PASKA AND KOLACHY 2015

My life is rich in wonderful Ukrainian culture and heritage.

Along with  the pysanky (Ukrainian Easter eggs) I also enjoy cooking and baking those scrumptious Ukrainian foods and delicacies. 

My favorite time of year for baking is Easter.  Here's pictures from this year's baking adventure. 

These rolls are sometimes to referred to as Kolachy.   They can be made with a variety of fillings.  Our favorites are a nut filling, apricot and poppyseed. 

These are some of the rolls filled and ready to be baked.

All baked and ready to be tasted!!

The paska baked with a few different designs.  The most popular is the braided ones. 

For recipes check here---

Georgia's Ukrainian Paska

Georgia's Kolachy (Nut Rolls)

Have a wonderful, blessed Easter celebrating our Saviour's Resurrection

Yummy Easy Macaroons

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

5 1/2 cups flaked coconut (one 14 oz bag)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

In large bowl mix together the flour, coconut and salt. Set aside.

In separate small bowl mix together sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract.

Pour over coconut mixture and blend together with your hands. (To keep the mixture from sticking, spray your fingers with cooking spray.) (Place dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes to achieve a ball shaped cookie. )

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil. 

Using a cookie or ice cream scoop drop dough (golf ball sized) onto cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or edges are golden brown and the coconut is toasted.

Cool on wire racks. Cookies will be more firm overnight but can be enjoyed right away!

May be drizzled with milk or semi sweet chocolate after cooled or put a piece of cherry on top after it comes out of oven.

Amount Per Serving (3 ball size cookies) Calories: 293 / Total Fat: 13.8g / Cholesterol: 11mg

ANGEL CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY DELIGHT

This was the table set for a recent tea I had at my house for Valentine's day.

The recipe I am listing is the dessert I made for my honey for Valentine's Day ... He LOVED it!  (and so did I).. 

Angel Chocolate Strawberry Delight

Ingredients:

1 angel food cake, torn into small pieces

1 small instant vanilla pudding

1 quart strawberries

1/2 of 12 ounce pkg. of semi sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate or even white chocolate chips

Can of "light" whipped cream (the only thing that's light :)

Tear angel food cake into bite-sized pieces into a bowl or plate (one that's not real deep).

Make instant vanilla pudding as directed and pour it over the angel food cake while it is still runny and try to cover the entire cake.

Wash and cut strawberries in half and put into a bowl, add about 3 tablespoons of sugar (or sweetener if you prefer).  Put in refrigerator for at least a half hour so it can make a little syrup.   

Pour over the cake and spread it out so that there's strawberries all over. 

Take 1/2 package of a  12 oz.  chocolate chips.  Place in a microwave safe dish and melt until nice and liquidy.  Drizzle all the chocolate over all the strawberries.  Good to the last drop.   

Put in refrigerator for at least a half hour.   Then squirt whipped cream on top right before you serve. 

It tastes like chocolate covered strawberries on top of luscious combo of vanilla pudding and angel food cake. GREAT dessert and VERY easy.  

Enjoy.

Georgia's Fluffy Bread Stuffing

(What I'm showing you is what I'm making for our church dinner tomorrow and basically what I make for our family (about 30 this year).  This recipe will serve 6-8 easily.)

1 and 1/2 loaves of white bread

1 sleeve of saltines (1/4 #) crushed

Top third of entire bunch, celery (including leaves) chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 large carrot or 6 baby carrots, chopped

(I usually do the veggies in food processor, not too fine just a little coarse)1 stick margarine/butter

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

1 tsp. parsley flakes

1 tsp. garlic salt 

1 can cream of mushroom soup, 

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can chicken broth

3 eggs

Tear bread into small pieces into a large bowl, add crushed crackers. 

Sauté the celery, onion and carrot in a frying pan with margarine until tender.

 Meanwhile, sprinkle pepper, poultry seasoning and garlic salt over bread and lightly toss to mix. Add vegetables, soups, chicken broth and eggs to the bowl of bread pieces. 

Mix until blended.

 Empty mixture into a 1 1/2 or 2 - quart well-greased (use Pam)  casserole dish or 13 x 9 baking dish. 

Bake in 350 degree oven for almost an hour. Cover lightly with foil and bake for an additional hour at 300 degrees...Outside will be crunchy,  while the inside is fluffy and moist...

MOTHER’S DAY MENU AND RECIPES

   

Creamy Cheeseball/ Appetizer
Marinated Cucumber Salad/ Side Dish
Quiche/ Entree
Chocolate Torte/ Dessert
Iced tea/ Beverage 

CREAMY CHEESEBALL/ Appetizer 

2 - 8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1 stick margarine, softened
2 green onions, chopped
1 - 3 oz. pkg. Dried Beef, shredded
     Mix all well together until smooth..place in refrigerator to chill thoroughly, so that you can handle with your hands...Shape into a ball and smooth and flatten it onto a small plate to serve. Wrap and keep chilled in refrigerator and serve with crackers.

 
MARINATED CUCUMBER SALAD/ Side Salad 

4 medium, firm cucumbers
1 large white onion
2 - 3 ripe tomatoes
1 large green bell pepper
Garlic salt and pepper
   Cut tomatoes and green peppers into chunks....slice cucumbers and slice onions and place all into a medium-sized bowl. Season according to your taste with garlic salt and black pepper and toss well. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes and serve. It tastes so good.. Another important tip...Don't make too far ahead or it will get too soggy and limp. You want to serve it relatively fresh.
 

QUICHE/ Entree 

Ingredients:
2 frozen pie crusts or pie crusts from the Dairy Section
1 pound mild Colby or cheddar cheese, shredded
1 (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1/2 Medium onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. margarine
4 eggs
2 slices ham (lunch meat), cut into pieces
1 (4 oz.) can mushroom pieces (optional)
Garlic Salt
Ground black pepper
   Saute' onions in margarine. Set aside. Add shredded cheddar cheese into bowl with onion mixture, broccoli, ham, mushrooms and beaten eggs. Add a little garlic salt and pepper. Mix and pour into pre-baked pie shells. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for at least 45 minutes to an hour or until the top is lightly browned. Let cool a bit and slice and serve. 

CHOCOLATE TORTE/ Dessert  (My Aunt Sonia’s  Recipe)

Ingredients:
Chocolate Cake Mix (baked)
2. small Cool Whip
3 Heath bars, crumbled
3 sm. pkgs. chocolate instant pudding 

       In a deep bowl (clear glass is nice) layer 1/3 chocolate cake (broken in small pieces). Sprinkle some candy bar mixture over the cake. Pour 1/3 chocolate pudding next and spread one container of whipped topping over that. Repeat the layers two more times--and top with the whipped topping  and sprinkle the candy mixture on top of that. Refrigerate, enjoy and tell Mom that there are ZERO calories inside.

MICROWAVE ICED TEA 

     Using an empty gallon milk/water container, place 6 tea bags (without tags) in the bottom and fill about 1/4 full of water. Place in microwave and heat on high for 5 minutes.
     Let stand for about 10 minutes to steep and add enough water to about 7/8 of the way to the top.
     If Mom likes the tea unsweetened, then just refrigerate it. If she likes it sweetened, add 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar, place lid on and shake until the sugar is dissolved.
     Then chill in refrigerator till you need it. (A nice touch would be lemon cut on the side or fresh mint, if it's available)

EASTER DAY MENU from Georgia's Kitchen

EASTER DAY DINNER MENU

Ham

Kolbassi

Party Potatoes

Corn

Green Beans with Ham

Sweet Potatoes

Deviled Eggs

Beet Horseradish Relish

Vegetable Tray

Relish Tray

Paska (Easter bread)

Butter (shaped into molded lamb)--not this year.

Nut, apricot, or poppy seed rolls

Dessert

BAKED HAM

I usually buy a whole bone-in ham. The brand name that I use and just love is Cumberland Gap Ham. I don't know if it's just in this area or nationwide, but it is the BEST ham. Even their boneless is great. Not watery, but nice and firm and tender and flavorful.

The only thing that I do is what my mom used to do. Make a glaze of about a cup of brown sugar and add to this a couple hefty squirts of brown mustard and 1/4 cup of honey. Mix well until it forms a thick paste. (If you need more mustard, then add to it). Score with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern making cuts 1/8-inch deep and one inch apart. Coat the ham all over with this paste after you have placed it into a shallow foil-lined pan. Put ham fatty side up. Do NOT cover the ham with foil or add water to the bottom. If you seal the ham with foil and add the water, it will tend to steam the ham, which ruins the flavor.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Bake for 2 hours...At this time, add your kolbassi (which I make about 4 pounds) around your ham. Bake an additional hour and then add a little water to the bottom of the pan and then spoon glaze that has dripped into pan bottom over ham and bake for 20 minutes. At this time, place foil loosely like a tent to keep ham from burning on top. Raise oven temperature to 325 degrees and glaze again. Bake an additional 20 minutes. Glaze once more and bake 15 minutes. Cool before carving into thin slivers. 

PARTY POTATOES

Makes 8 to 10 servings...

Ingredients: 

5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, reserve 1 Tbsp. drippings

1/2 cup chopped onion

8 to 10 large potatoes, cook as for potato salad with skins on

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

1 (8 oz.) container French onion sour cream dip

1/2 c. milk 

1 and 1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small skillet, cook onion in drippings until transparent. In the meanwhile, peel the cooled, cooked potatoes and cube them. Put into a large bowl all the ingredients, except 1/2 the bacon and 1/2 cup cheese.

Spread into buttered 13 x 9 inch baking dish and top with reserved cheese and bacon. 

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly. Refrigerate leftovers.

*TIP: Can be made ahead...do not bake.. cover and refrigerate until baking time!!

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

3-16 ounce cans cut green beans

1 can Campbell's Cream Of Mushroom Soup

4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Durkee Fried Onions (can)

In a 3 quart casserole dish, combine the drained green beans along with soup and shredded cheddar cheese.

Mix well and place into a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the fried onions on top til covered. Return to the oven for an additional 25 minutes uncovered (so the onions will crisp up).

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

2 pounds fresh yams 

1 stick BUTTER

3/4 dark brown sugar

1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

Miniature marshmallows

Prepare yams as you would mashed potatoes (peel, cube and put into saucepan with water). Bring to a boil and cook til tender. With an electric mixer, whip up the potatoes, adding to this the butter, vanilla, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Mix until very smooth and creamy. Place into a 3 quart buttered casserole and bake in 300 degree oven for about 35 minutes. Sprinkle miniature marshmallows on top and place in 350 degree oven for an additional 20 minutes until puffy and slightly browned. Mmmmmmmmmmm.... yummy.. You'd think this was a dessert.

DEVILED EGGS

Ingredients:

1 dozen eggs (hard boiled, cooled, and peeled)

Light mayonnaise

Yellow mustard

Ranch dressing

Garlic Salt

Pepper

Slice the eggs in half lengthwise. Put the cooked yellows into a bowl and place the white halves on a plate. After all the eggs have been cut and separated, mash and mix up the yellows until they are as fine and smooth as possible. To this add about 4 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise, a hefty squirt of yellow mustard, and two tablespoons of ranch dressing. With a mixer, blend these all together until smooth and creamy. Add just enough garlic salt and pepper to taste.

With a teaspoon drop enough mixture into the center of the whites to make it look full and rounded (not flat). For an added touch, (if you like, you may add a shake of paprika or some finely sliced green olives). If not, just leave them plain, cover with plastic and refrigerate until needed.

YAYECHNYK (Custard for Easter Mom made)

1 quart whole milk

1 dozen eggs
3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. Vanilla

2 tsp. Cinnamon

Beat the eggs separately until mixed well. Heat milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and mix well on stove. Keep stirring until the mixture starts to bubble and boil and curdle. (Be careful it does not scald and stick to bottom..turn down heat if it begins to). When it starts to separate, the curdled part will become thicker and the rest will be very watery. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Use cheesecloth, or dishtowel, some cloth that is very porous and liquid can come through.. Put this on top of your strainer or colander and fit into bottom..Carefully pour custard mixture into the cloth and strainer and allow to sit until almost all visible liquid has gone through... When the mixture is completely cooled, gather the cloth together and twist and squeeze out ALL excess liquid..repeat until there is practically nothing coming out. Keep twisted and very tight and put it on a plate with a very heavy weight on top to keep it flat and formed into a ball shaped. If there is still a lot of liquid, squeeze again.. Place on plate again with weight and put into refrigerator until cold and formed.

Carefully untwist and remove the ‘yayechnyk' and turn over onto a clean plate and slice and serve cold. Always was served on Easter day. Christos Voskres!!! (Christ is Risen in Ukrainian)

(THESE RECIPES CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON MY BLOG WITH STEP BY STEP PHOTOS.  CLICK ON LINKS BELOW)

TRADITIONAL EASTER PASKA (BREAD) My Grandma's Recipe--

Ingredients:

1 tsp. Sugar 

8 - 12 eggs (beaten)

1 c. Lukewarm water

1/3 c. Sugar

3 pkgs. Dry yeast

½ c. Melted oleo

3 c. Scalded milk (lukewarm)

1 Tbsp. Salt

5 c. Flour

9 to 10 c. Flour

Dissolve sugar in lukewarm water and sprinkle yeast over it. Let stand 10 minutes. Combine softened yeast with lukewarm milk and 5 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Cover and let rise in warm places until light and bubbly.

Add beaten eggs, sugar, melted oleo and salt and mix thoroughly. Stir in enough flour to make neither too soft nor too stiff. Knead until it doesn't stick to hand. Turn on floured board and knead until smooth and satiny. Place in greased bowl, cover and let rise in warm place until double (until 2 hrs.) Punch down and let rise again. Makes 4 or 5 small round paskas.

Let rise in pans until almost double. (Don't over raise) Brush with beaten egg with a little water. Bake 400 degrees - 15 minutes. Then lower to 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until nicely brown. Decorate tops with cross or braids.. Note: I use a few drops yellow food coloring to make it look nice.

NUT, POPPYSEED AND APRICOT ROLLS (KOLACHI) 

2 dry yeast (in 1/2 c. very warm water)

1 c. butter (softened or melted)

1 1/2 c. sugar

6 eggs (beaten)

2 c. whole milk

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. salt

9-10 c. flour

Heat milk until very warm. Set aside. Beat eggs well and add slowly to the sugar and butter mixture. Add flour mixture and milk and vanilla slowly. Knead total mixture for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Raise for about 1 1/2 hours until dough is doubled.

Make 8 to 10 dough balls. Roll out individually and spread with nut mixture. Roll each one roll and bake. Prick tops with a fork. Ice after cooled.

Filling:

1# chopped walnuts

1 c. Sugar (half brown, half white)

½ stick melted oleo

½ tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Vanilla

Add milk to make it spread easily. You can use poppy seed, apricot or any filling.

HAPPY NEW YEAR/2024

A very happy and blessed New Year to you and your family.    So much going on in so many lives..  America needs Jesus...   Please heal our land, dear Lord. 

I pray that this new year brings good health and happiness for everyone, not only our family, but for yours as well.   There were many who lost loved ones and others whose family is suffering from many different physical and emotional situations.  We know that none of us is ever exempt from sadness or loss---but with the Lord at the helm of our lives, He can make it bearable and He can receive the glory.    My favorite verse is "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."   And, yes I can----and ONLY through and with Him!!

What are YOU going to do for Jesus this coming year?  Only use Him in emergencies, or will He definitely become the LORD of your life??   Don't go another day without Him.  He loves you so much. 

Following is a devotional for the new year from one of my favorite daily devotional books, "Springs In The Valley" by Mrs. Charles Cowman.   I'm sure it will be an enoucouragement and blessing to you, too.

 JANUARY 1, 2024

"For the LORD thy God brings thee into a good land, a land of  brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;  A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil, and honey; A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.   When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee."  (Deuteronomy 8:7-10).

We are entering upon a new year---surely we cannot but believe, a new age.   If we have rightly learned the lesson of the past, there lies before us a heritage of unspeakable blessing, which none of these vivid metaphors can too strongly describe; infinite sources of blessing, for the fountains and water brooks are but the figures of God's illimitable grace.   For WITH HIM is the fountain of life.

A FOUNTAIN FED BY ETERNAL SPRINGS!

They tell us of boundless supply:  "Bread without scarceness,"  the olive oil that speaks of the Holy Spirit, the honey that tells of the sweetness of His love, and pomegranates that are the seed fruit which speak of a life that reproduces itself in the blessing of others.

They tell of the "nether springs" which flow from the depths of sorrow, in the hard places, in the desert places, in the lone places, in the common places which seem farthest from all that is sacred and Divine.

How delightful it is to have His gladness in the low places of sorrow, and to be able to glory even in tribulations also. They tell us of pleasures that come out of the very heart of trials, treasures wrung from the grasp of the enemy.

How precious the springs that flow into the places of temptation, for there is nothing in life so trying as the touch of Satan's hand and the breath of the destroyer.  Oh, how sweet it is, even there, to find that the light is as deep as the shadow, and heaven is nearest when we are hard by the gates of hell, so that we can COUNT IT ALL JOY WHEN WE FALL INTO DIVERSE TEMPTATIONS, and can say, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Springs in the valley are very unusual; but He will give us both the upper and the nether springs.”