pretzel memories

I did something last week that I've been wanting to do for a long time...
I made soft pretzels with the kids...

Yep...I'm Martha...
totally 100% Martha...
...
only that's a lie...
I'm not...
...we just have to remember the cake pop incident of '12 to know I'm not Martha!

the reason I have never made them before is because I was scared...
it's bread...which equals yeast...and that's always a little iffy...
it's rolling and shaping of the dough...with children involved...
you have to boil them in a brine...
yes...a brine...
....that's freaky!
and then the egg wash
and all with kids...

yep...no, thanks I'll pass...

but I really wanted to...

I kept pinning soft pretzel recipes...
I would read them and re-read them...
even though they look scary with the whole brine thingy...
they also looked very easy....
but then I would remember the cake pop incident of '12 and then remind myself that just because the other bloggers think it's easy doesn't mean it is easy!

Well I did it...
I took the leap and made pretzels with the kids...
I followed this recipe from Alton Brown/Food Network
(my slightly altered recipe posted below)
it was great...
the dough...super simple...

the creating pretzel shapes with the kids...fun..not super easy...but fun
AND the dough is very forgiving, and even though the boy child played created with his dough for a LONG time it wasn't any worse for the wear, I couldn't even tell which 2 were his over-loved creations when they came out of the oven.

the scary brine...easy peasy!

egg wash...no biggie...just a small simple step
and the kids...
they LOVED it...loved it so much we did it three days in a row!

yes...THREE days in a row...
day one...loved them but only had table salt and that was too much salt..
day 2...I got the right salt...but Beau made the dough and I didn't tell him the right amount of butter (Alton's recipes is in oz not tablespoons)...so it was a bit too rubbery of dough for the knots so we opted for bites instead-AMAZING...
day 3...cinnamon pretzels for breakfast-yes please!

Homemade Soft Pretzels
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 1/4 teaspoon yeast (1 package active dry yeast)
4 1/2 cups flour
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Pam (the baking spray...not the lady) for spraying
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons melted butter
Pretzel salt or Cinnamon & Sugar

Directions
Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam.
Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined.
side note...I was summoned to the back yard at this point to see the snake that the boy child had found...and I left the mixer going...I have no idea how long I was gone... I came back and the dough was smooth and pulling away from the side of the bowl...so I never upped it to medium speed...
Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.
Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then spray with Pam (the spray...not the lady). Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and spray with Pam...the spray not the lady!

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface (I just sprayed the counter and let the kids go to town) and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel...or skip the knot and make pretzel bites by cutting them into 1-2 inch squares (we did bites the 2nd time we made these...just as yummy!).  Place onto the parchment-lined pan...(or spray the bee-jeezus out of the pan...DO NOT opt for wax paper...just sayin')

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 or 2 at a time (for bites I would say between 10-15), for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to cookie sheet, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture, if topping with Pretzel Salt (Course Sea Salt...not table salt, if you don't have pretzel salt skip the salt...and take my word for it that table salt was TOO much!) sprinkle it now. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at about 5 minutes.

For Cinnamon & Sugar Pretzels:  Wait 2-5 minutes for pretzels to not be too hot, brush the tops of warm pretzels with melted butter and turn upside down/butter side down into a bowl with bowls with cinnamon & sugar

Devour Eat pretzels while still warm...and enjoy with the family!

this is the pictures you get when you ask your husband nicely
 to snap a picture of the kids enjoying their pretzels!

Sorry for the lack of pictures of all the steps...I was enjoying the pretzel moment with my kids and didn't stop and take pictures along the way!

Have you ever made homemade soft pretzels?
How about bagels...I think bagels are next on my list!...

buttermilk pie

...if you're from the south I'm sure you've heard of a Buttermilk Pie...
or at least all my internet investigation of buttermilk pie has led me to believe that it's a staple dessert for all holidays in the south...but if you're like me...
west coast girl all the way
I've never lived more than 100 miles from the Pacific Ocean...
... (I just googled that...I looked up all 3 cites...yes a whoppin' 3 cities and measured how far they were from the Pacific...as a crow flies...& it's probably more like 90 miles, but it didn't sound as good)...
...than you may have never heard about this thing called the Buttermilk Pie...


I just discovered it last week...
while I was standing in the checkout at Wal-Mart...
...at the first of the month (stupid me)
so I picked up some recipe magazine to help wait out the next 45 minutes of my life...
and I stumbled upon an article about traditional Easter menu's
(I have NO idea what magazine I was flipping through)
and there is was this beautifully simple pie...
just looking right at me...
it had this beautiful golden crust with this golden filling
...not 100% a custard filling
...not 100% a cream filling
just a pretty golden filling...

source Aunts Ruthie's SugarPie Farmhouse

source Food Network

note...these are NOT my pie...I failed and took ZERO pictures of anything on Easter Sunday!

anyways...

easiest.main dish.EVER!

our normal Easter dinner main dish is Ham...
I love ham...
it's my favorite pig product...
my brother-in-law coined our new favorite term for ham
...dinner bacon....

so anyways...
I make ham about once a year...
which is weird because I do love it so...

anyways...
I pinned a Pomegranate Glaze Ham...
looked good and easy...
but I changed it up a bit and added pineapple....

ready for the easiest recipe ever...

this is NOT my ham
I borrowed the image from google
because I failed to take any pictures on Easter!

cake pop

my version...
making a popsicle flavor cake...

Creamsicle Cake

okay...confession...

the 'bread'

you either love it or you hate it...
not the bread itself, no one could actually hate this bread...
but the tradition of the bread is what you love or lothe...
or like me, I love the bread enough to tolerate the origins of it.
it's called Amish Friendship Bread
but I've had friends call it the 'Friend Hater Bread'

you know the stuff...
a friend gives you a weird
gooey,
goopy,
lumpy looking bag of 'starter'
along with a crinkled xeroxed paper
with directions like

surviving

here are some tips I  have for
...surviving the Horrible Nasty....

and by Horrible Nasty I mean the plague that my family had this week...

I remember a veteran mom at MOPS passing on some sick tips when the girl child was about a year old.
I had no idea how helpful one of those tips would be...
I'm sure I gleaned more than one piece of wisdom from her,
but there is one thing that I always hear in my head when the girl child gets sick
*Ponytail!
yep, that's been huge, if you  have a girl with hair that might fall in her face when she's throwing up, put her hair in a ponytail!

and now here are some tips that I have picked up over the years in the trenches!
      really, my kids are vomiters 
     (not a word, but I'm thinking it should be!), 
     I've served a few tours in the nasty trenches of bile 
     (yep, I just said that!)


1.  Ponytail or bobby-pins (I've used the bobby-pins for the boy child and his thick locks);  really one of the worst things is getting vomit in your hair.

sleepy

Yesterday I dragged myself thru the day...
I was so sleepy...
I couldn't keep my eyes open, yawning all day long...
I had had not 1
not 2
but 3 cups of coffee...

   

almost had cup number 4 but it was 3 pm and decided that wasn't a good idea...
ended up going to bed at 8:30...
yes, the kids are gone for the week and mom's in bed at 8:30...that's how we party!
since I went to bed at 8:30, I was wide awake at 5:30 this morning,
I stroll out to the kitchen to make the coffee...
and grabbed the coffee out of the freezer...
and just before I pour the beans into the grinder I realize that I had just grabbed the decaf...
the same coffee that I had used yesterday...
....decaf....
today will be better...
I will have regular coffee today and hope that this mom can make it past 8:30!!!

it's always fun to try something new

I like to try new recipes, and my family is use to tasting new recipes...only normally those new recipes happen to be in the form of a dessert...so when I put a new dinner recipe on the table I always get interrogated by the girl child...
'what's in this'
'why did you decided to make this'
'will I like this'
'why did you have to put tomatoes in it'
'where were you the night of March 10th'


anyways, I saw this recipe a few weeks ago when I was looking around blog land...can't remember even where I saw it...sorry for not being able to give credit to whoever posted it..it might have been Kelsey over @ We Weren't Crazy....but I'm not sure...

anyways, this is one of those recipes that I like because it's pretty flexible with whatever you have around...
use whatever pasta you have (the original recipe called for rigatoni, didn't have that on hand so I used shells, that's all I had)...

you can use frozen or fresh spinach (again the original recipe called for frozen but I bought a bag of fresh spinach the size of Rhode Island last time I was shopping so I decided to use fresh!)...

you can cooked chicken breast to make this recipe or use leftover chicken from something you had earlier in the week, or use a roisterer chicken from a deli, or use sausage instead of chicken...I was thinking a turkey/chicken kielbasa would be really good with this....

as for the chive and onion cream cheese (the only thing that I had to buy to make this recipe, everything else I had)...I'm sure you could substitute it with a block of regular cream cheese and 
just add some dried onion and chopped up chives to the recipe...

Creamy Chicken Spinach and Pasta Bake
8 ounces uncooked pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)

2 grated cloves garlic
2-3 cup chopped fresh spinach, or 1 10 oz frozen package
3 cups cubed cooked chicken breast-

     I used the leftover from this 'roasted' chicken recipe
1 14.5-ounce can Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 8-ounce container chive and onion cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese

Preheat oven to 375*

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, spread oil on bottom of an 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Add onions, garlic and fresh spinach (don't add spinach if using frozen) in a single layer. Bake at 375* for 15 minutes or just until tender. Transfer onion to a large bowl and set aside.

(if using frozen spinach...drain chopped spinach well, pressing between paper towels, toss with onions.)

Stir pasta, chicken, diced tomatoes, cream cheese, salt and pepper into spinach/onion mixture. Spoon mixture into baking dish and sprinkle evenly with shredded cheese.

Bake, covered, at 375* for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more or until bubbly.

Serves 4 to 6. Serve with tossed green salad and garlic bread.

Substition: for Sausage 'n' Spinach Pasta Bake, substitute 3 cups cooked, crumbled hot Italian sausage for the 3 cups cubed chicken.

Tips:
1 1/2 lb. uncooked chicken breasts equals about 3 cups cubed and cooked.
1 1/4 uncooked sausage equals about 3 cups cooked and crumbled.



verdict....
Beau and I loved this recipe and I'm looking forward to leftover buffet night when I get to eat this again!
the kids...not their favorite, but I'm thinking if I just cut the large tomatoes into really small pieces they'll do better with the whole thing..


I think I'd also almost double the fresh spinach, it always looks like so much before it bakes down, it filled the casserole dish that I was baking it in when I put it in the oven with the onions and then when it was all said and done it looked like I had barely put any spinach into the dish!

How Do I Love Thee....

Let me count the ways....

your Buttery...Flaky...melt-in-my-mouth-crust
your chunky...fresh...creamy...filling
Oh, Chicken Pot Pie you are my one true comfort food!

I was scared of you for so many years...thinking that your perfection would be impossible to re-create...

but there was no need to fear you my belove-ed....
not only are you oh so delicious, but you are oh so easy to make...

just remember the one thing that makes this dish 'hard' is the prep...there is chopping and dicing and measuring....
but if you have everything prepped ahead and in bowls it goes fast and smooth...
and then you can have the bonus of feeling like a food network star as you make dinner....

this is also a wonderful dish to double and either freeze the 2nd one for later, or take to a family in need (new baby, surgery, sickness, moving, etc...I recently took to a friend whose family was quarantined with the POX...Chicken Pox...and we coined the name...Chicken Pox Pie....)

Chicken Pot {Pox} Pie
1 cup frozen peas (optional...I don't like peas...only veggie I can't stand!)
1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup onion-chopped

2-3 stalks celery chopped

1/3 cup flour

½ tea salt

½ tea pepper

2-3 carrots peeled and chopped

1 potato, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes (don't make them too big!)

1 ¾ cup chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

1-3 chicken breast, cooked and cubed up

Pastry for 9-inch Two-Crust Pie (recipe follows)...or you could go for the store bought kind....

1. Rinse peas in cold water, drain, and set aside.
2. Melt butter in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat.  Add onions and celery to butter and sauté until tender.  Stir in flour, salt, & pepper.  Cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly; remove from heat.  Stir in broth, milk, and carrots.  Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.  Boil and stir 1 minute.  Stir in chicken and peas; remove from heat, and set aside.
3. Heat oven to 425.
4. Prepare pastry (recipe follows).  Roll two-thirds of the pastry to fit a 9-inch pie plate & gently place into pan.  Pour chicken mixture into pastry lined pan.
5. Roll remaining pastry into 11-inch circle.  Cut out designs with 1-inch cookie cutter.  Place circle over chicken mixture.  Arrange cutouts on pastry.  Turn edges of pastry under and flute.
6. Bake about 35 minutes or until golden brown; you may need to protect edges of pastry crust with foil.

Perfect Pie Pastry

¾ cup butter flavored Crisco

2 cups flour

1 tea salt

5 Tbl cold water

1. Mix together flour and salt.  Cut Crisco into flour using a pastry blender or two knives, until mixture is the size of coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle with 5 Tbl water, and mix using fork until flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans the side of bowl.
2. Gather pastry into a ball.  Cut dough in 1/2 shape into 2 flattened round balls...
3. Roll out to the size needed and place in bottom of pie pan...and roll out second ball for the top of pie.

serve up warm...and also wonderful as a leftover....