Paulchens FoodBlog?!

Today is “reveal day” of The Secret Recipe Club again and all of us particpants will reveal which blog we have been assigned to and what we found most interesting to cook from this blog…

Reveal Days of the other SRC groups are - so watch out for more fun on:

• Tina’s Group (group B) – 11/14/11
• Angela’s Group (group C) – 11/21/11
• Tami’s Group (group D) – 11/28/11

How this all works?
well, just click on that logo on the left and you will get to a whole wonderful website that will answer all your questions and more!

Why I joined?
Because I think it is a fun way to discover new blogs and – again – step outta my comfort zone a bit by being assigned an unknown blog and having to find a recipe that suits me and tempts me to cook myself.

Join too?
Simply click here and read the rules (well there are not many otherwise I would not be here)  and apply. I promise you it is fun!

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Potato Pierogi

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This month I was assigned to Amanda and her blog Dancing Veggies. When I first read this in my email I thought: Oh a Vegetarian, now that will be funny.

I love to eat veggies and do this a lot but when planning my meals most of the time there will be a small piece of fish or meat involved, not much but it is there… As a child I often preferred the side dishes and the gravy over the meat (and still do most of the time now) – but that’s not what you would call vegetarian, no?

So I sat there in front of my PC and pondered about cooking vegetarian this month. When something is fairly new to me I tend to go into what my family calls “research mode”. Hey I am an Aquarian! I need to know about things before I dive right into them… besides, it’s fun to find out about new things!

After browsing through the web for a few hours and reading a lot of articles and opinions  I turned back to Amanda’s blog and flipped through her blog. To my very surprise I found many recipes where I immediately thought “wow I want to make this” and bookmarked them away.

In the end I settled down on 8 recipes and have made 5 of them so far – plus I am sure I will do the other 3 soon.

Amanda says on her blog: 

My blog focuses on recipes that are simple and QUICK, with ingredients that can easily be found at the local market.   I also have a sweet tooth so expect to see some quick and easy dessert recipes as well.

Quick, simple, local AND a sweet tooth? That gal does it right! Besides you don’t always need parts of dead animals on your plate, do you?

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Potato Pierogi

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Potato Perogies

original Recipe by Amanda at Dancing Veggies, slightly adapted by me

Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 1 tbsp dry Italian Seasonings (I used the Pampered Chef version)
- pinch of pepper
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup margarine, softened
- 2 cups of favorite mashed potato recipe
Directions:

1. Mix the flour and the salt. Add the garlic, Italian seasonings, and pepper. Beat in the egg and mix well before adding the sour cream and margarine. Gently knead the dough about 10 minutes, then cover and place in the fridge for 30minutes.
   I roasted my garlic before adding to the dough so it was very easy to mash it and added a wonderful depth to the final product.
2. Split dough into two sections and keep the spare dough in the fridge until ready. Roll out the dough until 1/4 in thick. Use a cookie cutter to shape the dough. Place about 1tbsp topping in the middle of the circle and then fold over, using a fork or dough crimper to seal the edges.
   Wow that was the fun part. The dough was super easy to roll out even without a pasta machine.
   
3. Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and slowly add perogies, cooking until they float to the top being careful to not crowd the pot.
   
4. Once the perogies are cooked there are MANY options for finishing them, I normally saute but have been known to bake them as well. If sauting, just add some butter to a pan and heat over medium. Add perogies and cook until lightly brown on each side. Feel free to add some onions or peppers! If baking turn oven to 375. Cook on each side about 4minutes.
   I baked them in the oven for about ten minutes until they where nice and golden brown. Loved that extra crunch this treatment gave them!
   I think next time I make them I’ll saute them just to see the difference,… 

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Potato Pierogi

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 So far I’ve also made from her blog: Mushroom Stroganoff, Pasta Mornay, Sour Cream Potatos, Honey Apple Cobbler.

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