Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Bacon Wraped Fresh Green Beans

First step with green beans is washing them. I soak them in the sink in water with 1/4 c vinegar then rinse and clean them by snapping off stems and any pieces that are going bad or getting tooo soft.
Next I blanch them, meaning I boil them in a sauce pan in salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Then I drain the water and put the beans into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. 5 min. Drain from ice water. In bowl, toss beans with 1 tbsp.  olive oil and seasonings of choice. I like garlic and herbs, or Italian seasoning mix.

Grease a baking sheet. Take a piece of bacon, wrap it around a bunch of the green beans - about 5 beans per wrap. set on baking sheet. Fill baking sheet with wraps and bake in oven 400 F for 15 minutes or until bacon is fully cooked. Doesn't take long.

Enjoy! We are having it with roasted chicken tonight. :)

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Potato Vareniki -Russian, Volga Russian-German Potato Dumplings

Potato Vareniki 

-Russian,Volga Russian-German Potato Dumplings

Note: this recipe fed the whole family - a large sitting and was a family event when Grandma would make it.

Filling:

2-3 pounds potatoes, boiled (save water from cooked potatoes- set aside to boil the dumpling in) (I make this using about 10-12 med. potatoes)

2 sm. yellow onions chopped small

1 jar saurkraut, drained and rinsed. (Large quart jar- homemade saurkraut is best!)

1 stick butter

Salt and pepper

Dough:

2/3 cups whole milk

2 large eggs

2 cups warm water

1 1/2 tsp salt

about 6 cups whole wheat flour

1 stick real butter (to serve at end)

To cook:

Filling: Peel and wash potatoes, cut into chunks and boil until soft and mashable. Put into Large mixing bowl and mash. set aside. In fry pan: Saute onion and drained saurkraut in butter until tenderand slightly browned, add this to the mashed potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Dough: Mix together: 2/3 cup milk, 2 cups warm water, 2 eggs and 1  1/2 tsp salt until well blended.

Begin adding flour 1 cup at a time until mixed well and no longer sticks to bowl. Rest dough 15 minutes. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll out dough on a floured board to a 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough into small squares and place a spoonful of potato mixture in the center of each square. Fold dough, pinch ends to form a triangle. Pinch well as they will boil apart if left open.

To Cook:

When all are made, and pinched tight, put into boiling potato water and boil for about 8-10 minutes. (They will act very much like a ravioli when done, floating only at top) Best to boil 4-5 at a time and pull when done. When all are cooked, drain, and serve with the remaining real butter melted, and drizzled over top. Grandma served this with pork chops or German sausage.

Homemade noodles the way my Grandma made them

Homemade Noodles and Chicken stock
2 dozen eggs, 2 cups water, 1 tablespoon salt, flour to make a very stiff dough
Mix well. Knead dough. Roll dough into large thin circles. Cut by hand into noodles or cut with pasta machine. Let dry in single layer. Store in airtight containers.

Grandma would spend an entire day making homemade noodles. While she used a handcrank pasta machine in her later years, I do remember the handcut ones from when I was really little. The dough would be rolled out across the entire end of her kitchen table and often a batch of her homemade noodles were a length of at least foot (something makes me want to say that was folded over the dryer dowl- so 1 noodle was approximately 24" long.)

 Every time she made the noodles, an entire chicken would be boiling on the back of the stove, in a kettle of water with 1 bay leaf, a tsp of allspice (with cloves removed) and salt and pepper. This was her homemade chicken soup stock for that evening dinner. She'd later remove the bones, and add the noodles. And we would all feast. Yum.
Each child and grandchild's household then left that night with a bag of homemade noodles from the day's event.

Russian Blintzes

Russian Blintzes

Grandma pronounced these with a fast accent to where it sounded like "flenzas"
Ingredients
1 c flour
1 egg
pinch of salt
pinch of baking powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/3 c milk
Whip ingredients together, batter will be extremely thin. Heat fry pan with a dash of  unsalted butter, until sizzling. With ladle, pour in one spoonful of batter and pick up fry pan with a roll to spread out batter evenly. Fry until it begins to bubble and shiny in the middle disappears. Flip for just a minute to brown other side, plate with butter. You can fill with fresh berries, cut fruit, or ricotta cheese. Roll like you would a tortilla and serve with cream, yogurt, whipped cream or plain.

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Beerocks the Way Grandma Made

Certain recipes I remember my Grandma Schmidt making were always a family event.  They did not need a holiday to occur, they just needed Grandma to be in a mood to create. 
Mollie Schmidt, my Great Grandmother, loved to cook.
Her recipes were unique to the Volga Russia-German Heritage. This is one of my favorites.

Beerocks 
Ingredients
3 loaves bread dough  (frozen bread dough is available at any supermarket. or make any regular bread yeast dough to put the filling in.)

4 pounds Beef chuck roast, cooked; shredded, grind or chop after it is cooked. (Use food processor to make it easy!)
1 head cabbage, shredded
2 yellow onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped,  Salt & Pepper, to taste
Preparation
In a large skillet, salt and pepper the roast on both sides.   Brown off roast on both sides. Add water to cover and cook roast on stove top or a 350º oven until roast is well cooked. Set aside and cool. When cool, shred the beef and remove all fat.
In another large skillet, saute the onions and garlic until onion is almost golden brown.
Add the shredded cabbage and cook until limp.
Add salt, pepper and shredded beef to the cabbage mixture and let stand until cool.

Assembly: Cut the bread dough loaves into 4 sections each and let rise.
Roll out each section into an 8 inch square. Place 2-3 tablespoons of filling onto the square and roll up, folding the sides in so no filling will escape from the roll. Set the Beerocks aside to rise again.
Place the beerocks on a greased baking sheet, or parchment paper lined sheet, and cook in a 350° oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Serve hot.

Note:
This easily makes 3 dozen. For our family of four- that can go a long way! But I love that they are wholesome and healthy alternates to today's hot pockets. The best part is they are Real Food minus the laden chemicals of supermarket fast food!
To keep: bake, cool completely, wrap in individually-either in plastic wrap or parchment paper, and store in Ziplock bags in the freezer.  I put 4 to a gallon freezer bag for future quick dinners for us.  They never last long. To reheat, set on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Or you can microwave it if you use a microwave.
This makes so much, it ends up being a frugal, healthy recipe! If needed budget wise or you cannot find roast on sale, this recipe does work with 4 lbs of hamburger fried and minced fine- less traditional- but still delicious!   I hope you enjoy!





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