Home Made Perogies!

A few months back my cousin mentioned that she has always wanted to make perogies from scratch, so when she was coming to visit for a weekend of skiing fun I thought it would be a great time to make them together.  Although I have made perogies before on my own, it was definitely easier, and more fun, to make them with someone.  We took turns being the roller/cutter and the filler to make an assembly line of tastiness...all the while drinking wine to make the work merrier:)  

We made a traditional bacon/onion/cheese perogie and we also got creative and made jalapeno/onion/cheese, sweet potato/bacon, and mushroom/onion/cheese fillings.  They all turned out great...well, I didn't try the mushroom one, but my cousin and her boyfriend told me they were delicious!  They really do taste so much better than the frozen ones.  

When making the dough you will find it very elastic-y.  I found I would have to keep rolling it out after cutting a few circles.  But the elasticity did make it easier to stretch the dough around the filling.  And when it came to the filling I didn't measure anything, I just mixed mashed potatoes with all the different ingredients I wanted and figured if there was leftover filling I would just eat it on its own.  Which my cousin did with the mushroom filling.  For this recipe I will give an approximation of what we used for each filling, but if you want it cheesier or less oniony just use what you would like in the fillings.  I did want to make a sweet apple and cinnamon filling too, but we just didn't have the time, or the energy.  All together we made over 50 perogies, and we ate most of them too!  They were just so yummy!

Home Made Perogies

For the dough:

3 cups flour, plus more for kneading

1 cup water

1 egg

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

For the filling:  

(potato/cheese/onion/bacon, potato/cheese/onion/jalapeno, potato/cheese/onion/mushroom, and sweet potato/bacon)

6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 cups cheddar cheese

3 onions, chopped

6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

3 jalapeno peppers, finely diced

1 large sweet potato

3 shitake mushrooms, finely diced

any other fillings you would like to try

Place the flour and salt in a large bowl.  Beat the water, egg, and oil with a fork in a separate bowl and then add to the flour.  Slowly mix in with a wooden spoon until the dough forms (it may still be a bit crumbly).  Transfer onto a floured surface and knead for about 8 minutes, sprinkling with flour to prevent sticking.  The dough should be smooth and start to feel stretchy.  Invert a bowl over the dough and let it sit at room temperature for an hour.  (This will give you time to get the other ingredients ready.)

Boil the potatoes in a large pot of salted water until cooked through.  Drain and use a hand-mixer to puree them.  Divide the potatoes and cheese into three bowls. Bake the sweet potato, or microwave it, until it is cooked through and then scoop out the pulp and place it in a bowl.  Fry the onions until well-done and add to 3 of the bowls of potato.  Fry the mushrooms and add to a potato/onion mixture.  Add the jalapenos to another of the bowls of potato and onion.  Divide the bacon between the remaining potato/onion bowl and the sweet potato bowl.    

Divide the dough into 2 parts to make it easier to roll.  Start with one half and roll it until it is about 1/8" thick.  Use the top of a glass or a round cookie cutter to cut circles (about 2 1/2" in diameter) from the dough.  Place a tablespoon of filling into the middle of each circle, and then fold the dough over and seal at the edges.    Brushing a small amount of water on the dough edges before pinching together helps the perogie to stay closed.  

Place the perogies in a large pot of boiling water, about 10 at a time, and boil for 4-5 minutes or until they float to the top.  Drain the perogies and fry in a large skillet with olive oil until they are browned on both sides.  Serve with sour cream and sliced green onions.  Enjoy!!

   

If you wish to freeze or refrigerate some for another time then skip the frying step.  They taste better when they are freshly fried.         

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

There's an awesome food truck in Hamilton called Gorilla Cheese and they were the inspiration for this sandwich.  They have a grilled cheese called The Lumberjack which consists of cheddar, bacon, apple, and maple syrup.  It's pretty damn good.  I have been wanting to make my own version for quite a while, especially once I bought some bacon marmalade and knew how great it would be in this sandwich.  I used a smoked Gouda cheese which paired really well with the caramelized onions found in the bacon marmalade, and multi-grain bread to hold it all together.  It was delicious.  Although I wish I would have let my cheese get a little more melty...but I was hungry and it was taking too long!

Apple Gouda Grilled Cheese

2 slices multi-grain bread

8 slices Smoked Gouda cheese

1/4 to 1/2 an apple, peeled and sliced

2 tbsp bacon marmalade

1 tsp maple syrup

1 tbsp butter

Preheat frying pan over medium heat.  Spread both slices of bread with butter.  On the non-buttered side of one slice place 4 pieces of Gouda.  Cover the Gouda with the sliced apple and then drizzle the maple syrup over top.  Place the remaining Gouda on the maple apples.  On the 2nd piece of bread spread the bacon marmalade on the non-buttered side and place marmalade side down on the cheese.  The buttered sides need to be on the outside of the sandwich.  Now grill the sandwich until the bread is golden and the cheese is melted.  Enjoy it while it's hot!

Potato Skins

After making this yummy Baked Potato Soup I had some left over potato skins that I didn't want to throw out.  After all, the potato skin is the healthiest part of the potato...which makes this recipe a healthy one even though it involves cheese, bacon, and sour cream!  (OK, I may be lying about that last part.)  Everyone loves these baked skins, and they are good without the bacon too if they need to be vegetarian.  And notice that I said 'good' and not 'super-duper amazing' like they are WITH the bacon:)  

These can be pretty much made as cheesy and bacony as you want them.  I didn't have a whole lot of bacon left so mine are pretty chintzy on the bacon side, but they were still delicious!  Just make do with what you have.

Potato Skins

Skins from baked potatoes

Cheddar Cheese

Green Onion

Cooked Bacon

Sour Cream 

After removing the pulp from the baked potatoes cut the skins into the size you would like.  Lay them on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle grated cheddar cheese over each one and then top with bacon and green onion.  Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and potatoes are a bit crispy.  Serve with sour cream for dipping.

Baked Potato Soup

This is a soup recipe my hubby actually likes...and really, what's not to like about it?  Bacon, cheese, potatoes, green onion, and sour cream made into a rich soup.  It's delicious, it tastes just like a twice-baked potato.  And one of the reasons it tastes so much like a baked potato is that it is made with...wait for it... baked potatoes! When my sister-in-law made this she just boiled the potatoes instead and it was not nearly as good.  Baked potatoes have a different texture to them than boiled, and it makes a difference in this recipe.  Plus baked potatoes are healthier since all the nutrients stay in them and don't get boiled out.  And if you're wondering what to do with the leftover skins try this recipe for tasty cheesy potato skins.

Baked Potato Soup

5 Baking Potatoes, washed and scrubbed

3 cups Water

3 cups Milk

2 Celery Stalks, chopped

1/4 cup Butter

1/2 cup Sour Cream

6 Strips of Bacon , cooked and crumbled

1/3 cup Green Onion, sliced (plus more for garnishing)

1 1/2 cups Grated Cheddar Cheese, divided

Salt and Pepper

Bake potatoes for 1 hour at 350F, let cool slightly.  Heat water in a large pot and add the celery, simmer until the celery is tender.  Scoop the pulp out of the baked potatoes and add to the celery with the milk, butter, sour cream, bacon, 1 cup of the cheddar cheese, and salt and pepper.  Simmer until it is thickened and at the consistency you like.  Serve with the extra cheese and onions sprinkled on top.

Club Sandwich with a Citrus Twist

I love Club Sandwiches, especially when served with some greasy fries from a diner, but when I make them at home I like to do something a little different.  It still has the traditional taste of a Club (bacon!) as well as a tasty twist.  That twist being the addition of oranges, avocado, sprouts, and pumpkin seeds.  I also use a hearty 12 grain bread that I don't toast because I find this sandwich easier to eat without the crunchiness of toast.  But I still use lots of mayo, chicken, and, as previously mentioned, bacon!  It may seem like an odd mix of ingredients, but really, everything goes together so well.  Every bite is full of flavour.  And everything is better with avocado on it:)  It's a nice change from the usual Club Sandwich and it's healthier too.
I made home made sweet potato fries to go with my sandwich, which didn't quite turn out.  You may notice from the picture that there's a bit too much cornstarch on them, which led to them not getting very crispy.  I got the recipe from this blog, and I think they definitely would have turned out if I had dried them off before putting them in the cornstarch.  They still tasted great though, and if you are looking for a sweet potato fry recipe it's a good one to try.

It's hard to take an attractive picture of a sandwich...

Club Sandwich with a Citrus Twist

 ~ 2 Sandwiches~

6 slices Multi-Grain bread

6 slices cooked bacon

1 cooked chicken breast, sliced

1 avocado, sliced ( or mashed)

1 orange, peeled and sliced

Lettuce

Alfalfa Sprouts

2 tbsp hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

Mayonnaise

Spread 2 slices of bread with mayo.  Cover each slice with lettuce, a layer of chicken, a layer of oranges, and 1 tbsp each of pepitas.  Spread 2 more slices of bread with mayonnaise and place mayo side down on top of the pepitas.  Cover the top part of the slices of bread with avocado.  Layer on 3 pieces of bacon for each sandwich and a handful of alfalfa sprouts.  Spread mayo on the last 2 slices of bread and lace mayo side down on top of the sprouts.  Slice in half and enjoy!

Grilled Twice Baked Potato Sandwich

I recently saw a recipe for a twice baked potato grilled cheese, and liked the idea, but thought having potatoes and bread together would be a little too filling and starchy.  So I had this idea, a grilled cheese like no other, because it has no bread.  I used thinly sliced potatoes instead, and filled the inside with cheese, bacon, and green onions, you know, the most delicious part of a baked potato:)  And then served it with sour cream to dip in.  It was so good.  And it was much faster to make than a traditional baked potato.  Plus, if you ever find yourself craving a grilled cheese but have no bread you can make it this way.  (I hardly ever have bread, when I do buy it, it goes moldy before I eat it all.)  The outside of this sandwich was golden and crispy and the inside was a gooey, melty mess of cheese, bacon, and onions...perfect.

For this recipe I am just listing the ingredients, it's up to you how cheesy and bacony you want the sandwiches.  Each potato makes about 2 sandwiches, since only the biggest slices are used, but if you want to make smaller sandwiches, or bite-sized ones, you could get more out of each potato.  I just used the leftover potato to make hash browns the next day.

Twice Baked Potato Sandwich:

Large potatoes (The bigger the better!)

Cheddar cheese, sliced

Cooked bacon

Green onions, sliced thinly

Vegetable oil

Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Wash the potatoes, leave the skin on.  Slice the potatoes lengthwise, for the largest slices possible.  Make each slice about a 1/4" thick.  Place the slices of potato on a foil lined baking sheet and lightly brush each one with vegetable oil.  Turn over and brush other side as well.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, turning half-way through.  They should be tender, but not so cooked that they fall apart. (Mine took 10 minutes.)

Place slices of cheese on half of your potato slices, then add bacon and green onions.  Top with remaining potato slices.  Preheat a large frying pan over medium heat.  Cook the sandwiches slowly so that the potatoes have a chance to crisp up and the cheese melts.  Cut each sandwich in half and serve with sour cream.  Enjoy!

The Bacon Experiment

Bacon is delicious. Candied bacon, even more delicious.  I had never eaten it before, but since first hearing about candied bacon a couple of years ago I had always wanted to make it.  So when my hubby started frying up some bacon last night for our Caesar salad I decided to finally try my hand at baking up some deliciousness.  I looked at a few different recipes for it, some saying to bake it on a cooling rack over top of a baking sheet, others saying to bake it right on the sheet.  I experimented with both ways.  I found that when I cooked it on the rack all the brown sugar just melted off with the bacon grease, but cooking it solely on the baking sheet wasn't letting it get crispy enough.  What I finally ended up doing was cooking it on the sheet, and then when it was nice and caramelized I transferred it onto some parchment paper to crisp it up.  It was so good, I ate a few pieces by themselves and then later on I crumbled it up to put on top of creme brulee ice cream along with real maple syrup.  Now that was an amazing dessert!

This is how I made my candied bacon:

Take as many pieces of bacon as you would like to candy and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Generously rub each bacon strip with brown sugar.  Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 7 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn over bacon strips, rubbing brown sugar on the other side.  Bake for another 7 minutes.  Remove the bacon from the tinfoil and place on parchment paper, broil on high for about 2 minutes a side.  The bacon should be nice and sticky and brown.  Put the bacon a plate and as the sugar cools it will get nice and crispy.  Mmmmm, crispy.