Category Archives: Food

Vareniky the Bagdanov Way ~ Russian Recipe

The Ladies got together to make Vareniky together at my niece Debbee’s house. Look at those cute aprons on Michelle, Melissa, Debbee, Letty, and mom! I want to say at the top here that this recipe is for a lot of vareniky. So you’ll need to do the math and cut it down. This recipe makes about 40 or 50.

Vareniky

6 eggs
1- 1/2 C. half and half
1/2 C Sour Cream
1 T. Oil
3 T. sugar
Flour sifted (at least 8 Cups)

Update! sorry peeps! I forgot the Salt…you’ll need to add 1 Tablespoon of salt to the dough, also.

Extra cube of butter and half and half for sauce at the end…

Sift flour. Make a hole in the center of the flour. Combine eggs, half n half, sour cream, salt, and sugar. Beat until combined. Pour into the hole of flour. Mix and knead adding flour until dough stays together. Dough will be very soft.

Filling:

3 lbs. farmers cheese or hoop cheese
2 eggs
1 t. salt
3 T sugar

Beat all ingredients together until combined.

Roll out flour mixture. Cut circles about 3″ in diameter. Put about 1 heaping teaspoon of the cheese in the center of the circle. Fold in half and pinch ends together then flute with finger. Place the vereniky in boiling water until they come to the surface and float. Drain and cool. At this point they may be frozen.

 

This is what they are suppose to look like. Just remember this one was made by a pro!

 

That’s the cheese mixture in the bowl that you fill them with.

 

This is the boiling step.

To serve, place vareniky into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Melt one cube of butter and pour over vareniky. Heat up half and half and cover the vareniky with the half n half. Bake at 375 degrees until the half n half boils. Serve with sour cream and preserves or syrup.

My family traditionally has these for dessert on Christmas Eve when they get together. They are also a favorite for breakfast. The joy of receiving and eating these treats is always wonderful. I’m going to have to be in L.A. for one of the cooking parties so I can really learn how to make them and enjoy them in the future!

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Photo Hunters ~ Delicious!

Delicious or as we like to say with a Russian accent Duhliscious!

 

This is the delicious baked treat we had over Christmas and New Years. I will be posting the recipe in the future for my Russian friends who don’t have this recipe (Roolyet) handed down to them.

For more Photo Hunters go see TnChick!

WFMW ~ Persian Salad Dressing

This Dressing Recipe that I got from a cookbook I own called In My Persian Kitchen is fresh and good and always works well for me.

 

1/3 C. Olive Oil

3 Tblsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 clove garlic crushed (pressed)

Whisk these ingredients all together and pour on salad greens or a nice cucumber, tomato and onion salad! Enjoy and Happy 2008 everyone!

 

Recipe Round-Up ~ Russian Tea Cookies

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These “melt in your mouth”. There is no other way to express it.

Russian Tea Cookies

1 C. butter
1/2 C. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2-1/2 cups sifted flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup nuts, finely chopped

Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla, flour, salt and nuts. Mix well. Form into small balls and flatten a bit. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 F  10-14 minutes. While still warm roll in powdered sugar. After cool, roll again in powdered sugar. Yields 3-4 dozen.

Soup-Tacular…because it’s cold, y’all

 

It's A Soup-Tacular!

I’m joining BooMama and others in the bloggy world for Soup-Tacular. If you’d like to see more soup recipes click here and enjoy the carnival…

I found this wonderful recipe in the Better Home and Gardens Hometown Cooking February 2000 edition. I tweaked a couple things.

Mexican Corn Soup (prep: 15 min. Cooking: 10 min.)

1 – 16 ounce pkg. frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
1 – Cup chicken broth (I used the whole can of chicken broth and just 1 cup of milk instead of two so I wouldn’t have a half a can of broth left.
2 – Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 – 4-1/2 ounce can diced green chili peppers
1 – clove garlic, minced
1 – Tablespoon snipped fresh oregano or l tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1/4 – tsp. salt
1/4 – tsp. ground black pepper
2 – cups milk (I used one cup see chicken broth above)
1 – cup chopped, cooked chicken
1 – cup chopped tomatoes (I used a can of diced tomatoes w/jalapeno, med/hot)
1 – cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (4 oz.)
cilantro as garnish if you like it

[The soup is great with the full can of broth and tomatoes. I do not like half cans left over. ]

In a blender container combine half of the corn and the chicken broth. Cover; blend until nearly smooth.

In a large saucepan, combine corn puree, remaining corn, butter, chili peppers, garlic, dried oregano (if using), salt, and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in milk, chicken, tomatoes, and fresh oregano (if using); heat through. remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired (this is where I substitute cilantro instead)

Enjoy

If you’d like my mother’s recipe for a great pot of Russian Borsch click here.

WFMW ~ Last Minute Meal with What’s in the Pantry!

 

Here it is folks the easiest meal in the world that my kids have loved for years! They are adults now and they still like it. It’s pretty boring but you can spice it up a bit if you like by adding a little onion or garlic or more mushrooms. BUT we’re talking about what kids will eat (I think) and this is one they seem to eat without complaint.

Throw the noodles in salted water that is boiling. Cook them to al dente. In a bowl mix the tuna (I use one can of albacore and one can of the regular cheap tuna) and the cream of mushroom soup add garlic or onion powder if you want and add a little milk. When the noodles are ready drain the water then throw the tuna liquidy stuff in and heat through. That’s it. I don’t even throw it into the oven. When the kids were little we always had a can of Green Giant corn niblets with it!

 So this is such a beige meal you might want to add a nice green salad or green beans to make it look healthier! 🙂

You can also make a tuna melt with bread, tuna, and cheese. Serve it with a can of tomato soup!

Now here’s something for the adults to have after the kids finish the tuna noodle.

A PUMPKIN PIE MARTINI

3 oz. vanilla vodka, 1 oz. pumpkin puree, 1 oz. half and half, 1 T. brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. McCormick pumpkin spice

Shake all ingredients until well combined. Strain into prepared glass.  (wet rim of martini glass and dip it in brown sugar) pour combined liquid into glass.

Ok we tried this and it’s one stiff drink. I’d switch out the Vanilla Vodka for a Vanilla brandy and only use 1-1/2 oz.  Tasty it is but very strong… A nice shot of whip cream would be great too….

To see more last minute meals head over to Shannon’s at Rocks in My Dryer.

Photobucket has blacked out all my photos I was storing on their site and they are holding them hostage. I am working on updating my more than 4000 posts.

WFMW ~ A Great Easy Meal

This is what works for me after Turkey and Thanksgiving…

To get over the Turkey doldrums and to kick up the B vitamins and iron here’s a great meal idea for you.

Buy a flank steak. Marinate it with any marinade that sounds good to you at the store and is on sale. I used a sesame ginger with mandarin orange juice Kroger brand. I put the meat in a ziploc bag and pour the marinade in the bag over the meat and give it a good massage. After a few hours or overnight hand it to whoever BBQ’s in your house and let it cook about 5 minutes on each side. (Dear cooks it for 2 minutes on each side on High. Then he turns off two of the burners and leaves the third burner on high and moves the meat off the flame and lets it cook for 5 more minutes. Perfect! Slice the meat very thin on the bias, against the grain.

This steak is great with Mustard Roasted potatoes using the recipe I posted here.

This is one of my families favorite salads. Tomato, Hot house cucumber and sliced onions salted and peppered to your taste. Simple and good.

Enjoy and don’t be afraid to barbecue in the winter. If you can’t bbq, this steak is great broiled, too. You can sear it on both sides first then stick it in the broiler…

For more WFMW head over to Rocks In My Dryer…

Thanksgiving 2007

Some images from our Thanksgiving Day in Washington…

Laura, Katie and Dear

Our son Josh and Laura

 

Our lovely daughter in law Laura

My sister Lana G. (who took some great photos of our day here)  and Steve

 

Our daughter Katie

Jamie, Ben, and Katie

Our son Dan

The lovely Bridget

Finn who belongs to Bridget and Beau

Dear carving the turkey!

 

Our beautiful Thanksgiving setting overlooking the Puget Sound in Washington. 2nd row Jeremy L., The Mighty Finn, Josh and Beau (Finn’s daddy)

As of June 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos that I had stored there and are holding them hostage. Hopefully I can update my photos on all the posts they have ruined, over 4000 of them.

Over the River and Through the Woods!

Over the River and
Through the Woods

 

Over the river and thru the wood,
To grandfather’s house we go;
The horse knows the way
To carry the sleigh,
Thru the white and drifted snow, oh!
Over the river and thru the wood,
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes,
And bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.

 

Over the river and thru the wood,
To have a first-rate play;
Oh, hear the bell ring,
“Ting-a-ling-ling!”
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day-ay!
Over the river and thru the wood,
Trot fast my dapple gray!
Spring over the ground,
Like a hunting hound!
For this is Thanksgiving Day.

 

To all my blogging friends in the U.S.A. a very Happy Thanksgiving Day to you. For those of you outside the U.S. blessings on the rest of your week! We are headed over the freeways and through the streeted woods to our dear friends for a large gathering of family, food, fun, and fellowship. We’ll be rolling home stuffed to the gills later this evening.

 

Friday Feast #10

Appetizer
What was your first “real” job?

My real job with a regular paycheck was as an office assistant in my senior year of high school. It was at a company called Link-Belt. People still smoked in offices back then and that was tough being in a little area with a smoker. If I remember right I made about $1.35 an hour. Yep I’m old….

Soup
Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity?

I’m not an artist. I’m most creative in the kitchen so I would go to kitchen shops, buy good food magazines, and watch Food Network.

Salad
Complete this sentence: I am embarrassed when…

When I make a fool out of myself. Sometimes I’m embarrassed when I cry in public, too. I’m getting over that though since I seem to cry more and more during worship times at church.

Main Course
What values did your parents instill in you?

Honoring God and honoring your parents and your family was big growing up. One other huge thing we learned from my parents was to have people over, feed them, and love them with out expecting reciprocation.

Dessert
Name 3 fads from your teenage years.

Oh boy, oh boy. Memory don’t fail me now! One thing in junior high was to wear suspenders. (1962-1964) Straight leg levis. The surfer image was huge in junior high, too. We used cocoa butter for tanning at the beach and long straight bleached blond hair was really in. (Now we’re all hoping we don’t get skin cancer!)

For more feasting click here.