Growing up, I ate pierogi (also known as vareniki) about once a week. My Mom would spend so much time making them from scratch and they were delicious. Although she tried to teach me the “ins and outs” of pierogi, I wasn’t a cooperative student. As a cooking teen, I cheated and would buy boxed Mrs. T’s pierogies, but they could never compare to my Mammas homemade ones! Well, I might have just come across a recipe that embodies the flavors of my Mom’s pierogies but without the hard labor of making the dough and pinching it into place. Not only did this smell so so good while in the oven, but it was delicious!

So how did this all come together? Well, follow the recipe and instructions below and you’ll be happy you did!

Ingridients:

• 5 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 pound bacon, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

*This will make about eight servings. I cut the recipe in half, since there are only two mouths in my home 🙂

Step 1: Get the potatoes cooking-just like you would for mashed potatoes.

Step 2: While potatoes are cooking, prep the milk, butter, bacon, onion, garlic.

Step 3: Cook lasagna noodles according to instructions on the box. Once cooked, rinse with cold water.

Step 4: Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a skillet, melt the remaining butter and saute the bacon, onions and garlic for about 5 minutes.

Step 5: Once potatoes are cooked, mash with the milk and 3/4ths of the butter. I also added some salt+pepper to taste.

Step 6: Assemble in a 9×13 inch baking pan (since I cut the recipe in half when I made this, I used a 9×9 inch pan):

*Spread half of the mashed potatoes on the bottom

*Sprinkle 1/3rd of the cheese on potatoes

*Cover with one layer of lasagna noodles

*Repeat with the rest of the potatoes, another 1/3rd of cheese and          lasagna noodles.

*Spread out the sautéed bacon mixture. Top with any remaining                       lasagna noodles. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

Place in over for 30-40 minutes, or until the cheese is all melted and bubbles. Serve with sour cream and chives (I substituted the sour cream with creme fraiche because my sour cream went..well, sour.

Enjoy! This is a great comfort food!