Easy Mashed Potato Pirogi

As a Hungarian-Slovak-Polish American, pirogi are a critical part of many holidays. And any day of the week really. I had never attempted making them, but since my boyfriend had recently made FIVE POUNDS of mashed potatoes, I decided to give it a try with the leftovers. Since the potatoes are not my recipe, I can't put the mashed potatoes on here, but they were great! I know it involves sour cream, cream cheese, cheddar cheese and butter.... Anyways, start with any mashed potatoes as the filling. And the dough is super-easy to make!

Ingredients:

1 16oz tub of sour cream

3 cups of flour

Mashed potatoes (~1 cup)

1/2 stick butter

1/2 onion, diced

Seriously, it's that easy!

 Step 1: Mix the flour and sour cream well until it forms a dough. Roll it out on a floured surface.

 Step 2: Using a small cup or other cutter, cut out ~3inch circles of dough. You can re-roll the pieces about 4 times.

 Step 3: Place ~1 tsp of mashed potatoes in the middle of the circle of dough. Press the sides together to make a half-moon shape. Crimp the edges with a fork.

 Step 4: Drop into boiling water and simmer for about 5 minutes to cook the dough. Drain.

 Step 5: Melt a half stick of butter (or as much as your arteries can handle!) and cook the onions until translucent and slightly browned.

Step 6: Fry the pirogi in the butter & onions about 3 minutes, until yellow-brown on both sides. Enjoy!

They weren't quite as good as my grandma's or mom's, but pretty darn good for a first attempt! And I have the rest of forever to perfect my techniques.

Kale chips really are good!

I am working on a CSA farm this summer, and we have begun harvesting and distribution. This week the take-home was:

1 bag mixed lettuces.         1 bag kale.          1 carton snow peas.           1 bunch radishes.             1 bunch turnips.       1 bunch pak choi.          Handful broccoli .        Herbs - spearmint, pineapple mint, oregano, thyme, farrow 

I have been hearing so many people and blogs talk about how kale is bitter and hard to cook, but kale chips seem to be wildly popular. And they are amazingly easy to make! Then when searching recipes for turnips, I kept "turning up" (haha) mashed potatoes and turnips recipes. The pak choi lends itself well to stir-frying, add in some extra veggies and you've got yourself a meal! So my good (brave) friend and I embarked upon a cooking adventure to use up most of the farm food.

Mashed Potatoes & Turnips:

2 large potatoes, diced

3-4 turnips, diced

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter/margerine

1/4 cup cream cheese or sour cream

Garlic powder

Step 1: Thoroughly wash veggies. Dice potatoes and turnips into small pieces. The smaller, the faster they cook.

Step 2: Put the potatoes and turnips into a pot and cover with water. Get to a rolling boil, then boil for 20 minutes or until soft.

Step 3: When soft, drain and place in a large bowl. Break big chunks with a fork.

Step 4: Add wet ingredients, and blend well. Add as much garlic as you like!

 

The turnips have a soft taste to compliment the starchy potatoes, and of course you can experiment with other milk products and butter and spices or salt. But honestly, after you get used to the first few bites, mashed vegetables au natural tastes like nothing else! And it is delicious. We both had seconds.

Pak Choi Stir Fry:

1 bunch pak choi

1 large carrot

~2 cups snow peas

1/2 cup broccoli

2 tbsp olive oil

Step 1: Thoroughly wash all veggies. Dice the carrots and broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Put the oil into the pan and put on medium heat.

Step 2: Add veggies in order of firmness, carrots and broccoli first, then snow peas, then pak choi for the last 5 minutes. Stir and keep covered throughout.

About 10 calories per serving, mostly from the oil! You can also steam the veggies.

 

Kale Chips:

1 head kale

2 tbsp olive oil

~2 tbsp sea salt

Option seasonings - we did one batch with chili powder to spice it up

Step 1: Tear the kale leaves from the main stem, and tear into bite size pieces.

Step 2: Place in a bowl and drizzle olive oil, in small amounts. Toss until just coated.

 Step 3: Lay in single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 300 for ~20 minutes, tossing once. When chips are just beginning to turn brown and are crispy to the touch, they're ready.

Crispy, healthy Kale chips!

These chips are light and airy, but totally delicious. It's a strange sensation your first bite, but I guarantee it won't be your last!

Dinner fresh from the farm!