Pierogi Casserole

I love pierogi but I would never make them! They are so much work! Lately I’ve been making a lot of dishes I love into casseroles: cabbage rolls, stuffed green peppers…

This one combines all the things I love about pierogis in one dish!

1 pound gnocchi, cooked and drained

1/2 head of cabbage, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 cup sauerkraut, drained and rinsed (this is optional)

1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced or chopped

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pinch ground cloves

1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese

Sauté cabbage, onion, mushrooms and garlic with seasonings in 4 Tablespoons of butter until tender.

Toss with gnocchi and sauerkraut (if using). Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Browned Butter & Mizithra Pasta

We love the Pasta a’la Homer at the Spaghetti Factory! It is our favorite dish there by far! So simple and yet so perfect! I’ve made it several times at home…

Here’s how ya do it:

Grate mizithra cheese with a fine grater.

Cook your desired amount of angel hair or thin spaghetti pasta. You don’t want anything chunky or heavy for this. Drain and keep hot.

Melt 1 cube of butter in a saucepan over med to med-high heat. DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM BROWNING BUTTER!!! Whisk constantly until butter just starts to turn a golden brown and gets this lovely nutty smell! You’ll know when it’s at that point because it will smell heavenly, not burnt!

Pour browned butter over pasta and toss to combine.

Some like to toss the cheese in with the pasta and butter. But we just each sprinkle our own cheese on top.

We also discovered that browned butter and mizithra cheese are delightful on fresh steamed green beans!!! They are the BOMB!

So, then I thought… Why not combine them??? So, I did it. I just chucked some of my frozen green beans from the garden into the water with the pasta.

Then I thought… What’s good with green beans? Bacon! Actually, bacon is good with EVERYTHING so I gave it a shot.

It was a bit salty with the butter, the cheese and the bacon but hey, salt isn’t bad, right???

Whether you choose to eat it au natural or dressed up a bit, you’re sure to enjoy this simple yet elegant dish!

Garlic Mushroom Pasta

This dish requires a little more time to prepare but is well worth the effort! It is a meal that Chris and I were very disappointed when the boys decided they liked it, too. :o( The best part is dipping crusty Italian bread in the extra sauce on the plate!

Roast 2 bulbs of garlic in the oven. (Use a garlic roaster or foil) Remove the cloves of garlic.

3 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup sliced green onion

3-4 cups sliced mushrooms

1 cup chicken broth

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup milk

Melt butter in large skillet. Add mushrooms and green onion and saute until butter is absorbed. Add chicken broth, thyme, red pepper, and roasted garlic cloves. Simmer over low heat until liquid is reduced by half.

Stir in milk. Warm through.

Toss sauce into cooked and drained angel hair pasta.

Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.