grandma cichoski's polsih pierogies

as easter approaches, i thought this would be a great time to share one of cory's family recipes.  his grandmother was polish, and on each and every easter her house was filled with an abundance of delicious tranditional polish recipes!  cory  has raved over her pierogies since i met him.  i've tried several times to make my own from other recipes, but (understandably) they've never compared to his grandmother's pierogies. 

the last time we were in michigan, cory's mom kindly shared her grandmother's pierogi recipe with me (the same recipe his grandma used).  i decided to whip up a batch recently.... and let me tell you, this is no small task.  you will be in the kitchen for at least a few hours and there are lots of dishes to clean afterwards, but they are totally worth it!  i put my own little spin on these, with the white cheddar and fresh thyme.  while i'm sure that no matter how hard i try, mine will always lack the loving touch of his sweet grandma... hopefully these are a close second.

grandma cichoski's polish pierogies:

yield: about 4 dozen pierogies

ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 eggs

2 cups sour cream

2 large potatoes

1 cup extra sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded

a pinch of fresh thyme

1 small yellow onion

*optional glass of red wine for the chef

instructions:

peel potatoes and cut into 1-2 inch cubes.  boil until tender, then drain and allow to cool.  while potatoes are boiling, mix together flour, eggs and sour cream.  form into a large ball.  take sections of dough and roll onto a floured surface to approximately 1/8 inch thickness.  cut dough into circles (i used a glass with a 3 1/2 inch thick diameter).  after the potatoes have been drained and cooled, place them in a bowl and mash them with a potato masher, then mix in the cheese and thyme.  brush the rim of the inside of the dough circle with a bit of water (this helps the dough stick together), then fill the dough with a spoonful of the potato filling.  fold the dough over the filling, and pinch the ends.

after this step is completed and you have used all of the dough, you will notice you've made quite a few pierogies (about 48 to be exact).  if you're not up to the task of cooking all of these puppies up at this point, you can freeze whatever amount you are not going to use.  to do this, simply line a baking sheet with parchment paper, lay the pierogies out in a single layer, and pop in the freezer for about 30 minutes.  once the pierogies are frozen, place into a large ziplock bag in the freezer until ready to use.  (some recipes insist on blanching the pierogies before freezing them, but i didn't have any problems with boiling/cooking the frozen raw dough during later uses).

bring a large pot of water to a boil.  boil pierogies for about 5 minutes, or until they float to the top, then allow them to drain in a colander.  slice onions, and sauté in butter over medium heat.  once the onions are softened, add the pierogies until they achieve a golden-brown color.  top with a dollop of sour cream, and enjoy! 

 

five on friday 3.13.15

err, happy friday the thirteenth?  coincidentally, my last five on friday post was on a friday the thirteenth... so what better time to re-join the link-up than today?  here goes...

1.  yes, this is a picture of my favorite blogger taza and her son samson... but (for once), i'm not obsessing over her.  for this five on friday, i've decided to sign up for the capture real life in 52 weeks e-course from a beautiful mess.  with a focus on different techniques including freelensing and lens flare, this may just be the perfect tool to make me truly comfortable with my canon.  i may also incorporate whatever technique i've learned for the week into a weekly blog post (two birds, one stone).

2.  upon my journey of becoming a blonde again, my hair has been completely fried due to multiple highlighting and toning processes.  i started my own form of grapeseed oil treatments, and it really bring new life to my hair.  you can read more about the benefits here, but essentially, the steps are really easy and are as follows:

•  ensure that your husband, boyfriend, significant other, etc., is away from your general vicinity, as this process is not very glamorous
• douse hair in grapeseed oil (any type will do).  this step is best done over the kitchen sink
• wrap hair tightly around your head in plastic wrap
• wrap an old towel tightly around your head to help absorb any dripping oil
• keep it in your hair for as long as you like, i've found doing this in the early evening and sleeping with the oil in my hair overnight works best
• rinse your hair with a clarifying shampoo, i like this one
• comb and dry hair....bam! now you have lush, soft and shiny hair 

3.  ever since i've seen another one of my favorite bloggers in a similar pair, i have been searching far and wide for a pair of red ankle boots for-ev-er!  i finally found these!  i received them yesterday, and they are exactly what i was looking for (bonus: they're super comfortable too).  i think they will be the perfect boot to transition my wardrobe from winter to spring.

4.  i cannot wait for the downtown raleigh st. patrick's day festival tomorrow!  the husband and i have been every year since we met, and always have the best time (from what we can remember, haha).

5.  i love when boredom + netflix = amazing doc discoveries.  earlier this week, i stumbled upon this little gem, "plastic paradise: the great pacific garbage patch".  i highly recommend this if you haven't seen it.  this film is extremely enlightening and eye-opening, yet the realization of what we are doing to our planet is horrifying.  it really will change the way you look at things.  the same night i watched this, i made tacos for dinner... i was shocked at the amount of plastic i threw away just as a result of this one little dinner.

i hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and have a safe and very happy st. patrick's day!

sold!

we are so excited to announce that we are officially homeowners!  we have yet to move in, so i thought it would be fun to do a little photoshoot in the house while it's still empty.  cory carried me over the threshold, we danced in the living room, and we finally popped that bottle of champagne from our honeymoon that we've been saving for a special occasion!  here's a look (photo cred to our sweet friend, katie):   

we are so happy with our new little home, and can't wait to move in.  now who wants to help with the move?  we will pay you in pizza and beer :)

snow day!

earlier this week we had a bit of a snow day in north carolina!  although i may not get as excited as most people about snowy days (ya know, since hospitals never close... gotta go to work), i do feel a tinge of excitement when i see fresh snowflakes falling.  it's fascinating how silent the world becomes, and absolutely beautiful to watch the snowflakes dance around in the sky.  after covering a few shifts at the hospital over 24 hours, i managed to get a day off mid-week, so i did what any 32 year old woman would do on a snow day all to herself... i slept in, stayed in my leggings all day, drank hot coffee and took pretty pictures of the snow!  here's a look:

the birds were going crazy in our backyard!  they were jumping around, and chasing each other on the ground in the snow!  it seems like they get just as excited about those lovely snowflakes as much as we do :)

hi, baby bird.

not gonna lie... i popped this snowball into my mouth and ate it after i took this picture :)

timmy the tortoise

my mom boasts many talents and lovely attributes, but i have to say her ability to nurture is up there with the likes of mother teresa.  to have her as a mother, is to truly know what being loved is.  in her mind, there is no sacrifice too small for your children.... or your pets (who she also considers her children).  my mom has helped take care of many family pets over the years.  she even adopted my dog bentley about five years ago... he went to my parents house for a summer vacation and decided he loved it there so much that he wanted to stay there permanently :)  

when my mom realized a baby tortoise made his home in their backyard under a rock she placed in her garden, her need to nurture instantly kicked in and she took him under her amazing mama wing.  the tortoise "timmy" (lovingly named after gainesville's pride and joy, tim tebow) has been living in my parents yard for a few years now.  my mom checks on him daily, helps keep the entrance to his tortoise den clean, and hand feeds him kale and various other foods tortoises enjoy eating!  it's really the cutest thing i've ever seen.  during my last visit home i snapped a few pictures of my mom and her pet, timmy:

isn't he simply adorable?  i just want to kiss that sweet tortoise nose!  below is a little video i made of my mom feeding him grapes...

welcome to the family, timmy (for the next, er... hundred years or so!)

wedding guestbook quilt

i finally got around to making our wedding quilt (which doubled as our guestbook)!  i used the same tutorial that i used for this baby blanket, but i changed the dimensions to a twin-sized quilt.  i pre-cut the quilt squares/flag pennants, and laid out fabric markers for people to sign them with at the reception.  it turned out exactly as i imagined, and i'm really excited that i created our first family heirloom!  i especially enjoy glancing at it and reminiscing about that special day, and all the special people in our lives who were there.

here are a few of my favorites:

the peach polka-dot flags are from a small batch of fabric my grandma gave me when i was a kid (we both shared a love for sewing).  she and i were very close, and even though she passed away over 16 years ago... i felt like she was right there next to me the whole day.  i'm glad i could incorporate a small part of her into the quilt, too.

christmas traditions

cory's traditions:

• the tree:  my family would drive together to a nearby tree farm in michigan, and cut down our tree.
• christmas morning:  
• we would wake up to santa's boot prints starting at the front door (since we didn't have a chimney), leading to the tree and santa's cookies, and then back to the front door (a mixture of my mom's creativity and a little baby powder).
• us kids would wake up a little before our mom and dad, and we were allowed to open our stockings before they woke up.  we would inspect all of the wrapped gifts and try to guess what was inside all of the boxes until my parents woke up.
• christmas evening:  we would have a big traditional ham dinner with my dad's family christmas eve, then do the same thing all over again with my mom's family for christmas dinner the next day.
• movies:  all day christmas eve and christmas day,  "a christmas story" was on repeat on our t.v., and we watched "it's a wonderful life" every year too.

beth's traditions:

• the tree:  a few weeks before christmas we would all go to a tree lot (we grow really great palm trees in florida, but not so much with christmas trees) and pick out a tree.  we would decorate the tree together as a family and reminisce of the years past, and which ornaments were our favorites (my mom would get us a special ornament to signify each year, like a car ornament when we turned 16, etc.).
• christmas eve:  
• my brother and i would go outside christmas eve and look up in the sky to see if we could spot santa's sleigh and reindeer in night sky.  the next morning we would wake up and search the front yard for reindeer prints.
• our parents would allow us to open one gift of our choice christmas eve, in an attempt to ease our anticipation of christmas morning.
• my brother and i would leave out milk and cookies, along with a special note for santa.  they would always be mostly eaten, and we would get a note back from santa (in handwriting that looked vaguely familiar to my mom's).
• we would pile into my dad's truck, pick up a few hot chocolates, crank up the christmas music on the radio, and ride around town.  we would cruise through the fancy neighborhoods with beautifully decorated houses and brightly lit front yards.  this is one of my favorite traditions, all of those colorful lights were so magical to me as a kid.
• christmas morning:  my grandma would come over christmas morning and watch me and my brother tear open our presents... then she and my mom would sit on the floor and help us put them together or play with us for hours.  meanwhile, my dad cooked a huge breakfast (it's all about food in my family, and i'm okay with that).
• christmas evening:  we would join the rest of my mom's family later that day at my grandma's house for a delicious christmas dinner complete with turkey and her famous macaroni and cheese! 
• movies:  we would watch all the christmas classics, my favorites were "the grinch", "a charlie brown christmas", "the christmas toy", and "one magic christmas".

our new traditions: 

•  the card:  take a fun family photo every year (like the one above) to use for christmas cards to send our friends and families.
• the tree:  
• drive to a christmas tree farm in the appalachian mountains in the western part of north carolina, and cut down a tree together(as seen in my last post).  then come home and decorate the tree together with our childhood ornaments, as well as our new ones we've collected together as a family.
• pick out a new ornament together every year, signifying something important that happened that year (i'm thinking this will be a good one for 2014).
• christmas eve:  
• the night before christmas, i like to prepare a vast setup of different appetizers, specialty cheeses, crackers and wine.  lots of wine.
• when there are baby trottiers running around, we will all wear matching pj's to bed christmas eve, (which will make for super cute photos christmas morning).  yes, i realize this is cheesy... and my family will just have to deal with this.
• movies:  continue watching the classic movies listed above (except i'm hereby removing "the christmas story".... ugh, never liked it).