Tag Archives: cookbook

What’s Eating Aunt Debbie?

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There’s so much on my mind lately. My brain gets so bogged down with thoughts and ideas, problems and solutions, and then there’s my pain and mobility issues…I barely get anything constructive done.

I’ve been working on my cookbook. My German Grandmother’s recipes are giving me a headache! Some of them list only the ingredients but not the process. Some are just simply confusing because what she calls one thing, upon research I found are called something else! I haven’t made all of her recipes myself; I will include only the ones I have made before. I’m giving myself until the end of July to get them all typed out. Maybe halfway through I can get my volunteers to start testing recipes. I’m starting some of the testing myself this month. I’m hoping by Christmas I can have it done but no promises because these things take time.

I’m disgusted and full of so much anger towards Putin. He needs to be taken out, if you know what I mean. Surely, they have some Special Ops team that can get that job done. And thanks to the aid of Tucker (the fucker) Carlson, the misinformation about the war on Ukraine has flowed into the US. It makes me sick. Just sick. As if we need more misinformation in this country! What Putin is doing is WRONG. He is a murderous war criminal. The pointless death and destruction…brings tears to my eyes.

I’ve missed blogging – but I just haven’t had the time to sit down and write or when I have the time to write, nothing comes to me. What the hell do you write when you can’t think of anything to write? So, here I sit. Just typing whatever comes to me. Is that stupid?

Thankfully, Winter is about ready to leave us behind. I’m truly tired of having to wash my hands in the bathtub. Hmmm…I bet you’re wondering about that statement, yes? Well, the plumbing in this old house is about as stupid as the electrical wiring. I’ll have to tell you about that in another post! The plumbing…well, during the winter it takes about 40 seconds for the water at the kitchen sink to get warm. It’s about 5 feet from the water heater, which makes no sense at all. The bathroom sink takes about 50-55 seconds to get warm. That sink is about 30 feet from the water heater. I try to remember to turn on the water before I do my business, so I don’t have to stand there waiting for the water to warm up before I can wash my hands but sometimes I forget. Most of the time I forget. So I wash my hands in the bathtub, which is about 6 feet from the sink and about the same distance as the sink from the water heater. Do you want to take a guess at how long it takes the water to warm up in the bathtub? It takes a whole 15 seconds, which is why I end up washing my hands in the bathtub. I have no patience and I’m sure as hell not going to wash my hands in ice cold water! Snort!

I’m looking forward to the Spring but I’m always disappointed. It seems to always rain and then we’re left with about 2 weeks of exceptionally beautiful Spring weather before it gets too damn hot to live! Ugh. Summer comes too fast.

Well, back to work I go. Or a nap. Ha! Take care of yourselves!

Signing off!

Guess What?

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Happy Monday, folks! I hope this week proves to be a productive one for us all.

I’ve accomplished something I never thought I would. I finished “The Ex Files” for my kids and it has been sent to the printer! By no means does this make me a published author because it’s a private printing, not to be distributed to the public. It does make me feel good that I have finished the book and now my adult kids will understand why I left their father and why he wasn’t a part of their lives.

My next project is “Aunt Debbie’s Best” cookbook that WILL make me a published author! Staying motivated will be the hardest part. I will be contacting a few people who have shown interest in testing recipes, in the near future. Wish me luck in this daunting project!

Nelson Mandela once said, “It always seems impossible until it is done.”

Now, on with Monday. Be kind and stay safe, my friends.

aunt-debbie

Bierock Casserole

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Bierock was always a favorite of mine growing up. My German grandmother used to make them all the time. The funny thing is, I grew up thinking they were of German origin since my great-grandparents were German. To tell you the truth, I think my grandmother thought they were German as well because she never told us otherwise. I learned later in life that they are actually of Eastern European, possibly Russian origin. My great-grandparents immigrated from Germany to Russia many moons ago (I don’t have the exact year off the top of my head) when Russia was offering free land to immigrants. I’m sure they learned the local cuisine and adapted their own recipes, too, while they were there. Eventually, they came to the US and brought those wonderful recipes with them!

Bierocks were always so fun to eat! They’re just dough pockets filled with beef, cabbage, and onions. Simple ingredients but delicious! I made them many times as my kids were growing up and I miss making them (and eating them) to this day! I just can’t stand in the kitchen and make them anymore. It’s a lot of work making individual pockets!

Several years ago, I needed to make this recipe work for me in my dilapidated (hahaha!) state. It may have been a “thing” already, but I turned the original Bierock recipe into a casserole! It doesn’t take much time to get it all together. It’s something that I can even do now if my pain level isn’t too high.

I’ve decided to start writing down all of my recipes and taking photos of the end result so I can write my first cookbook. I’ve often thought about doing this, but never really got very far. This morning, after trying to recall another family recipe to give to my son, I figured I’d better get to it before I forget them all! I really had a hard time remembering the recipe! I have so many rattling around in my brain, they’re destined to get lost if I don’t write them down! It may take me some time to accomplish this task, but it’s one of those things like cleaning and decluttering that must be done!

So, without further hesitation, here’s my Bierock Casserole recipe! Be sure to let me know what you think!

Bierock Casserole

 

1.5 lbs. ground beef
1 medium head of green cabbage, shredded
1 medium onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 roll of refrigerated pizza dough
Pan spray

Preheat oven to 350*.

Brown ground beef in a large pot. When browned, drain fat. It will be ok if there’s a little fat left because the onion and cabbage will need this to cook down. (You just don’t want it to be swimming in fat!) Add onion and cook until slightly tender. Add cabbage, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often until cabbage is tender. While the cabbage is cooking down, get your casserole dish ready.

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In an 8” x 12” glass casserole dish, spray your choice of pan spray on bottom and on the edges of the dish. Remove the pizza dough from the packaging. With the 12″ side of the pan facing you, unroll the dough, stretching it and pressing it down to cover the bottom of the pan. You will want about half of the dough hanging over the edge of the pan. When your cabbage mixture is completely cooked down and hot, spoon it into the casserole dish, on top of the dough.

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Pull the remaining dough up and towards you, stretching it over the top of the mixture, and tucking in the edges. Spray top with pan spray.

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Turn oven down to 325* and cook the casserole for 20 minutes uncovered. When the top of the dough starts to turn golden brown, cover it with foil. Cook for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven.

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Cut and serve! 6-8 servings.

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I hope you’ll like this recipe and give it a try yourself! Happy cooking, my friends!