Rice and Beans (the nafzigga way)

Ingredients
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of black beans
1 onion
1 pkt of taco seasoning
2 teas. of cumin
2 teas. of cilantro
2 teas. of garlic salt
1/2 cup of processed cheese spread
2 eggs
2 cups of cooked rice
salsa
salt

Instructions

Cook rice (if using a rice cooker, remember proportions of 2 water for every 1 rice)
drain beans (not too dry, leave some liquid)
chop and fry onions
heat beans on stove
add taco seasoning and other spices
add onions to beans
mix in cheese to bean mixture and stir until cheese is melted
when rice is cooked, fry each egg individually until yolk just a little runny
when ready to serve, layer rice, beans and egg on top of each individual plate, salt egg lightly and add salsa to side of plate.
Eat warm (optional to add chunks of swiss cheese)

Serves: 2 plus some leftover beans with some rice for a third person like your roomie :)

Butternut Squash with Onions and Pecans

First: It takes forever to bake! Start at 4 for dinner at 6 or 7. The longest part is the baking. The rest doesn't take long.

Olive oil
2 handfuls of onions
1 handful crushed pecans
1Butternut Squash
1 T Brown Sugar (roughly)
Parsley
Butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in half and take out seeds. Make lots of knife cuts into the top part of the squash, making cracks so the onions and other things can seep into it. Saute onions in olive oil or butter (olive oil is healthier). Put onions and pecans over top. Top with pats of butter and springkle brown sugar and parsley over top. Bake in bread pans or whatever will hold it. When it starts to sizzle (about 45 mins. or so) stir everything but the squash itself. It's done when you poke it and it doesn't poke back.

Russian Mennonite Favorites

Ok, so they're personal favorites...other Russian Mennonites can have wierd tastes sometimes...beware, the Russian Mennonites of the old days had MUCH more time on their hands than college students...but I highly suggest you try these recipes!

Zwieback Recipie -- makes 4 dozen
(see below for bread maker adaptation)

2 c. milk -- warm
1 stick of margerine
1 stick of butter
(or 2 sticks of butter)
4 T. sugar
2 t. salt
1 c. water -- warm
1 1/2 pkg yeast (1pkg. = 2 1/4 t.)
8-10 cups of flour

Put in yeast in a large bowl. Add flour*, sugar, and salt. Melt butter and add to heated -- but not boiling -- milk and water. Pour in while stiring dry mixture. Knead well*. Let rise. Pinch into big balls and small balls. (Not too big and not too small. Remember -- they rise later.) Place on greased cookie sheets and cover with a tea towel. Let rise for 1 hour. After risen, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dip finger in water and make an indentation in the center of the bigger balls. Place small balls in the indentations of the big ones. Bake two pans at a time for apx. 10 minutes. Switch levels of pans and bake again for apx. 10 minutes (20 min total). Take out of oven. It doesn’t matter if the bread is cooled to eat it. (In my opinion, it’s best when warm.) Eat with jelly and butter, if you like. It’s rich, so butter may not be nessecary. Enjoy!

* Add 8 c. first; when kneading, add more until perfect. The dough should not be sticky, but not too firm. When kneading, keep adding just enough flour so dough stops sticking, but is not firm. It should be elastic.
**Kneading zwiebach can be tricky. When adding flour, be sure you don't knead too much; otherwise it will become hard and less pliable. Many people consider making zwieback as an art. Don't feel bad if they're not perfect the first time.

Bread Maker Zwiebach

1 1/4 t. yeast
4 1/2 c. white flower
1 t. salt
2 T. sugar
heat 1-2 min (must be warm to activate yeast w/ sugar):
1 c. milk
1/2 water
1 stick of butter

set maker not to bake: just mix, knead, let rise. take it out when bread reaches top of maker. Follow rest of intstructions above.

I prefer to knead the zwiebach by hand...I can control the dough quality better that way.
**************
Pfeffernusse (Peppernuts)

1 c. butter 1/2 t. baking soda 1/2 t. cloves
1 c. sugar 2 t. cinnamon Enough annise
1 c. Karo syrup 1 t. nutmeg to add spicy
1 c. sour cream 1 t. ginger flavor.

Blend together (in order as listed starting with butter and sugar) and add enough flour to make the dough stiff. It should be stiff enough to roll into long ropes like playdough. Chill. Roll dough a little at a time into long ropes about 1/3 in. thick or smaller. Cut dough with scissors into sections the size of a dime. Place on greased cookie sheet. They can be close together, but not touching. Cook at 350 Degrees for 15 min. Done when the dough forms a crust. Don't over bake! They'll get hard and will threatten to crack your teeth. Smaller cookies take shorter time; no longer than 15 min. for tiny ones. Large up to 20 min. Enjoy! (Ask Zeb for his family's practice with the ones that stick together.)

Ok there are tons of recipes for peppernuts. My own wonderful recipe flew out of my head the moment I baked them all. Maybe with my 4-week christmas break I'll recreate it. Anyway feel free to create your own recipe, adding more or less spices as you see fit. You can replace the Karo syrup with maple syrup or molases (my preference).
******************
Flo's Varenikje Recipe (for those of you who were there when I made them, this recipe isn't nearly as salty as mine ended up. I just can't follow directions)

Dough:
8 1/2 c. flour
1/2 T baking powder
1 T salt
2 t. cream of tartar
1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 c. instant dry milk
2 c. shortening

Mix with mixer until it resembles cornmeal - store on shelf. 8 c. of mix makes 40 varenikje.
To 8 c. of mix, add 1 1/2 c. water. Mix well and knead until smooth and shiny. Roll out as thin as possible (in portions). Cut circles in sizes desired (1 lb coffee can is a good size). Refrigerate circles till chilled or overnight.

Filling**:
4 cartons 12 oz. dry cottage cheese*
2 eggs
salt and pepper

Mix with mixer till it clings together. form into balls to fit circles. place on paper towels and refrigerate overnight. place balls on circles. Wet edges and fold over and close with a fork. Deep fry. Serve with favorite gravy (I like onion or ham gravy). Best served with the really good sausage you can get at the MCC sale.

*cottage cheese must be dry, otherwise if the varenikje leaks durring frying it will pop and boil and burn and create a big mess of the oil. You can get it at any place owned by Kroger. Also called Baker's Cottage Cheese. If you can't find it, buy a little bit more cottage cheese and find a really fine strainer or a cheese cloth, and make cottage cheese as dry as possible.
**Also, it's good filled with apples and cinamon, or other fruit, as more of a desert.

Agression Cookies

Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients
3 c Brown sugar
3 c Margarine
6 c Oatmeal
3 c Flour
1 tb Baking soda
2 c Chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Put the ingredients in large bowl. Mash, squeeze, knead, etc until it is completely blended. Form into small balls about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in size.

2. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Butter the bottom of a small glass and dip into white sugar, then pound the cookies flat. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes.

3. This is a good recipe to use when you need to get rid of some agressions because the dough is too heavy for most mixers. So you have to use your hands and beat it!!

4. You can also use peanut butter or butterscotch chips or a mixture of them.

Meryl's Fried Rice

sesame seed oil
1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped, (or 1/2 a spoonful of crushed garlic)
almonds (or cachews or walnuts) (optional)
ginger root (or 1/2 spoonful of smuched ginger)
veggies (corn, peas, zuchini, bell peppers, whatever you have)
2 c. ALMOST COOKED rice
salt
1 egg
sesame seeds (optional)
1 tomato, cubed
golden rasins (optional)

Chop about 1 t. of ginger. Turn stovetop to a little above medium heat. In a large wok or frying pan, heat up a little oil in the bottom. Throw in onions, then garlic into oil. Let onions soften and turn yellowish, but don't let the garlic burn. Throw in the nuts. Let nuts toast a little bit. Throw in ginger (stand back too), mix around. Add veggies, let them all cook, constantly stirring/mixing. Add rice, a little at a time. Don't let things burn, so add oil as needed. Let rice finish cooking, stirring. Add golden rasins and sesame seeds. Add more garlic, ginger and salt to taste. Add egg. Mix around egg so it is evenly coated through rice. Stir until egg is cooked. Add tomatoes. Let things fry and get slightly crunchy if desired. Eat. Mmm.

Stir-fry (one variation of many)

Ingredients
2-3 cups cooked rice
2 eggs
2 cloves minced garlic
3-4 Tbs. olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup green pepper
1/2 a tomato chopped
3/4 cup pine nuts
Spices to taste (we used chives, cilantro, onion powder and salt and pepper)

Instructions
-fry onion and garlic together
-add green pepper
-add egg
-add spices
-add pine nuts
-add rice
-add tomato
-add additional spices
-fry until everything is cooked and well heated
-eat!
(most recently used by Meryl and Abby for their yummy dinner, the cilantro was Meryl's idea and it adds a really nice kick!)

First recipe :) ~ Ramen egg-drop soup

Ok, this is under the quick and easy category.

Ramen Egg-drop Soup

One package ramen noodle soup- chicken
2 eggs
water

boil about 1 cup more water than the ramen calls for
add noodles and boil till almost done
add eggs by cracking into boiling water and stirring vigorously
make sure you break the yoke
boil for a min or so and then season
enjoy :)

optional add-ins: curry power to taste, half in half or milk

Yeah for Meryl

Yes it is about time we had a forum for recipies. I am not going to write long though cause meryl and I are gonna go cook, maybe we will post our recipe later :)

Come One, Come All!

Yes! The time has come! Let us all share our good, worthy, gourmet, silly, tasty, scrumptious, quick 'n easy, and any other kinds of recipes with each other and become a wonderful food-eating community. All in favor? Say Yum!