I came home exhausted from work. I didn’t feel much like cooking but I did. My refrigerator and freezer are full yet I can’t seem to find anything to make for dinner. It’s either some kind of fish that I bought for lent but Jennifer won’t eat or some frozen meat that will take forever to thaw and cook.  What I did have was frozen Pierogi that we had just purchased on sale at the local Shop Rite grocery store. This particular Shop Rite seems to be cleaner than most of them that I have been to so we make it a regular stop now. The prices are usually good and it’s not too far from the house.

                Back to the Pierogi, I have never had Pierogi as a kid. I don’t think I started eating them until a coworker told me he made them. If you have never tried Pierogi, I do recommend them. They are easy to cook and very tasty. Although, I do not think they are meant to be served as a main dish. The ones in my freezer were four cheese potato pierogi.

 I began cooking them by heating up my largest All-Clad Pan over medium heat with a heaping tablespoon or two of olive oil. I did not measure it thus causing dirty a measuring spoon and risking more dirty dishes. I just poured some in the pan and eyeballed it as it spread across the pan. I have one of those olive oil bottles with the liquor spout on top. It reminds me of what you would find on a bottle of Jameson’s behind a bar for pouring shots.  It makes pouring the oil out easy and the bottle itself is tall and thin. This makes it fit nicely into my overstuffed spices cabinet that is next to the stove. I don’t have one of those huge gourmet kitchens like you might think or see on TV but its big enough for one person to cook comfortably in and has a large counter to cook and roll out dough on when it’s not filled with all kinds of different stuff.

As the pierogi cook, they can stick to the pan so every few minutes I move them around with a pair of tongs (are tongs on my gadgets list? If not, I’ll have to add them). When they just started to turn brown on one side, I flip them over to the other side. When that side starts to brown then I add some butter. 1 to 2 tablespoons of salted butter and continue to flip them so the lighter side is always facing the hot pan. I do this until they turn tan or a nice light brown. Like the color of a piece of old varnished maple wood or Douglas-fir like our hard wood floors.

In between flipping and stirring or shaking the pan to make sure the pierogi don’t stick I made two salads. The salads were made up of a head of romaine that I cut up, one of those baby cucumbers that I diced, a few whole black pitted olives, two artichoke hearts that I cut in half, a small tomato I cut into segments, a sliver of raw onion and lastly just a bit of arugula on top. I almost forgot about the arugula in the fridge. I left the onion and tomatoes off Jennifer’s salad. That’s because she is allergic to all night shades. Plus, she does not even like tomatoes. Next, I poured on some Olive Garden salad dressing on them. I love the stuff but I should really start making it myself. I was just too tired last night to even try but salad dressing is easy to make and so much cheaper and better tasting then any bottled stuff.

So there you have it. One lazy man’s dinner. It was pretty good too actually. I guess I wasn’t even that hungry because I don’t even think I finished all of my salad. I was sooo tired I didn’t even have one beer last night! I guess I don’t drink every night, huh. Well as usual, it’s time for me to get to work. So until tomorrow. Stay heathy, be happy, and eat well!

Russ – The Drunken Chef

                I came home exhausted from work. I didn’t feel much like cooking but I did. My refrigerator and freezer are full yet I can’t seem to find anything to make for dinner. It’s either some kind of fish that I bought for lent but Jennifer won’t eat or frozen meat that will take forever to thaw and cook.  What I did have was frozen Pierogi that we had just purchased on sale at the local Shop Rite grocery store. This particular Shop Rite seems to be cleaner than most of them that I have been to so we make it a regular stop now. The prices are usually good and it not too far from the house.

                Back to the Pierogi, I have never had Pierogi as a kid. I don’t think I started eating them until a coworker told me he made them. If you have never tried Pierogi, I do recommend them. They are easy to cook and very tasty. Although, I do not think they are meant to be served as a main dish. The ones in my freezer were four cheese potato pierogi.

 I began cooking them by heating up my largest All-Clad Pan over medium heat with a heaping tablespoon or two of olive oil. I did not measure it thus causing dirty a measuring spoon and risking more dirty dishes. I just poured some in the pan and eyeballed it as it spread across the pan. I have one of those olive oil bottles with the liquor spout on top. It reminds me of what you would find on a bottle of Jameson’s behind a bar for pouring shots.  It makes pouring the oil out easy and the bottle itself is tall and thin. This makes it fit nicely into my overstuffed spices cabinet that is next to the stove. I don’t have one of those huge gourmet kitchens like you might think or see on TV but its big enough for one person to cook comfortably in and has a large counter to cook and roll out dough on when it’s not filled with all kinds of different stuff.

As the pierogi cook, they can stick to the pan so every few minutes I move them around with a pair of tongs (are tongs on my gadgets list? If not, I’ll have to add them). When they just started to turn brown on one side, I flip them over to the other side. When that side starts to brown then I add some butter. 1 to 2 tablespoons of salted butter and continue to flip them so the lighter side is always facing the hot pan. I do this until they turn tan or a nice light brown. Like the color of a piece of old varnished maple wood or Douglas-fir like our hard wood floors.

In between flipping and stirring or shaking the pan to make sure the pierogi don’t stick I made two salads. The salads were made up of a head of romaine that I cut up, one of those baby cucumbers that I diced, a few whole black pitted olives, two artichoke hearts that I cut in half, a small tomato I cut into segments, a sliver of raw onion and lastly just a bit of arugula on top. I almost forgot about the arugula in the fridge. I left the onion and tomatoes off Jennifer’s salad. That’s because she is allergic to all night shades. Plus, she does not even like tomatoes. Next, I poured on some Olive Garden salad dressing on them. I love the stuff but I should really start making it myself. I was just too tired last night to even try but salad dressing is easy to make and so much cheaper and better tasting then any bottled stuff.

So there you have it. One lazy man’s dinner. It was pretty good too actually. I guess I wasn’t even that hungry because I don’t even think I finished all of my salad. I was sooo tired I didn’t even have one beer last night! I guess I don’t drink every night, huh. Well as usual, it’s time for me to get to work. So until tomorrow. Stay heathy, be happy, and eat well!

Russ – The Drunken Chef