Polish Beef Pot Roast One Way (Peasant Style)

Technically, this Pot Roast is inspired by the Peasant Style (Wolowina Duszona po chlopsku or wiejsku), however, I did not add the Rye Sour, which would have made it delicious as well.  I plan to make it again with the Rye Sour very soon and will share at that time.

So, my husband saw a ridiculously large piece of beef and bought it.  Here is the recipe I made with it.


Ingredients:

1 large piece of Pot Roasting Beef
Flour
Vegetable Oil
1 packet of Mushrooms
2 Shallots (see Notes)
Rye Sour, Water, Red Wine or Beef Broth
Salt
Pepper
Sour Cream or Sweet Cream

Seasonings:
Marjoram and Bay Leaf or
Polish Hunter's Seasoning



First, the Meat did not fit in my pan, so I had to cut out the largest bone.  I froze this for making Beef Broth another time.



Of course, because I got a bit grumpy about having to cut the Beef and not being sure if my Dutch Oven could hold everything, I forgot to dry the Beef and dust it with Flour before I went to brown it nicely in the Vegetable Oil.  But, I suggest that you do it that way.  Remove meat to the side for a moment.

Remove oil with a tablespoon, leaving behind the drippings.  Add back the Beef.

Clean and chop the Mushrooms.  Add to pot.

Slice the Shallots and (optional, caramelize in Butter) add to pot.

Add Seasonings.  Cover and simmer on stove for a couple of hours until very tender.

Pull out bones, Bay Leaves, and if using Polish Hunter's Seasoning, the Juniper and Allspice berries.  Add Sour Cream or Sweet Cream.

I decided to serve with Roasted Acorn Squash and lightly Mashed Potatoes, but I think a green salad of some sort or sauerkraut would have been delicious with it.

Note:  Can use Sweet Onion, Shallots or Leeks, whichever you like...

Smacznego!

 

Barszcz Czerwony Another Way

I recently wrote about making Barszcz Czerwony one way, with lots of delicious vegetables and spices.  But it doesn't have to be made that way every time.  Barszcz Czerwony is one of those Polish family recipes with lots of different variations.  This is one of the most simple ways to make this simple winter soup.



Ingredients:

Beets (with or without Leaves)
2-3 Bay Leaves
1 liter Broth (any kind you prefer)
Water
Salt
Pepper
2-3 tablespoons Marjoram
Barszcz Czerwony Concentrate (buy in Polish stores)


Scrub Beets well and boil in water until tender.  Peel and slice.

Put in large Soup pot.  If using Leaves, rinse, chop up into bite sizes and place in pot.  Pour in Broth and enough water to cover Beets with an additional inch of liquids.  Add Bay Leaves, Salt, Pepper, and Marjoram.  Bring to boil and cook for a few minutes so that flavors can blend together. 

Take off heat, add Barszcz Czerwony Concentrate to taste.  For storage, can be placed in jars which have been rinsed in hot water & sterilized.  Allow to cool on counter and keep in refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks.  For tips on safe canning methods

 

Smacznego!

My Mother's Onion Stuffed Chicken Legs

My mother made a recipe I grew up with which I never knew how to make.  So, I decided to play around and see if I could recreate it, as I didn't even know the name for it.  I am planning on doing some research on this, and if I find a Polish name for it, I will share it.  For now, I am calling it Onion Stuffed Chicken Legs.

Ingredients:

4 pieces of Chicken Leg Quarters
1/2 Sweet Onion
1 clove Garlic
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon of Sweet Paprika
1 cup of Chicken Broth or Water
Optional:  1 tablespoon of Curly Parsley


Rinse Chicken and pat dry.  Place in baking pan.

Dice Onion finely.  Dice Garlic finely.  In bowl, add Onion, Garlic, Pepper, Salt, Paprika, and (if you wish), Curly Parsley.

Mix well.

Loosen chicken skin to form a pocket.  Stuff with Onion mixture.

Pour Chicken Broth or Water into pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, basting occasionally.

Cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or lower temperature to 350 degrees and bake uncovered, basting occasionally, for an additional 15 minutes.

Serve with Polish Dill Sauce.  Note:  Using the drippings from this dish, remove the grease, and add to Polish Dill Sauce to add deeper flavor.

Smacznego!

Zupa Mleczna or Polish Milk Noodles

I love when readers ask me about a particular dish they remember but don't know how to make.  A reader on Twitter, ADD Housewife, asked me about a dish her "Grandma" ate growing up called "Milk Noodles".  I have a feeling that it is probably Zupa Mleczna (pronounced Zoopah Mleh-ch-nah and meaning Milk Soup), which is a very simple and old recipe.

Before you turn your nose up at it, I want to say that it is extremely similar to rice pudding.  In fact, Zupa Mleczna can be made with many different types of Noodles, Rice, or Kasza Manna (my mother's preferred way).  So, you could call it Polish Rice Pudding.  My father, as one example, enjoys left over Kasza Gryczana from the night before in his.  Some people also instead place a stale slice of Bread in theirs.  This would not be that grocery store sliced White Bread kind, but rather, a heartier Country Bread.


Ingredients:

2 cups Milk
2 tablespoons Butter
1 cup Kluski
pinch of Salt
1-2 tablespoons Sugar

Optional:  1/2 teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon

Melt Butter in Saucepan.  I like mine browned just a bit, to add another flavor to the Zupa Mleczna, but you really don't need to brown it.  Add Milk.

When Milk has been brought to a boil, add Noodles and the pinch of Salt.

On Medium Low Heat, keep stirring repeatedly until Noodles are cooked to the consistency you like them.  I cooked mine softer since the Baby will be eating them with me today.

Add the Sugar, and if you like, Ground Cinnamon.

Stir together.  Doesn't that look like Rice Pudding, but with Noodles instead?

Serve either hot or warm, depending on how you like it.  Baby eats hers warm, since she is a Baby. 

This dish is great for cold winter mornings, or when someone is sick.  It also makes a great quick supper.  I mentioned that we Poles eat Supper, right?  You know, Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Dinner and Supper...  And, don't forget, we Poles have meatless dishes quite often in our diet, this being one.

Smacznego!

And the Stylish Blogger Award, as well!

Wow, I feel so flattered!  Both Dawn at Megwetch and Kortney at Kortney's Krazy Life awarded me with the Stylish Blogger Award.  I don't typically do Blogger Awards but since I got three (I also received the Versatile Blog Award), I really should accept, no?  So, ladies, thank you!

Here's how it works...

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Award 10 recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

Seven More Things About Me:

1. I love going to the local farm and picking my own vegetables whenever possible.  I love bringing the kids with me so that they learn where food comes from.

2. I have bad arthritis in my hands and wrists (well, that's not a fun fact)

3. I love just getting in the car and driving and getting lost.  Grid pattern roads make me really irritated.  You can't get nice and lost on them.

4. I got married on a mountain to my (man) Best Friend before God, family and friends

5. I love yoga but I never have time for it

6. My (woman) best friend used to live in the apartment I lived in as a child.  She and I have been friends for a decade now and I feel blessed to be a part of her and her child's life.

7. I will eat almost anything twice.  Once, to see if I like it.  Twice, to see if maybe the first time I didn't like was because it was cooked wrong.  Except for brains and spinal column.  It's not being picky, though, I wish I could try that as well but after the Mad Cow Disease scare years ago, I just don't feel safe doing it, until I knew the cow, sheep, etc. for years prior.  So, that will never happen.

Now for the 10 blogs that I have recently came across that I would like to give this award to:

1.  The Corkboard (This blog gives a great glimpse at what international adoption is really like, by a woman who was adopted from overseas, and then felt called to do so herself)

2.  An American Economist in Gdansk

3.  Bieganski the Blog

4. Honest Mum A Greek/Cypriat Mum in England, the writer of Love Letter to London, the inspiration to my blog post A Love Letter to My Hometown Wroclaw

5.  The TRUTH About Motherhood  I love how honest this Mama is, however, warning, she is honest! lol Her Throat Punch Thursdays posts at first shocked me too much to read but once I did, I realized the people she was talking about (one example: A mother who shook her baby to death), well, yeah...

6.  Kuchenne Bajki i Nie Tilko (Kitchen, Fairytales, and more...)  She hasn't not been feeling well so has not been able to blog like she enjoys to but I thought perhaps sending her some blogger love would make her feel better, at least in spirit

7.  My Search for Real Poland

8.  Amy the Wicked is a blogger in Poland who just started but is really fun to talk to

9.  Grafted Families

10.  Nemi Habibi (Another one Google translate is worth using to see her delicious recipes)

11.  I have to mention also the blog My Stolen Recipes

 

I know, it said to list 10.  Well, it was very difficult to limit to 10, I wanted to list over 50!  I hope you go explore these bloggers, and others and stay warm during these cold winter days.  Remember, spring is coming. 

Also, check out my List of Other Sites I Love About Poland...

Na razie!



I have since recieved the award from Anulia's Kitchen as well!  Thank you so much (Dzienkujem bardzo)!

Versatile Blogger Award

Imagine my surprise when I saw on Twitter that Time Crafted awarded me, among others, the Versatile Blog Award!  Thank you so much!

Here are the rules to go along with the Versatile Blog Award:

1)  You have to Thank the person who awarded you & link them back in your post.

2)  Tell everyone 7 random facts about yourself.

3)  Pass the award on to 10 new Bloggers.

4)  Contact each Blogger and let them know you’ve passed the award on to them, & let the “giver” know you accept the award.

First, seven random facts about myself:

1.   I like butter on my sandwiches.  Not all sandwiches, but if it's a lunch meat sandwich, I like butter on it.  Maybe some mustard.

2.  There is a video of a herd of African Elephants rescuing a baby Elephant from the mud.  I have seen that video countless times and every single time without fail, I sob like a baby.

3.  Right now, if my freezer, I have 4 packs of unsalted Butter and two small plastic tubs of Smalec (bacon fat).

4.  I don't have a favorite color.  Rather, it depends on what the item is that dictates what color I prefer for it.  I know, it's strange.

5.  I look forward every year to going raspberry picking with my husband and children.  We spend all day driving around and picking just a few berries off each bush we find, so that the local wildlife still has their food.  I, also, at my old house had an entire corner of my yard just filled with raspberry and blueberry bushes.

6.  I love jewelry.  Not because it is shiny.  But because every single piece I own has a story behind it and makes me think of someone special to me.  I love pulling it out with my children and telling them the stories behind each one.

7.  I know some of my recipes seem (and probably are) high fat.  But I think now is as good a time as any to say that I am not overweight.  I am actually very healthy (Thank you, God, and may I have many more years this way!) in body and weight.  The reason why, I believe, is because I refuse to eat anything that doesn't taste amazing.  Especially high fat or calorie foods that might not taste as great as a low fat or lower calorie food, or another high fat or high calorie food.  That's such a waste to me.  I also diversify everything I eat, fats, vegetables, meats, grains, everything.  That way, I get as many different nutrients as possible each week.  Oh, and of course, my parents made me eat all my vegetables as a child, whether I ate the meat or grains or not.

So, there you have it.  A quick glimpse at me. 

Ten Blogs I Love:

And now, to pass on the Versatile Blogger Award.  There are so many blogs I love!  So, I really find it hard to just mention 10 but here are some blogs which are lesser known and I love for their own individual reasons.

1.  Ewa Samples blog MomPhotographer  She is an avid photographer and takes some great photos.  Her little one looks amazingly like my little one, as well. 

2.  Homestead Revival

3.  Polish Wedding Blog

4.  Tu i Teraz  (this blog is all in Polish but Google translate doesn't do a half bad job translating it if you aren't blessed to speak and read Polish, like me)

5.  Manana Mama.  Talk about some cute pictures.

6.  Moja Kuchnia w USA (My Kitchen In the USA)  Another Polish Mama living in the USA, like me and Ewa Samples.  Google translate again can be used to read her blog.

7.  Alexandra's Blog, Notebook with Recipes.  I just discovered her the other day and she has great baking recipes... Plus, check out her Blueberry Pierogi.  Mmmmm...

8.  Hayseed in the City.  This funny, Christian Mama home schools and does all sorts of fun activities that perhaps might inspire others.

9.  Pink & Pistachio, also known as Ockstyle.

10.  Helen Clyde

I wanted to list a bazillion more but I can't...  However, I also received another Blogger Award (twice!) so I get to list others there!

Also, check out my List of Other Sites I Love About Poland...

Hope you all have a fantastic day!  Do Widzenia!  See You later!

The USA National Anthem

In honor of the Super Bowl, from the top of my head, here are the words to the National Anthem of USA, "The Star Spangled Banner".

"Oh, say can you see?
By the Dawn's early light,
what so proudly we hailed
at the twilight's last gleaming,
who's broad stripes and bright stars
through the perilious fight
O'er the ramparts we watched
were so gallantly streaming.
And the rockets red glare,
the bombs bursting in air,
gave proof through the night
that our Flag was still there.
Oh, say, does that Star Bangled Banner yet wave,
o'er the Land of the Free
and the Home of the Brave?"





And now, if anyone is interested, here are the rest of the lyrics.

"On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"

It is such a beautiful song the way it was written and with the traditional melody.  God Bless and I hope you enjoy your Football game!

For Super Bowl Sunday, I Got Bored

I don't actually watch Football.  I watch Futbol, or Piłka Nożna.  You know, Soccer!  But I got bored and decided to get creative.


Rondele's Berry flavored Cream Cheese on Whole Wheat Crackers, with sliced strawberries, blueberries and blackberries...  Since I am not big on food like this, it turned out pretty good!

Rolled Polish Smoked Cheese, Stuffed with Dry Cottage Cheese, a slice of Cucumber and Radish, on Whole Wheat Crackers...

Snickerdoodles!

Everyone ate this much too quickly.  So, after church, I will have to make something else...  Enjoy your game!