Rosemary Sea Salt Soft Butter Pretzels

Guys can we please just talk for one second about where the time has gone?! I do not understand how my little monkey went from this to this....

Ugh! She kills me she's so cute! And she gets so excited to help me in the kitchen!

Soft pretzels are one of my all time favorite things to make with kids. It's like bread turned playdough. Cover them in sugar and cinnamon and those kiddos will love you for life.

But today we are going more the savory route. We didn't have any fresh rosemary on hand this time around but if you do, use it! You won't regret it!

Rosemary Sea Salt Soft Buttered Pretzels
Slightly adapted from: King Arthur Flour

Dough
1 c. warm water
2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dried rosemary or 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary
2 - 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

Topping
1 c. boiling water
2 Tbsp baking soda
2-3 Tbsp melted butter
sea salt

Directions: In a large bowl or stand mixer combine warm water, yeast, and sugar. Set aside for about 10 minutes until the mixture begins to foam. If your mixture does not foam, it is likely that your water was too hot and it killed the yeast, simply discard it and start again.

Next add salt, rosemary and 1 1/2 cups of flour. Mix until combined, Continue to add flour until dough is still very soft but just enough that it doesn't stick to your fingers. Knead by hand or in stand mixer for about 5 minutes.

Place dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and allow the dough to rise for 30 to 45 minutes.

Meanwhile bring 1 cup of water to a bowl. Remove from heat and immediately add baking soda. Stir until the baking soda has dissolved. Place the water in a 8x8 baking dish and set aside, allowing the water to cool.

Once the dough has had time to rise preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. and divide the dough into 8 equal pieces for small pretzels or 4-6 pieces for large pretzels. Roll each piece into a long thin rope and twist into a pretzel, or create another shape if desired. The rope can also be cut into smaller pieces for pretzel bites.

Next take your pretzel and carefully place it in the baking soda water bath for approximately 2 minutes. This will give the pretzel a nice golden crust.

Finally place pretzels on a parchment lined or lightly greased baking sheet. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes and then bake for 8-9 minutes.

Once the pretzels are done baking coat liberally with melted butter and top with sea salt and enjoy!

Shared HERE.

Homemade Naturally Sweet Applesauce

I love our neighborhood this time of year. All the homes look so festive adorned with pumpkins and fall wreaths. Kids are running up and down the sidewalk trying to soak in the last bit of sunshine before the winter. And come Friday we will have oodles of little trick-or-treaters.

This year we had a bunch of neighbors share all sorts of homegrown produce with us - zuchinni, squash, tomatoes, jalapeños, and two bags full of apples!

My girls eat applesauce like there is no tomorrow so I decided a homemade batch would be the perfect way to use all those apples!

Homemade Naturally Sweet Applesauce

Recipe from: Shannon, ikneadtobake

Yield: about 2 quarts

4 lbs apples, chopped, peeled and cored

3/4 c high quality apple juice (100% juice)

juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions: Place all four pounds of peeled, chopped apples, apple juice, and lemon juice in a large pot. Cover and simmer until apples are cooked through - about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Place cooked apples and liquid in a blender or food processor and pulse until you have achieved desired consistency. 

Process in a water bath to make applesauce shelf stable, or divide into containers and keep in the fridge.

Shared HERE.

Bena: Chicken Sesame Pasta Salad

Hi, I have the privilege to be Shannon's Mom in law.    I am the mother of 4 children and the Nana to two beautiful grandchildren.  I have lived in Utah, Kansas and Connecticut.  I have been married to my husband Kent for 29 wonderful years.  We have been very blessed in our lives to have met some really amazing friends in all of the places we have lived. As we have enjoyed many holidays and shared meals with our friends, we have also shared many recipes. The tried and true recipes are always my favorites!  

I learned to cook from cooking with my Mom as a child and by experimenting with recipes throughout my life.  I have made a ton of mistakes trying different things but that’s how we learn...right?

My favorite part of being a mom...is spending time with my kids.  They make me proud every single day.  I love watching them interact with each other and seeing how much they love each other.  My kids are a gift to me, and I enjoy every second we spend together, whether it’s being at the lake together or simply sitting in the family room together chatting and laughing.

So I was trying to decide which recipe to share. I decided to share one that many people tell me they love. I got this recipe from a friend that I go to church with.  She is one of those cooks that has the reputation of being a great cook.  People seek out whatever she might bring to share and her food is always the first to be eaten . This pasta is so good that everywhere I take it, I get several people asking me for the recipe.  That’s when I know I have a GREAT one!  It is so pretty and delicious looking and the leftovers (if there are any) are really good too!

Chicken Sesame Pasta Salad

chicken & marinade:

5 chicken breasts

1/2 c. Terriaki sauce

1/3 c. balsamic vinegar

1/3 c. olive oil

1 package mesquite grilling powder

1 lime

pasta:

2 c. red grapes, cut in half

2 c. red bell peppers, chopped

7 oz bowtie pasta, cooked and well drained

1 jar artichoke hearts, quartered

4 green onions, chopped

2 small cans of mandarin oranges, drained

1 pear, chopped

2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

3 c. baby spinach

dressing:

1/3 c. olive oil

2 Tbsp sesame oil

1/4 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp minced onion

1 Tbsp. lime juice

Directions: Combine the ingredients for the chicken marinate in a gallon size zip-lock bag and allow to marinade for several hours or overnight.

To make the dressing combine the olive oil, sesame seed oil, sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, minced onion, and lime juice in a blender or bowl. Blend or whisk until all ingredients are well combined. Set aside. 

Once the chicken is done marinading grill it until it is cooked through. Allow the chicken to rest for about 10 minutes and then slice into bite size pieces.

In a large bowl combine the cooked pasta, artichoke hearts, green onion, oranges, pear, sesame seeds, parsley, bell peppers, grapes, and grilled chicken. Pour dressing over the pasta mixture and toss until well coated. Cover and refrigerate. Directly before serving toss in baby spinach. Serve cold.

Oven Fries

I've said it before and I'll say it again... we are food network junkies. A favorite is Jeff Mauro sandwich king extraordinaire--AKA Season 7 winner of Food Network Star! 

Well we love love making oven fries and apparently so does Jeff! Usually our fries are pretty dang good but with the help of our beloved Sandwich King these were the best yet! The trick is to cook them covered for 10 minutes, uncovered for 10 minutes, then flip and cook for the final 10 minutes. The result is crispy oven fries that are cooked through to perfection!

Oven Fries

Recipe from: Ty, AKA the husband

Cooking Method from: sandwichking
Serves 2-3

2 potatoes, scrubbed and cut into thin fries
3 Tbsp. olive oil
garlic salt with parsley (We used Lawry's), to taste
pepper, to taste
fresh cilantro OR fresh parsley

Directions: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Soak cut potatoes in a large bowl of cold water for 10 minutes. Pat dry. Toss with oil and season liberally with garlic salt and pepper.

Spread evenly over a foil-lined baking sheet. Cover with foil and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for another 10 minutes. With a spatula flip the fries and cook for the final 10 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro or parsley and enjoy!

Broccoli Slaw Salad

Apparently I'm loving slaws lately haha. So here's another one to add to the recipe box! This recipe is SO easy and healthy too!! Throw it together for a backyard BBQ or double it for a summer potluck and you're good to go!

Broccoli Slaw Salad
Source: theperfectpantry
Serves: 4

2 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
Juice of 1/2 lemon
black pepper, to taste
1 c. carrot, shredded
1 c purple cabbage, thinly sliced
1 c. broccoli (stems included), chopped

Directions: In a bowl combine the yogurt, honey, vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, and pepper. Next add the carrot, cabbage, and broccoli. Toss until well coated.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Then serve and enjoy! ;)

Sweet Slaw Salad

So this summer the munchkin, Ty, and I are out on the east coast with Tyson's family while he does an engineering internship. I threw this together one night while we were in the process of moving and it has quickly become one of our favorites! This week I made it for the in-laws and it was a big hit! Its also great with some grilled chicken should you feel the need to give it a try.

Sweet Slaw Salad
Recipe from: Shannon, ikneadtobake
Serves: 6-8

2 granny smith apples, diced
6 oz slivered almonds, toasted
8 oz dried sweetened cranberries
4-5 green onions, diced
12 pieces thick sliced bacon, cooked until crispy and then diced
1 medium head of green cabbage, sliced thin
lite poppysead dressing

Directions: Place apples, almonds, cranberries, onion, and bacon together in a large serving bowl and mix together. Then add cabbage and toss everything together with your desired amount of poppysead dressing. ** When dressing a salad, always start with less than you think you need, toss, taste, and then adjust.

Cranberry Almond Green Beans

So apparently it was a mistake to tell you that T is learning to sleep through the night... because here I am up feeding the little munchkin. So I figured, why not share a recipe while I'm at it.

I'm gonna be honest. I was a terribly picky eater as a child and veggies were the worst! But don't you worry, I love em now and these I could eat all day! This recipe was inspired by some veggies

I once had at The Blue Moose Cafe. Its a combo of beans, sweetened dried cranberries, slivered almonds, and {of course} butter and salt. I could seriously eat a bowl of just these for dinner and be fine with it ;)

Cranberry Almond Green Beans

Recipe from: Shannon, ikneadtobake

Serves: 4

1 lb fresh green beans, ends snipped

1/3 c. slivered almonds

1/3 c. dried cranberries, sweetened

1/2 Tbsp butter

Salt, to taste

Directions: Steam the green beans in a large bot of boiling water. 

Next place your almonds in a small pan over medium-high heat to toast. Stir them frequently to avoid burning. Continue until they are a light-golden brown color. Remove from pan.

Once the green beans are done, use a colander to drain the water. Finally toss the beans together with the almonds, cranberries, butter, and salt. Serve and enjoy!

Rice

Rice... it seems easy enough right? Put some rice in a pot, throw in some water, put it on the stove. Done. Well my friend Kortnie taught me some of us need more specific directions and that is where our story begins...

Kortnie is one of my most lovable, funny friends, not to mention she is super smart and gorgeous. However, she self-admittedly cannot make rice. She came over the other night for dinner and we ate some grilled bruschetta chicken with rice and a simple salad. And we got to talking about rice techniques {or lack-thereof}. So here ya go Kort... a recipe for rice! ;)

Rice

Source: My Dad

Rice

Water

Directions: Fill a saucepan with your desired amount of rice. (Remember it doubles in size.) 

Then using your thumb as a guide, cover the rice with water until your fingernail is completely submerged. I know sounds weird but just go with it. Do this by making a thumbs-down sign and placing your thumb so it is resting lightly on top of your rice. Once your your nail is covered with water you know you have enough. 

Place your saucepan on the stove over high heat. Once the water begins to boil, turn the heat to low and cover. You're done. No fancy rice-cookers or stirring required. 

Cooking time will vary depending on the amount of rice you make, but plan on a minimum of about 15 minutes. You should find safety in the fact that rice is nearly impossible to burn on a low heat. Just take it off the stove once all of the moisture has been absorbed. Then fluff and serve!