Pierogi

2c. potatoes, chopped
1c. cottage cheese
3/4c. cheddar, grated
1T. lemon juice
1t. Dijon mustard
dash black pepper
*
1 1/2c. flour
1/2t. salt
1/8t. nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
4T. butter
Cook and drain the potatoes. Add the rest of the filling parts (through the black pepper) and mix them up.

Combine the flour, salt, nutmeg, eggs. Cut in the butter until it's well incorporated. Wrap up and let it rest for half and hour or so in the fridge.

Now, put a good sized pot of water on to boil.

Divide the dough into 16 pieces. roll out each piece into 4 1/2 inch diameter circles. Fill half the circle, leaving an edge to seal, with the potato mixture. Then what you should really do is seal it shut by folding over the dough and crimping it shut with a wet fork.

Drop them in the pot five or six at a time. After they float to the top, let them boil around in there for five more minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.

You can eat them now, but what you really should do is fry them up! A little oil in the pan, brown them up some.

Then slice some onion up and saute that to put on top of your pierogis.

Stuffed Tex-Mex Yellow Squash

4 yellow squashes (8 ounces each)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon mild chili powder
1/2 pound ground beef chuck
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees, with rack set in the top third. Halve each squash lengthwise; slice a sliver from the rounded part of each half so it sits flat. Leaving a 1/4-inch border, scoop out halves with a small spoon; roughly chop flesh, and reserve. Place squash halves, skin side down, in a shallow baking dish. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add reserved chopped squash, bell pepper, scallion whites, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until bell pepper begins to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomato paste and chili powder; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add beef; cook until no longer pink, breaking up meat with a spoon, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in corn and 1/4 cup Parmesan; season with salt and pepper.

Dividing evenly, spoon mixture into squash halves. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake until squash is tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Uncover, and bake until top is browned, 7 to 10 minutes more. Garnish with scallion greens.

Lemony Orzo

Serves 4

1 lemon
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup orzo
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Directions

1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel half the lemon (avoiding bitter white pith); thinly slice peel. Squeeze 2 tablespoons juice; set aside.
2. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add orzo and lemon peel. Cook until orzo is al dente, according to package instructions. Drain and return to pot.
Add lemon juice, oil, and scallions. Season with salt and pepper; toss to combine.

Wolrd's Best Lasagna

1 lb ground beef ¼ teas basil leaves
2 Table olive oil 2 teas salt
3 ½ cups tomatoes 1 teas sugar
2 - 8 oz cans tomato sauce 3+ oz sliced mushrooms
¼ cup chopped onions 1/3 lb large lasagna noodles
2 cloves fresh garlic 1 lb ricotta cheese
1 ½ teas oregano leaves ½ lb mozzarella cheese
¼ teas rosemary leaves ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Sauté ground beef in hot oil until meat loses its pink color. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, seasonings and mushrooms. Mix well; cook slowly about 2 hours until sauce is thickened. Cook noodles following directions on the package; drain, rinse in cold water and separate. In a buttered 3 quart baking dish make two layers of the noodles, meat sauces, ricotta, mozzarella slices and parmesan cheese, in this order, using about half for each layer. Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Serve 6-7

Note: pepperoni may be added to meat sauce if desired.

Black Bean salsa

Ingredients
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (17-ounce) package frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 large avocado, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
1/8 to 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Directions
Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl. Cover and chill overnight. Taste and add salt, pepper or more lime juice as necessary. Serve with tortilla chips as an appetizer, or with grilled chicken breast as a meal.

Banana Bread

1 stick unsalted soft butter

1 cup sugar
2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teas baking soda

1 teas salt

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teas vanilla

Mix butter & sugar until fluffy. Add eggs. Sift dry ingredients & add butter mixture. Add bananas, sour cream & vanilla. Butter a 9”x5”x3” pan or several smaller pans. Pour batter into pans. Bake 1 hour @ 350, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack. I also make these as muffins. I will cook them about 20-25 minutes at 350.

Parmesan Green Beans

Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen French-cut green beans
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

Roasted Lemon and Parsley Potatoes

3 lbs. mixed small potatoes (we used a bag of new, red, and purple)
6 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 stick butter or margarine
About 1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Zest of one small lemon (yay for Microplane zesters!)
Sea salt & cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Quarter the potatoes and put 'em in a 13 x 9" pan. Melt the butter or margarine, whisk together with oil and lemon juice. Toss with potatoes to coat, salt and pepper generously. Cook (uncovered) for 45 mins or so, then pull 'em out and mix in the lemon zest. Cook about 15 mins more or until nice and golden. Remove from oven and toss in the parsley. Eat until you explode.

Broccoli Craisin Salad

Dressing:
1 ¼ cup Mayo
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp pepper
¼ cup milk

Mix first 4 ingredients and gradually mix in milk.

Salad:
8 cups broccoli florets (cut small) and thinly sliced broccoli stems
¼ c. sunflower seeds (salted and roasted, or plain)
¼ cup chopped red onion (optional)
4-5 slices bacon, cooked until crisp then crumbled
½ cup craisins (adjust to your liking)

Combine salad ingredients. Add dressing before serving. Everything can be altered to taste.

Grandma L's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

1 ¼ C. sugar
¼ C. flour
1 C. strawberries
2 C. diced rhubarb
2 T. butter

Sift flour & sugar together & combine ¾ of the mixture with the fruit. Place unbaked crust in pie plate & line w/ remaining flour mixture. Add filling. Place butter on top & cover w/ top crust. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350° & bake 30 min. longer or till fruit is tender.
*For a deep-dish pie use a little more fruit; for a tart pie use a bit less sugar.

For crust:
2 C. flour
½ C. + 1 T. oil
¼ C. milk

Mix oil & milk together then combine with flour. Quickly mix together until flour is all wet. Pack in the bottom of the bowl & divide crust in half. Roll each half between 2 sheets of waxed paper until ¼ in. thick & the size of the pie plate.

Spinach Strawberry Salad

1 bag baby spinach leaves
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1 avacado, pitted & sliced
1 pkg slivered or sliced almonds
4 Tablespoons sugar

In a skillet carmalize almonds. Combine almonds and 4 Tablespoons sugar. Cook on medium heat until sugar melts and coats almonds.

Dressing:

1/2 cup sugar
21/4 teas paprika
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
1/4 teas worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 finely chopped onion
1/2 cup sweet rice vinegar
1/2 cup oil

Combine all dressing ingredients and mix well. Add just before serving the salad, as it will wilt the spinach leaves if put on too early. Sprinkle almonds over salad.

Chewy Chocolate Raisin Cookies

Not too healthy of course, but this is an AMAZING cookie! You will love it. I have used water instead of the brandy.

Sarah's Chewy Chocolate-Raisin Cookies
Chunks of white chocolate add richness (semisweet or bittersweet may be substituted), and each cookie is rolled in sanding sugar for an even more satisfying crunch.

Ingredients

Makes about 2 dozen.
1 cup golden raisins, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup brandy
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
6 ounces white chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup fine sanding or granulated sugar

Directions

Bring raisins and brandy to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, and let stand for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, cocoa, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, the baking soda, and salt.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat butter and brown sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add honey, and beat until creamy. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and beat until combined. Drain raisins; discard liquid. Add raisins and chocolate to dough. Mix to combine.
Whisk together sanding sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Scoop 2 tablespoons dough. Roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture, and shape into a ball. Roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture again to coat completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart, as you work. Bake until just set and starting to crack, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets.
First published