Kluski (Polish Dumplings)

Due to the Spring identity crisis here in Minnesota (and the 8 inches of snow dumped on us this past Sunday) I'm back to making comfort food.  But honestly, these delicious little dumplings are so satisfying, whether it's cold or warm outside!
Prior to meeting my husband, I had never tried, let alone even heard of kluski.  I remember the first time I tried them was at a big get-together in the coffee shop up North at the family cabin. My first thought was, "YUM!" and the second was, "Where have these things been all my life?"  After many years of observing, taste-testing and grilling Auntie DiAnn for a specific recipe (a recipe she never follows) she was able to give me enough guidance where I could go home, come up with and write down an actual recipe.

I won't lie, eating kluski makes me a bit nostalgic and I often think of wonderful times with my husband's incredible family.  I think of all the fun parties up North and how everyone looks for any excuse to get the whole family together and have a good time. I think of Aunty DiAnn's warm smile and beautiful Christmas tree while we all are made to feel so welcome in her home on Christmas Day.  I think of our cousin Jared walking through the back door with his snowmobile gear on and a huge smile on his face, and of my little girls and their adorable cousins running around the house, making memories to last a lifetime.
Make kluski and bring it to your family gatherings, or just to have as a side dish at your table... you won't be disappointed!

Kluski (Polish Dumplings)

*3 cups of flour

*3 large eggs

*1 1/4 cup of milk

*1 teas Lawry's season salt

*1/2 teas salt

*1 teas pepper

Grab a big pot, fill it with water and set on the stove at high heat.  Whisk eggs in a small bowl and add to flour in a medium size bowl.  Then add one cup of milk.  You want the dough to be a bit sticky.  If it feels to dry, add 1/4 cup more of milk and mix well.  After your water is at a boil, drop dough into the boiling water in small chunks.  I don't take the time to round them out, mostly because the dough is too sticky for that.  Plus I like the various shapes and sizes.  I just take a small spoon and push the dough off of it into the boiling water.  You won't be able to do all the dough in one batch, so I just drop dumplings until my pot looks to be getting full.  You want to give them plenty of room so they don't stick together and they can float to the top.  After you drop in the dough, give it about 2 minutes and stir the pot.  Sometimes they'll want to stick to the bottom.  After the dumplings float to the top, give them another few minutes to cook.  I usually keep them in there for about 10 minutes, tops.  Remove them with a slotted spoon and move on to the next batch.  Once they're all out, you can decide how you want to prepare them.

My favorite way to prepare kluski is to melt a stick of butter (yes, a whole stick) in a large pan, grab a head of cabbage and one onion and chop.  Sauté the cabbage and onion in the butter over medium heat until it's wilted down.  Add a bit of salt and pepper, and then dump that into a crockpot, add the kluski and set to low for a few hours until ready to serve.  Some people add bacon to theirs, but in my opinion it tends to overpower everything else. You can make this as a side to pretty much anything, but my favs are a roasted chicken or pork tenderloin.  OR you can just grab a big ol' plate and skip the meat all together.

I really hope that you give this recipe a try, and then let me know what you think!

*you can follow me on IG or Pinterest @sarawuchko, and soon on FB at Haute Dish Housewife for more recipe ideas, crafts/DIY, my style and giveaways.