Cabbage Rolls in Sour Cream Sauce

Another variation for ukrainian cabbage rolls: meat staffed cabbage rolls with gentle sour cream and onion sauce.

Making these from scratch will take some time as any recipe for cabbage rolls even if you use ground beef and don’t need to prepare it yourself, you still need to separate cabbage, assemble rolls and then cook them.

But don’t let this to stop you - even though it is time consuming to cook cabbage rolls you will get enough rolls for later - just store left overs in fridge or freezer.

Veal Stew with Chanterelles and Peas

Chanterelles are mushrooms which I simply can’t pass in the shop, even though they are seasonal or maybe because of that.

It is my shame, but I don’t know any way to prepare them other than this stew with veal and peas, but it sure tastes great!

You can substitute beef for veal, just increase cooking time to ensure meat is soft enough. You can also substitute white dry wine for water, if you feel like this.

Duck Meat Stewed with Apples

Duck meat does go great with apples; usually stuffing a whole duck with apples and then roasting it in the oven is a way to go. But first - it can take quite some time, and then - it bears hassle of dealing with bones when serving and eating.

All of that is gone if boneless duck breasts are sliced and stewed with apples in a deep skillet like in this recipe. It also makes it easier to serve exact amount of meat for each portion.

Any apples will do good for this recipe, however sour ones are better.

Crepes with Boiled Meat and Rice Stuffing

A cup of beef broth with a couple of meat and rice stuffed crepes will always remind me of my childhood: mom used to cook these all the time.

There is always boiled meat left over from cooking broth, and stuffing crepes with it is easy way to prepare a nice meal to go with it.

Assembled meat and rice stuffed crepes can be stored in fridge for couple of days - you just need to warm them up by frying right before serving.

And if you cook a way too much (as I usually do) just seal some portion of stuffed crepes in a bag and freeze them up, this way you will always have some fresh stuffed crepes when you need to prepare some food fast.

Beef Stroganoff with Mushrooms and Cream

This recipe features a small modification to the beef stroganoff recipe I posted earlier, but a good one: a cup of cream and cremini mushrooms give this dish a very rich taste.

Field mushrooms will also work good in this recipe, but cremini are the best.

As usual, I suggest serving beef stroganoff with a side of boiled buckwheat, it tastes great with mushrooms and cream and, of course, beef.

Pork Loin Roll with Prunes and Carrots

Ingredients in this recipe for most part are the same as in meat stew with prunes and carrots, however for this one I suggest using pork loin - it is tender and much easier to slit flat to be able to roll it with stuffing.

Prunes are go great with pork meat. If you have dry prunes with pits - soak them in boiled water for 15-20 mins to soften and then remove pits before continue with recipe.

Boiled potatoes are great side dish for this entree, whatever you decide to go with mashed potatoes, baked potatoes or simple boiled potatoes, it will work good.

Lazy Cabbage Rolls

Lazy cabbage rolls, or “lenyvi golubtsi” how this dish is called in ukrainian, is an easier version of ukrainian cabbage rolls.

Since it doesn't require assembling of rolls it is much easier to prepare, and taste is very similar to cabbage rolls.

Lazy cabbage rolls taste great when seasoned with a bit of chopped garlic and a bit of mayo.

Duck Stewed with Potato and Eggplants

I love duck meat. And other day we were lucky to find a couple of duck breasts in Market District opened recently near by (nice store by the way).

So, I got them, also eggplant and some potatoes, and cooked this nice dinner.

Any duck meat will work just fine for this stew, I was just lazy to remove bones.

Veal Roast with Mustard and Garlic

This veal roast is a good choice for romantic or family dinner. Meat can be prepared for cooking in advance, like a night before, and then roast day after. That will make meat even better marinated.

I think veal is the best for this recipe, but since veal is hard to get and can be quite pricey - beef can be used as well. If you choose to cook beef – increase roasting time a bit.

Veal roast can be served warm straight from the oven, as one piece or spiced into portions. It also tastes good cooled down.

Stuffed Pork Rolls with Mushrooms (Kruchenyky)

Kruchenyky or zavyvantsi – meat rolls prepared with pork (less often with beef) and stuffed with various mixes. This is very popular dish of traditional ukrainian cuisine.

Stuffings for kruchenyky, as well as sauces, vary from region to region and, actually, from cook to cook.

I like kruchenyky prepared from pork loin and stuffed with mushrooms or mushroom mix with some other ingredients, fried and then baked under cream sauce. Just like in this recipe.

It may seem like lot of hassle to cook these stuffed pork rolls, but it is really not as hard as it looks; and is really tasty :)

Buckwheat Soup

This is good soup to cook at winter: time when fresh herbs are not full of flavor and most of vegetables are not as full of nutrients as fresh ones.

Root vegetables used in this recipe (potatoes, carrots, parsley and celery roots) are good on keeping their nutrient through whole winter and buckwheat grains add even more.

As for most of meat broth based soups, you can save some time cooking it by preparing meat broth in advance: night before or so, and then reheat before cooking buckwheat soup itself.

I really encourage you to cook beef broth yourself, whatever they say in those advertisements, but broth from can can't be the same good as broth prepared by yourself from ingredients you choose, it is not that hard after all.

Macaroni with Ground Boiled Beef

Lots of recipes require using clear soup (meat broth, stock), however not all of them also require boiled meat which is often used to prepare meat broth. So the question is, are there any good recipes which actually require boiled meat and no broth?

This is one of them: russian pasta with ground boiled beef and fried onions (btw, it is called “makarony po-flotski” in Russia; I have no idea why, but we always called this dish so).

Any “al dente” kind of pasta will work here: I've used penne, just read instructions on the pack and cook them accordingly. You may also vary proportion of meat to pasta to taste.

Bigos (Cabbage and Pork Stew)

Bigos, as a cabbage and meat stew, is very popular second course dish in countries of East Europe. I believe it was originated in Poland, however recipes similar to polish bigos can be found in cuisines of Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine and maybe some others. In Poland bigos is traditional dish to be served on Second day of Christmas.

Ingredients for bigos vary, some of them may or may not include tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, onions, garlic, honey and even prunes; beef, veal, pork, bacon, smoked ham, smoked sausages or a combination of those.

I cook bigos (by the way it is called “solyanka” in Russia and Ukraine, even though there is a soup with the same name) with pork, a lot of cabbage (fresh and sour), carrots, onions, bay leaves and spice it with whole black peppercorns, just like it was always cooked in my family. Hope you will like it too.

Bacon and Eggs with Tomatoes

Fried eggs dishes are usually breakfast food, however they are also coming handy when you need to prepare and eat something fast.

Fried eggs with bacon and tomatoes is my favorite way of preparing eggs: easy, tasty and fast. The ingredients in recipe will make a portion for a breakfast for two, adjust amounts if you need more or less.

Cherry or campari tomatoes are perfect for this dish, but if you have any other kind – that will work as well. And if you don't like bacon for some reasons - replace it with half spoon of butter, however I advice to keep it in, for the perfect taste.

Pork Schnitzels

Schnitzels or beaten cutlets can be prepared of almost any kind of meat: pork, beef, vial, lamb, chicken or even turkey.

The preparation method stays pretty much the same for any of those: you take meat, tenderize it, deep into flour (or breadcrumbs), deep into egg mix and fry. It is that easy!

Of course it is your choice which meat to use: pork is usually more fat and considered less healthy choice before beef, vial or chicken, however beaten pork cutlets are more juicy and tasty, so I prefer to use pork for this recipe.

Cabbage Rolls in Tomato Dill Sauce

Cabbage rolls (stuffed cabbage) dish is very popular food in Eastern Europe. No wander you can easily find cabbage rolls among traditional recipes in cuisines of Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania and many others countries.

Making of cabbage rolls from the scratch (including grinding meat, boiling and separating cabbage and then preparing them one by one) would take some time, so it is better if you start cooking in advance. However you can leave prepared cabbage rolls in the oven with heat turned off for up to 1 hour, so they stay warm if you want to postpone serving.

This recipe describes step-by-step process of preparing cabbage rolls in tomato-dill sauce. Enjoy the taste of traditional dish of Eastern European.

Pork Pilaf

Typical Pilaf (plov, pilav) is prepared from rice and meat, and seasoned with spices. It is a dish, various recipes of which can be found in Middle Eastern, Central, South Asian and East African cultures, from where it was borrowed to various cuisines: so now dishes similar to pilaf can be found in every country recipes list.

Having roots on the East, original pilaf usually being made from lamb or mutton. However, I believe, it can be made pretty much of any kind of meat: beef, pork, chicken, duck, whatever you prefer.

I am not the big fan of lamb, so I usually prepare pilaf with a pork meat (which is a step away from the original recipe, but I like it). Feel free to replace pork with any other kind of meat you like and create your own pilaf recipe (you may also need to adjust the cooking time accordingly as different kinds of meats requite different time of preparation). Treat yourself to a delicious meal with a hint of orient spices!

Beef Stew with Vegetables

One of the most delicious ways to prepare beef is to stew it with vegetables. Stewed meat shares its juices with vegetables which makes the dish not only nutritious but also very tasty. Stews are a bit time consuming to prepare, but it is totally worth it. Serve stews hot without side dish.

In this post I've prepared beef stew with potato, bean, carrots and tomatoes. Read step-by-step instructions how to prepare Beef Stew with Vegetables with pictures.

Moussakas

In Greek cuisine, moussakas (moussaka, musakka) is a layered casserole made of vegetables (eggplant as a main ingredient) and minced meat.

It takes a bit of time and require some coordination in order to make it. But even if you spend a lot of time preparing moussakas, it totally worth it! It is great dish, and it tastes good served as hot as well as cold.

Tzatziki is good addition for Moussakas Casserole.

Meat with Prunes

For meat with prunes you can use either pork or beef. I think, pork tastes even better prepared this way, especially if prunes you have are not too sweet, so I advise you to go with pork.

However if you don't like pork for some reasons or if you don't have it just like I did when I were writing this article, you can use beef. I must say it tastes also delicious!

Borscht (Beetroot Soup)

Borscht (borsch, borshch) or beet root soup is very popular in a Eastern and Central Europe countries. Who of you didn't hear about russian or ukrainian borscht?

It is one of 3 common things which usually come to people minds when they are asked about Russia or Ukraine. Well, other 2 would be: good looking girls and vodka, of course.

As you've probably noticed, this blog is about cooking (not about dating or drinking), so I will show you how to make Borscht (Beetroot Soup) in this post, please use Google to find more info on slavic brides or famous russian alcoholic beverages if you feel like this.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

My better half doesn't like fresh bell peppers, so I do stuff them with ground beef and rice and stew for a bit and here we go, it is his favorite meat dish.

Stuffed Bell Peppers are easy and fast to do. They are being served without side dish and are tasty!

Beef Stroganoff with Buckwheat Side

I believe there are a lot of recipes which are called “Beef Stroganoff”. This one is the recipe my mom uses to prepare her Beef Stroganoff, so do I.

It goes very good with potato puree and even better with boiled buckwheat.

Beef Stew with Carrots and Bell Pepper

Delicious meat main dish with a set of vegetables. You will need to spend a bit of time to get it done, but the result will not leave you disappointed.

Stewed vegetables and tender beef, what can taste better?