And Just Like That, It's Time for the Halloween Week Menu

Is it just me or does time seem to pass so quickly anymore?  It feels like it was only yesterday that I was lounging around in the pool and now I'm getting ready for the Holidays!!!  

Oktoberfest Casserole #SundayFundayBloggers

Potatoes, Bratwurst, Cheese, Sauerkraut, Beer and Pretzels combined to create a casserole fulfilling your Oktoberfest craving in one dish.

The Sunday Funday Bloggers are celebrating Oktoberfest this week........

Oktoberfest Breakfast Casserole #SundayFunday

This scrumptious Kielbasa and Pretzel casserole makes a perfect breakfast before a busy day and is hearty enough for  Brinner after a busy day.

The Sunday Funday Bloggers are celebrating Oktoberfest this week........

Bierocks: Celebrating Oktoberfest with #FoodieExtravaganza

This month the bloggers over at Foodie Extravaganza are celebrating Oktoberfest.  This party is being hosted by Sue of Palatable Pastime who invited us saying:

"September is the month for the Munich Oktoberfest. Let's celebrate by sharing our favorite Biergarten and German Cuisine inspired recipes!"

Foodie Extravaganza is a fun group that gets together each month to celebrate Food Holidays. Sometimes they are popular holidays like Oktoberfest or Thanksgiving or popular foods like chocolate in February or cookies in December.  However,  sometimes they are very obscure holidays, like World Gin Day.  Yep, I made a cocktail but not the kind you are thinking of.......stop on by and see my Shrimp Martini.

Back to this month's theme.  I love German foods and wasn't sure what  I was going to share having already posted Wiener Schnitzel, Sweet and Sour Cabbage , Fondue, Lebkuchen, Bratwurst Salad, to name a few.

Then I remembered my friend Paula, of Smidgens, Snippets & Bits, often had Bierocks on her Weekly Menu.  When I asked her about them she sent me a link to this recipe from Allrecipes.com.  I had never heard of these meat and cabbage stuffed rolls from Germany but I must be the only one because the website was full of recipes.  I read them all, and noted that they are similar to dumplings or hand pies.  They remind me a bit of Pasties that we enjoy here in Michigan.

They can be as easy or as difficult to make as you want.  You will need bread dough for making the rolls.  You can use my recipe for dinner rolls and use on half, freezing the other half for next time, use your own favorite recipe or buy some frozen bread or dinner roll dough at your local grocers.

Mix together some burger, onion and cabbage.  Season with salt and pepper and let it cook, stirring occasionally for a half an hour or so.  Then set it aside and let it cool while your dough makes it's first rise.

Punch down the dough and divide it into 20 pieces.  I made a full recipe of the filling but only took out 8 frozen dinner rolls to use in this recipe.  I will be making another recipe with the remaining filling and sharing it with you at a later time.  

Roll out each piece and place 2 Tablespoons of the cooled filling into the center of each.  Gather the corners together and seal the edges.

Place seam side down onto a baking sheet that has been treated with cooking spray.  Cover and let rise for another hour. 

Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and brush immediately with melted butter.

Bierocks

Freshly made bread dough or frozen dough, thawed

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1/2 med. cabbage, cored and shredded

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 stick butter, melted

Bring the dough through a first rise.  While the dough is rising, cook the ground beef in a large skillet with the onions and cabbage,stirring occasionally, until the beef is browned and the veggies are tender.  Set aside and let cool until dough is ready.

Divide the dough into 20 equal pieces.  Roll each piece out and place 2 Tablespoons of the meat/veggie filling onto the center.  Gather the corners together and seal the edges.  Place, seam side down, onto a baking sheet that has been treated with cooking spray.

Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove from oven and immediately brush with melted butter. Print Recipe

More Oktoberfest Fun Foods

• Autumn Crockpot Apple Sauerkraut by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Bierocks by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Braised Red Cabbage with Apples by Caroline’s Cooking
• Brombeere-Butterkuchen – Blackberry German Butter Cake by Food Lust People Love
• Chicken Schnitzel with Dunkelweizen Sauce by Palatable Pastime
• Chicken Schnitzel With Garlic Mayo by Sneha’s Recipe
• German meatballs with spaetzle by Cookaholic Wife
• Nusskämme (German Hazelnut Combs) by Tara’s Multicultural Table

Celebrating OktoberFest with #SundaySupper

Cricket, of Cricket's Confections is hosting this month's Sunday Supper with the theme of Oktoberfest.  According to the invitation, Oktoberfest is the longest running festival in held each year in Bavaria, Germany.  It runs from mid September through the first weekend in October so we made it just in time.

When I signed up to join in the fun and add a recipe I wrote that I would be making a Warsteiner Fondue.  I wrote that because Warsteiner is my favorite beer and, as the name shows, is brewed in Germany.  Then I went into the refrigerator to pull out a Warsteiner.  I found Corona, Bud, Bud Light, Summer Shandy....even a Red Stripe, but alas, no Warsteiner.

So I ran up to the nearest grocery store which is still 20 minutes away and, of course, they didn't have any Warsteiner.  What they did have was a Samuel Adams Octoberfest beer. This beer is described as hearty and smooth with a deep flavor and complexity.  I bought that since, if not brewed in Germany, was at least brewed in the Bavarian style.  All this to say that my recipe name is now changed to Octoberfest Fondue.

I love serving fondues and normally place them in my miniature crockpot....but of course it is packed away, along with my fondue pot and my individual crocks that I use for soup and was my next choice.  I cannot wait to get this move over and have all my "stuff" available again.

I just placed it in a regular bowl and served it up with a side of  Chicken Sausage, Sweet Peppers, HoneyCrisp Apples and Soft Pretzels. This was a prelude to a light dinner of Chicken Noodle Soup. We enjoyed it with a stein of Octoberfest beer and toasted our German son, Max, who had given us these gorgeous steins when he lived here as an exchange student.

Octoberfest Fondue

1 c. Belgian Style Beer
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
4 oz. gruyere cheese, shredded
4 oz. gouda cheese. shreddded
juice from 1/4 lemon
2 t. honey dijon mustard
2 cooked chicken sausages, cut into bite sized rounds
1 apple, sliced and tossed in apple cider
2 large soft pretzels, cut into bite size pieces
3 miniature sweet peppers, cut into quarters

Place beer and garlic into a small saucepan over med heat.  Bring to a gentle boil.  Remove garlic clove and reduce heat to simmer.  Stir in the cheese, a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until cheese is completely melted.  Stir in the lemon juice and honey dijon mustard.  Pour into a fondue pot and serve with sausages, apple, pretzels, sweet peppers and/or your favorite dippers. Print Recipe

Let's look at what the others brought to our Oktoberfest!

Appetizers (Vorspeisen)

• German Pancake Soup (Flädlesuppe) by Caroline’s Cooking
• German Potato Pancakes by The Crumby Cupcake
• Homemade Pretzels with Kids by Hardly A Goddess
• Kräuterbutter (German Herb Butter) by Tara’s Multicultural Table
• Latke and Sauerbraten Poutine by Monica’s Table
• Obatzda – Bavarian Cheese Spread by Sunday Supper Movement
• Warsteiner Fondue by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Breakfast (Frühstück)

• German Apple Pancake by The Chef Next Door
• Peach Fritters by Pies and Plots

Condiments (Würze)

• Pickled Red Onions by What Smells So Good?
• Spicy Beer Mustard by Food Lust People Love

Dessert (Nachtisch)

• Apple Tart by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Kaiserschmarrn Recipe by Plated Cravings
• Nana’s Gluten Free German Chocolate Cake by Gluten Free Crumbley
• Rote Grütze (Fruit Pudding) by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

Main Dish (Hauptgericht)

• Bavarian Sausage & Cabbage Soup by Food Done Light
• Beef Goulash Recipe by Positively Stacey
• Beer Mac and Cheese by Moore or Less Cooking
• Berlin Potato Soup by My Imperfect Kitchen
• Bierocks by Mindy’s Cooking Obsession
• Bratwurst Sheet Pan Dinner by A Mind Full Mom
• Burgers with Bacon-Sauerkraut Jam by Palatable Pastime
• How to Make Traditional German Sauerbraten by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Oktoberfest Beer Brats by Wholistic Woman
• Oktoberfest Chicken Chili by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
• Oktoberfest Fondue 3 Ways by Momma’s Meals
• Pork chops with Sauerkraut and Apples by Brunch-n-Bites
• Roasted Apple & Beer Chili For Oktoberfest by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Sausage, Pepper, and Onion Kebobs w/ a Boiled Cider Drizzle by The Freshman Cook
• Schwenkbraten (Grilled German Pork Chops) by Curious Cuisiniere

Side Dish (Beigabe)

• Fried Potatoes German Style by My Life as a Cookbook
• German Potato Salad by Tramplingrose
• Ginger Beer Sauerkraut by Cricket's Confections
• Herbed Spaetzle by The Hungry Goddess
• Krautsalat (German Coleslaw) by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Oktoberfest Potatoes by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.