Category Archives: Family Recipes

Noodles and Dumplings

Houskove knedliky

Bread dumplings

  • 10 slices of white bread without crusts
  • 5 T butter
  • 4 T minced onion
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup crisp bacon, crumbled
  • 3 tbsp minced parsley
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1/8 t nutmeg

Cube bread. Brown in 4 tbsp butter. Put into a bowl. Saute onions in 1 tbsp butter. Place in bowl and add flour, bacon, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Moisten with milk. Knead to form a soft dough. Fold in cubed bread. Shape dough into 6-7″ long x 2″ wide rolls. In a 9″ pan, simmer enough salted water to cover rolls. Place rolls in water. Cover and simmer 25 mins. Turn rolls once. Drain on paper towels and slice 3/4″ thick with a string.

Eggs and Cheese, Noodles and Dumplings

Dumplings filled with cottage cheese

Bryndzove pirohy

  • 1-1/4 lb boiled potatoes
  • 1/2 lb flour
  • 1 egg
  • bacon
  • salt
  • sour cream for serving

Filling:

  • 1/2 lb cottage cheese
  • 2/3 cup grated boiled potatoes
  • chopped dill
  • 1 egg
  • salt

Pirohy: Peel the boiled potatoes, grate them and add flour, egg and salt. Make a dough, and roll it out into a thin round shape on a baking-board. Carve out the circles with form or with water glass, put on it cottage cheese filling, fold the dough over, press margins well, and boil in salted bubbling hot water. When they emerge on the surface, boil a little more and take out. Spread with fried bacon and serve with sour cream or yoghurt.

Filling: Mix cottage cheese with boiled, cooled and grated potatoes, add cut dill, egg, and a bit of sour cream. Mix well. The mixture must be quite thick.

Vegetables and Salads

Avocados with Cilantro Dressing

A fresh, green, tangy way to dress up your avocados,

  • Avocados
  • 2 T fresh lime juice
  • 2 T chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 T salad oil
  • 1 T chopped green onion
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 1/4 t sugar
  • 1/8 t ground pepper

In blender combine all ingredients. Blend well. Drizzle over 2-3 ripe, sliced avocados.

Avocado

Persea americana, or the avocado, is possibly thought to have originated in the Tehuacan Valley[6] in the state of Puebla, Mexico,[7] although fossil evidence suggests similar species were much more widespread millions of years ago. However, there is evidence for three possible separate domestications of the avocado, resulting in the currently recognized Mexican (aoacatl), Guatemalan (quilaoacatl), and West Indian (tlacacolaocatl) landraces.[8][9] The Mexican and Guatemalan landraces originated in the highlands of Mexico and Guatemala, respectively, while the West Indian landrace is a lowland variety that ranges from Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador to Peru,[8] achieving a wide range through human agency before the arrival of the Europeans.[9] The three separate landraces were most likely to have already intermingled[a] in pre-Columbian America and were described in the Florentine Codex.[9]

Wikipedia contributors, “Avocado,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Avocado&oldid=815535461 (accessed December 21, 2017).

Desserts and Sweets

Candied Orange Peel

Marmalade lovers will gravitate to snacks of candied orange peel. They’re not very hard to make. Be sure to purchase organic oranges and scrub and rinse the peels well before processing.

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 T corn syrup
  • 1 cup prepared orange peel (see below)

Combine the sugar, water, corn syrup, and prepared peel in a pot and cook slowly until the peel is almost transparent (230ºF).

Remove peel and place on a plate to cool. Roll in granulated sugar and spread on wax paper to dry. Store in a sealed container.

To prepare peel: Cut into sections. Cover with cold water. Bring to boil and cook about 15 minutes. Drain and scrape out the white part and cut into thin strips.

Noodles and Dumplings

Marrow Dumplings

Velós Gombóc (Hungarian)

Recipe from Az Ìnyesmester Szakácskônyve (The Expert’s Cookbook)

  • 2 T warm bone marrow
  • 2-3 eggs
  • 1 bread roll
  • Flour and salt

Mix marrow with eggs. Add to cubed bread roll (no crust). Add a little flour and salt. Make into small dumplings and boil 8 to 10 minutes in water or broth.

Breads and Pancakes

Tortillas de Harina (Wheat Flour Tortillas)

Although the corn tortilla is the staple flatbread of Mexico and part of almost every traditional Mexican meal, flour tortillas were introduced by the Spaniards during the colonial period and today are common fare, particularly in the northern Mexican states.

Ingredients for Wheat Flour Tortillas

  • 2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1 t salt
  • 3 T lard or chilled coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup cold water or milk (soy or almond milk is okay)

Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in lard or coconut oil. Add liquid to make stiff dough; lumps are okay. Divide into balls and roll out thin.

Place tortillas on a pre-heated, ungreased comal (flat griddle) until toasty spots start forming on the underside (1-2 minutes).  Flip the tortilla and do the other side — they should be pliable, not crisp.

Wrap in a towel to keep warm. Best eaten hot off the grill, but can be stuffed with cheese, beans, or other fillings, folded over, and then returned to the griddle and toasted until crisp.

Servings: 12 tortillas


Originally derived from the corn tortilla, a bread of maize which predates the arrival of Europeans to the Americas, the wheat flour tortilla was an innovation by exiled Spanish Jews who did not consider corn meal to be kosher, using wheat brought from Europe, while this region was the colony of New Spain.

Wikipedia contributors. “Tortilla.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 22 Mar. 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Meat and Poultry

Veal Paprikash

A Hungarian veal stew seasoned with paprika, often served with dumplings but can also be ladled over noodles, potatoes, or rice.

  • 1-1/2 lb veal, cubed
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 T paprika
  • 1 T salt
  • 1 large green pepper, cubed
  • 1 large tomato, chopped

For dumplings:

  • 1-1/2 cups flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Fry onion until golden. Add paprika, stir to release aroma and then add a little water. Cook until the water has boiled off, add the meat and salt, cover, and cook over a low flame, stirring often. As the liquid boils off, continue to add a little water at a time, allowing the meat to brown and a thick gravy to form.

When the meat is almost tender, add the tomato and the green pepper. Continue simmering until the meat is tender.

For the dumplings, mix the flour with salt and egg and add just enough water to form a stiff dough. Pinch out small pieces of dough and leave in a floured bowl. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and throw in the dumplings. Cook for about 10 minutes. Drain and serve hot with the veal.

Serves 4 to 6

Meatless Main Dishes, Noodles and Dumplings

Pesto Tortellini with Chard

Lighten up your pesto tortellini by combining it with a bed of lightly steamed Swiss chard.

  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup parsley
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 T toasted pine nuts
  • 2 large cloves garlic
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 T Parmesan cheese
  • 1 package fresh tortellini
  • 1 bunch Swiss chard
  • Parmesan cheese

Blend together basil, parsley, oil, 2 T Pine nuts, garlic and 1 T Parmesan to make the pesto sauce.

Chop chard slightly and steam till tender. Drain.

Cook tortellini in hot water until al dente and toss with pesto sauce.

Spread chard on plates, mound the pesto-dressed tortellini on top and sprinkle with the remaining pine nuts.

Serve with extra Parmesan on the side.

Tortellini

Desserts and Sweets

Our Dad’s Cookies

I have no idea if these cookies were based on the oatmeal cookies from Dad’s Cookie Company out of St. Louis that started making them shortly after the turn of the 20th C. All I know is that Mom used to make them regularly, and they do contain rolled oats.

Ingredients for our Dad’s cookies

  • 1 cup butter or margarine
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1-1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1-1/2 cups flour
  • 1 cup coconut
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1 T molasses
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • 1/2 t vanilla
  • 1/2 t each allspice and nutmeg

Cream together the margarine and sugars. Sift all dry ingredients together. Work in the butter and sugar mix and form balls. Do not press. Bake at 325 F for 12 minutes.

Dad's cookies
Paper batik, Carol
Desserts and Sweets

Oatmeal Cookies

This has to be a favorite in almost every family that ever made homemade cookies.

Ingredients for Oatmeal Cookies

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 T water
  • 1 cup wholewheat flour
  • 1/2 t cinnamon
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cups raisins
  • 1/2 cup broken pecans

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and water. Mix flour, cinnamon and salt. Add flour mix to butter mix. Add oats, raisins and nuts. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 F for 15 minutes or till light brown.