Baba’s Homemade Perogies

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Each summer growing up, my brother and I would spend a good chunk of time at my Baba’s house a few hours away from our hometown. Our visits were filled with things kids’ dreams are made of – exploring, gardening, painting, fort building, teepee making, and cooking – and one of the things I most looked forward to each summer was making homemade perogies! There’s really nothing not to like about them… Doughy little pockets filled with potatoes and cheese and served with butter and sour cream? Yes please! Plus they’re fun to make too.

So with Baba currently visiting us on her way through to Singapore for a cruise {lucky duck!}, we just had to make perogies. After all, who better for Miss G to learn from than the perogy master herself?! {Seriously, I’m guessing that my Baba has made tens of thousands of perogies in her lifetime – the woman could probably make them in her sleep!}

And the fact that Miss G got to experience making perogies with my Baba just as I did as a little girl? That makes my heart very happy.

Here’s a peek at the process {and Baba’s go-to recipe}…

First the dough…

Apple Peanut Butter Salad

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Mmmm… Apples and peanut butter. Such a good combination. Even better? Apple peanut butter salad that incorporates crunchy grapes, sweet bananas and the yummiest peanut butter ‘dressing’ too. Miss G loves this salad and it makes for a perfect after school snack {or breakfast or lunch in Grae’s opinion}. It’s easy to make too!

Wholewheat Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies {sweetened with coconut sugar}

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With the rain pouring down this afternoon and Brad out for the evening, Miss G and I decided to bake a batch of delicious cookies just before dinnertime (oops). Miss G, the little chocolate lover that she is, requested chocolate chip and was more than happy to go with dark chocolate chunk cookies with walnuts. Now, I must say… These are definitely not the healthiest cookies we’ve ever made {hello, butter and coconut sugar!}, but they are absolutely delicious. In the past, we stuck to coconut oil as our go-to fat and really only did small amounts of local honey and pure maple syrup {as well as dates and other fruits} to sweeten our baking, but now that Miss G is 5 {eek!}, I’ve definitely become more lax with the ingredients I’m willing to use in our homemade baked goods and treats. That being said, these cookies are made with 100% wholewheat flour {something I’m not yet willing to compromise on} and use a super dark organic fair-trade chocolate bar cut into chunks instead of regular chocolate chips, so they’re definitely on the better-for-you side when compared to traditional chocolate chip cookies.

Watermelon Dessert Pizza

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Oh my goodness… I’ve been wanting to make this for ages, but with seedless watermelon not generally available in Kuwait, I’ve had to practice using alll of my patience {until today}. Lucky for me, seedless watermelon was the first thing I saw when I walked into our local grocery store here in Germany, so obviously, this watermelon dessert pizza was meant to be! ☺

Strawberry Banana Oat Smoothie

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With just over two weeks left in the desert, we’ve been doing our very best to work with what we have in the kitchen instead of doing our usual {ridiculously expensive} weekly grocery shop. So far so good, though the shelves are definitely looking quite bare. Luckily, we always seem to have something that can be thrown into the blender to create a yummy breakfast smoothie, or in today’s case according to Miss G, a ‘milkshake’. ☺

Reindeer Pancakes

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Reindeer Pancakes | Mama Papa Bubba FB Oh my goodness… Miss G and I have been having way too much fun with our advent activities this year! I’m so thankful that I created all of our advent activity cards ahead of time – having them pre-made and ready in a jar has saved me tons of time already, and I never have to worry about coming up with a fun idea because the ideas are already right there in front of me.

Mini Apple Pies Kids Can Make

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Grae and I are very lucky to be part of a fabulous little play school co-op here in Kuwait. The whole thing is very low key. We meet at someone’s house every Sunday morning to partake in a few fun activities that go with our weekly theme, and then we meet on again on Thursday mornings for a less structured outdoor outing or ‘field trip’ of some sort. Since this week’s theme was apples, I helped to set up an apple pie making station for our little ones {ages 1 to 4} to enjoy.

Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta Kids Can Make

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There’s no doubt we have a thing for play doughs in this house. I absolutely love coming up with fun new dough recipes, and Miss G absolutely loves exploring and creating with them. I’m not sure where this crazy idea came from exactly, but one day I found myself wondering why we had yet to play with basic cooking doughs {like the ones used to make breads and pastas}. Miss G’s well out of the putting things in her mouth stage, so ingredients like raw eggs are not a concern, and how fun would it be to ‘play’ with the dough by shaping and cutting, and then cook it up into something delicious? Sounded like a plan to me {as long as very clean hands and a clean playing surface were involved, that is!}

Wholewheat Sugarless Apple Strudel {a bake off}

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There is no doubt that Miss G and I miss our Canadian mama and munchkin friends terribly despite being very happy here in the desert. Two of those pairs include Tairalyn of Little Miss Mama and her little lady, Sofia Marie, and Hillary of Hillary with two Ls (please) and her petit monsieur, Grady. Gracen sees both of her little friends via Instagram photos and videos, and I stalk both mamas via all of their social media outlets to make sure I don’t miss out on a single thing. Last month, when Tairalyn posted about a naughty recipe full of white flour, butter, Velveeta, and cream cheese, a crazy fun idea came together. You see, the three of us mamas all love to cook and bake. The only difference is that our approaches vary quite widely. Hillary loves to play with ingredients and try to find healthy(ish) alternatives to traditional ingredients, but despite her daily green juices and veggie-packed dinners, she’s a butter lover at heart. Tairalyn, on the other hand, unapologetically cooks up indulgent recipes in their full sugary, buttery glory, and spares nothing when it comes to taste.

…And then there’s me. Yes, lame-o ‘I bet I could make that sugar-free and wholewheat and butter-less, and, and, and…’ me. I once attempted to make a banana healthier. Enough said.

The Best Sous Chef EVER.

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