Pierogie Shells

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In large pot, bring 6 quarts water to a boil. Cook shells, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes; drain well in colander. The shells should just be soft enough to 'flex' them, not cooked tender. Set aside.

Peel and cook potatoes until tender; drain well, return to pan and heat a few minutes to eliminate any excess moisture.

Mash potatoes well; add sour cream, onions, shredded cheese, salt & pepper. Using an electric mixer, blend and mix in the cheese. Let set for about 5-10 minutes so cheese melts into potatoes and stir again to make sure it’s well combined.

In 13” x 9” x 2” pan or baking dish, place the half stick of butter; set pan in oven a few minutes to melt the butter. Remove from oven and set aside.

Fill each shell with potato mixture just even to top. Repeat with all shells and arrange in prepared pan.

Thinly slice the medium onion and separate into rings; just sprinkle them over tops of shells and top with remaining butter pats.

Bake @ 350°F, covered with foil, for about 25 min.; then remove foil and bake 5-10 min longer uncovered.

Serve w/ additional sour cream for topping, if desired. I also sometimes use French Onion Dip in place of sour cream; it gives a little zip to it!

To Freeze: Put slightly cooled shells in zipper-style freezer bags or containers. They will not stick together too much, but you can add a little olive oil (few drops only) to help them stay separated.

Try this cheese blend for an alternative...it's good! DIY Mexican cheese blend

NOTE: I do another version of these shells, filling is sauerkraut, chopped bacon & mushrooms...chop 1/2 lb bacon & cook til crisp; drain & set aside. Clean and chop 6 oz. cremini mushrooms. Drain a small can of kraut, put in nonstick skillet & heat through, adding in bacon & mushrooms. I put a thin layer of the kraut mixture in bottom of casserole, then fill shells with mixture and bake, covered, for about 30 minutes. Pictures are included here...enjoy! It's a really nice change from the ordinary!