Sopak Girls Stuffed Cabbage (Halupki)

Meat Mixture:
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 C. rice (long grain)
1 Tbsp. parsley flakes
2 eggs (2 yolks and only 1 white)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 medium sized cabbage 

In a Dutch oven, pour 4 cups of water. Remove the core of the cabbage and place the cabbage into the water, cored side down. Place lid on pot. Turn heat to medium and steam leaves loose. Removing leaves gently with a fork, place them in water. Soften a little longer, then remove all leaves to a plate. Do this a little at a time. Set the leaves aside. You will need approximately 15-18 leaves. 

***Whatever water is remaining in the Dutch oven leave it there and turn off heat.

After removing 18ish leaves, take the rest of the cabbage that is remaining and slice up and place them in the pot with the remaining water...spread out evenly in the Dutch oven.

Mix the 1/2 C. rice (long grain), 1 Tbsp. parsley flakes, 2 eggs (2 yolks and only 1 white), 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, and the 1 tsp. onion powder all together thoroughly. Now add the ground beef and incorporate the rice mixture into the ground beef.

***Skim the veins of the leaves of cabbage with a knife to whittle them down to the entire thickness of the leaves. (This allows the leaves to be easily rolled up).

To make the rolls, add a small amount of meat mixture at the spine end of each leaf (approximately the size of a golf ball that is formed into an oval shape, DO NOT COMPACT).
Roll leaves up, tucking the sides in.
Layer rolls over the layer of  sliced up cabbage, continuing until all the mixture is used up.

In a saucepan, mix sauce ingredients together and pour it all over the rolls to cover.

Sauce Ingredients:
1 10 oz. can tomato soup
2 tomato soup cans of water
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 tomato sauce can of water
2 Tbsp. ketchup
3 beef bouillon cubes
1/8 tsp. pepper

*** If you have any leaves of cabbage left over, lay them flat over the top of the rolls.

Place a lid on the Dutch oven and cook on stove top on medium high until slightly boiling (approximately 20 minutes). Reduce heat to low or whatever temperature keeps a little bubbling going for 2-2 1/2 hours.

To me, these are the best!!!
There are no other halupkis that I enjoy eating. This recipe is so easy and tasty that once you make them, you can’t wait to make them again. The flavor is awesome. A must is to serve these with mashed potatoes and to use the tangy juice as a gravy.

This recipe is a “Sopak Girls” (Annie, my mom, Aunt Mary, Aunt Betty, Aunt Helen and Aunt Susie) concoction. The best memory of making these are with my mom and Aunt Mary. They were so fussy, and I mean that in a good way. The ingredients have to be spot on, absolutely no substitutions. They have to be rolled up small and ever so precise (I love it). It has to be cooked on the stove top, not in the oven. Oh my, I just realized, I’m getting just as fussy as they were (isn’t it great?).

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!

STUFFED PEPPERS

The Stuffed Cabbage filling can also be used to stuff red, yellow and orange sweet peppers.
Just cut the tops of the peppers and clean out the insides. Wash well and drain.

 Make the Stuffed Cabbage filling and place a small amount of filling in each pepper. (the filling recipe will fill approximately 36 peppers).
Layer the filled peppers into a Dutch Oven pot.

Now prepare the sauce mixture as for the Stuffed Cabbage and pour over the peppers.
Cook as you do the Stuffed Cabbage:
Place a lid on and cook on stove top on medium high until slightly boiling. Reduce heat to low or whatever temperature keeps a little bubbling going for 2-2 1/2 hours.

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!

Homemade Pasta (Aunt Carm)

2 1/4 cups flour
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup water

Mix all the above ingredients in a food processor. Mix until dough pulls away from the sides of the processor.

This recipe makes about 1 pound of fresh noodles. Cut them anyway you like and with any method you prefer. (For spaghetti, homemade soup, halushki, you decide). They are oh so easy. Better yet , they are oh so delicious.

I usually make several batches of these at any given time. I cut them up several different ways and I prefer to freeze them rather than dry them. I place the cut noodles on a floured cookie sheet and freeze for about an hour on the pan. Then I bag then up in freezer bags to use whenever my heart desires.

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!

Bev’s Winner Homemade Bread Recipe

This recipe makes 3 loaves of Bread---Yum!!!

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

In a mixing bowl, stir sugar and yeast in warm water and set aside.
Let proof for 10 minutes.

After yeast has proofed add 1 1/2 Tbsp. shortening or vegetable oil

Measure out 4 cups all-purpose flour and 1 1/2 tsp. salt, set aside.

* (have a small amount more available (about 1/4 cup), to dust bread board with for each punch down and knead.)

Add 2 cups flour to the yeast mixture and mix in well.
Add the other 2 cups flour and once stirred in and starting to form a ball, turn out onto floured bread board and knead for 5-6 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a tea towel. *In 10 minutes, turn back out onto floured board and knead for about 20 to 30 folds, cover and let rest again.* Repeat this again in 10 minute rest/knead-fold  2 more times. After the last knead-fold, let dough double in size (approximately 1 hour.)

After the hour rise divide dough into 3 pieces and form into loaves.
Place 3 loaves on a greased cookie sheet, evenly spaced width-wise. Cover with a tea towel and let rise, in a warm place, for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

When Ready to bake...Make 3-5 slashes with a sharp serrated  knife across the tops of each loaf.

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees, reduce heat to 350 and bake 15 minutes longer or until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool on wire rack. I don’t brush mine with butter, because we like a harder crust. If you like a softer crust , brush with butter.

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!

Annie's Simplest Chili

Oh so easy and delicious recipe!!!

1 pound ground beef
2 cans kidney beans (1 light 1 dark) do not drain.
1 can tomato soup
1 can of tomato sauce (8 oz)
1/4 C. of water
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder

Brown ground beef. Drain off fat. Add the next seven ingredients. Bring to low boil on medium heat , reduce and cook for 30 minutes on low heat.

***Want a little more flavor!!!

Six things that I add that Mom didn't add and you may want to add are: After the meat is starting to brown...add 1/4 cup diced green pepper, 1/4 cup medium diced onion, and 1/4 cup diced celery and continue browning for five minutes more. When it is time to add the next seven ingredients you can also add 1/2 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. sugar, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Mom didn't do this, but we serve this with a handful of corn chips and a dollop of sour cream on top.

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!

How to: Baked Potatoes

Run potatoes through water for a thorough washing
8 large potatoes, unpeeled
1 tbsp. vegetable oil

Wash potatoes well and dry. Pierce the potatoes 2 or 3 times with a fork. Rub a little of the oil on your hands and then rub over the entire potato. Place potato on a square piece of aluminum foil. Wrap potato in foil. Place (directly on rack) in a preheated 350° oven for 1 hour or until potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork. Split tops of potatoes with a knife and serve with your desired toppings. (Such as chili or ham topping).

Oh, so easy! My mother told me that the oil makes all the difference. It softens the skin just enough, so you can eat the entire potato for a healthy serving of vitamins and nutrients. My husband would never eat the skin when he was young (of course, he wouldn’t eat the yellow on a sunny-side up egg, either). That changed when he got to college and learned to eat whatever was served in the cafeteria. Funny how things change when you are hungry. I told him that he was missing all the vitamins and minerals in the skin, but he was adamant. Over time, he tried it a little at a time, and now, the entire spud gets devoured . Fortunately, when the kids were young, we cut up the potato with the skin, and they grew up eating it all.

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!