Cannelloni

I have yet to attack lasagna, but this is about the closest thing I've come to it. So super yummy and filling. If you want to challenge yourself a bit, this is a good one. The recipe itself isn't difficult, it's getting the food in the manicotti pasta tubes that I always have problems with. :D

Ingredients
1 box manicotti pasta tubes
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 10oz pkg. frozen chopped spinach
1 tbsp butter
1 lb ground beef
5 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and freshly ground pepper

White Cream ingredients

4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper (I use regular pepper)
Tomato sauce (home made or bottled is fine)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter

Thaw and drain the spinach. Cook onions and garlic in olive oil until soft. Stir in spinach and cook for 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Melt butter in a skillet and lightly brown the ground meat. Add the meat to the spinach mixture along with the Parmesan cheese, cream eggs, and oregano. Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Set the bowl aside. Cook manicotti tubes according to package directions.

To make the cream sauce. Melt the butter in a heavy sauce pan. Add the flour and cook for a minute or two. Pour in the milk and cream and whisk constantly. Cook stirring constantly with a whisk. When sauce boils reduce the heat and cook over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Sauce will be thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Fill the pasta tubes with the spinach - meat filling. Pour a little tomato sauce into a buttered bake and serve dish. Lay the stuffed shells side by side in one layer on the tomato sauce. Pour the cream sauce over all the pasta tubes. Pour the tomato sauce in a layer over the cream sauce. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over all. Dot with butter. At this point you may refrigerate or freeze. When ready to serve, bring to room temperature and bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.

yummmm Pot Roast

OH Pot Roast. The second traditional form of comfort food here in the states next to chicken soup. I find that Pot Roast is like Spaghetti. Each person has a different way of making it, but it always comes out amazingly delicious. Now it took me a while to be a pot roast lover. I mean potatoes and carrots and meat didn't sound all to appealing to me as a child. I was picky like that. It wasn't until I was older when I fully found respect of the mighty pot roast. It took me a while to really do some hunting for a good recipe. Low and behold, we had to replace our slow cooker and there was one right in their book that came in the box. I tried it and wow!!! Simple yet SO DARN YUMMMY!!!! If you have wanted to try making a pot roast and looking for something simple, this is a great one! Try and enjoy!!!


America's Favorite Pot Roast (Crock Pot Cookbook and Owner's Manual)

3 1/2 to 4lbs boneless pot roast
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 carrots, chipped
3 potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 small onions, sliced
1 stalk celery, chipped
10 button mushrooms, sliced

Trim all excess fat from the roast, brown and drain. Combine 1/4 cup flour, salt and pepper and coast meat with the flour mixture. Place all vegetables except mushrooms in the Crock-pot Slow Cooker and top with the roast. Spread mushrooms evenly over the top of the roast. Cover and cook on low for 10 to 12 hours or on High for 4-6 hours

Svíčková na Zelentine AKA Tenderloin with Vegetables and Knedlik AKA Bread Dumplings

When first introduced to my husband I found out he was a pure Czechoslovak. His father is from the Czech Republic and his mother from Slovakia. I had really no clue about either of these countries except that they were once one country under communist rule. When we were really getting to know one another he kept suggesting this dish he was raised on. Svíčková and Knedlik. Honestly, at this point I wasn't very adventurous when it came to trying new foods, but he swore by it. I tell you what, it has become one of my favorite dishes. Now it's pretty heavy on the stomach, but it's a wonderful treat from time to time. The meat is so tender and when you put the gravy on it. OMG... So unbelievably good. The bread dumplings.... out of this world. It took me a couple times with the dumplings to get them just right. I had never made anything from scratch before. The whole process freaked me out the first time, but but now it's like I'm just flowing through the kitchen and know everything I need to do to make this dish ROCKIN. And so, here they are from the Czechoslovak Cookbook by Josa Brizova

Svíčková


Ingredients: 

3lbs tenderloin of beef (I use Beef Round.. a lot less expensive)

3 ounces bacon

2 cups sliced vegetables (onion, carrot, parsnip, celery root, I do a 1/2 cup of each)

1/4 cup butter

salt to taste

1 cup boiling water

5 peppercorns

2 allspice

1 bay leaf

pinch of thyme

1 tablespoon flour 

1 cup of sour cream

Directions:

Lard meat with 1/2-inch-thick bacon strips (stick bacon in the meat). Brown vegetables in butter, add meat, and brown on all sides. Pour in 1/2 cup of water, salt and seasonings. Roast in a 325 degree oven until tender (1 to 1 1/2 hours), basting frequently. Remove meat from pan, dust drippings with flour, stir until bround. Add remaining water and simmer for 5 minutes. Put in blender with sour cream and blend until thick. Serves 4-6

 

Knedlik 

Ingredients:

4 cups of instantized flour (I use Wondra)

1 teaspoon salt

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups milk

4 cups diced stale white bread

Directions:

Sift flour into a bowl. In another bowl, lightly beat together salt, egg yolks, and milk, and pour into flour. Work dough until it is shiny and does not stick to bowl; cover, and let stand for 1 hour. Work in the bread. With floured hands, shape dough into 3 or 4 rolls, 8 by 2 1/2 inches. Bring about 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pan and put in dumplings, making sure they do not stick to bottom. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes on each side (20 to 30 minutes in all). Remove from pan with 2 plates or a large skimmer. Make a cut across the center of 1 dumpling to make sure it is done, then slice all into 3/4-inch pieces with a thin sharp knife or a thread. Arrange slices in a heated bowl. Serves 6-8.