Perogies are one of my favorite foods but making them the old-fashioned way takes too much time. Time we could be spending playing video games, that is. Frozen perogies are a good alternative because they’re already put together for you and all you’ve got to do is cook them. But there’s a problem with that. Most packs of frozen perogies give directions on how to boil (gross) or fry them (too greasy, in some cases).

Admittedly, they’re not the healthiest kind of food. But with the right preparation we can do our best to minimize the greasiness and maximize the flavor. Here’s a quick little recipe I’ve been using for frozen perogies that has received quite a few compliments.

Spiced-up frozen perogies
Ingredients:
Frozen perogies
Canned cooking oil spray
Garlic salt & ground cayenne pepper

In addition to the perogies, today I’ll be having a simple salad of sliced cucumbers, chopped up green peppers (seeds removed), and tomatoes. Because this salad was prepared earlier in the week, I won’t be covering the prep work for it.

To start, pre-heat your oven to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. My oven gets a little hotter than what it’s set for (it’s old) so I’ve set mine to 375 instead. While the oven’s warming up, set your stove burner on medium and get some water boiling in a medium-sized pot.

Once the water comes to a boil, drop in your frozen perogies. Today I’m making 11 because my wife and I will be eating 10 between the two of us. You’ll see why I’m making one more soon.

You’ll need to boil these perogies for ten minutes. So set the timer and then see how many games of Planet Puzzle League you can get in before time runs out. I didn’t do that this time because I was busy taking photos.

When the timer goes off, drain the perogies into a colander. Now, add half a teaspoon of garlic salt and half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. With the perogies still in the colander, flip them up and around to get the spices distributed somewhat evenly. If you’re anything like me, one perogy will have jumped out of the colander, meeting its demise on the floor or in the sink. This is why I always start with one more perogy than I’ll be needing.

And here’s the sad, fallen perogy:

Now, get out a glass baking pan and spray an even, thin coat of cooking oil into it. Don’t go crazy here. We just want to make it so that the perogies don’t stick to the bottom. Try to use a smaller pan, but not one so small that the perogies touch each other. Transfer the perogies into the pan and place the pan in the oven for a little over 15 minutes. At this point, you may want to get back to your game or you may want to start getting the rest of the meal ready.

After 15 minutes, remove the perogies. They should look something like this:

Note how some of the spices have been baked into them. They’re now ready to be eaten! I like eating my perogies with ketchup but these ones are also good with sour cream or even on their own. They also go well with Planet Puzzle League.