Pelmini

Pelmeni (Eastern Europe Ravioli) is a dish that we had while in Kazakhstan. It is widely served in many Eastern European countries.

This recipe makes about 100 pelmeni which serves 10 people.

Ingredients for the dough

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs (lightly beaten)

1/3 cup water

Combine flour and salt and mound on a clean surface. Make a well in the centre and add eggs and water. Incorporate flour mixture with egg mixture by working around the walls of the well until the dough is mixed. Knead on a floured surface until soft and pliable. Form into 100 balls, cover with a moist towel and let rest at room temperature for one hour.

Ingredients for the filling

1 pound ground beef

1 onion (minced)

1 teaspoon dried dill

Salt and pepper to taste

White of one small egg (beaten)

Water, chicken or beef broth

4 oz butter

Mix ground beef, onion, dill, salt and pepper to taste and enough water to make a soft mixture. When the dough is ready, flatten the dough balls into circles with a diameter of 7.5 cm. Place one tablespoon filling on each dough round. Brush the edges with water and fold the dough to form half moons. Pinch opposite ends to one another to seal. Repeat this with the rest of the dough balls. Brush the pelmeni with beaten egg white. Bring a large pot full of salted water to boil, you also can use chicken or beef broth. Without crowding, drop the pelmeni into the boiling water (or broth), stirring to prevent sticking, until the pelmeni comes to surface (about 4 minutes). Remove the pelmeni and put them on a large plate. Melt butter over medium heat and drizzle it over the pelmeni. You can also serve pelmeni with sour cream or a white sauce.

Crockpot Chicken Supper

This is a really hardy dish that makes the most of flavor and fills you up. You can change they type of cheese to alter the flavor of this dish a bit if you like. Unlike a typical crockpot meal this is not a dish that you leave and let cook all day. Some of the steps require different cooking methods.

Ingredients:
3 slices bacon
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
10 oz. jar four cheese Alfredo sauce
4 oz. jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced Swiss cheese

Preparation:
In large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet and drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon and set aside in refrigerator.
In bacon drippings in skillet, cook chicken over medium heat 3-5 minutes or until light brown, turning once. Place in 4-6 quart slow cooker. Top with mushrooms. Pour alfredo sauce over mushrooms and chicken. Cover and cook on low setting for 4-5 hours, or until chicken registers 165 degrees F on a meat thermometer.
Top chicken with cheese slices and sprinkle with bacon. Cover and cook on high for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. 6 servings

Lagman

While we were in Kazakhstan adopting our son we got to try some really amazing foods. Our favorite of these was Lagman. It is a wonderful noodle dish that is a bit like spaghetti and yet completely different than spaghetti. Confused yet? It is like spaghetti in that it is a noodle dish with what we thought was a tomato based sauce on top of it. While the sauce does contain tomatoes they are really not the main ingredient.

The noodles in Lagman are much thicker than sphaghetti noodles. They are more of an egg noodle like you would find in chicken and noodles. I have heard of people trying to make lagman using packaged sphaghetti noodles but that is completely the wrong way to go. The noodles are what really make this dish what it is.

In the past year and a half I have tried a few Lagman recipes but none of them were quite like what we had in Kazakhstan. So I combined a few different recipes adding and removing ingredients until I came up with the following recipe. This makes a wonderful Lagman that was just like what we had in Kaz.

Lagman Recipe

Noodle dough:

4 cups flour

1-1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup water

Tudzuk (stew):
1/2 cup butter

4 cups thinly sliced onions

2 lbs. meat (lamb or beef)*

4 cups cubed potatoes

2 cups thinly sliced carrots

4 cups sliced tomatoes

1/4 cup minced garlic

2 cups red bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced

6 cups thinly sliced cabbage

1 tbsp. salt

2 tsp. pepper

16 cups (1 gallon) water

To make the dough, stir together the flour and salt, then make a well in the center. Whisk together the water and eggs, then pour this into the center of the flour. Stir the dough until a thick mass is formed, then turn out onto a smooth surface and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and pliable. Divide the dough into two pieces, then cover one of the pieces while you work with the other. Let the dough dry. Once dry, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness, then cut into thin strips.

Begin to prepare the stew. In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat, then saute the onions for ten minutes, until they turn light gold. Add the potatoes. Add the meat and fry until it gives off its juices. Add the carrots, tomatoes, garlic and red bell peppers; mix well and fry, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are half-cooked. Stir in the cabbage, salt and pepper, then cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are cooked through.

Boil the noodles for two minutes, then transfer them from the water to a colander. Drain the noodles, spoon a layer into each serving plate, and pour the stew on top of them; if you wish, you may add a second layer each of noodles and stew. Serve hot.

*I used flat iron steak to make my lagman and it worked wonderfully. I personally do not care for lamb but many traditional versions of lagman do use lamb.

This is not the best quality photo but it gives a good idea of what lagman should look like. (i need to work on my food photographing skills)

Six Layer Dinner

Ingredients:
2 - 3 medium sliced potatoes
2 cups sliced carrots
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup sliced onion
1 pound browned and drained ground beef
1 1/2 cups green beans
1 can tomato-soup

Instructions:
Lightly oil or spray baking dish with cooking spray. Layer ingredients in order given. Cover. Bake at 350 degree for 45 minutes or until tender and thoroughly heated. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes.

Note: For variation, use peas or corn instead of green beans. Use your favorite cream soup instead of tomato soup.

Nutrition Facts:
calories = 230
calories from fat = 60
total fat = 6grams
sat fat = 2.5g
trans fat = 0g
cholesterol = 65mg
sodium = 580 mg
total carbs = 17g
dietary fiber = 4g
sugars = 9g
protein = 25g

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients

3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast
18 corn tortillas, medium
3 cups enchilada sauce
5 cups colby and monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 cup onions

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Boil the chicken in water until done. Drain & chop into small pieces.
Chop onion.
Spray a 13x9" pan with cooking spray.
Dip tortillas in the enchilada sauce one at a time, making sure they are completely covered with sauce.
Layer covered tortillas in the bottom of the pan, it should take six.
Add a layer of chicken, onion & cheese. You don't want the tortillas to be completely covered with any one of the ingredients but you should put about half of the chicken & onion & about 1/3 of the cheese.
Add a another layer of the tortillas dipped in sauce.
Press down gently all over the pan.
Add the remaining chicken, onion and cheese mixture.
Add remaining layer of tortillas dipped in sauce & press down gently again all over the pan.
Add the remaining cheese on the top.
Bake for 30-45 minutes, until cheese is bubbly, starting to brown and the casserole is hot all the way through.

Number of Servings: 16

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 16
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 268.7

• Total Fat: 10.7 g
• Cholesterol: 69.4 mg
• Sodium: 731.7 mg
• Total Carbs: 17.0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.3 g
• Protein: 25.8 g

Grilled Sweet-and-Sour Chicken Packets With Rice

Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb)
1/2 cup sweet-and-sour sauce
1 can (8 oz) pineapple chunks, drained
1/2 medium green pepper, cut into strips
1/2 medium yellow pepper, cut into strips
1/2 medium red pepper, cut into strips
1/2 small onion, cut into small wedges
1/2 cup (dry) white rice
1/2 cup (dry) brown rice

Directions
1. Heat gas or charcoal grill. Cut four 18x12-inch pieces of heavy-duty foil; spray with cooking spray.
2. Cook rice according to directions.
3. On one side of each foil piece, place 1 chicken breast. Top each with 1 tablespoon sweet-and-sour sauce and one-fourth of the pineapple, bell pepper and onion. Top with remaining sauce.
4. Fold foil over chicken and vegetables so edges meet. Seal edges, making tight 1/2-inch fold; fold again. Allow space on sides for heat expansion. 5. When grill is heated, place packets on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill over medium coals; cover grill. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, rotating packets 1/2 turn after 10 minutes, until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F). Place packets on plates. Cut Fold back foil. Serve over rice.

Number of Servings: 4

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 4
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 541.3

• Total Fat: 3.6 g
• Cholesterol: 136.9 mg
• Sodium: 289.9 mg
• Total Carbs: 61.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.5 g
• Protein: 58.8 g

Seared Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 2 pork chops, about 3 oz. each (not including bone)
  
  
• olive oil
  
  
• salt
  
  
• pepper
  
  
• spices of your choice

Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 450 F.

2. Heat a cast iron skillet or other heavy, ovenproof pan over medium-high heat. Lubricate your pork chops with the oil all over. Season with salt, pepper, and your favorite spices. Some good ones to try: cumin, coriander seed, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and chipotle pepper powder.

3. Sear the chops on each side in the pan until golden, about 2 - 3 minutes per side. Then, put the skillet in the oven until the chops are cooked through.

4. Allow to rest for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 2.

Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 cup salsa 1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning 1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup (condensed) 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream Directions Add chicken to slow cooker. Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken. Pour salsa and soup over chicken. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Serve with rice. NOTES: You may use half the packet of taco seasoning (I have started doing this to reduce sodium content myself) Some slow cookers cook faster than others. Mine is a true slow cooker (have had it over 10 years.) The newer ones cook a bit faster and you may have to adjust your cooking time based on that! Number of Servings: 6 Nutritional Info Servings Per Recipe: 6 Amount Per Serving Calories: 157.2 Total Fat: 3.3 g Cholesterol: 63.4 mg Sodium: 654.2 mg Total Carbs: 6.7 g Dietary Fiber: 0.9 g Protein: 24.3 g