Soft Pretzel Bites and Cheese Sauce

I've been having a craving for soft pretzels so I knew I had to make them. Yet another recipe I found on Pinterest. Now I do have to admit, this does take some finesse but it's worth the effort. 

Soft Pretzels

Things you'll need:

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
3 ounces unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil
3 quarts water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
Coarse sea salt

For the cheese sauce:
½ Tablespoon unsalted butter
½ Tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ cup milk
8 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated

For the Pretzels: 

• Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.
• Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined.
• Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. 
• Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.
• Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Bring the water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each. 
• Roll each piece into a long rope measuring 22 inches and shape. 
• Cut the dough into one inch pieces to make the pretzel bites. 
• Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in batches for about 30 seconds. We did about 15 bites at a time. 
• Remove with a large slotted spoon. Place pretzel bites on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure they are not touching. 
• Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. 
• Place into the oven and bake for 13 to 18 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating.

To make the cheese sauce:

• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. 
• Add the flour and cook 1 minute. 
• Whisk in the milk and cook until slightly thickened. 
• Remove from heat and stir in the Cheddar cheese until smooth and all of the cheese is melted. 
• Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

*If you want to make cinnamon and sugar pretzel bites-instead of adding salt, sprinkle the bites with cinnamon and sugar. For the frosting mix-soft cream cheese-about 3 T, powdered sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a little bit of milk. Whisk together. Add more milk if it is too thick, if it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. I don't measure. I just guess until the consistency is right.*

These were so amazing! They were gone in no time at all, and I am told I will have to make these again. Carol also told some of her friends about them who happen to be gluten free. She asked if they could make the recipe with gluten free products and, honestly, I'm not sure if it will make a difference. I don't think it will, but I can't be for sure.

Lighter Chicken Cordon Bleu

Well, it's official; Greg says I have a stuffing problem... But I can't help myself... This sounded too good not to try and Carol agreed! So the girls win, again!

Lighter Chicken Cordon Bleu:

Things you'll need:

6 chicken breasts

1 package of sliced ham or Canadian bacon

1 package of sliced Swiss cheese

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 tsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper

• Preheat the oven to 350
• Start by butterflying the chicken breast
• Poud out slightly to get an even thickness
• On a lightly oiled cookie sheet or rimmed baking sheet place the chicken breasts and put the ham and cheese in the chicken
• Combine the mustard with some olive oil and brush on top of the chicken and season with salt and pepper
• Cover with foil and cook for about 20 minutes
• Mix the bread crumbs with some olive oil
• Once the chicken has cooked remove the foil and drain the juices
• Top chicken with bread crumb mixture and allow to brown under your broiler for about 5 minutes

I was very happy with the way this turned out! It was how I say very "user friendly". We season ours with some tarragon when we initially baked and put the bread crumbs on top of it. Everyone thought it was fantastic. It always makes me happy when I can get them to eat something healthy and they actually enjoy it.

Tortellini Pasta Salad

I love a good pasta salad, but I never thought to use tortellini. I saw this and knew I had to try it. Hell, it's easy AND tasty. I almost feel at home when I have pasta salad.

Tortellini Pasta Salad

Things you'll need:

19 oz. bag cheese filled tortellini

Small Container Grape or Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half

4 oz. can sliced black olives

1/2 large yellow bell pepper, diced

1/3 cup red onion, diced

1 cup Zesty Italian Dressing

3/4 cup grated Parmesan

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced

• Cook cheese tortellini according to package directions.  
• Drain and rinse under cold water.
• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  
• Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours until chilled through.  
• Done!

How easy was that! It was great! No complaints from the family either. I'm sure I'll end up making this again for a pot luck or pool party.

Stuffed Shells

I got inspired to this from a picture I saw on the web and how perfect we made pizza earlier so I have extra to do something with, go me!

Stuffed Shells

Things you'll need:

1 box extra large shells
1 16oz container of ricottta cheese
1 cup of cheese (use an easy melting cheese like Monterrey jack or mozzarella)
1 lb of sausage
1-2 cups chopped raw spinach
a few leaves of fresh basil sliced thinly
salt and pepper

• Heat some water up for the pasta, over a med-high heat with some salt
• Cook the shells for about 6 minutes
• Preheat the oven to 350
• In the meantime cook the sausage and smash it up as small as you can season with salt and pepper
• In a large bowl combine the rest of t he ingredients and add the sausage after it has cooked and cooled
• Now grab a 1 gallon bag and put all of your cheese mixture into it and cut off the corner about a 1/2 in
• To start put some sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13
• And here comes the messy part; hold each shell in your hand and squeeze the cheese mixture into each shell and play Tetris as you place them into your pan
• Top with the rest of the sauce and a layer of cheese
• Cook for 30 - 45 minutes

This is one of my favorite meals so far! It was fantastic and enjoyed by everyone! Greg was extremely helpful in the stuffing process, he got to get messy and I got to stay clean. The sauce I used you can find the recipe for here the difference is that it is chunkier. enjoy!

Stuffed Pork Loin

I will admit this is my first time doing this. So I say try everything once or twice, here is try one. If you are a noob like me here is a link to a helpful video.

Stuffed Pork Loin

Things you'll need:

Pork Loin

Sharp Knife

A lot of spinach

1 - 2 cups cheese (we used Gouda and Monterey jack)

salt and pepper

Fortunate for you this is pretty easy, with only a few instructions.

• Preheat oven to 350
• Start by rolling out your loin like in the video link from earlier
• Next start to cook your spinach
• In the mean time tenderize/pound your loin to get a nice even thickness
• Season the rolled, pounded loin with salt and pepper and what your imagination tells you
• Now layer the cheese and spinach
• Roll that loin
• We skewered our loin simply because we didn't have anything to tie it up with
• Bake for 40 minutes
• Allow to rest before slicing

This could not have been any better. Carol repeatedly said "It's so pretty, I want to eat it now". And I have finally found another way for Greg to eat pork and not hate it, hooray!!!

Sunday Football Dip: Jalepeno Artichoke

I enjoy artichoke spinach dip as much as the next, but when I had it with jalapenos instead of spinach I was in love! Long story short, it was my mom's birthday this weekend and I didn't really have much of a chance to plan for our dip day. The day of my mom's birthday she even asked me what I was planning on making. To which my response was "I don't know". She then resolved my problems by mentioning an artichoke dip and voila!

Jalepeno Artichoke Dip

Things you'll need:

14 oz can artichokes(hearts or quarters, either since you'll need to chop them regardless)
4 oz can diced jalepenos
4 cups of cheese (we used pepper jack and Monterrey jack)
1 cup mayonnaise (NOT miracle whip)
1 cup sour cream
paprika and parmesean cheese for garnish

• Preheat oven to 350
• Mix all of the ingredients together except the garnish
• Put into a 9 x 9
• Top with paprika and parmesean
• Bake for 30 minutes

You may also eat this cold if you so choose, it is delicious both ways. One of my favorites so far!

Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread

Fall is here, fall is here, fall is here!!! Can you tell I'm a little excited?! This is my favorite time of the year. The weather gets cooler, the leaves start to change color, the holidays are coming and pumpkin everything! Here is the start of my pumpkin recipes.

Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread:

Things you'll need:

For the Bread:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

For the Glaze:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

For the Bread:

• In a saucepan over medium-high heat, brown 2 tablespoons of butter, letting it bubble up and turn a golden brown but being careful not to allow it burn (turn black). 
• Once browned, remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the milk, return to stove and heat through.
• Pour the milk and butter into the bowl of standing mixer (fitted with a dough hook) and allow to cool so it is no longer hot but also not cool (about 100-110 degrees F). 
• Once it has reached a warm but not hot temperature add the yeast and 1/4 cup of sugar and allow to proof (this can take up to 8 minutes, the top will look foamy and the liquid cloudy). 
• Next add the the pumpkin, salt, and 1 cup of flour. 
• Stir until combined then add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time and knead for 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and just slightly sticky. If the dough is too moist, add extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Move dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel. Allow to rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.
• While dough is rising, brown another 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix well. 
• Make sure sugar evenly absorbs the butter. Set aside. 
• Next, grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan and set aside.
• When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and flip out onto a clean floured surface and knead with hands for 1-2 minutes.
•  Roll dough into a 20×12 inch rectangle.
•  Evenly sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar mixture and press into dough with palms of the hand.
• Cut the rectangle into 6 strips.
•  Lay strips on top of each other and cut each strip into 6 even squares (cut in half then each half into thirds). Stack strips vertically into the loaf pan. 
• Cover the pan with a clean towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes.
• In the meantime preheat an oven to 350 degrees. 
• After rising in the pan bake for 30-40 minutes (mine took 37 exactly) or until top is a very deep golden brown.

For the Glaze:
To prepare the glaze, heat the butter, milk, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to boil then immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rum and powdered sugar.

This was phenomenal! It lasted only about an hour in the kitchen, and the plate was nearly licked clean. It was requested immediately for the next night. I used fresh pumpkin but you could use canned instead.