Goodwiches

Ingredients:
flour tortillas
mayonnaise
steamed broccoli / cauliflower florets
onions, sliced & sautéed with bbq sauce
cheddar cheese, shredded
dill pickles, sliced lengthwise
shredded carrots

Directions:
Place everything out on the table and assemble wraps as you like. Add other ingredients if you like - avocados might be nice in place of the mayo.

Lentil Salad

Ingredients:
dressing
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. lemon juice
4 green onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced (or garlic salt)
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
salt and pepper
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

salad
2 cups lentils, cooked
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1 cup cooked ham, diced (optional)
green pepper rings

Directions:
Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl. When well mixed, add warm lentils, tomato and ham. Stir to combine. Refrigerate overnight. Garnish with pepper before serving.

Sauerkraut Pierogi Filling

Ingredients:
2 cans sauerkraut
2 tbsp butter
1/2 lb bacon, cut into pieces
1 med onion, diced finely
pepper to taste

Directions:
Dump sauerkraut and juices into a large saucepan. Add butter. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat for an hour or two (the longer you cook it, the more mellow the flavor. If you want to cook it longer, it's fine, you'll just need to add some water so it doesn't burn.)

Place sauerkraut in a colander and push out as much liquid as possible. Leave draining while you prepare the bacon. In a large frying pan, cook bacon until fat is rendered and the edges turn crispy. Add onion, cook until translucent. Add sauerkraut and pepper, stirring until heated through. Return everything to the colander, and push out as much liquid as possible. Cool, draining as thoroughly as possible.

When adding this filling to pierogi, squeeze out any additional water while forming balls of filling.

Beef Pierogi Filling

Ingredients:
2 cups grated onion
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp dried marjoram
3/4 tsp dried sweet basil
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 cup fine bread crumbs
2 tsp beef stock / broth / bouillon

Directions:
Fry onion until tender, add meat. Cook until browned, stir in seasonings and bread crumbs. Add just enough stock to make a paste. Cool to make handling easier.

Great Grandma Rose's Pierogi Dough

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
(1/4 cup cold mashed potatoes if desired)
(small amount of water as needed for additional moisture)
ridiculous amounts of butter as desired for coating pierogi

Directions:
Mix all ingredients by hand in a large mixing bowl. Knead until elastic and smooth. Roll out on a floured surface and cut into 4 inch circles. Place rounded ball of filling in the center of each circle. With water, moisten the edge of half the circle. Fold the circle over and pinch the edges well to seal. With a fork, crimp the edges. Boil in batches of about 12 pierogi for about 7 minutes or until tender. (Can throw a scrap of dough into the water with the pierogi - then test this for tenderness.) Place in a tray coated with melted butter and drizzle more melted butter over the top of the pierogi as they come out of the water. Continue cooking your batches until all are cooked. Can cool and reheat with more butter later or serve hot. Sauteed onions in the butter topping are optional but delicious.

Spritz Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (can substitute Earth Balance to make dairy free)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. almond extract
a few drops food coloring (optional)
¼ tsp. salt
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugar well. Add egg and almond extract and mix until light and fluffy. Add food coloring if desired. Mix in salt and flour. Fill cookie press; press onto cool ungreased baking sheets. Add sprinkles if desired. Bake at 375 for 5 minutes or just until set. Cool on wire racks.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:
¾ cup butter, softened
½ cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
¼ tsp salt
1 ¾ cups AP flour
½ cup jam or preserves, any flavor

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla and egg yolks. Mix in salt and add flour a little bit at a time until a soft dough forms. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. If dough is too soft to work with, refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. Place balls 2 inches apart on cool ungreased baking sheets.

Use your thumb or the handle of a wooden spoon to make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Spoon your jam into a sandwich bag and snip off a tiny corner of the bag. Use this to pipe about ½ tsp. of jam into each indentation. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom. Cool on wire racks.