Potato, Cheese, and Bacon Perogies

Growing up in Northeast Ohio, I was exposed to eastern European foods, specifically polish food. One of my favorites is Perogies. Basically, think stuffed dumpling. Typically, these dumplings are filled with mashed potatoes, sometimes with cheese as well. My first experience with these little stuffed dumpling occurred after a trip to the West Side Market in Cleveland. After that experience at a tender young age, I have looked for opportunities to have perogies ever since. Unfortunately, few opportunities presented themselves and were usually filled with disappointment (the ones in the freezer aisle......yeah, not very good). So I went looking for recipes and found one, made it, and adapted it. And here it is: Potato, Cheese, and Bacon Perogies!

Recipe: Potato, Cheese, and Bacon Perogies

The Dough:

• 2 1/2 Cups Flour
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp Oil (I used vegetable oil, low saturated fat content)
• 3/4 cup warm water (~100 F)

Combine the flour and salt together. Then add the egg, oil, and water. Mix until combined and a smooth, elastic dough is formed. Let stand until the filling is ready.

*If you mix the dough too much, the dough will become tough, hard, and dense. This happens because once all the ingredients are mixed, the gluten molecules in the flour bind together forming long chains throughout the dough. The more you knead the dough, the more of these long chains are formed, creating a "chewier" or tougher, harder, denser dough. So the next time you are kneading dough, remember the long you do it, the denser your dough will be. I will save you from the chemistry behind how the chains of gluten are made, because all you need to know that you generally don't want to make more chains.

I used a KitchenAid Stand mixer with a dough hook. This worked very, but it is easier with a stand mixer to over knead your dough. You can knead the dough by hand, this will significantly decrease your chances of over kneading the dough. You also can feel the dough better and judge when it is well mixed and very elastic.

The dough makes about 24 perogies. Below shows the nutritional facts for the dough required to make one perogie.

 The great thing about the dough is that it is low in fat, sodium, and cholesterol. At this point, you can fill the perogies with just about anything. But, I will follow with the filling that I made, a Potato, Cheese, and Bacon perogie.

The Filling:

• 2 Cups Mashed Potatoes
• 2 Tbsp Fat Free Half and Half
• 1 Cup Cheese (I used pepperjack, but you can use just about anything)
• 1 Tbsp Bacon Bits (use the real ones....please....)
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste

First, boil potatoes (I used 5 medium potatoes and had way too much, so I would suggest 3 medium potatoes) until a fork inserts effortlessly. *I usually cut my potatoes into small pieces after I peel them so that they will cook faster* Drain the potatoes and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix completely then place in fridge to cool. Here are the nutrition facts for 1 perogie's worth of filling:

The assembly process:

Once the dough and filling are ready, assembly process can begin. Put a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a rapid boil. While the water is heating up, roll out the dough on a floured surface. You want the dough fairly thin, think pie crust thin or slightly thinner. Use a large biscuit cutter or something similar to make dough rounds. Take the dough rounds and add a spoonful of filling in the center. Keep the edges of the dough free of filling. Pinch the edges of the dough together making sure that it is completely closed. Place each one on a paper towel or plate until they are cooked. Each perogie should look something like this:

Once all the perogies are formed, place 3-6 into the boiling water. The perogies are done cooking once they rise to the surface of the boiling water. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate to cool. Once all are done, the perogies are ready to be served!!!

Now comes the final nutrition tally. My father refuses to eat anything that has 1/3 or more calories from fat. He prefers it to be close to 20% or less, but I have been able to convince him to eat food that has closer to 33%. Here are the final nutritional facts for each perogies:

The final fat percentage is 24% calories from fat. The original recipe contained more fat, but the butter in the filling was replaced with Non-Fat Half and Half. If you are looking to cut calories, especially fat calories, use Non-Fat Half and Half in place of heavy cream or regular Half and Half and in some places butter (like in mashed potatoes). It doesn't affect taste and is a healthy alternative.

All nutritional facts were calculated using the recipe analysis app found at the following website:
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
This is a great tool that can quickly show you the nutritional content of any recipe that you have!