Egg Salad Recipe

The good old egg salad! The quick go to recipe if I want something to put on my sandwich and don't have much time... this is the way my mom used to make it back in Czech Republic.

You will need:

4 Hard Boiled Eggs sliced

2 tablespoons Mayo

4 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 small onion thinly chopped

salt to taste

pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together using a fork... And you are all finished.

Enjoy the salad on your favorite sandwich!

I love using this potato slicer to cut the eggs into cubes:

Dreamy Meatloaf Recipe

I used to make meatloaf according to an internet recipe I found and it was good... But then I remembered how my mom used to make this meatloaf, filled with pickles and eggs and hot dogs and I really wanted to try make it myself (to spice up the menu ;-) - don't we all wish to do that). 

Just a note - if you have been following my blog for a while, you know we raise our own chickens and turkeys and I am a big fan and supporter of people eating organic, free range, local meats - so I am using a ground beef that was lovingly raised on my husband's uncle's farm. We just love when we know where our food comes from ;-)

You will need

1 lb of ground beef

1/2 of bagel or 1 french roll

milk

1 egg

1 small onion

3 garlic cloves

2 tbsp majoram

2 tbsp ground caraway

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp of black pepper

For Filling

Hard boiled eggs

Hot dog

Pickles

give or take 

the amount depends on what you like best - you can double up on the egg and leave out the hot dog etc...

First cut up the bagel or roll and dip it into the milk. Wait until it absorbs the milk and becomes soft and mushy. 

Then work it with hands until it looks like this.

Set it aside and mix the rest of the ingredients ...

... in a Kitchen Aid like mixer - or just use you hands. Preheat oven to 350.

Take it out of the bowl, lay it out on your counter, and form it into a half an inch thick long oval.

Lay the eggs and cucumbers (or hot dogs) on top of the meat mixture...

... and wrap it all up. The mixture should be holding well together.

Pour oil and half of cup of water into a glass (or any) oven dish and place the meatloaf in it.

Bake for 45 minutes (Please check your meatloaf after 35 minutes - ovens might vary and that could make a huge difference) and during that time open the oven couple times to pour some of the oil mixture that is in the dish over the meatloaf to keep it from drying out. Don't take it out of the oven but just turn on the broil option and keep it in for 5 minutes. Observe carefully so you don't burn it. This gives it a crunchy seal (if you prefer not softer meatloaf, skip this step)

You are ready to let it cool down for easier cutting! I hope you enjoy this fun spin on your meat loaf!

Apricot Coconut Lemon Balm Popsicles

Even though we have had only few days of intense heat this summer, kids asked for this refreshing  yummy and healthy treat almost everyday! I also love having these on hand almost daily because our house is usually full of neighborhood kids and this is an unexpected and inexpensive treat to share with everyone!

 One of the ingredients is an herb called Lemon Balm... Have you ever heard of the benefits of this plant? According to a Natural News article, lemon balm is a great antioxidant, as well as calming herb, that helps reduce anxiety, promotes sleep, and improves indigestion. (I love the calming part - great for kids when they come home all hyped up from playing outside ;-)

You will need:

3 Apricots (or any kind of tropical fruit such as pineapple, mango, or peach)

1 Banana peeled

1/4 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes

5 tablespoons of Vanilla Yogurt

2 cups of coconut milk

1 teaspoon of honey (or 100% maple syrup)

Leaves from 1 long lemon balm stem

Combine all ingredients in a blender.

When all is nicely blended, pour the mixture into popsicle molds.

Place your tops on and place them carefully into the freezers. 

These will be ready in about 2-3 hours and will last for few weeks... but that is not a really important information because as soon as the kids realize they are in there, they will not last a day! ;-)

Enjoy!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Crumb Topping

The first harvest of the garden - strawberries and rhubarb! And how lucky that they both go so well together in many sweet creations. My personal favorite is this pie... 

Instead of double crust, it asks for crumb topping, which allows the flavor of the fruits, that compliment each other, push through. This is very easy recipe that will have you come back over and over...

You will need:

Pie Crust (store bought or homemade recipe)

Filling:

2 cups of rhubarb

2 cups of strawberries

1/3 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup granulated sugar

Topping:

1 cup of flour

2/3 cups sugar

1/3 cup butter chilled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and cut your fruit.

First, line the pie dish with the crust dough. Next, mix the dry ingredients for filling.

Add the strawberries and rhubarb and mix them...

Place the mixture into the prepared pie crust...

... and now make the topping. Combine sugar and flour in a bowl and cut in the butter, using two butter knives, until it breaks down into clumps.

I like covering the edge of the pie with aluminum foil to prevent burn during the long bake.

Place the pie into the oven for 45 minutes and then remove the foil and place it back in for 5-10 minutes - depends on your oven so watch it carefully. When your pie bubbles and the edge is golden brown, take the pie out. 

And now just enjoy it!

How to Freeze Fresh Strawberries

This is the perfect time of year to visit a strawberry farm and pick some fresh juicy strawberries. We did that last weekend in Wisconsin and got way more strawberries than we could eat in one week. So the best way for me to preserve the strawberries is to freeze them. Here is a quick guide to easily freeze your batch.

First wash your strawberries in cool water...

...then drain them and let them dry. If you leave the water on, it will freeze and you will have chunks of ice hanging off of your strawberries. 

Lay them out on a cookie sheet and place them in a deep freezer. This way they will not stick together and it will be easier to take them out when you want to use them for shakes or pies. If you have only a fridge freezer you might have to place them on smaller sheets/dishes. I freeze whole strawberries with the stem for smoothies because the greens add extra vitamins to the drink! Especially if you have organic, pesticide free strawberries, save those greens!

After a whole day in a freezer...

I freeze half strawberries to use later in pies... use the same method just remove the greens and cut them in half before putting them into your freezer.

After you pull them out of the freezer, place them right away into a ziplock bag and label it with the date. Return the bag to the freezer immediately so the strawberries don't thaw and start sticking together.

I love having frozen strawberries at hand daily and especially when I know where they came from!

Meatless Friday - Dumplings

Weeks just fly by lately and here is another Meatless Friday Linky Party. Link up if you have some recipes to share... This time I am sharing my grandma's dumpling recipe - yum!

You will need:

1 bag Instant Yeast

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup of warm water

5 1/2 cups of Wondra flour (or Polish Wheat Flour (Krupczatka) or Czech "Polohruba mouka")

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups milk

clean cloth
(I have a clean cloth that I use for boiling dumplings only. Please keep it separate, hand wash and air dry it. This way it will also stay fragrance free and it will not give your dumplings extra scent)

First I make the yeast base. Pour bag of yeast, granulated sugar and warm water into a bowl and place in a warm spot to let it rise.

During this time, pour the flour into a bowl and add salt.

You can't use all purpose flour for this but luckily you don't need an European store around to make this recipe. I found Wondra in regular grocery store that works as well! This one is the Polish kind...

In about 20-30 minutes the yeast base should look something like this...

...and that is when you could add it to the flour and salt mix.

Add eggs and milk. Pour the milk slowly and don't add the whole thing right away. Chances are you will not need it all. And it is easier to add then take away...

Mix the dough carefully until you end up with something like this. Cover it and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (it might take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depends on the temperature and the dough consistency) 

It should look something like this...

Take the dough out and cut into 2 or 4 pieces. Depends on how big you want your dumplings to be. (My camera battery died so I had to use the phone camera from now on ;-) At this time you could start boiling your water in a large pot.

Now roll the dough pieces. I made 4 smaler rolls.

Use a cloth to keep the dumplings from falling apart in the water during boiling. Boil them for about 12 minutes.

Here I am showing you what happens if you don't use the cloth...

If you don't use the cloth, the dumpling will not hold together neatly, however it will be fine to eat.

My mom taught me how to cut the dumplings using thread. You have to do it while they are still hot, right out of the water. Place them on the counter, slide the thread under, pull up the ends, cross them on top, and pull till the whole dumpling gets cut. This way you will get straight cut dumplings. Knife usually sticks to them and gets them misshaped. 

We enjoy them with white sauce and meat balls!

An InLinkz Link-up

Meatless Friday - Another Two of my Most Viewed Recipes

Since I have been busy at work this week, I couldn't spend too much time in the kitchen and there for no new recipes could be documented ;-) Luckily I have a back up... See these two recipes that are among the past favorites! And enjoy your weekend everyone!

Fresh Salad with Fruit, Walnuts and Feta Cheese

(because my garden is overflowing with lettuce and spinach RIGHT NOW and I am enjoying this salad daily)

HomeMade Granola

I make this recipe at least once a month and I have to use at least double the amount of ingredients!!! This one is a favorite in our house!

Please, link up below if you would like to share your recipe with us!

An InLinkz Link-up

Meatless Friday - Meatless Panini

Here is to another Meatless Friday! This is a quick meal you can whip up in minutes! And if you have panini maker, it will make your life even easier. Here we are enjoying it with my homemade potato salad... click here to get the recipe 

You will need:

2 slices of bread per portion

butter at room temperature for easy spreading

grated cheese
salsa

avocado
sprouts
onion

You can use this kind of bread or the bread I love making for my family ;-) click here for the recipe.

Spread butter on one side of each slice.

Sprinkle grated cheese. I use raw cheddar but you can use whatever cheese you prefer.

Spread salsa...

Next is cut up avocado... If I have some, I use guacamole instead...

Sprinkle some greens, for example baby arugula or any sprouts.

Regular or red onion is next on the list ;-) Also sprinkle more grated cheese on the other half of the bread.

Cover the sandwich...

Place the sandwich into a panini maker or just simply on a pan, medium to low setting.

I use panini maker so I just close it and wait a bit. If you are using the pan, wait till the cheese melted on one side so when you are flipping the sandwich, things don't fall out easily ;-)

Some other options for panini fillings:

hardboiled eggs

mayo

meat

ketchup

spinach

tomatoes

... and whatever you have at home and feel like it could work for you ;-)

An InLinkz Link-up