Pierogi Lasagna

Let's talk about pierogi's for a minute.  Pierogi's are stuffed little dumplings.  They are typically stuffed with potatoes.  Others things can be added to the potatoes, such as sauerkraut or bacon or cheese.  And then they are boiled, drained and lightly sauteed with butter and onions and often served with sour cream to top them off.  Now, you can probably see where there is a time investment when making these.  That's why I was so excited when I first discovered this recipe for pierogi lasagna.  It's got all the same components . . .just layered instead of as dumplings!  Pasta, cheesy potato, onions, bacon.  Oh boy.  YUM.  The original version is fantastic.  Head over there for a step by step tutorial.  I can't explain it any better.  They do a wonderful job on the tutorial.  

However, here's a picture of mine:

Root Beer Bars

This is one of my go-to faves.  It's unique yet delicious.  Always a crowd-pleaser and you can count on no-one else bringing them to the potluck.  They are reminiscent of a soft, chewy cookie-type-bar.  Many grocery stores carry root beer extract, but in case you have trouble finding it - I buy mine at our local beer/wine-making supply store.  Please note, this recipe also calls for actual root beer soda.  Use whatever kind you prefer.  

Root Beer Bars

Ingredients:

Bars

4 Cups Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed

1 Cup Butter, softened

1/2 Cup Root Beer, flat

2 Large Eggs

2 Teaspoons Root Beer Extract

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Icing

1 and 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar

1 Tablespoon Milk, Flat

1 Tablespoon Butter, softened

1 Tablespoon Root Beer Extract

For the Bars:

Step 1:  Heat Oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl stir together four, baking soda and salt.

Step 2:  In large bowl, beat together both sugars, the butter, root beer, eggs, root beer extract and vanilla until well combined.  

Step 3:  Add the flour mixture to the sugary mixture and stir until just combined.  This will be a thick dough-like batter.

Step 4: Spread the dough evenly into a greased 9x13 baking pan.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Let cool before frosting.

For the Icing:

This is intended to be a thin icing, so do not be alarmed!  In a small bowl, combine icing ingredients and mix with a spoon until smooth.  Add more powdered sugar if too runny;  add more milk if it is too thick.   It should coat a spoon nicely.  Spread onto cooled bars.  The icing will sink into the bars and set nicely.  The hard part is waiting!  Be sure to store these in a covered container so that they don't dry out!

King's Favorite Bars

Growing up, these were known as "Lucy's Favorite Bars".  Whenever it was my turn to pick out what kind of bar my mom was going to bake for us that week . . .darn tootin' I always picked these.  They are moist, chewy, chocolaty and have three different layers.  Oh, and did I mention how EASY they are to make??  You will not be disappointed in these delicious babies.  Bust.Out.The.Fat.Pants.!

King's Favorite Bars

Ingredients:

For the Crust:
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup Flour

For the Filling:
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 and 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Eggs, slightly beaten
1 Package Chocolate Chips (11-12 oz)

1 Cup Chopped Nuts (optional)

Step 1:  For the crust, add all ingredients to bowl and mix together well with a fork.  Pat dough into an ungreased 9x13 baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.

Step 2:  For the filling, combine the brown sugar, vanilla and dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Add eggs and mix well.

Step 3:  Pour above mixture over the crust;  sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts.  Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Let cool before cutting.

Baked Oatmeal To Go

I have a love/hate relationship with oatmeal.  I love the flavor.  I hate the texture of it as a porridge or how it's traditionally prepared.  But I do love, love, love the flavor.  I love it in cake.  I love it in muffins.  I love it in crisps.  You get the picture :)  

And then I started seeing recipes for baked oatmeal . . .and it looked like muffins.  Hmmmm.  This peaked my interest.  I finally tried out a recipe and I LOVE THEM.  The texture is like a spongy muffin - and I'm good with that.   Super yummy, super moist, super delicious.

Baked Oatmeal To Go (Single Servings)

Yield:  12

Ingredients

2 Cups Oatmeal (Quick-Cook or Old Fashioned Oats)

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips (or other "add-in" such as raisins, nuts etc . .whatever you like)

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 Egg

1 and 1/2 Cups Milk

1/2 Cup Applesauce

2 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine, Melted

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit.  Prepare muffin tin with liners.

Step 2:  In a large bowl, beat the egg and then add in the milk, applesauce and melted butter.  Stir to combine.

Step 3:  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder.  Stir to combine.

Step 4:  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well.  The will be very wet!

Step 5:  Divide the mixture among the muffin tin liners.  An ice cream scoop works well for this.  Please note, each muffin liner will be nearly full to the top.

Step 6:  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until slightly beginning to brown around the edges. These will not puff-up like a muffin or cupcake.  

Let cool 10-15 minutes before eating.  To store, place in air-tight container and keep in fridge.  

Kolaches

Kolaches:  a Czech or Slavic pastry that is filled with a semi-sweet fruity filling.   

Also known as one of my favorite things.  My mom used to make them and use an apricot filling.  However, I decided to treat my husband and use an almond filling - and they turned out very rich and yummy.  I also made a few cream cheese/strawberry ones - which the teenager tends to prefer.  Give these a try, they are wicked good.  Although, you may think they look complicated - they really are not.  Rather, you do need a few hours to make them, but it is mostly wait-time for the dough to rise.

Kolaches

Ingredients:

Dough:

1  Cup Milk, room temp

10  Tablespoons  Butter, melted

1  large Egg

2  large Egg Yolks, whites reserved

3-1/2  Cups  Flour

1/3  Cup  Sugar

2-1/4  teaspoons  Rapid-Rise Yeast or instant yeast

1-1/2  teaspoons  Salt 

Filling:

2 Cups Jam or Fruit Preserves

Streusel Topping:

2  Tablespoons -plus- 2 teaspoons  Flour

2  Tablespoons -plus- 2 teaspoons  Sugar

1  Tablespoon  Butter, chilled and cut into 8 pieces

Reserved Egg Whites, beaten with 1 Tablespoon Milk

For the Dough:

Step 1:  Grease a large bowl, set aside.

Step 2:  Whisk the milk, melted butter, egg and yolks together in a medium bowl.

Step 3:  In a mixer bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt together.  Fit mixer with the dough hook, add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and knead on low speed until no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes.  Increase the speed to medium and knead until dough clears the sides of the bowl but still sticks to the bottom of the bowl, about 8 to 12 minutes.  If the dough hasn't cleared the bowl after 12 minutes, add more a little more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.  

Step 4:  Transfer the dough to greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Adjust the oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions.  Place dough on the lower-middle rack and place a loaf pan on the upper-middle rack.  Pour 3 cups of boiling water into loaf pan, close oven door, and let dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Step 5:  While the dough is rising, you can prepare your the streusel.  In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar and butter stir/mash with a fork until the mixture resembles wet sand.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Step 6:  Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Step 7:  Remove the dough from the oven and punch it down.  Dump it out onto a lightly floured surface.  Then, divide the dough into 16 equal pieces.  The easiest way to do this is to cut the dough in half.  and then keep cutting each piece of dough in half until you've got 16 pieces.  Form each piece into a smooth, tight ball.  Arrange 8 balls on each baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Place the baking sheets in the oven, replace the water in the loaf pan with 3 fresh cups of boiling water, close the oven door and let them rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.

Step 8:  Remove the baking sheets and loaf pan from the oven.  Heat the oven to 350*.  Grease and flour the bottom of a 1/3 measuring cup (or a 2-1/4-inch-diameter drinking glass).  Make a deep indentation in the center of each dough ball by slowly pressing until the cup touches sheet.  The perimeter of the dough balls will deflate slightly.

Step 9:  Gently brush the Kolaches all over with the egg-milk mixture.

Step 10:  Place about 2 scant tablespoons of jam into the center of the dough and sprinkle with streusel.  Repeat this until all Kolaches have been filled and sprinkled with the streusel.

Step 11:  Bake for 10 minutes.  Then, rotate the pans and bake another 10 minutes, until they are golden brown.  Let cool enough to touch before serving.  Makes 16 Kolache.

To store them, place into an air-tight container and layer with wax paper between the Kolaches.  They should keep about a week.

Tips:  For a cream cheese and fruit filling, combine 1 cup of cream cheese and 1 cup of jam together.  For a less sweet filling, use jarred baby food (fruit).  

Mac n Cheese

Comfort food at it's finest:  Mac n Cheese.  Mmmmmmmmmmmm . ..hearty, flavorful and cheesy.  Don't miss out on this one - it's amazing.

Mac n Cheese

Ingredients:

1 lb Macaroni

3 Cups Water

1 and 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream

1 lb Bacon

1 Cup Red Onion, Diced

3 Teaspoons Minced Garlic

2 Cups Cheddar Cheese (shredded)

2 Cups Parmesan Cheese (divided)

2 Egg Yolks, lightly beaten

1 and 1/2 Cups Breadcrumbs

Step 1:  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a 9x13 pan (butter it).  Set aside.

Step 2:  Cook the macaroni according to box instructions.  Drain and set aside.

Step 3:  Cook the bacon until crispy.  I prefer to bake my bacon, but frying works fine.  Once crispy, remove the bacon from the pan and place on a plate lined with a paper towel.  The paper towel will absorb the excess grease.  Do not throw out the bacon grease that is in the pan!  Let the bacon cool until it becomes easy to handle.  Once cooled, chop/crumble into small pieces. 

Step 4:  In a fry pan (use the same one as the bacon if you fried it) - add the onion and garlic and fry until onions are soft.  Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on plate lined with a paper towel. 

Step 5:  In a large saucepan, heat the water and cream to a simmer.  Once simmering, remove from the heat and slowly stir in the cheddar cheese and 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese.  Continue to stir until it's mostly dissolved.  Next, slowly temper the egg yolks by adding a tablespoon of the cream sauce to the yolks and mixing together thoroughly.  Do this again with the cream sauce and egg yolks (do it 4 or 5 times total).  Always be sure to mix the cream sauce into the egg yolks thoroughly!!  This is an important step because you do not want your yolks to curdle.  Then, slowly add tempered yolks into the the rest of the cream sauce and mix thoroughly.

Step 6:  Place the macaroni into a large mixing bowl.  Pour the cream sauce over the macaroni and add the onions and bacon to the bowl too.  Mix together well.  Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top as well as the breadcrumbs.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until bubbly and heated through.  

Chicken Cordon Bleu Hand Pies (or Hot Pockets)

The other day we made a big ol' ham that resulted in a lot of leftovers.  So far, we've had sandwiches and eggs benedict with the leftovers.  And then this morning, my hubby says,  "can we make chicken cordon bleu with the ham . . .but like a hot pocket?"  Sure, what the heck . .sounds rather delish!  And if you don't want to make homemade pie crust - you could surely use store bought.  Although, this particular pie crust was super yummy and very easy to work with when rolling out.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Hot Pockets

Makes 8 Hand Pies

Crust

2 Cups Flour

1/4 Cup Cornmeal

1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

4 Teaspoons Baking Powder

2 Teaspoons Sugar

2 Teaspoon Onion Powder

2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Water

Filling

3 Cups Chicken, Cooked and Chopped

1 Cup Ham, Cooked and Chopped

1 Cup Swiss Cheese, Shredded

1 Cup Milk

3 Tablespoons Flour

3 Tablespoons Butter

1 Teaspoon Nature's Seasoning

1/4 Teaspoon Tarragon (optional)

1 Tablespoon Mustard

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Tops of Pies

1 Egg

1 Tablespoon Water or Milk

Paprika

To Prepare the Filling:

Step 1:  In a large bowl, combine the chicken and ham.  Set aside.

Step 2:  In a small sauce pan over low heat, add the butter and melt.  Once melted, stir in the flour until well combined.  Next, add in the mustard and lemon juice and stir until well combined.  You should have a smooth paste.  Now, add in the milk a little bit at a time (I pour about a 1/4 cup at a time) and stir until smooth.  Repeat with the milk until it is all combined.  Then, add in the Nature's Seasoning and tarragon.  Stir to combine.  Raise the heat and bring to a boil, constantly stirring.  It will begin to thicken and you will want it the consistency of gravy.  Once thickened, remove the stove and pour over the meat.   Mix well so all the meat is coated.

Step 3:  Add the cheese to the meat mixture.  Mix thoroughly.  Set aside.

For the Crusts:

Step 1:  Grease 2 large cookie sheets and set aside.

Step 2:  In a large bowl, combine all of the crust ingredients except for the water.  Mix together until it looks like a course meal.  Now, you will add in teh water a little bit at a time.  DO NOT ADD IN ALL THE WATER AT ONCE.  When working with dough, you always want to add in the liquid in small amounts and mix in between additions.  Many times, you may not use all the water.  The goal is have the dough comes together in a ball - but not too sticky, not too try.  I used about a 3/4 cup water total.  You want the dough to be wet enough to stick together and not be crumbly.

Step 3:  Sprinkle some flour on your work surface and take your dough out of the bowl.  The easiest way to portion it out so that you have enough for 8 pieces, is to cut in half (now you have two pieces).  Put half back in the bowl and out of your way.  With the remaining dough on your work surface, cut in half again and in half again - you should have four equal pieces.

Step 4:  Set three of those pieces aside and dust the remaining piece with a little flour.  Also, dust your rolling pin with a little flour too.  Now, roll out the dough into  a thin circle.  It does not need to be perfect.  

Step 5:  On the bottom half of the circle, place about 1/2 cup of the filling on top of the crust.  Fold the top half of the crust down over the filling and pinch the edges together.  A fork works very well to pinch the edges.  Carefully, pick up the hand pie and place on the greased cookie sheet.  

Step 6:  Repeat the above steps regarding the crust until you have assembled 8 hand pies.  

To Bake:

Step 1:  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Step 2:  Poke each pie with a fork to vent.

Step 3:  Make a simple egg-wash by cracking 1 egg into a small bowl and beat.  Add in 1 tablespoon of milk or water and beat until well combined.  Brush each hand pie with the egg-wash.  Sprinkle each hand pie with paprika.

Step 4:  Place the pies into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.