Pretzel Bites

I am a dedicated reader of Mel's Kitchen Cafe Blog. She posted these this week and I thought it would be something my family would love, but I'm not a huge pretzel fan, so I didn't make them. The next day my sister called to tell me she had made them and they were delicious, so of course I had to try them out.

They. Are. Delicious.

My sister did some with cinnamon and sugar and some as salted, I did them all salted. Next time I will try the cinnamon/sugar. The salted ones though are so nice, they taste just like a soft pretzel from a store. I bought a jar of cheese dip for chips, I think Tostitos brand. Dip the soft warm buttery pretzel in that, oh my gosh. My sister gave me the advice to only use 1 tablespoon of baking soda instead of two, it was perfect with one.

Anyways, enough gushing, here's the recipe. She has a picture collage of step by step instructions if you go to her website.

Chewy Pretzel Bites

*Note: if using active dry yeast, increase the yeast to 1 tablespoon. Proof the yeast in the warm water and sugar (let it bubble and foam – maybe about 5 minutes) before adding it to the flour and salt.

*Makes about 2 dozen pretzel bites

Dough:
2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup (8 ounces) very warm water

Topping:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
Coarse salt (optional)
3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix to just combine. Add the water and mix well, adding more flour, as needed, a bit at a time to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth and quite slack. The goal is to get a really soft dough that isn’t overly sticky. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes or up to 60 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Don’t be afraid of the high heat! This is what will help those pretzels to brown up perfectly and stay soft on the inside. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or lightly greasing them.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into about four strips of equal length. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda in a liquid measuring cup (deep enough to dip the pretzel bites into). Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved. Sometimes I have a hard time getting the baking soda completely dissolved, so I just lightly stir up the mixture right before adding each pretzel.

Cut each strip of dough into about 6-8 pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ inches in width. You don’t have to be completely exact, just eyeball it. Dip each pretzel bite in the baking soda solution (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 7-8 minutes or until they’re golden brown. Bake one sheet at a time – it won’t hurt the other pretzels to chill out for a little longer.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you’ve used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that’s what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave on low heat.

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Wings

1/2 Cup butter

1/2 Cup Louisiana Hot Sauce

2 pkg Dry Italian Dressing

2 TBSP Lemon juice

4 lb bag of chicken wings and thighs

I like my wings to be extra crispy. I just deep fried my wings one time and when I bit into it. It was still raw. It totally grossed me out so I bake my chicken on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees until they are a light brown. Then I deep fry them to get the crispiness. Add the ingredients above in a sauce pan on low heat. Dip chicken in sauce. I usually let it sit in the sauce for about 5 minutes then put them on a plate to eat.

Gyoza aka potstickers

Another Asian dish. I combined this with the meal of Yakisoba last week. Here's how to make it. You can buy these wraps in the produce section right by the yakisoba noodles. Walmart does carry these, FYI.
Here is when you get to smoosh raw meat...a favorite ;)

Then fill the wrappers and fold.

The folding can be a lot of work, this recipe makes 60 gyoza. I don't go through that much work for one meal, so I freeze nearly all of them. My family eats between 8-12 with our meal, therefore I freeze them on a cookie sheet overnight, then the next morning throw them into a freezer bag and pull them out all month long as a light lunch or to add with a meal for dinner.

The finished product:

This is Tia Chapman's recipe from recipe swap. If Dallin makes it he makes his Japanese mission ones, but I like this one because there is no ginger.

One packet of gyoza skins

Mix Well:

1/2 head cabbage finely chopped (use food processer)

1 pound ground pork (you can use whatever meat you like best)

2 bunches green onions

2 shakes salt

10 shakes garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 TBSP soy sauce

Put a spoonful into each skin and fold together.

Heat 2 Tbsp oil in frying pan, brown gyoza on both sides. Add 1/4 cup water and cover. Cook on medium heat about 5 minutes or until insides are completely cooked

Sauce:

1 cup water

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp sugar

Heat in pan to dissolve sugar.

Heidi Cole's Bacon Tomato Tarts

Bacon Tomato Tarts




8 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled

2-3 med. tomatoes diced

1 1/2 cups of grated mozarella cheese

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp garlic salt



12 refrigerator biscuits (2 small 6 pack cans)



Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Flatten out and place a biscuit in the bottom of each muffin slot.

Mix all the rest of the ingredients and spoon on top of the biscuits. Bake according to the biscuit directions.

Easy blender salsa

I got this recipe from my good friend Jamie's recipe blog, Dinner's Ready. I love salsa, but I pretty much hate all jarred salsa that you can buy in the store. Same thing with ranch dressing - the prepared stuff = gross. This recipe is so easy and yummy. I could eat it like soup! Jeremy doesn't think it's hot enough, but it usually turns out plenty hot to my taste, especially if you buy "Hot" Rotel. I don't always use all of the ingredients in this recipe either - just what I have on hand (as long as it's the majority of what's listed). This recipe makes A LOT - I usually have to blend it in two batches. I dont' put all the lime in either, but that's just my preference.

BLENDER SALSA

2 cans stewed tomatoes (not Italian style)

3 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies ("Rotel" brand is the best)

1 cup cilantro, chopped

juice from 2 limes

2 garlic cloves, minced

half a white onion, chopped

1/2 C green onions, sliced

half green bell pepper (can add a red too if you like), chopped

salt and pepper to taste
 
Put all ingredients in blender or food processor and puree.