Soft Pretzels

In an effort to keep my grocery budget in check, I have been buying fewer snacks, and making more of my own stuff and freezing things. I don't actually love to bake a ton (except in the Fall, something comes over me come October and I love to bake), but it's something I am willing to do if it will help save a little money. I have baked and frozen cookies, muffins, pumpkin bread, and these soft pretzels.  Lest you think I only feed my kids carbs, I also stock up on fruit and stuff like string cheese.  But, buying crackers and granola bars, etc. really runs up my grocery bill.  A friend of mine gave me this recipe.  It's really easy and the kids love it.  They are definitely best fresh from the oven, but I make a huge batch and freeze them, and then pull out and thaw a few at a time for afternoon snacks.  I plan on sticking one in Paige's lunch here and there too.  I don't get too particular about getting them perfect looking, I actually just tie them in a knot and throw them on the pan.  You can do any shape you want.

Ingredients:   1 1/2 cups warm water
                      1 Tbsp. yeast

Combine and let rest 5 minutes.  Then add the following ingredients to the yeast.  Mix with a dough hook or wooden spoon until dough forms a ball.

                      5 cups flour
                     1/4 cup sugar
                     1/4 cup powdered milk
                     1 1/2 tsp. salt
                   
Remove dough and cut into 12-15 small pieces.  Roll each piece into a snake about 18" long and twist into a pretzel shape, or make your own shapes, but not too thick or they won't cook in the center.

Dip uncooked pretzels into a bath of:

                     4 cups water
                     1/4 cup baking soda    **  This is a lot, you could also just half this part of the recipe.

Place on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt.  Bake at 425 degrees until brown (approx. 10 minutes).  Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.

Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman.  I haven't tried a lot of her recipes yet, but the ones I have tried, I have loved!  This one seemed a little strange when I decided to try it, but my whole family loves it, and that's saying something with my girls who have decided to be picky.  It makes a ton, so I freeze half (don't bake it first) for another day.  When you want to eat it,  defrost and bake according to directions.  This is also good when you need to take dinner to someone. 

Ingredients:   2 cups cooked chicken, shredded 

                       3 cups dried spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces

                       2 cans cream of mushroom soup

                       3 cups grated cheddar cheese, reserve 1 cup for the top

                       1/4 cup finely diced green pepper

                       1/4 cup finely diced onion

                       1 jar (4 ounces) diced pimentos, drained  (I actually have never put these in.)

                       2 cups reserved chicken broth from cooking chicken

                       1 tsp. seasoned salt

                       1/8 tsp (or more if you like) cayenne pepper (don't leave this out, it's part of what makes it so good)

                       salt and pepper, to taste

                       

Directions:  Cook chicken and shred to make 2 cups.  Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente.  Do not overcook.  When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients, except for the additional 1 cup of cheese.

                     Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining cheese.  Cover and freeze, or bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly.  (If the cheese on top starts to get too brown, cover with foil.)

Schnitzel

I felt like we needed to celebrate Germany's win in the world cup, so we had this incredibly authentic German meal. I have made schnitzel before, but this one turned out the very best. Note the sauerkraut up top. I like it with mashed potatoes and schnitzel, but I guess you could leave it off the plate. Just so you know I labeled this picture so I could eventually put it on my blog, and so none of you will steal my picture and try to pass it off as your own. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs pork chops

1/2 C Flour

3 T Grated Parmesan

2 Eggs

1/2 t Salt

1/4 t Pepper

2 T Milk

1 C Dry Bread Crumbs

Butter

Oil

Lemon Slices

1. Place thawed pork chops between plastic wrap or inside a ziploc bag. Pound with a meat mallet until very thin, about 1/4 inch. 

2. Combine parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper and milk in a medium sized bowl. Pour flour in a separate bowl, and bread crumbs in a third bowl. 

3. Coat pork chops in flour, then dip in the egg mixture. Then coat it in bread crumbs. Gently press the bread crumbs onto it to help them stick. Let them rest in a single layer for at least 30 minutes.

4. Melt 3 Tablespoons of butter in a skillet and add some oil. There needs to be quite a bit of butter and oil in the pan to keep the schnitzel from sticking to the pan. Once the butter and oil are heated cook the schnitzel until browned on each side, about 3 minutes on each side.

5. Squeeze lemon on top for added deliciousness.

*Okay here is the trickiest part of making schnitzel, cooking it all the way through without burning the outside. First you really need to make sure the meat is pounded thin so it can cook all the way through fast. Second tip, heat the oil over medium to medium high heat so it is hot enough to cook quickly, but don't let it get too hot, or your breading will burn and the inside will still be pink. 

Okay, that's it. They were delicious, so you should make them.

Knockoff Swig Sugar Cookie

Everyone knows how much I love my Swig sugar cookies. I found this recipe and of course it's not as good as an actual Swig cookie, its pretty darn close and its pretty darn good! 

Cookie Ingredients:

1 C Butter (room temperature)

3/4 C Vegetable Oil

1 1/4 C Sugar

3/4 C Powdered Sugar

2 T Water

2 Eggs

1/2 t Baking Soda

1/2 t Cream of Tarter

1 t Salt

5 1/2 C Flour

Cream together butter, vegetable oil. sugars, water and eggs. Combine dry ingredients and slowly add to butter mixture. Mix until everything is combines. Your dough should be a little crumbly and not sticky at all. Roll a golf ball sized ball of dough and place it on your cookie sheet. Now it's time to give these babies their signature rough edge. Put 1/4 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt in a dish. (this is in addition to the salt and sugar listed above.) Stick the bottom of a class in it. This will be your cookie press. Firmly press it into the center of your dough ball. You want your dough to spill our over the sides of the glass. If there is a lip it's even better. Bake at 350 for 8 min. They should just barely be browning on the bottom. Move cookies to a cooling rack. Once they are cool put them in the fridge. 

Sour Cream Frosting:

1/2 cup room temperature butter

3/4 C Sour Cream

Approx 1 2lb Package of Powdered Sugar (I never use the whole thing but love having extra on hand just incase I add to much milk!)

1 t salt

1/4 C Milk

Red Food Coloring

Start by creaming together butter and sour cream and salt.  Slowly add powdered sugar.  When it gets so thick its not frosting like add a splash of milk (I never had to add milk but if your frosting gets to thick you can add milk.)  Alternate this process until your frosting is the desired consistency.  Add 1 drop of red food coloring and whip on high for 1 minute.

Keep cookies in a sealed container until they are ready to serve.  The magic of a Swig Sugar Cookie is that the cookies are cold and the frosting is room temperature.  Frost right before serving 

Texas Toast Garlic Bread Pizza

Ok, so here is a meal we love at our house. I found it on Pinterest a couple months ago and Parker loves it. I have to admit, I love it to. It's super easy, super fast, just not super healthy so we don't eat it often but Parker loves it and he likes to help me make them so its fun for kids! 

Ingredients

• 6 Slices Texas Toast Style Garlic Bread
• 6 TBS pizza Sauce
• 12 TBS Shredded Mozzarella
•  Pepperoni (or any other toppings you want)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lay the garlic bread on a baking sheet.
2. Top 1 TBS of pizza sauce on each slice
3. Top with 2 TBS of cheese on each slice and any topping of your choice, We just used Pepperoni.
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes until its browned and cooked to your liking.
5. Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

So, who else is sad that Charlie's Broccoli Cheddar Soup in a bread bowl is no more?  Their sandwiches were great too, but I think of that place every time I make this soup.  Too bad that place took a nosedive and had to close down.  Though, in it's place now is Swig, and those giant sugar cookies and dirty Dr. Peppers do make me feel a little better about what happened.  Okay, moving on…this soup is easy and yummy, so you should try it.  I have yet to serve it in a bread bowl, but there is always french bread on the side.  I'm not sure where I got this recipe from, it's been in my recipe collection for a long time now.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

1 can chicken broth ( I just use two cups of water and 2 bouillon cubes)
1 small onion, diced
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese ( I just use what I have, but the sharper the better)
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
2-3 cups steamed chopped broccoli (I just use frozen broccoli, and microwave it to warm it up)

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft.  Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes.  In a separate medium-sized pot, melt butter then add flour and salt and pepper.  Cook together for a couple of minutes, then whisk in the warmed milk.  Stir and heat together on medium-high heat until soup starts to thicken.  Next, add chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended.  Add cheeses and steamed broccoli.  Serve immediately.

Potato and Bacon Breakfast Casserole

First off, I'm just curious to know if anybody even looks at this blog anymore, so if you do, leave a comment on this post so I know if I am alone or not.  

Secondly, I love most breakfast casseroles, but this one is my favorite.  I've made this for Christmas morning breakfast for the last couple of years and it's so good!  I think that thing that makes me like it more that other similar recipes is the pepper jack cheese.  It's just a little kick and I love it.  Plus, there's nothing wrong with bacon and potatoes.  The recipe says to use the cubed hash browns, but I've used both and they are great both ways.  

Easy Potato and Bacon Breakfast CasseroleRecipe by Our Best Bites

4 c. Southern/country-style hash browns (cubes), completely thawed (if they’re not thawed, they won’t cook correctly)
1 12-oz. package bacon
1 1/2 c. pepper jack cheese
1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 eggs
1 c. milk*
about 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
about 10 turns freshly ground black pepper

*For high altitudes, reduce milk to 2/3 cup and sauté the potatoes in rendered bacon grease until partially cooked before baking.

Begin cooking bacon.  While the bacon is cooking, place the potatoes in a 9×13″ baking dish. Mix the cheeses together and sprinkle it over the potatoes. When the bacon is done cooking, drain it on a paper towel and reserve 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Cook the onions in the drippings for 2-3 minutes or until they’re tender and fragrant. Spread the onions over the cheese mixture and then sprinkle everything with the crumbled bacon.  Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper and, whisking constantly, pour the egg mixture evenly over the potato mixture.  Cover and refrigerate overnight or for 7-8 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350.  Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly but not brown. Allow to stand for 15 minutes before cutting.