Homemade Pretzels

I usually don't like pretzels but making them yourself makes them taste even better!!!  So good and even more delicious when dipped in this yummy cheese dip!!

 Ingredients:

• Yeast
• Salt
• Sugar
• Flour
• Baking Soda

These pretzels are easier than you think to shape. First you’ll want to separate dough into 12 sections. Using your hands roll the dough into ropes about 15-20 inches long and 1 inch thick. Then form the rope into a circle and twist the top ends together. 

Next bring the twisted ends down the center of the circle and pinch together with the bottom to form the pretzels.

You may wonder if you really need to do the boil with baking soda, but it is an important step. This is what will help give the dough that classic pretzel texture, flavor and color. All you’re going to do is boil about 8 cups of water. Then once it has started boiling, add in the baking soda.

Place the pretzel dough into the water for about 20 seconds, then remove it with a slotted spoon and place on a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle salt on top.

Once you’ve given all of the pretzels the baking soda boil, it’s time to bake them. Let them bake until they’re golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Sometimes I’ll broil them during the last minute of cooking to help brown the tops even more.

Pretzel Cheese Dip

This was DELICIOUS!!!!  Worked perfect to dunk pretzels in but also was tasty with just chips!!

Serves 8

 Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 Tablespoon corn starch (or all-purpose flour)

• 1 cup  milk , more as needed
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese or Velveeta
• 2-3 teaspoons hot sauce (I prefer Frank's) , more to taste
• cayenne pepper or chili powder , to taste
• S&P , to taste

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle the cornstarch or flour over the butter, stirring constantly and cook for 1 minute.

Warm the milk in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds. Next slowly pour in the milk while whisking it fast. Continue whisking and cooking until it has thickened (but still pourable). Be careful to watch it.

Remove from heat. Stir in the cheese until and stir until smooth. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools

Season with salt and pepper, to taste (I start with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper). Add 1 to 3 teaspoons of hot sauce depending on heat preference. You can also add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper to take up the heat. If it's too thick, you can whisk in a Tablespoon or two more of warmed milk.

Place in a mini crockpot to keep warm and gooey. If it thickens, reheat in the microwave for 15 seconds. Serve with pretzel or tortilla chips. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Made up some frozen meals for my Dad and Penny when they watched the boys, and this one was SUPER easy!!!  Hope it tastes great :)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups dry brown rice cooked according to package instructions
• 2 1/2 cups shredded chicken
• 2 cans 15 oz each black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz can green enchilada sauce (heat level of your liking, I usual do mild or medium)
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon cumin optional
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Dash of pepper to taste
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

• Spray a dish (1- 9x13 inch baking dish or 2- 8x8 inch baking dishes or disposable pan(s)) with cooking spray.
• Cook rice and chicken and shred chicken (see note for cooking chicken)*
• Drain black beans
• In a bowl combine shredded chicken, enchilada sauce, tomatoes, black beans, sour cream, and seasonings
• Put rice at the bottom of the prepared baking dish, spoon chicken mixture on top of rice. Sprinkle the cheese on top.
• Freeze or bake, cooking instructions below.
• For baking from frozen, remove from freezer and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until cheese is melted and center of the dish is warm.
• For baking right after prepared - bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, until cheese is melted and starting to turn golden brown on top.

Notes

*cook the chicken to your liking (poach it, bake it or fry it) or use a rotisserie chicken. I like making salsa chicken in the slow cooker for this casserole, just put chicken breasts and 1 jar of salsa in a slow cooker (high for 4 hours, low for 8) and shred the chicken to use in this casserole.

Cheddar Ranch Grits

So I've never really liked grits OR made them - but I wanted to try something new for our hood progressive dinner so made these up.  They were a HUGE hit!!!  Rossy wants to try them with bfast tomorrow too :)

• 2 cans chicken broth
• 1 ½ cups grits
• 1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
• 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese

1. Bring chicken broth to a boil. Stir in grits. Bring heat to a med-low temperature. If quick-cook, cook approx. 5 minutes. If regular, cook 20-25 mins (according to package instructions).
2. Stir in Ranch dressing mix.
3. Stir in cheese.
4. Serve immediately.

Pecan Crusted Stuffed Chicken Breast

 Made this up for our hood progressive dinner and it was super yummy!!  Everyone liked it :)  It was easy to make too and put in the oven and by time it was time for our house, it was done!!!  The honey mustard sauce was my favorite part hahaha

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 ½ cups toasted pecans
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• 2 cups honey mustard (I like Ken’s Steakhouse)
• ½ pkg. thawed and drained, frozen chopped spinach
• 1 ½ cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper

1. Set oven to 375°
2. Pour honey mustard in a shallow, wide bowl and set to the side.
3. Finely chop toasted almonds in food processor. Combine with bread crumbs, basil, salt, and pepper in a shallow, wide bowl and mix well. Set bowl to the side.
4. Mix spinach and cheese in a bowl and set to the side.
5. Pound and flatten chicken breasts to approx. 1/4″ thickness.
6. Put approx. 4 Tbsp. cheese and spinach mixture in center of the flattened chicken breast, pinch sides up and secure with toothpicks.
7. Take stuffed chicken and roll in honey mustard to coat well, evenly.
8. Roll honey mustard-coated chicken breast in nut mixture until thoroughly coated; set in greased glass baking dish.
9. Repeat with all breasts; bake for 40 minutes (check temperature to confirm readiness)

Fig, Pear, Walnut Flatbread

Needed a new pizza for Christmas tree picnic night and this was delicious!!!  Couldn't find figs anywhere so I had bought fig newtons and was going to scrape out the inside hahahaha BUT a friend hooked me up at a xmas party with some dried figs and those worked great :) 

ingredients

• 1/2 pound pizza dough
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 onion, sliced in long strips
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
• 70g brie cheese, sliced into thin strips
• 5 to 6 small figs, sliced
• 1/4 cup pear, diced
• 1/4 cup fig balsamic vinegar
• a handful of arugula
• a small handful of walnuts
• drizzle of honey

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instructions

1. If making homemade dough, prepare the dough according to the recipe. If using store bought dough, defrost to room temperature.
2. Start by beginning to caramelize the onions on a pan with 1 tsp of olive oil over low to medium heat. Stir occasionally, and cook until the onions are a golden brown color (about 30 minutes to 1 hour).
3. When the onions are about halfway done, set oven to 450F.
4. Roll out your pizza dough to about a 10-12 inch circle.
5. Spread 1 tbsp of olive oil evenly over the pizza dough, leaving an edge around the circle for the crust.
6. Spread out the slices of brie cheese evenly. Sprinkle the goat cheese crumbles over the pizza, trying to fill in the gaps between the brie cheese slices.
7. Place the fig slices evenly across the pizza. Sprinkle the diced pear over the pizza.
8. Bake until the crust is golden, about 10-15 minutes.
9. While the pizza is in the oven. Heat the balsamic vinegar on the stove until it comes to a low simmer. Continue to simmer the vinegar until it thickens up to a glaze consistency and reduces to about 1/3 of its original volume, about 5-10 minutes.
10. Remove the pizza from the oven. Spread a handful of arugula over the pizza. Top with a handful of small walnuts. Add a small honey drizzle over the pizza, followed by a light drizzle of your reduced balsamic glaze sauce. Serve.

notes

• Don't rush the caramelized onions. You won't be able to make them caramelize faster. If you cook them on too high heat, you will end up with black, burnt onions.
• You can caramelize a large bunch of onion slices at once and store the extra in the fridge for up to a week to use later.
• Make sure to heat up the vinegar slowly and only simmer on low heat. Remove from the heat as soon as it thickens up. If you heat it on too high heat or for too long, it will turn into a sticky, thick gooey mess.
• You can also make extra balsamic reduction glaze and store it in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to a week.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Mushrooms

This was DELICOUS!!!  We had my Dad over for a special xmas dinner and this was SO tasty!!!  Expensive piece of meat but it was worth it!!!  I would add more mushrooms next time cause they cooked up quickly.

Ingredients

• 1 (4-5) pound whole beef tenderloin, trimmed of fat
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup peppercorns, crushed, or fresh balck pepper
• kosher salt
• 16 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons salted butter

White Wine Cream Sauce

• 1/2 cup white wine (or chicken broth)
• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 2 cups heavy cream or whole milk
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan
• kosher salt and pepper

Instructions

• 1. Allow the beef to come to room temperature for at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

  2. Rub the beef with mustard and season generously with peppercorns and salt.

  3. In a large oven safe skillet, toss the mushrooms with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the beef over the mushrooms and insert a meat thermometer. Add the butter to the top of the beef. Transfer to the oven and roast until the beef registers 120 to 125 degrees F for medium-rare/rare, about 25-40 minutes, dependent on the size of your roast.

  4. Remove the beef and mushrooms from the skillet to a serving plate and cover will foil. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

  5. Meanwhile, make the cream sauce. Place the same skillet used to roast the beef over high heat. Add the wine and scrape up any browned bits off the pan. Simmer 3-5 minutes or until the wine has reduce by about 1/3 to 1/2. Add the butter and thyme and continue cooking another 2 minutes until the butter has melted into the sauce. Slowly pour in the cream and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

  6. Slice the beef and serve with the warm cream sauce and roasted mushrooms.