Pretzel Bites

Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend, and while I am not a huge football fan, I can appreciate the commercials and food that come with watching the game! I absolutely love sports bar food! Wings, nachos, potato skins...anything bite size, I'll order it! So, this year, I decided to make some yummy bite-size pretzels for our celebration. I have been in love with pretzel bread recently. One of my New Year's Resolutions for this year is to make more bread. I know this seems contrary to what most resolutions consist of (i.e. dieting) but I love bread and if I can make it with less salt, additives, and healthy flour options, then I have no problem keeping it in my diet. Making pretzel bread was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be! One loaf of dough yields dozens of these bites, so don't worry - this recipe makes plenty of bites for your friends. In fact, I had so much leftover dough, I made pretzel buns with them for burgers. They didn't turn out as photogenic as the bites, but nonetheless, they were tasty! Below you can follow my steps on how to make your own pretzel bites. This recipe makes about 6 dozen bites.

Once your dough is ready to go, pinch a ball and roll it into a rope.

Cut the dough into one inch pieces.

Add baking soda to a large stockpot, and bring it to a boil.

Drop your bites into the water. I boiled about 15 at a time.

Boil for about 30 seconds, then using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a cookie sheet and preheat the oven to 425F. Brush the bites with egg wash, top with sea salt, and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Pretzel Bites

Preparation:  1.5 hr Cook Time: 18 min Total Time: A little less than 2 hours

Ingredients

        

          1  1/2 cups warm water

          1 package active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)

          6 tbsp butter, melted

          2 tbsp light brown sugar

          4  1/2 cups flour
          2  1/2 tsp salt
          1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp cold water
          1/2 cup baking soda
          Vegetable oil
          Coarse sea salt

Instructions

          1) In the bowl of a stand mixer, using your dough hook, combine water, sugar, yeast and butter. 

               Make sure the butter is warm, not hot. Blend until combined. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

          

          2) Add salt and flour and mix until combined. Once the flour is blended in, increase your speed 

               to medium and blend for 4-5 minutes, or until the dough begins forming into a ball. 

               If the dough appears wet, add more flour, 1 tsp at a time.

          3) Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, and form it into a ball. Turn to coat the dough with the oil.

          4) Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot for an hour.

           5) Preheat the oven to 425F. Then bring your water to a rolling boil with the baking soda.

           6) Pinch a ball of the dough, and roll it into a rope. Cut one inch pieces and drop them into the water.

           7) Boil the bites for 30 seconds, boiling about 15 at a time. Remove with a slotted spoon and 

                 transfer to a cookie sheet.

           8) Brush the bites with egg wash, and follow with a few pinches of coarse sea salt so that the 

                 salt adheres to the egg wash.

            9) Bake the bites for 15-18 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Serve with honey mustard.

Enjoy!

Deviled Eggs

Brunch is one of my favorite meals. More than going out for brunch, I really enjoy cooking it when we have company. I always set out a mini bloody mary bar, mimosas, and make quiche, my hash brown casserole and these deviled eggs. There's nothing fancy to these. Hey, if a recipe ain't broke, don't fix it.

A few years ago for Easter I attempted making crab-stuffed deviled eggs. They were tasty, but I found myself missing the classic. These deviled eggs are a little creamier in texture than some others I've tried, because I decided to add extra mayo to the recipe. The small amount of vinegar in this recipe gives these eggs the perfect zing.

I like to pipe my filling into my eggs because a) it makes them look nice and b) I have better control over the amount going into each egg rather than scooping heaping dollops into them. I like the perfect ratio of egg to filling: half and half. For garnish, I only used one piece of bacon that I cut into tiny little pieces. I also topped them with a small amount of chives and paprika for a pop of color and added flavor. I hope you enjoy these tasty little treats! Watch them disappear before your eyes. They're addictive.

Classic Deviled Eggs

Preparation:  20 min

                  Cook Time: 15 min  Total Time: 35 min                       

Ingredients

        

          6 large eggs

          1/4 cup + 2 tbsp mayonnaise

          1 tbsp yellow mustard

          1/2 tsp vinegar

          1/4 tsp salt

          Paprika, bacon and chives for garnish

Instructions

          1) Boil eggs as you regularly would. I find the easiest way to do this is to put the eggs in the water and 

               bring the water to a boil. Once the boil is achieved, remove the pot from the heat and cover with a lid. 

               Allow the eggs to sit in the water for 12-14 minutes after. In a bowl of ice water, transfer the eggs and 

               allow them to cool for 5 minutes. Peel and place back into the water until all are peeled. 

               Then remove them from the water and place them on a towel.

          2) Begin halving the eggs, adding the yolks to a bowl or bowl of an electric mixer. Place the whites on the 

                plate you plan to serve them on.

          3) Add mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and vinegar to the yolk mixture and blend on high for three minutes, 

                or until creamy.

          4) In a pastry bag or ziplock bag, use a large icing tip and pipe mixture into egg whites. 

           5) Top with small pieces of chive and bacon and serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cool Ranch Dip

Cool Ranch Dip

Is there anything better than a cold snack in the summer? We recently got a new grill for our backyard, and I have been spending most of my time outside. Burgers are one of our quick go-to meals when we can't think of anything else we want. 

 His father brought us a bag of plain potato chips the other day to go with our burgers, and that's how I came up with this simple and satisfying recipe. 

This dip is what all tailgate parties need. It's easy to make, extremely tasty, and goes with tons of food other than chips! It would be great on hot dogs, burgers, wings...the possibilities are endless with this crazy addictive snack.

Cool Ranch Dip

Preparation: 5 min

                  Cook Time: 0 min  Total Time: 10 min                       

Ingredients

        

          2 tsp onion powder

          2 tsp garlic powder

          1/8 tsp salt (or a pinch)

          1 1/2 tsp fresh chopped dill

          1 tsp chopped scallions

          1 cup sour cream

Instructions

        

          Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix until well blended. Serve chilled with ruffle potato chips, 

          fresh cut veggies, or chicken wings.

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Dip

This dish is a must-have at your holiday parties! Where most goat cheese and butternut squash dips are savory, this particular recipe is sweet. Using maple syrup to sweeten, along with a sweet & salty cracker, this appetizer is a nice mix of pace to what normally is a spread of salty foods at holiday parties. Make plenty, because it goes fast!

Ingredients: 

3 cups cubed butternut squash

1 log goat cheese

1 1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup light brown sugar

4 tbsp butter

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

Pecans for garnish

Time to make: About 30 minutes

Serve with: 

               or        

Begin by heating the butter on your stovetop over medium heat until melted. Add cubed butternut squash and water. Let butternut squash cook down until mushy, stirring occasionally (about 20 minutes). Add more water if necessary to add moisture. Once cooked down, add brown sugar and stir. 

In a Kitchenaid mixer, food processor or bowl with electric mixer, add goat cheese, butternut squash and maple syrup. Mix on low-medium speed. Once well blended, add your spices and continue to blend.

For my dish, I made pralines and crushed them in a ziplock bag to add as my garnish. You could also use natural pecans, candied pecans or dried cranberries.

Hope you enjoy!

Homemade Guacamole

I am a guac freak! Every restaurant I go to, I am constantly ordering guacamole or avocado on my meal. I will happily pay 50 cents extra for the rest of my life if it means getting to have this amazing condiment on my food...yes, for me, it is a condiment as much as mustard and ketchup.

Naturally, I had to come up with my own recipe for it. This is the freshest, easiest and quickest way to make guacamole for you and your friends...or just you. :)

For this recipe, you'll need a lemon, a lime, fresh cilantro, garlic, 2-3 avocados (depending on how much you want to make),  cumin, chili powder (if you like it spicy!) and a red onion.

Hint: do not, I repeat do not use cilantro flakes or lemon/lime juice already squeezed from the store. It will not taste the same. Everything should be fresh.

Core and spoon out you avocados into a large mixing bowl using a spoon.

Using a pairing knife or a food blender, chop your onion and garlic.

Add your onion, garlic, and lemon and lime juice to the mixture. Do not blend yet.

Add the Rotel, cumin and chili powder. Do not blend.

Add fresh chopped cilantro. You may now blend. Be careful not to mash the avocados too much, as the dip is much better with some chunky texture.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 can Rotel

3 avocados

1/4 cup chopped onion

3-4 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice (preference)

3 tbsp lime fresh-squeezed juice

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/8 cup chopped cilantro

1 tsp chili powder

2 tbsp cumin

Salt and pepper to taste