Banana Bread

• This recipe is modified from allrecipes.com
  
  

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    
  • 1/2 cup butter
    
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
    
  • 2 eggs, beaten
    
  • 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
    
  • nutmeg to taste
    
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
    
  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
    

  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
  In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt cinnamon and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture add walnuts; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
  Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

My Favorite Salad Dressing

I don't ever use exact measurements but it always turns out great no matter if I use to much of one ingredient or to much of another. These are just approximate measurements. 

 

• 2 cloves of garlic minced
  
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon of white vinegar ( a splash)
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1 teaspoon water ( a splash)
  
• 2 tablespoons oil ( a good pour)
  
• 2 teaspoons fresh chopped dill ( a great big pinch)
  

I first add the sugar in a small bowl and dissolve it with the water, add garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper, and oil, whisk with a small whisk until well blended, add the dill and mix, pour over your favorite salad. This goes really well with feta. I also tried this with red wine vinegar and it did not work out.

Karpatka

For the cake the ingredients are as follows

• 125 g margarine 
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup flour
• 4-6 eggs depending on the size

In a saucepan boil water and add margarine till melted, add one cup flour mixing to make a think paste. Remove from heat and cool. When cooled add eggs whipping it up till smooth.

Bake at 220 for 30 minutes in two cake layers.

For the Cream 

• 1 pint of milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 TBS potato starch
• 2 TBS flour
• 250 g margarine
• vanilla

Boil milk and whisk in sugar flour and starch. Cool, whip in softened margarine and vanilla.

Place cooled cream between layers of cake. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Meatloaf with Cabbage

• 8 leaves of italian cabbage
• salt
• 1 stale roll (deli roll/hoagie/bun)
• 1 egg
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 onion
• 2 Tbsp sour cream
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 lbs of ground meat
• pepper
• 3 hard boiled eggs
• 1 cup bullion
  
• veggies and potatoes

Blanch the cabbage in salted water, cut out the stem part of the cabbage. Soak the roll. Wash and dice the red pepper, and chop up onion. Cook onion and pepper in oil on frying pan about 5 min. Add minced garlic and mix in the roll, sour cream, egg, meat, salt and pepper. 

Heat oven to just under 400F. 

Form meat into roll. Peel the eggs and hide them inside the meat.  Wrap the meat up with the cabbage and place in baking pan. Cook covered in foil 30 min. Add bullion veggies/potatoes and continue cooking another 45 min. 

My Favorite Pierogi

I make 3 kinds of pierogi. They all turn out wonderful.  I like the savory ones with potatoes and cheese for dinner.  The cheese, and blueberry ones are always dissapearing from plates at breakfast.  Growing up my Mother just couldn't get the dough right,  so we didn't get too eat any homemade ones.  We had to have the store bought ones, and they simply couldn't compare.

Since I now live in Poland, I  have the option of getting these at the store freshly made everyday (by the store), or pre packaged.  I still prefer the ones that I make at home. If I don't have a dinner planned, I will just whip these up really quickly. 

If you read online about making Pierogi you will only get discouraged, once I get started I can have dinner ready in about 45 min. (and I am slow at this.) After you eat Pierogi you make at home you will never buy the overly thick Mrs. T's again.

Things you will need to begin:

• a large wooden cutting board/ a smooth counter top (stolnica)
• rolling pin
• a circle cut-out (I use a metal measuring "1 cup" that lost its handle)
  
• a large pot for boiling water
• a skimmer
• a large frying pan (for savory)

Pierogi Dough

2 cups flour

1/2 c. hot water

1 egg

pinch of salt

optional a dash of oil I don't use this

Potato filling:

I don't measure any of this, so this is approximate. 

3 large potatoes

half of a small onion diced

1/2 Tbsp. butter

1/2 cup farmers cheese/yellow cheese/Cheddar (most common cheeses work)

I use a sort of dry cottage cheese (farmers cheese)

salt and pepper to taste

The mix will be sort of dry, but will not be that way when cooked.

Cook your potatoes as you normally would, peeled and cut. Mash. 

Cook your onions, until translucent in butter and add to your potatoes. Add salt pepper and cheese and mix together. Set aside.

I mix everything in the mixer with the dough hook, you can work the dough by hand on your board. You want the dough a little sticky, so it will stay together when you form them. Put the dough on your board and if you have a small area cut in into smaller workable amounts. Keep extra dough covered. I roll it out a little on the floured board and cover it with a dishtowel to rest a couple of minutes while I get my water boiling. After a couple of minutes it should be really easy to roll out "thin". Cut them out and make sure they are not touching each other. I use lightly floured cookie sheets until I have enough to fill.  I bought those pierogi maker cut-outs they sell at stores like Ross. It was a waste of money, they may cut them out, but they do not seal them properly.

To fill the pierogi, I brush off extra flour and hold the dough in my palm of my hand. Add a small spoon of the filling, use your thumb sort of press it down and close your hand up pinching the sides starting at the TOP middle and working down to the sides. Press together pinching closed make sure all your edges are sealed. I don't use any water to seal them since the dough is sticky, just make sure your hands are dry so they don't stick to your fingers while sealing them.  I keep them on my floured cookie sheets until they are ready to be cooked.  

Freezer instructions:

At this point you can freeze them or cook them. To freeze I lightly flour waxed paper and line the Pierogi up about 3-4 at the edge closest to you then roll it over, add more, roll it over and do this till you finish your piece of waxed paper and put it in a freezer bag.  It is really important to not have any pierogi touching or they will stick together. I lay the bag flat in the freezer. (frozen pierogi will cook in about 8 minutes. Add to boiling water cover, when they float uncover and cook 2 more minutes.

Fresh cooking instructions: 

Boil large pot of water with a little oil and salt. 

Add about 10 (depending on the size of the pot) to a pot of boiling water, cover, when they rise remove cover and cook 2 more minutes uncovered.  Remove with skimmer right into a frying pan with butter, onions and bacon to fry till golden.  Serve warm with sour cream.

Bagels

I have not had bagels in about 2 years. When we lived in Arizona I would go to Einsteins about once a week for fresh bagels. I had just bought philly cream cheese, (it was new in our local store.)  Then I saw an article in a magazine about New York and traditional food and saw a picture for Bagels, that made me miss them and decided it was about time to make some. I looked online for bagel recipes and found one at allrecipes.com and thought that one was easier than the others I saw.

I think they turned out really well, the recipe made about 15 so I got too make ones with all different toppings. The best ones were the poppy seed and garlic.

After making these bagels and seeing how easy they were, if I had to choose store bought or these, I choose these.

the recipe can be found here

Chicken Cordon Bleu (my way)

I wanted to make normal chicken cordon bleu but since I didn't have ham or swiss cheese I made it with what I had in the kitchen. 

• 4 Chicken Breasts (hammered out to 1/8" thick)
• 8 slices Bacon
• 4 slices Gouda Cheese
• 1/2 cup sliced Mushrooms
• fresh Italian (flat leaf) Parsley or fresh dill if you like that better
• Chicken seasoning of your choice
• Melted butter
• Breadcrumbs or cornflakes
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Coat a baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. Pound chicken if they are too thick. Place 2 slices of bacon and a slice of Gouda on each breast, within 1/2 an inch from the edge. Place Mushrooms seasonings and Parsley/dill on the cheese. Roll it all up folding sides in and use toothpicks to hold it together. Roll in chicken in Butter and coat in breadcrumbs or crushed cornlakes that have been seasoned with more chicken spices.
3. Bake in oven 30 minutes or until juices run clear, remove toothpicks and serve immediately. 

Turbaconducken (Turducken Wrapped in Bacon)

Just in time for the winter season comes a recipe that is sure to bring bacon lovers some warm holiday cheer.Turbaconducken. That’s right — a chicken stuffed in duck stuffed in a turkey, all wrapped in bacon. Otherwise known as a bacon-wrapped turducken. Just how did we create this meaty madness? Read on.

http://bacontoday.com/turbaconducken-turducken-wrapped-in-bacon/

Kitchen Tips

• Green peas will retain their original colour, if you add a pinch of sugar while boiling.
• Leafy vegetables will remain fresh longer, if wrapped in news papers when you are storing. (don't worry about the ink. Most papers use non-toxic soy based inks.)
• If you don't have any cream to add in the soup or gravy, add a mixture of butter and milk.
• Keep boiled eggs in cold water for 5 minutes, this will make removal of the shell easier.
• If you need only the egg white, for storing the remaining yolk, cover the yolk with water or milk and keep in a cool dark place. Just drain off the liquid before using the yolk.
• Celery: To keep celery fresh for a long time, wrap it in aluminum foil and put it in the refrigerator.
• Fruits: To ripen fruits, wrap them in newspaper and put in a warm place for 2-3 days. The ethylene gas they emit will make them ripe
• Potato: To bake potatoes quickly, place them in salt water for 15 minutes before baking. Don't store potatoes and oniones together. Potatoes will rot quickly if stored with onions.
• Vegetables: Don't dump the water you cook veggies in. Use in in stead of water for sauces/soups.
• Over Salted Soup: Place a raw peeled potato in the bowl. It will absorb the extra salt.
• To made whipped cream retain its peaks, add one teaspooon of honey before whipping.

My Sisters Spritz cookies

• 1 cup butter (1/2 lb)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tea vanilla
• 1/2 tea almond
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tea baking powder
• 1/8 tea salt

Cook 12-15 mins at 350*F