs, salt and pepper, with your hands in a large bowl.  Carefully add the mixture to the Pyrex from the oven with the melted margarine in it.

Spread evenly in the dish but leave some peak and mounds... they look pretty when browned.  Pour the remaining melted margarine on the top.

Bake for 90 minutes or until brown and delicious.  The kitchen smelled like donuts.  I wanted to eat the entire thing myself.  I made this the day before and the taste and look did not suffer at all by re-baking it.  Crispy outside and custard-like inside.

Fluffy Meringue Cookies

I recently re-introduced eggs to my diet.  Easy to digest protein and portable are all wins for me.  Since eliminating all grains for my diet, I have not baked or cooked many things worth posting.  The most action my Kitchenaid stand mixer and my Cuisinart food processor have been seeing is a good dusting off.  Eggs have breathed new life into my appliances and my psyche. 

I used Genius Kitchen's two ingredient recipe since I still wanted to avoid powdered sugar and cream of tartar.  For real...  don't need them and didn't miss them.

These cookies take forrrrrreverrrrr to bake and dry out.  While they are easy, plan on being home for a few hours.

Fluffy Meringue Cookies

Preheat oven to 225 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment.

3 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar

Whip the egg whites until white and shiny and sort of thick (no more foamy look and will keep a soft peak).  Slowly add the sugar while still whipping and continue to whip until hard peaks form.

Drop by teaspoon full onto lined cookie sheets about 2" apart.

Here is where Genius Kitchen was wrongo I believe.  They instruct to bake for 30 minutes...  uuuhh, mine took 90 minutes.  I just recommend to start checking them after 30 minutes.  Your goal is to dry them out.  You can tell by touching the tops if they are sticky.  When they lift off the parchment, I called them done.  Good news is, with the lower temperature oven, they are easy to check on, repeatedly.

I seriously ate these ALL in a day.  Happiness is fluffy cloud Swablu cookies!  It was equally as tasty before baking tbh.

I am sorry that I didn't take more pics.  Next time!