Bacon Broccoli Pierogie Bake

I've been making this recipe for Bacon Broccoli Pierogie Bake for years but apparently I only blogged it as Bacon Pierogie Bake (served with a side of steamed broccoli) or Broccoli Pierogie Bake (back when I was trying to eat less meat). Since I only make it this way now - gotta love one-pot meals - I figured I better make a new post so I could share it with all of you.



Lately I've been buying mini pierogies (because they're just so darn cute) and doubling the recipe so we have plenty left over for lunch the next day. The doubled recipe is below.

Bacon Broccoli Pierogie Bake
Slightly Adapted from Elizabeth's Edible Experience

2 large broccoli crowns, cut into florets
Cooking spray
2 (16-ounce) packages frozen mini potato pierogies
6-8 center-cut bacon slices, chopped
6 ounces cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 cup chicken broth
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3-4 thinly sliced scallions
1/2 cup chopped seeded plum tomato

Preheat oven to 400°.

Steam broccoli until tender. Coat a 9 x 13" baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the broccoli and frozen pierogies in the dish.

Cook the bacon in a saucepan over medium heat until crisp; remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

Add the cream cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the bacon drippings and cook until cream cheese begins to melt, stirring frequently. Gradually add the chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Pour the cream cheese mixture evenly over the pierogies and top with the cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and add the bacon and scallions. Bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the tomato. Allow to cool for 5 minutes then serve.

MAKE AHEAD TIP: You can steam the broccoli, cook the bacon, shred the cheese, chop the scallions and tomatoes and make the sauce ahead of time. Store everything in separate containers in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the casserole.

Broccoli Pierogie Bake

We used to eat pierogies all the time. I'm not sure what changed. I think SP decided he was tired of them so I stopped buying them. A few months ago I saw Christina from Tales from a Mad Men Kitchen make this Bacon Pierogie Bake twice in a matter of weeks. She recommended adding broccoli, which I can't believe I didn't think of myself considering I served steamed broccoli with this the last time I made it, not to mention I used to serve broccoli with pierogies all the time.


I decided to leave out the bacon in order to make this mostly vegetarian (I still used chicken broth so it's not a true vegetarian meal). I was a little worried when I opened the package of pierogies and there were only 12 of them, but the broccoli made this a filling meal. I love the flavors, especially the tomato and green onions mixing with the cream cheese sauce. Baby Girl loved this dish, proclaiming it "yummy, yummy in my tummy."

Broccoli Pierogie Bake
From Cooking Light, as seen on Tales from a Mad Men Kitchen

1 (16-ounce) package frozen potato and onion pierogies (such as Mrs. T's)
Cooking spray
2 broccoli crowns, cut into florets
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
2 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup thinly diagonally sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped seeded plum tomato
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°.

Steam broccoli until tender. Coat an 11 x 7 baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the broccoli and frozen pierogies in the dish.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add cream cheese to pan, and cook for 1 minute or until cream cheese begins to melt, stirring frequently. Gradually add chicken broth to pan, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Pour the cream cheese mixture evenly over pierogies. Top evenly with cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly and thoroughly heated. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with green onions, tomato, and pepper. Put back in the oven and cook for another 10 minutes. Serve.

Note - if you want a saucier dish, double the sauce ingredients (garlic, cream cheese, broth and cheese).

Bacon Pierogie Bake

This was one delicious meal. And easy. You can't beat that.


Bacon Pierogie Bake. As soon as I saw the words "bacon" and pierogies" I knew this would be a winner. Add scallions and fresh chopped tomato and you're just gilding the lily.


I doubled the recipe because I was using homemade pierogies and wanted extra sauce. SP loved the sauce so much he said I should make the dish again but serve the sauce over pasta instead of pierogies.

Bacon Pierogie Bake
Slightly Adapted from Elizabeth's Edible Experience

1 (16-ounce) package frozen potato and onion pierogies (such as Mrs. T's)
Cooking spray
6 center-cut bacon slices, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 ounces cream cheese
1 cup chicken broth
4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup thinly diagonally sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped seeded plum tomato
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°.

Arrange the frozen pierogies in an 11 x 7-inch glass baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cook bacon in a saucepan over medium heat until crisp; remove from pan. Set aside.

Add garlic to drippings in pan, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add cream cheese to pan, and cook for 1 minute or until cream cheese begins to melt, stirring frequently. Gradually add chicken broth to pan, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Pour the cream cheese mixture evenly over pierogies. Top evenly with cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly and thoroughly heated. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with bacon, green onions, tomato, and pepper.

Kielbasa and Pierogies

Another meal with my parents. This time they brought smokey kielbasa and fresh pierogies.


I sliced the huge onion they brought with them and sauted the slices in butter until they were nice and soft before adding the pierogies to heat through. I sliced the kielbasa on an angle and added that in as well to heat through. We ate the meal with mustard and bread (for some reason I didn't take a picture of my plate).

Pierogies and Cheddar Broccoli

It's been awhile since I made pierogies. SP got tired of them after eating them basically once a week for a few months. Then one of his work friends told him she was going to a local place that makes homemade pierogies and offered to pick some up for us to try. She got us two dozen potato and cheddar so I cooked them up with some slow-cooked onions for dinner last Tuesday:


The pierogies were lighter and tasted much fresher then the Mrs. T's variety we're used to eating. I served mine with a little dollop of sour cream, but unlike all the previous times I've made pierogies I decided not to use bacon in an effort to keep this meal somewhat healthy.


I also steamed some broccoli in chicken broth and melted cheddar cheese on top before serving:


It was a delicious meal and even tastier because we hadn't had it in awhile. I think we're spoiled now by the fresh pierogies.

Pork Chops, Pierogies, Zucchini

No, you aren't experiencing deja vu...this is the same meal I made last week. We enjoyed it so much we thought we'd have it again (and use up the very last of the 5-pound bag of pierogies in our freezer.


I made everything exactly the same as last week, only I used boneless pork chops because they were on sale at the wholesale club. I pounded them thin, quick egg wash and then into seasoned bread crumbs mixed with pecorino cheese and then into a non-stick skillet for a shallow fry in some olive oil until they were crispy and golden brown. For the pierogies I boiled them and then added them to the skillet with some slow-cooked onions. I steamed the zucchini with some garlic and then mixed half with pecorino, olive oil, salt and pepper. Yum, yum, yum!

Pork Chops, Pierogies, Zucchini

Last night's dinner was all about using up some of the odds and ends in the freezer. We had two bone-in pork chops and about 1/3 of a bag of frozen pierogies. SP asked if we could have steamed zucchini and it just happened to be on sale at the store.


In an effort to be slightly more healthy, I opted not to make the pierogies with bacon. Instead I thinly sliced two small onions and about 1/3 of a red onion I found in the fridge and slow cooked them in a touch of oil until they were soft. I boiled the pierogies until they floated to the surface and then tossed them with the onions.

We both wanted a thin, breaded pork chop but I didn't want to forgo the bone, which helps keep them moist as they cook. As luck would have it I saw a recipe in a magazine that called for pounding a bone-in chop so I used that method. All you do is make a slit to separate the meat from the bone at both ends and then pound it like you normally would. I coated the chops in egg beaten with a little water and then some Italian seasoned bread crumbs with some grated Pecorino tossed in. The chops were fried in a little olive oil until they were crispy and golden brown. In this photo I've removed the bone from my chop to make it easier to eat.


Steamed zucchini is a new one for me, so I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I cut the zucchini in half and then into large pieces and put them in my steamer basket along with two cloves of crushed garlic. I made sure to keep a close watch since we both like tender-crisp veggies. As soon as they were done I put half the zucchini (my portion) in a bowl along with the garlic, a little olive oil, salt, pepper and a little grated Pecorino and tossed them around. SP opted to have his zucchini plain. I absolutely loved these and wished I'd bought more. I'll definitely make zucchini this way again.

Pierogies

We're feeling the pinch these days so we're trying to use up some of the stuff in our freezer. We bought a huge bag of pierogies awhile back and then kind of went off them. I was going to try finding a new recipe but never got around to it, so I went back to the old standby of crispy bacon and slow-cooked onions:


SP said he was tired of broccoli so since we had a whole bag of frozen corn in the freezer (and corn is one of SP's favorite veggies) I decided to doctor some up using fresh thyme and finely chopped scallions. It actually worked out rather well and was quite a tasty meal.