Perogies

Perogies can be pretty hard to find in the U.S.- at least from my experience. We had these quite often growing up, and I was missing them. I found a great recipe and modified it to fit what I had in the kitchen. They're not hard to make, but definitely take a lot of time- but they are worth it in the end. Plus, you'll have extra to throw in the freezer for another great meal down the road. Enjoy!

Filling:

3 medium sized potatoes

1 egg, beaten

about 4 cups (or 1/2 lb.) shredded cheddar cheese

salt

pepper

dried thyme

Dough:

flour

1 egg, beaten

1 large spoonful of sour cream

1 "splash" of milk

Start by making the filling. Peel potatoes and boil until tender. Drain and set aside to cool. Mix cheese and beaten egg together. Once potatoes have cooled, add to the cheese mix. Add the salt, pepper and thyme to taste.

Mash mixture until it resembles mashed potatoes. Set aside.

To make the dough, beat an egg in a bowl. Add the sour cream and mix well.

Add enough flour that the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball in the center of the bowl.

Add the milk, and some more flour until the dough is manageable enough to pull out of the bowl with your fingers. Place dough on a very well floured surface and knead in just enough extra flour until dough no longer sticks to fingers.

Roll out dough, again making sure it stays well floured on bottom. Cut out circles using the top of a glass. Again, make sure the bottom is well floured, or you won't be pulling the circles off the countertop!

Fill half of the circle with dough, leaving an edge all the way around.

Brush half of the circle with water and fold over. Press edges, ensuring they stick together so that you don't lose your filling while boiling.

Continue making new batches of dough until you run out of filling.

Boil water in a large pot. Drop in 6-8 perogies at a time. Boil for 3 minutes. They will have risen to the top by now. Turn perogies over to the other side, and boil for another 3 minutes. Transfer to strainer and let excess water drip off. Then transfer to drying rack until cool and dry.

At this point, they can be put in freezer bags and kept in the freezer.

To prepare perogies, fry with onions. Top with sour cream and enjoy!

*Other filling possibilities:

ricotta cheese and spinach

butternut squash and parmesan

potato and bacon

switch out different spices: chives, rosemary...etc.

mozarella and potatoes

Modified from a recipe found at Annie's Eats.

Oatmeal Blueberry-Cranberry Muffins

Sarah and I (Emily) decided to make some deliciousness today to take on our mountain hike this lovely January day. These muffins are exactly that, deliciousness. They're also really easy and very healthy.

Cast of Characters:

• 1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 c. oats
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 c. lowfat buttermilk
• 1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbsps. canola oil
• 1 lg. egg, ligthly beaten
• 3/4 mixed blueberries and cranberries, or berry of your choice.
  

Mix the wet ingredients
Add the sugar.

make sure they're happy

Mix the dry ingredients and add the wet to it.
FOLD in the berries with a spoon or spatula
divide into greased or lined muffin tins
Bake at 375 for 16-18 minutes.
Et voila! The perfectly moist, deliciously berry muffin. Enjoy

Orange Chicken

This dish is absolutely DELISH! I was really craving Chinese food tonight, but didn't want to go out and spend any money, and so I caved and decided to make this at home. Note: I have NEVER deep fried anything myself- ever! Being in the healthcare field I guess I've become a bit of a freak about eating healthy. However, I don't regret making this. It is probably the BEST Orange Chicken I have ever had. Period. So give it a try!

Like a lot of my recent posts, this recipe came from Annie's Eats. Great blog. Click here for the recipe. Enjoy!

Oreo Cheesecake Bars

I know. I'm a bad influence for all those with New Year's Resolutions. But looks like Sarah has been too :)
These are a great alternative to a big fat cheesecake sitting in your fridge all week (if it lasts that long). These make just an 8x8 pan. I got this recipe from one of my favorite recipe blogs: Annie's Eats. Josh and I have tried several of her recipes, including a recent favorite, Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce.
Last night we had some friends over, so I whipped up this dessert.

Crust:
23 Oreo cookies
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Filling:
12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
6 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. sour cream, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
12 Oreo cookes, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 325. Line an 8x8 pan with foil.



For crust, put the 23 Oreos in food processor until finely ground. Add in the melted butter. Mix well.

Press into bottom of pan and bake for 10 minutes.

For the filling, beat cream cheese on medium high for about 2 minutes, until light and smooth. Add in the sugar. Combine well. Blend in sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Beat in the egg and egg yolk.

Stir in the 12 chopped Oreos with a spatula. ( You will have to scrape the sides of the bowl down quite often when mixing ingredients to make sure all ingredients are mixed well).

Pour batter into the pan with prepared crust. Smooth top with the spatula and bake for 40 minutes, until the sides are set. The middle might be slightly wobbly. Let cool. Chill for 3 hours.

To serve, pull bars out of pan by using the sides of the tin foil. Cut into squares, and enjoy!

Avacado Bean Wraps

This is my new favorite recipe I found in a magazine, though I can't remember which one. These are seriously so so so good, sooooo quick and easy to make and heart healthy. I could eat them everyday.
2 ripe avocados
1 cup salsa
2 tsp oil
1 red pepper, chopped
1 c. shredded carrots
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 can low sodium black beans, rinsed
1/3 c. shopped cilantro
4 whole wheat wraps
4 c. coarsely chopped romaine lettuce
Coarsely chop 1 avocado; mash the other in a small bowl and stif in 1/4 c. salsa until blended. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Saute pepper and carrots 3 minutes. Add cumin and cook 30 seconds. Add beans and remaining 3/4 c. salsa; heat through. Stir in the chopped avocado and cilantro; mix well.
Spread about 3 Tbsp mashed avocado-salsa mix on each wrap, some of the bean mixture and lettuce. I've never done it but i'm sure it would be delicious to squeeze some fresh lime juice on top. If you have leftove bean mixture I love to dip wheat thins or saltines in it.

Sugar Cookies

This is Sarah coming in from Canada, with a whole lot of snowThese are the most delicious sugar cookies ever! So yummy! Do not eat the cookies dough! once you start you'll never stop!

2 cups margarine 1 tsp baking powder

3 cups sugar 3 tsp vanilla

4 eggs 1/2 cup milk

6 cups flour

Mix by creaming margarine and sugar. Add eggs and remaining ingredients. Roll out and bake at 350 degrees F for 9 minutes.

Meatballs

This post is in request of my dad. The whole family came down to Ridgecrest the week before Christmas and I made these which were a huge hit, especailly with dad. He later send me an email asking for the recipe so here it is. I can't take credit for them, they're from my pioneer woman cookbook. Ree calls for ground beef, but I always make it with ground turkey. They're kind of a labour of love but are so worth it.

Meatballs:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 c. oats
1 c. milk
3 Tbsp minced onion
1 1/2 tsp. salt
plenty of ground black pepper

4 Tbsps canola oil
1/2 c. flour

sauce:
1 c. Ketchup
3 Tbsp white vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
4-6 Tbsp minced onion

In a bowl, combine ground beef with oats. Pour in the milk and add diced onion and salt. Add pepper and stir to combine. Roll mixture into balls and refrigerate 30 minutes or stick in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dredge meatballs in the flour. Brown them in batches until light brown, not completely cooked. Place them in a baking dish.
Mix the sauce together and drizzle evenly over the meatballs. Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly and hot. These are so good with rice and a salad or skip the sauce and have with spaghetti and red sauce. Enjoy!