Russian Vareniki - Strawberry Dumplings

If you have a wonderful Russian in your life like I have one in mine, then you may have experienced the heaven that is Vareniki yourself. If not - tune in and give it a whirl yourself!

Ingredients

• 2 C flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp veggie oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 lb strawberries

Instructions

1. Mix flour, salt and egg into a dough.
2. Add water and knead away.
3. Egg oil and continue kneading.
4. Cover bowl of dough with a towel and move on to strawberries.
5. Chop strawberries into small pieces and place into bowl
6. Add sugar to berries
7. Mix and set aside.
8. Go back to dough and break into manageable sections
9. Roll out the dough, and use a cookie cutter to pull out circles
10. Place a small amount of strawberries (you will figure amount more as you work) on one side
11. Fold half of the circle over into a moon dumpling shape.
12. Use water to seal the edge.
13. Use a fork to seal the edge.
14. Complete this process until the dough is gone.
15. Place dumplings into boiling water.
16. Once dumplings float, remove.
17. Serve warm. You can drizzle remaining strawberries and juice over the dumplings. We added vanilla bean greek yogurt as well and it was to die for!

Ugandan Chapati

Chapati is something that we learned about a little too late when we were in Uganda. One of our last nights, friends came over with it and were like "what you haven't tried it yet?". We actually had tried it when we ate Rolex - just didn't know it alone. It is somewhere between a flatbread, naan, or tortilla bread. It is not the easiest thing to cook right - but worth it when you do.

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• warm water
• cooking oil
• finely chopped purple onions
• finely chopped garlic

1. Mix flour, onion, and salt in a bowl
2. Mix water in slowly until you get a thick dough
3. Knead slowly adding in flour as need be
4. Cover bowl of dough with a cloth and let it sit for a t least a half hour
5. Preheat skillet and coat with oil
6. Divide dough into small balls
7. Flatten balls into rounds
8. Dust chapati rounds with flour
9. Fry on each side until both sides have brown marks
10. Enjoy!

Blueberry and Goat Cheese Empanadas

I wanted to make something different for the boys to enjoy tonight. Josiah likes most things with strawberries, but I am about sick of strawberry everything, so I went with a blueberry option. And in honor of Millie and Billy we went with a goat cheese empanada for the win.

This was super easy to make and absolutely delicious to taste.

Ingredients

• 2 cups blueberries
• goat cheese
• 1 T flour
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract
• empanada dough (freezer section in grocer)
• egg
• table sugar

Steps

1. defrost empanada shells
2. preheat oven to 400
3. pour blueberries in a bowl and add flour, brown sugar, and vanilla extract and mix it up
4. lay out empanada shells and use water to keep them sticky
5. place a spoon of goat cheese and a spoon or two of blueberry mixture in shell
6. fold shell over
7. use a wet fork to press edges tight
8. poke holes in top
9. use egg mixed with water to wash the top of the shell
10. sprinkle table sugar over nadas
11. bake for 15-20 mins or until browned shell
12. enjoy!

How to Make Quick Pickles - Quickles

This past week I journeyed with my dashing groom, my snuggly prince, and my mother-in-law on a road trip through the South. We visited family in North Carolina, stayed at a cabin in the Mountains, hiked waterfalls, climbed through caves, braved mile high swinging bridges, visited a winery, visited fort sumter, savannah riverfront, and even stayed a night in Charleston with BT's cousins. While there I got to taste some quickles cousin Michelle made that she found a recipe from TheShiksa. I couldn't quite get them off of my mind and bugged her until she sent me a link to the recipe before I even arrived home. Well - after a whole day home I ran to Publix and bought what I needed - or what I could find that I needed. Here is my slightly tweaked version of the recipe.

• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 fist full of fresh dill
• 1 bay leaf or a shake of dried
• 1/2 tsp of whole peppercorn
• 1/2 tsp of coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp of dill seeds (not dill weeds - i ended up finding it at walmart after a couple stores I checked didnt)
• a couple shakes of red crushed pepper
• a shake of celery salt
• 1/4 tsp of fennel seed
• 8 small cucumbers (without the wax coating)
• 2 cups of water
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1.5 tbsp course salt
• 1 mason jar

1. Put slices of garlic into a pan with water and let it boil for one minute to blanch the garlic (this keeps the garlic from turning blue in the soaking. After boiling for one minute drain the garlic.
    
2. Add garlic, all spices (except salt), and cucumbers into the mason jar. The cukes will likely have to be squished to fit but after the soaking they will shrink so should be easier to get out.
   
   
3. Boil the vinegar and water and salt in a saucepan until salt is gone and about one minute after
4. Use a funnel if you have one - and pour the solution over the cucumbers until they are covered.
   
5. Let the jar cool off before closing with the jar top and sticking it into the fridge.
   
6. After about two days of soaking you can take them out to eat, but the longer you wait - the tastier they will turn out to be.
7. Enjoy!

Scoopy Baggles.

This is a simplest way to make a mini pizza with as few ingredients that you can. Cooking time - 2 minutes.
For this one, I used just some bagles, an Italian cheese mix, and random pasta sauce.

I usually toast the bagles, if they are soggy, just to make the crusts a bit sturdier. But don't overtoast it, because scooping out will be kind of a pain.
After the bagles are ready, scoop out the bread.

I save the bread for squirrels/birds. After the scooping is done, fill it up with pasta cause and cheese.

 Once filled, pop the bagles into the microwave. Mine takes about 45-50 seconds to become a melty cheezy goodness. Cool them off and ready to nom!

Mint Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

The fact that my husband has a sweet tooth will not be a surprise to my readers, as is my continuous search for healthier alternatives for him. Perhaps his greatest temptation is Ice Cream. His two favorite flavors are Mint Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Anything. I decided to knock one of those out this week with an idea I found on Pinterest.

• 18oz chocolate chunk vanilla low fat chobani greek yogurt
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 5 drops green food coloring

1. Mix all ingredients together until all yogurt is evenly green
2. Put plastic cap back on and place in freezer
3. Freeze for 3-4 hours or until appropriately frozen
4. If frozen overnight place in fridge for an hour to soften
5. When you serve, mix it up a bit so its not icey but smooth
6. Enjoy
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I made this again tonight and realized that I never posted it on the blog. It is way too good not to share and super super easy. I have been growing brussel sprouts in my vegetable garden in the back yard so have been able to have plenty of roasted brussel sprouts lately and my hubby and lil boy love them too!

• brussel sprouts
• evoo
• balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper (and any additional seasonings you enjoy)
• shredded parmesan cheese

1. lightly oil a glass dish
2. spread out brussel sprouts so none of them are touching
3. drizzle evoo, plenty of balsamic vinegar, spices, and parmesan cheese over the sprouts
4. broil for 10 minutes or until browned and soft
5. Enjoy!

Kale Chips (Potato Chip Replacement)

My husband (the one with the sweet tooth) also has a salty tooth. He can take down a full bag of potato chips in a sitting. You know the bag that most people buy, have some, clip, save for later. Yeah. One sitting. So when I heard of kale chips my first thought was - could you imagine if he would eat kale chips like he does potato chips. He would have some amazing vitamins and nutrients running through his body. Anyhow I mentioned to him and he was open to trying. Above is the final result. I think I should have cooked them a bit longer because some of them were a bit soggy. Though we had enough good ones to decide that we liked it. There were a few that we ate that we thought - ok thats the consistency of a potato chip. And the taste is definitely pretty good. So anyhow here is how you can make kale chips in your house.

• kale chips
• evoo
• seasoning of your choice (salt / pepper / garlic / red pepper / sugar / ?)

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Clip your kale into bite sized pieces
3. Oil your baking dish
4. Spread out your washed and dried kale on the baking dish
5.  Drizzle with evoo and seasoning
6. Bake until chips are browned but not burnt
7. Enjoy!

Toast with Strawberry Jam and Hummus

This morning I happened upon a delightful creation by accident. I was putting strawberry jam on my flat-bread after heating it. When my son said "you putting peanut butter and jelly on it?". And I thought - hmm peanut butter would be good. But when I reached into the fridge for peanut butter my hand hit the bowl of hummus. And a lightbulb went off.... Hummus is similar in consistency and taste to peanut butter. So I spread it on lightly on one side of the toast (in case it was horrid) and left the other side with just strawberry jelly. Brought it up to my office... and tasted heaven. So here ya go.

• strawberry jam
• hummus
• toast

1. Spread jam and hummus on toast
2. Enjoy :)

Make your Own Strawberry Jam

This past weekend we took Josiah strawberry picking and when we came home with buckets of strawberries, I knew jam would need to be produced. After some google searching I found the recipe to use, modified it for my own purpose and got cooking. I share it here with you, so that you can make your own jam for your family.

• 6 cups of chopped strawberries
• 1.5 boxes of low sugar needed pectin (this is what thickens and jels the jam)
• Sweetener (we used 2 cups of agave nectar but you can also 4 cups sugar or your sweetener of prefernce)
• 6 bell jars including tops
• funnel

1. Sanitize your jars and lids in your dishwasher or in boiling water. Keep them in the heated dry until they are ready to use (or boiling water) so they are the right temperature and dont go to hot too fast and possibly crack.
2. Pick or buy your strawberries. Wash them. Chop off the tops. Chop or food process them to your preferred consistency. The more they are crushed, the more natural pectin comes out in its own consistency. You want 6 cups of it after it is crushed so you will need 8-10 whole.
3. Measure a quarter cup of sweetener with your pectin until it is blended well.
4. Mix this sweetener/pectin blend in with your strawberries.
5. Put the strawberry blend in a pot and bring slowly to a boil under medium/high heat.
   (If you do not use pectin you will need to take a much longer time over heat to get it to the right consistency, and double the sweetener. Pectin is a natural chemical extracted from apples - so nothing to worry about there)
6. Once they have come to a complete boil, remove them from heat and add the remaining sugar.
7. Bring to a boil again and let it boil for 1 minute. The slower you bring it to boiling the less foaming you will experience.
8. Remove from heat.
9. Skim the excessive foam and place in a bowl. You can microwave it for 60 seconds and throw it in the fridge for fresh jam.
10. Here is where you get to test the JEL factor. Keep a cup of ice water with a spoon in it. Pull the cold spoon out and spoon out some jam. Let it cool to room temperature. Then see if it is the right JEL factor for you - if its not jelly enough add more pectin and reboil for one minute. Otherwise you are good to go.
11. Let it stand for 5 minutes
12. Stir completely
13. Remove your jars from the dishwasher/hotwater and start funneling in the jam. Immediately place the tightly closed jar with jam in a pot of boiling water where the water covers the lid a couple inches.
14. When the jars are all in the boiling water they should boil for about 10 minutes depending on your elevation.
15. Remove carefully from the boiling water with tongs and place to set.
16. After 24 hours they should be processed and set. You should be able to tell that the tops will no longer pop in or out. If they pop then store it in the fridge since it won't last as long before spoiling.
17. Processing the jars like this ought to keep them in a cabinet for 6-12 months.
18. Serve, share, and enjoy :)

Oven Roasted Tater Crunch

While I was excited about trying this vegetarian version of a bacon potato recipe I didn't really know what we were in for. My son will not eat anything on his plate once he catches a sight of this. Everything else goes by the wayside as he downs this and asks for more and more and more. My husband ignored the other items I had cooked and ate as many potatoes as he could without getting eyes from me to slow down. They both ate them for lunch the next day and the day after. I think we can call this a success since both my son and husband are big bacon fans and normally turn their nose up at veggie bacon.

• evoo
• veggie bacon
• yukon gold small potatoes
• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup parmigiana-romana cheese
• salt
• pepper

1. Peel  potatoes
2. Boil in water until fork tender (8-13 mins)
3. Slice veggie bacon into small pieces
4. Preheat oven to 425
5. Cook bacon in pan in evoo until color changes but not crunchy yet (will cook more in oven)
6. Prepare glass baking dish with evoo
7. Once taters are cooled off cube and place on baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper
8. Bake for 35 minutes (turning halfway through to evenly brown
9. Reduce temp to 375 and sprinkle with parm, garlic, and bacon
10. Bake an additional 10-20 minutes until parm is melted and bacon is crunchy
11. Serve and ENJOY!

Cheesy Biscuit Bombs

I have seen some variations of this on Pinterest and just had to try it. Being that I love cheese - I figured we couldn't go wrong. It was fantastic. I gave my son one for lunch with some salami and he was crying for more.

• biscuit dough
• shredded mozarella
• evoo
• italian seasoning
• parmesan

1. Preheat to 350
2. Take your dough slice and flatten it out in a glass baking dish
3. Generously top with cheese
4. Wrap dough back around cheese and close it firmly
5. Carefully spray the pan with evoo spray and replace the doughballs spaced evenly
6. Brush with evoo
7. Top with parmesan
8. Top with italian seasoning
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes
10. Cool and enjoy!

  

Best Pumpkin Smoothie

OK. My husband tells me tonight "I want a smoothie, but I want to make it because youll put green crap in it."  HA Then I said ok - I won' put spinach in it. And he said "but you won't make it sweet enough, I need peanut butter and sugar and good stuff." So I convinced him to let me make him one and promised him it would be good and not green. Well I not only impressed him but myself as well. This is the best pumpkin smoothie I have made thus far.

• 1 banana
• 1/2 C ice
• 1 C coconut milk
• 3 t pureed pumpkin
• 1 C frozen peaches
• 1 t pumpkin spice
• 1 t raw agave nectar

1. Blend
2. Enjoy

The Non-Cookie Dough Balls

So, when I saw this on Pinterest I was not sure what to expect. I didn't exactly have all the same items so I had to modify it a bit of course. But I was so happy with the end result I can't wait to make it again. Now let me make a disclaimer - this doesn't exactly taste like cookie dough. It tastes quite a bit like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. But when I said nanacream tastes exactly like ice cream i meant it. This doesn't taste exactly like cookie dough, but pretty darn close. Enough that it was yummy enough to try again.

• 1 cup oatmeal flakes
• 2/3 cup raw almonds
• 1/3 cup raw pistachios 
• .25 t cinnamin
• quick shake of salt
• .25 cup raw agave nectar
• 2t vanilla
• 3T dark chocolate chips

1. add the nuts, flakes, spices to a food processor and grind until it is a powder
2. combine the nectar and vanilla and continue to process to mix well
3. fold in the chips
4. roll little balls of dough and place in a glass baking dish into the freezer for 1 hour
5. take out and serve

Cheesy Garlicy Biscuitys - in Red Lobster Cheesy Biscuits Style

This has always been the only thing attracting me to Red Lobster, not being a big fish fan and all. So when I found this recipe I had to do it.

• 1.5 cups bisquick mix
• 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 0.5 cups light vanilla soymilk (or milk)
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 0.5 Tablespoons oregano
• .25 Tablespoons basil
• couple shakes of salt
• 4 garlic cloves chopped

1. preheat oven to 400
2. mix bisquick, cheese, and milk in a bowl until it is properly mixed and sticky doughy
3. scoop spoonfuls onto glass baking dish
4. bake doughballs for 10 minutes
5. while dough is baking mix spices, garlic, and butter in a bowl and microwave until it is all liquid melted
6. remove biscuits from oven after 10 minutes and just when its getting less gooey
7. pour or brush buttery mixture over biscuits
8. return biscuits to oven for 5 minutes
9. lower oven to 350 and bake another 5 minutes
10. At any point that your biscuits start getting crispier you can remove them, otherwise bring to completion
11. Serve, enjoy, and try not to eat them all at once :)

Baked Artichoke Triscuit Appetizer

I recently recalled an appetizer that my mom used to make when I was a kid on the boat a lot. So I finally got her to tell me how she made it and I made it tonight. Um Yum! Unfortunately I was not able to get a photo of the finished baked product before they were demolished - but imagine what is above but browned and crispy.

• 1/3 cup reduced fat mayonaise
• 1/3 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 3 Tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 can of chopped artichoke
• triscuits

1. Preheat oven to 475
2. Mix together mayo, sour cream, parm, and artichoke in a bowl until well blended
3. Scoop on to whole triscuits in glass baking dish
4. Bake until pieces are browned up top (feel free to broil)
5. Serve and enjoy!

 

NanaCream - Natural Healthy Dairy Free Ice Cream

OK. I am about to share a secret with you. But don't let everyone know or we are going to put ice cream shops out of business and my Bryan will be heartbroken. This is our most favorite recipe these days and every single time it blows us away. Are you ready? Can you handle this?

• Bananas

[yes. really. thats it. no. im not kidding. thats all. ok if you want you can add other things like peanut butter, cocoa, others. but yes this is all]. You will need a food processor for this.

1. Take 3-4 bananas and peel them
2. Cut them into slices
3. Place them on a plate and stick them in the freezer for a few hours or overnight
4. Once they are frozen hard and almost stuck to the plate, throw them in a food processor
5. Turn on
6. First the banana will turn into a gravel like substance.
7. Keep a spoon on hand to push back towards the center and unstick pieces.
8. After it is gravelly keep going and keep going. It will start to get creamy.
9. Once your entire thing is creamy like the consistency of soft serve ice cream, you are done.
10. If you want to add things (we add a spoonful of peanut butter here cause bry LOVES peanutbutter ice cream) do it now and process it until its smooth in your food processor.
11. Scoop into bowls and enjoy. [you can also put it into the freezer for scoopable ice cream if you prefer]

I promise you will be surprised at how this will trick your mouth into thinking it is ice cream. The texture and taste will hardly give away that it started as a banana. So so good.

Bang Bang Cauliflower

Last night something amazing happened in our house. What was it? Bang Bang Cauliflower! Thats right. I found the recipe on Pinterest and have been jonesing for them ever since I saw the photo. I mean come on! Any food you eat with chop sticks can't be half bad. Although I am not a huge fan of shrimp I often partake in one or two bang bang shrimp when we go to Bonefish Grill. Its just so fun.

Something I have always wondered though, if I put up with the shrimp for the sake of the yummy crust and sauce why don't I just put the crust or sauce on something I do like. Well - someone had already come up with that idea and put it into this awesome recipe that I am about to bestow upon you. Be warned, this may cause a habit forming addiction.

This can be an appetizer but we enjoyed it as our meal. While I was cooking these up Bryan looked at me and said "is that all you're cooking or are we going to eat something else too?" I said "only planning these, dear, feel free to cook something else". He did, and he didn't touch it. He was quickly filled on the Bang Bangs Cauliflower.

Fried & Breaded Cauloflower Ingredients

• 1 Head of Cauliflower / frozen cauliflower defrosted
• Cornstarch
• Egg whites
• Panko breadcrums
• Garlic Salt & Pepper
• Green Onions
• Coconut Oil (though I used evoo)

Yummy Sauce

• 1/2 cups Franks red hot sweet chili sauce
• 1/2 cups light mayo
• 1T rice vinegar
• 2T splenda

1. Break your cauliflower up into bite size pieces
2. Dip them first into cornstarch (yes it feels gross)
3. Dip next into egg whites
4. Dip next into bowl filled with panko, salt, pepper, and garlic powder
5. Let them dry on a plate while you finish the rest of the coating
6. Cook them in frying pan with coconut oil (or evoo if you substitute)
7. Make sure you flip them to make sure they are fully cooked and browning
8. Sit them on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the oil
9. Throw them in a bowl and coat with sauce
10. Top with green onions and Enjoy!