Yummy Recipe ~ Soft Pretzels

An update on my 5 year old daughter. She had a sever case of tonsillitis and spent a night in the hospital and a week and a half at home in bed from school. She is doing much better and back to school. Thank you for all your support!
Being a girl from South Jersey orginially I have a thing for soft pretzels!! I have tried so many different recipies trying to find one that I just loved and made me think of those oh so yummy Philly pretzels. Well I finally found one, and it is from non other than Alton Brown. I think that he is amazing and his baking recipies are so percise you can't screw them up, if you do exactly what he tells you, you will have perfection. 

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

• 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. 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 oil it well with vegetable oil. 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 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

  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 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. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

  Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

  
  

  These are so yummy and I love them with mustard! What do you like on your soft pretzels?

  
  

  Recipe taken from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-soft-pretzels-recipe/index.html

Menu Plan Monday 1/23/12

As with a lot of things here on the farm we are getting back to basics. I'm actually cooking more, even did a lot of canning last fall. Ive also started planning my weekly meals. I find that it saves me tons at the super market and also saves me time during the day. When I wake up a lay out whatever I'm going to need to cook that day. When its time to cook no rummaging thru the cabinets and freezer looking for something. I already know what I was planning and get to cooking. I shop on Friday so my menus run Friday to Sun. Here is this weeks menu.

Friday- we did a fridge clean up. There was so much in there that it was time to eat it or pitch it. So whatever didn't get eaten got pitched. Pretty Fridge!

Saturday- Sweet Italian sausage, garlic bread and noodles with Emeril's home style marinara. 

Sunday- Pizza Night

Monday- French's Crunchy Onion chicken with a Ranch pasta salad

Tuesday- Tiffany's Whiskey Pork (see bottom for recipe) with taters and green beans

Wednesday- Citrus Ham steaks and buttered noodles with sauteed onions

Thursday- Leftover night eat it or pitch it!

Tiffany's Whiskey Pork

So easy! I use boneless pork chops, seasoned with my house seasoning, salt, and pepper. I pan fry in a little extra virgin olive oil and butter. Then I add 1/2 to a whole cup of Jim Bean (use whiskey of your choice) and reduce it down to a flavorful sauce. Prepare sides, serve and enjoy!

2 Great Recipes

It's been a while since I have posted any recipes. My family and I tried 2 new ones this week and we loved them. So I figured I would post them for you.

Chicken with Sugar Snap Peas & Spring Herbs
Eating Well

4 servings | Active Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon flour, divided
• 1 pound thin-sliced chicken breast cutlets
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces sugar snap peas, cut in half (2 cups)
• 1 14-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, rinsed
• 1/4 cup sprouted beans, (see Note), optional
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh herbs, such as chives, tarragon or dill
• 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar, or white-wine vinegar

Preparation

1. Whisk broth, mustard, salt, pepper and 2 teaspoons flour in a small bowl until smooth.
2. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with the remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken in two batches, adjusting heat as necessary to prevent burning, until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate; tent with foil to keep warm.
3. Stir the broth mixture and add to the pan along with snap peas, artichoke hearts and sprouted beans (if using). Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the snap peas are tender-crisp, 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Return the chicken to the pan, nestling it into the vegetables, and simmer until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in herbs and vinegar.

Nutrition

Per serving : 248 Calories; 6 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 4 g Mono; 63 mg Cholesterol; 19 g Carbohydrates; 29 g Protein; 7 g Fiber; 605 mg Sodium; 603 mg Potassium

This recipe was awesome, the flavor was great. The only thing that I would change is the artichoke hearts, I am not a fan of the canned, the were so soggy and very expensive. I like my artichoke hearts to be al dente, so when I can get them fresh I will put them in and when I can't I think I'll either just leave them out or use broccoli instead. My whole family loved it, even the picky 4 year old.


Carmel Apple Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Boneless Pork Chops
• 1 tsp oil
• Salt and Pepper
• ¼ cup Brown Sugar
• ¼ tsp Cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ cup butter or margarine
• 2 Cups Sliced and peeled tart apples like Granny Smith
• 3 Tbsp Chopped Pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large skillet heat oil over medium heat.  Sprinkle pork chop with salt and pepper.  Cook for about 2 minutes on each side just to brown the pork chop.
3. Place pork chops in a large baking dish.
4. In the same skillet add butter, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Stir until combined.
5. Add apples to the skillet and cook until softened about 10 minutes.
6. Dump apple mixture over pork chops and place in oven for 30 minutes or until internal temp of pork is 160 degrees.
7. You may wish to add more sauce.  If so, you can make it with more brown sugar and butter in the skillet.
8. Serve with sauce and top with chopped pecans if desired.

from A Few Shortcuts

These were great! I usually make my porkchops by pan frying them til they are almost cooked, and then reducing a shot or 2 of apple vodka down. I think the next time I do this I am still going to add my shot of apple vodka to help cut the sweet up a little, but this is a new family favorite! 

My family and I are trying 2 new recipes every week, cause we have kinda feel into a rut of the same old things every week. So do you have any recipe ideas for me? Leave me a comment and let me know. Thanks all and I will see you tomorrow, I am going to post an awesome desert that is good for you and a little about where I have been and my new addiction!
Take care, and all of you anywhere near this horrible storm is in my and my family's prayers!

Thanksgiving Candy Making ~ Peanut-butter Balls

We are not celebrating Thanksgiving Today at the Wyatt Farm because Daddy is out on the road and we do not want to celebrate with out him, so we will be having our dinner on Saturday! Today the girls and I made candies and cookies. So this weeks recipe will be for Daddy's favorite. Recipe will be posted below the sideshow of my daughters at work in the kitchen. Enjoy! & Happy Thanksgiving!

Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:

18 Oz creamy PB

1/2 lb butter

1.5 lb powdered sugar (10x)

3/4 slab food grade paraffin wax

18oz semi sweet choclate

* if  your walmart is like mine and dosnt have any of the above mentioned wax you can subsitiute that choc. dip that you nuke to melt and dip the strawberries or whatever in for the wax and semi sweet choc. . Works fine but you will need 3-4 tubs of it for the recipe above. 

Directions:

Mix PB, butter, and sugar. Roll into small balls & freeze, overnight if possible. Insert toothpicks (optional, but makes dipping in choc. neater). Use a double boiler and , melt wax and choc. Dip balls & set on wax paper.

I left half in the freezer while dipping to keep them firm otherwise the toothpicks fall off. I also put them back in the freeze after dipped for a few hours - overnight. Then I serve them up on a pretty platter and they don't last long!

This is a great quick recipe that kids can do. My 4 yer old did it all with no worries. I just mixed up the batter showed them how much to use to make a ball then let them go at it! So Yummy!


 

Corn Bread Dressing

The response I have gotten from my readers on my recipes makes me so happy, I am glad that you all are enjoying them. I try to post a new one each week.

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I thought I would start posting some of my family's favorite Day of Thanks recipes.

Ingredients:

3c. crumbled corn bread.
*Note: I make this particular batch of cornbread slightly dryer than usual so that it soaks up the liquids better without becoming overly mushy.
2 slices bread, crumbled
*Note: I leave the bread on the counter unwrapped for a few hours to make it more like bread crumbs. Crumble in medium size pieces
1 egg
3 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 to a whole small onion, chopped
2 tbl sage
*Note: I use less as my family for some reason is not to hot on sage
1/4 tea pepper
Chicken or beef broth
*Note: when serving with poultry I use chicken broth.

How to Make It:

Combine the first seven ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add enough of the broth for desired consistency and then spoon it into a buttered baking dish. Bake @ 350 until golden brown. You could also use it to stuff your bird if you prefer.  

This recipe yield's about 6 servings, 6 normal people servings only 3 of my hubby's servings. lol

Bread Bowls

A little late, but as promised here is the recipe for bread bowls that I have promised. These are great with my Baked Potato Soup, Chili and even Stew!

Ingredients:

2c. all-purpose flour                  

1tbsp. semolina or whole wheat flour      

3/4c. instant yeast 

1 tsp. salt 

3/4c. water, lukewarm                 

2 1/2 tbsp. olive oil or melted butter          

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients
*  1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine
* 7/8 cup chopped onion
* 3 1/3 minced garlic cloves
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 (24 1/4 ounce) can chicken broth
* 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
* 1 2/3 lbs russet potato, baked (about 3 medium)
* 1 2/3 to taste salt, to taste
* 1 2/3 to taste fresh ground black pepper, to taste
* 8 1/3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, save grease
* 1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
* 1 2/3 to taste sliced green onion

Directions
 Bake the potatoes and cook bacon
 Melt butter in large saucepan with bacon grease over medium heat.
 Add onion, garlic salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and tender.
 Stir in flour, slowly, cook stirring constantly until the flour taste is gone.
 Gradually stir in broth and heavy cream.
 Scoop potato pulp from one potato; mash. Add pulp to broth mixture.
 Cook, medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to boil.
 Dice remaining potato, (i take the skin off, its your choice); add to soup.
Cook for about 10 minutes until heated thru
 Season with salt and pepper to taste
Top each bowl with cheese, bacon crumbles and green onion.


*I like to serve these in homemade bread bowls. They are so yummy. Don't worry all, recipe is on next weeks recipe list ;)

Make Sure to Enter our CrazyDog Tshirt Giveaway.. These are some of the most comfy shirts ever. 

Yummy Crock-pot Chocolate Cobbler

This is so yummy and easy. I like to use it when having a party. It is great. Set it up and let it cook while the party is in motion. By the time everyone is ready for desert you are all set to go. Easy and Delicious.

Ingredients:

Devils food cake mix
1 box Jello choc pudding
16 oz sour cream
6 oz chock chips
4 eggs
1 cup water
3/4 cup oil
nuts, whatever kind you prefer (optional)

Directions:

In the crock-pot mix dry ingredients, cake mix, pudding, choc. chips and nuts. Then mix in eggs, water and oil. Finally fold in the sour cream. Cook on low for 2-6 hours. The total length of time will depend on your crock-pot and other things as always happens with baking. I find mine is usually done between 4 and 5 hours, but my crock-pot is 10 years old at least.
Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Shrimp Dip

This recipe is always a hit when I have company or go to a party. Everytime someone invites me to there house they say “as long as you bring the Shrimp Dip” or if I invite people over they say “only if your going to have shrimp dip.” They love it and can’t get enough of it. I enjoy it best on club crackers or pretzels.

1 lg Philadelphia Cream Cheese package
2 tablespoons Katsup
1/2 cup Mayo
2 tablespoons Dry Minced Onions (must be dry do not sub for chopped onion)
1 can sm shrimp pieces, drained

Dump altogether and stir. Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours, so that the flavors can blend and the onions can rehydrate, but 12 hours is best. Serve and enjoy.

Ham, Chicken and Cheese Casserole

This is so very yummy and is great to make after cooking a ham and a chicken during the week. Then use the left overs later in the week to make this. You will not be sorry!

Ham, Chicken and Cheese Casserole
Ingredients:
3/4 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 2/3 c. milk
14 1/2 oz. chicken stock
16 oz frozen broccoli florets, thawed and drained
2/3 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 tea. salt
1/2 tea. pepper
1/8 tea. nutmeg
package spiral noodles, I use the spinach and tomato ones, but use what you like
2 c. cubed cooked ham
2 c. cubed cooked chicken
2 c. swiss cheese

Directions:


1. Sautee mushroom, onion, and green pepper in butter till tender
2. Stir in flour until blended
3. Slowly add milk and broth, bring to a boil, stir until thickened
4. Add broccoli, 1/3 c. parm cheese, 1 c. swiss cheese, chicken, ham, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and pasta
5. Add to 13×9 baking dish

You can pop it into the oven now at 350 for 20 minutes covered, then remove the cover and add the left over swiss and parm cheese and continue baking uncovered till cheese is melted.
You could also freeze it, just make sure to keep your extra cheese with it so that you have it when its time to bake it up.
Enjoy!

This recipe has been tested in my kitchen and is great.

Menu Plan Monday 10/4

This week was a very tight week so the menu is cheap and easy. Most my meats I got at Sav a Lot, the pick 5 for 19.99 and then I just got some potatoes, taco shells and odds and ends.. My weeks run Friday to Thursday, since we live pay check to pay check, as many people do these days!

Meats I got 5 for 19.99

• Kounty Breakfast Sausage
• Bag of nuggets, kids love them
• 3 packages hamburger

I also got a huge thing of pork chops at Walmart with a yellow tag for only 8 bucks!

Friday - Taco's
Saturday- Broiled pork chops, mashed potatoes, and corn from the garden.
Sunday- Grilled chicken and onions, with everyone's favorite mashed potatoes.
Monday- Hamburger Helper, Ill let the kids pick, more potatoes and corn
Tuesday- Nuggets with homestye fries and corn
Wednesday- Another Hamburger helper, the kids can pick again
Thursday- Left overs and hamburger mash

 Tiffany's Egg Burritos

On the weekends for breakfast we eat Egg Burritos. Here's how I make them, super easy and a huge hit.

 I start by looking in my fridge for cooked meats that are leftover. The best ones are ham or porkchop. I them dice them up.
I cook up some breakfast sausage, if we have it, which we usually do. Then a heat up the other meats if I found any in the fridge.
Heat some shells, we use flour shells, and scramble some eggs
I serve everything in bowls on the table and you can make your own. The kids love it!
Also on the table is shredded cheese, Rotel, and anything else I can find but would most likely go well in the burritos.
These are totally simple and customizable! It's a great way to clean out your fridge! I have some very picky eaters and they love this stuff.

If you want to participate in Menu Plan Monday, make sure to stop by I'm an Organizing Junkie, who hosts this every Monday! Thanks a ton, Laura

Check out my Current Giveaway while your here!

Chicken Broccoli and Cheese

Chicken breast, depending on how many you are feeding

Fiesta Blend Shredded Cheese 1 package

Frozen or Fresh broccoli 1 bag or flower

mushrooms (optional)


1) Start off my sauteeing the water out of the chicken, just cook it until there is not water in the pan and it browns slightly.

2) Steam broccoli

3) Place chicken in baking pan, cover with thin layer of cheese

4) Cover with broccoli

5) Sautee mushrooms if using any and add to baking pan

6) add a thin layer of cheese

7) Cover with foil and bake at 350 till chicken is finished cooking about 15 min
8) Remove foil, add rest of cheese and bake uncovered til cheese is melted. 

9) Serve and ENJOY!!!

 * You can find this and some of our other favorite recipes my clicking on the recipes page at the top, you will find even more by filtering by the recipe label over to the right.