Perogies

A friend of mine asked for this recipe and I thought I'd put it up here because I know other friends have enjoyed it as well. When I was younger we'd spend most of a day making perogies and then freezing them for later. I have only vague memories of making them, but lots of memories of eating them. You can vary the filling and how you cook them, but this has become our favorite. Brett loves it!

First, make some mashed potatoes. However you like them. I suggest not very chunky though. Shred a good amount of cheddar cheese and add to the potatoes when it's not too warm. It is best if the mashed potatoes are cool when wrapping them in the dough. Pick whichever dough recipe you'd like- I've used them both.

Dough Recipe 1:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp oil
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup warm water

Dough Recipe 2:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
2 Tbsp oil

Set a pot of water on the stove to boil. Mix dough well and knead for a bit till smooth and elastic. Roll out and cut into 3 or 4 inch circles. Add about 1-2T mashed potato filling. Fold dough over and pinch closed. Drop a few at a time in boiling water for about 2 minutes or until perogies rise to the surface. Scoop out and place on non-stick surface to cool. Spray with a bit of oil to help them not stick. If you'd like to freeze some for later use, do it here.

Now, for the good part. You need kielbasa, a head of cabbage, some butter, and those perogies. Get a frying pan and put about 1T butter in there to melt. Fry perogies in the butter on both sides. Chop the head of cabbage and slice the kielbasa however you wish. When the pergoies have turned golden, add the kielbasa on top and then the cabbage on top of that. Let it cook down a bit, and then stir it up making sure the cabbage gets mixed up nicely in the butter and kielbasa "juice". When the cabbage turns a more vibrant green and is slightly soft- still a bit crunchy- remove from heat and serve up. I like to dip my perogies in ketchup or sour cream.