Grilled Teriyaki Chicken & Lazy Man's Pierogies

We're feeling Steelers Fever around here! To bring part of Pittsburgh to our dinner table, I created a shortcut to the beloved pierogi - a lazy man's pierogie casserole. It contains all of the ingredients that potato and cheese pierogies hold--potatoes, dumplings (lasagna noodles), cheddar cheese, fried onions in butter. YUM!

I have to warn you, though....if you are on a diet, I cannot be held responsible if you fall off the wagon after seeing these pictures and reading the recipe!

I also tried a new recipe for teriyaki chicken. The teriyaki marinade and dipping sauce are a nice combo of sweet and spicy. I found the recipe in an old recipe book called "Woman's Circle Treasured Recipes". This one is definitely a keeper.

Lazy Man's Pierogie Casserole

What you need: 

1 box of lasagna noodles - cooked al dente, and cooled
7 medium to large Idaho potatoes - peeled and diced small
1/2 - 1 C. warm milk
1/4 C. sour cream
1 1/2 C. grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 tsp garlic powder
salt - to taste
black pepper - to taste
1 stick of butter
2 medium onions - peeled, sliced thin
1 C. grated sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions: 

Preheat over to 350*

Cook lasagna noodles, rinse well and set aside to cool.

Peel potatoes. Dice into small pieces. Add potatoes to a pot and cover with cold water. Cover pot with a lid and place on stove to cook over medium-high heat. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, melt the stick of butter in a frying pan. Separate onion rings and add to pan. Cook onions until they are soft and start browning. Remove from heat and set aside.



Drain potatoes, add to a large mixing bowl. Add in sour cream and 1/2 C. warm milk. Use a hand mixer to beat everything together. Add the remaining 1/2 C. of warm milk as needed to cream potatoes.

Stir in 1 1/2 C. cheddar cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

To Assemble:

Spoon some of the melted butter from the onions into the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Spread the butter around to cover the bottom of the pan.

Use 4 lasagna noodles to cover the bottom of the pan.

Cover the noodles with mashed potatoes, using half of the potatoes.

Spread 1/3 of the onions and butter on top of the mashed potatoes.



Continue with another layer of noodles, potatoes and onions.

Top the casserole with a final layer of noodles. Spread the remaining 1/3 onions over top.

Sprinkle 1 C. cheddar cheese over the top.

Cover the dish with foil. Bake for 30 minutes covered. Remove foil and continue to bake for another 15 - 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes for easier cutting.

**Optional**  Serve with gravy or sour cream if desired.

**Extra**  You can easily add a layer of well-drained canned sauerkraut to the middle of the casserole if you like the potato/sauerkraut pierogies.




Grilled Boneless Teriyaki Chicken Breasts

2 1/2 lb boneless chicken breasts, thawed if frozen

For marinade:
1/2 C. lemon juice
1/3 C. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/3 C. soy sauce
1/4 C. chili sauce - I used Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients, including chicken. Refrigerate from 4 hours to overnight. I recommend marinating it overnight for a stronger flavor.

Remove chicken from marinade and grill as usual. Discard any leftover marinade.

For dipping sauce:
1/3 C. Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce
1/4 C. Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
1 -2 TBSP soy sauce

Instructions:

Stir everything together. Microwave to warm up. Adjust ingredients to taste - I would rate this sauce as medium hot. Add more bbq sauce for less heat--more chili sauce for more heat.



Enjoy!