Homemade soft pretzels!

OK, so they were more like pretzel sticks/nuggets but soft pretzels all the same! These were delish!! Thanks to again to Amber for another great recipe! I made half the batch with salt and the other half without, then dipped the ones without salt in melted butter and a cinnamon/sugar mixture after baking - heavenly!! These were MUCH easier to make than other homemade soft pretzels I've made in the past and I do plan on making them again. I did need to cook them for about 4 extra minutes so that they browned but other than that, I didn't make any changes to the recipe.

Confession: Kyle and I ate these for dinner tonight. Shhh!!! Don't tell our moms! :)

Cinnamon and Sugar

Soft Pretzels
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights)

Ingredients:

• 1/8 cup hot water
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 1/3 warm water
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 4+ cups flour
• Coarse kosher salt
• Baking soda
• Butter or shortening (to generously grease cookie sheets)

Directions:

In a large bowl mix together hot water and yeast until the yeast dissolves. Stir in the warm water and brown sugar and stir until the brown sugar dissolves. Slowly add 4 cups of flour, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the mixture is smooth and does not stick to the sides of the bowl.

Lightly flour counter. Dip your hands into extra flour. Knead the dough until it is stretchy and smooth. (Push it down and away from you with the palms of your hands, turning the dough as you work)

Grease cookie sheets generously with butter or shortening. Sprinkle greased cookie sheet(s) with kosher salt.

Preheat oven to 475. (It is very important that you grease the cookie sheets very well)

Using liquid measuring cup fill a large saucepan at least 1/2 full of water. For each 1 cup of water, add 1 tbls baking soda.

Divide the dough into equal sized pieces. Using the following 4 steps shape each dough ball into a pretzel shape:

1. Roll the dough into a rope 14" long and as thick as your thumb. Bend the dough into a U shape. (if you have trouble rolling the dough into a rope slightly wet your hands and try again).
2. Cross one end of the rope over the other one. The ropes should cross about three inches from the tips.
3. Twist the crossed ends, making a full turn. Fold the ends back, towards the middle of the U.
4. Open the ends slightly to form a pretzel shape. Press the ends into the dough firmly.

Bring water into saucepan to a gentle boil (not too many bubbles) Use a pancake turner to lower each pretzel into the saucepan. Count slowly to 30. Then lift the pretzel onto the greased and salted cookie sheet (shaking off excess water back into the saucepan). Repeat until all the pretzels are done. Sprinkle some kosher salt on top of the pretzels and put them in preheated oven.

Bake for 8 minutes or until the pretzels are golden.

Salted Pretzels

Variation Recipes

Garlic Parmesan Pretzels Add 4-6 cloves pressed garlic and 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese into the liquid ingredients before adding the flour.

Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Pretzels Add 4-6 chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tsp basil and 2 tsp parm cheese to the liquid ingredients before adding in the flour

Recipe notes:

• You can make the dough up to 24 hours in advance, just cover the bowl and store in refrigerator.


• These also freeze very well. Just pop them into the microwave for a few seconds to reheat.


• This recipe will yield 20-24 shaped pretzels depending on the size you make them.


• You can also make pretzel sticks with this recipe. Instead of rolling dough into pretzel shapes just roll into 2-3" long ropes a little thicker than your thumb.

Chicken Stuffed Shells

I'll admit that I was skeptical about this recipe when I first read the rave reviews on my cooking board and I've been holding on making it for months now for two reasons: 1.) I was afraid that chicken in stuffed shells would be dry and I didn't need to add another dry chicken recipe to my repetoire, and 2.) I've never made stuffed shells before because they seemed too time consuming. Well, I was SO wrong on both accounts.
I decided to make this a Sunday night dinner because I figured they'd take more time to make than I am afforded for weeknight dinners. This was true, but really worth the extra couple of minutes, and it would have taken me less time but I made a quick tomato sauce rather than using canned or jarred.

The only changes I made to the recipe is that I used a rostisserie chicken rather than boiling a chicken breast, I made my own sauce, and added a little bit of shredded fontina cheese to the top of the shells before baking.

Kyle and I LOVED these stuffed shells and they will definitely be repeated sometime soon. They are easy to make for a nice weekend meal or fancy enough for a dinner party, and can be made ahead and frozen for another time (which I will be doing the next time I make them).

Chicken Stuffed Shells

(looking for recipe's original source....)

• 15 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
• 2 teaspoons oil
• 2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 8 ounces cooked chicken
• 1(15 ounce) container fat free ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1 (28 ounce) can low fat marinara sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp parsley
• Parmesan cheese for topping

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Spray large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray
3. Cook pasta shells according to directions and drain
4. Boil chicken and shred
5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat
6. Combine chicken and garlic, cook for 3-5 minutes
7. Remove from heat and stir in ricotta, breadcrumbs, parsley and salt and pepper to taste
8. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of the baking dish
9. Fill cooked shells with chicken mixture and place filled sides up in baking dish
10. Pour remaining sauce over shells
11. Bake covered with foil for 15-20 minutes, remove foil and continue baking until filling is lightly browned
12. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20-25 minutes

Serves: 4-5

Spinach and feta stuffed chicken

Feta cheese is not a staple in my house and as much as I LOVE cheese, I've never cooked with feta. The salad that was served to Kyle and I at the wedding we were at recently had feta on the side. We looked at each other and commented on how good the feta was. I decided then that I needed to add feta to one of my upcoming menus.

So I decided to make a stuffed chicken breast with spinach and feta. Easy enough and it sounded so good! I reduced some tomato sauce and served it over some orzo on the side.

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken

• 2 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 bag fresh spinach
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 tsp plus 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
• salt and pepper

Heat oil in a medium-sized oven-safe saute pan to medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add spinach, stir in with garlic. Cover and cook for 1-3 minutes. Once spinach has wilted remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Cut small pockets (about 2 inches wide) in the sides of the chicken breasts. Using a sharp paring knife, slice the inside of the chicken open to increase the size of the pocket without enlarging the outer opening, being careful not to cut through to the opposite side.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Return the saute pan to medium-high heat with 1 tbsp olive oil. Stuff chicken with feta then spinach mixture. Carefully place stuffed breasts in the hot pan and cook until chicken has begun to brown, turning once, about 4 minutes per side. Cover and move pan to oven. Cook for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: about 20 minutes

Serves: 2

Menu Plan Monday: Week of Aug 24-30

Friday - chicken Caesar salad

Saturday - Spinach and feta stuffed chicken w/ orzo pasta

Sunday - chicken stuffed shells

Monday - Giada's parmesan-crusted pork chops w/ orzo with parmesan and basil

Tuesday - Cooking Light's Cilantro Turkey Burgers w/ sweet potato fries

Wednesday - Seared tuna steaks w/ risotto and steamed broccoli

Thursday - Chicken stir fry over brown rice

Brownies with a caramel touch

After a dinner of spicy garlic lime pasta and fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, my dessert called for a little bit of sweetness (or a lot of sweetness). I needed something to make that was quick and easy to end a weeknight dinner with a guest. Everybody loves brownies but I wasn't feeling up to a pan of brownies - I was thinking something a little special. Yes, my brownies came from a mix (Hershey's Triple Chocolate Chunk which can be found at your local supermarket or at BJ's Wholesale where you can buy a box of 4 packets) but I made them my own by baking them in mini-muffin pans and then pressing a caramel Hershey's kiss in the center after immediately after baking. Not hard but SO good!

I sprayed the mini-muffin tins with Pam for Baking, filled the cups about 1/2 to 2/3 full, then cooked them for about 18 minutes at 300 degrees F. (check with a toothpick for doneness)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 18-20 minutes

Yields: 36 individual mini brownies

Tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil: A beautiful marriage

In my opinion, there is nothing better in the summer than fresh tomatoes...except the combination of fresh tomato, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. So simple, yet so delicious. Need I say more? Drizzle them with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar or eat them "naked" - you can't go wrong either way. You can serve them as an appetizer or as a side dish to the main course.

Spicy Garlic Lime Pasta

After weeks of reading raves about this recipe on my cooking board, I finally put it on my weekly menu (last week's menu actually). Overall, I thought it was great but I think next time it needs a little extra lime and spiciness, which says a lot coming from me. Thanks Amber for finding this one and for reworking the original recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com/!

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Heavenly Birthday Cake!!

I'll be the first to admit that chocolate cake with chocolate icing is not my favorite type of cake. I've requested a marble cake with sweet butter icing every year since before I could remember but this year would be different because my mom's oven is broken and baking a cake in a toaster oven might prove difficult. So I asked Kyle to take care of my cake this year and we'd bring it to Long Island where we'd celebrate with my family, as we do every year.

My only request was that he call the baker who made our wedding cake last year and ask her to bake a small cake - the flavor and icing were his choice - but no chocolate/chocolate. I guess a million things happened between that request and week of my birthday (8/19 in case anyone is wondering ;) ) and the call to the baker never happened. Needless to say, Kyle felt really bad and offered to make the cake himself. Wow. What a nice suggestion. And to be honest, I wasn't at all worried about how it would turn out because he's actually very adept in the kitchen. All he needed was a recipe and for me to be around if he needed help.

What recipe did I choose? Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake with Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Icing. Yes, that's right...a chocolate/chocolate cake. Funny indeed. I had heard wonderful reviews about this cake and hadn't yet gotten the chance to make it so I figured this would be as good of a time as ever (and I wouldn't have to do any work to enjoy it!).

The result? Absolute chocolate perfection. The cake was perfect. The icing was perfect. EVERYONE raved about it and couldn't believe that Kyle made this cake - and their jaws literally dropped when I told them that he made it from scratch! My brother, who I seriously don't think has ever eaten a whole piece of birthday cake in his life had SECONDS! He even requested that Kyle make his birthday cake in November. (Sorry Mom!!)

I'm not going to post the recipe because my iterations in this post have gotten away from me but let me say a couple of things: Kyle made the cake and icing the night before we ate it. We wrapped the cake in SaranWrap, refrigerated it overnight, and put the two in a cooler for our 2 hr drive. The cake arrived without incident (no cracks) and it was iced right before birthday candles were added. He also made 1 and a half of the icing recipe but we agreed that it probably should have been doubled.

DON'T hesitate to make this cake - it's totally worth it!!!

(And go ahead and add the perfect complement: vanilla ice cream!)

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 8.20.07

Friday: order-in pizza

Saturday: away for the weekend

Sunday: away for the weekend

Monday: Bacon cheeseburgers with tator tots

Tuesday: Spicy garlic lime pasta

Wednesday: Chicken parmagiana

Thursday: Chicken sausages with veggies over pasta

Spicy Black Bean Cakes

A new cookbook has emerged in my kitchen - Everyday Food: Great Food Fast (from the Martha Stewart Kitchens). I know I've raved about it a past post so I'll save my breath this time but I have to rave about the Spicy Black Bean Cakes that came out of this cookbook.

Oh. My. Goodness. SO GOOD!! I'm not known to be a "spicy kind of girl" and I've NEVER made anything with fresh spicy chilis but I've watched enough FoodNetwork to know that you can dramatically reduce the heat of a chili pepper by removing the seeds and pulp (carefully of course, avoiding direct contact with the seeds - which is where the heat of the chili lies - and avoiding touching my eyes before thoroughly washing my hands). So that's what I did. I wanted the flavor of the jalepeno chili sans heat.

The premise of the cookbook is that you can really make great food in a decent amount of time (usually under 30 minutes) and the recipe states that it should take 20 min to prep the cakes. It took me about 25-30, mostly because of the time it took to remove the seeds and pulp from the jalepeno. The extra time was well worth it though and I am so pleased with the result - and I will definitely be making these again. I paired them with my garlic-cilantro-lime marinated grilled chicken and about 1/2 lb shrimp that "got happy" all day in the same marinade (separate bags though), and the suggested lime sour cream that the cookbook suggested to serve with the cakes. YUM!!

I've had some trouble finding the recipe on Martha's website so below is the recipe directly from the cookbook.

Spicy Black Bean Cakes

• 2 tbsp olive oil (I only used one and sprayed the cookie sheet with Pam)
• 4 scallions, thinly cut
• 1 small jalepeno chili, finely minced (I used 3/4 of the jalepeno)
• 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained (I used 1 can)
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and coarsely grated
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to Broil and adjust rack to between 4 and 6 inches from the broiler.

In a medium frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Cook scallions for 2 minutes, add garlic, jalepeno, and cumin; cook for 30 seconds until fragrent; remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. To the hot mixture, add black beans. Mash beans into hot mixture, leaving about 1/4 of the beans whole; season generously with salt and pepper. Fold in sweet potato, egg, and bread crumbs and work the mixture until everything is well-incorporated.

Coat a cookie sheet with remaining olive oil (again, I sprayed it with Pam instead of using the olive oil). Scoop a handleful of the mixture out and pat into a small patty, about the size and shapes of a crab cake. The mixture will make 8 cakes. Place the cakes on the sheet; broil for 10 minutes. Carefully turn cakes over and broil for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 12-13 minutes

Serves: 2-4

Lime Sour Cream

• 1 cup low-fat sour cream
• 4 tsp freshly-squeezed lime juice
• 1 jalepeno, finely minced (I subbed this out for a handful of chopped fresh cilantro)

Combine ingredients and serve with cakes.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Serves: 4

Garlic-Cilantro-Lime Grilled Chicken and Shrimp

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to about 1/2 inch thick
• 1/2 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (fresh works best for this dish)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3 limes
• 4 tbsp honey
• 6 tbsp olive oil

Separate marinade ingredients in half (except for the limes - 2 for the chicken, 1 for the shrimp). In 2 Ziploc bags, add all marinade ingredients, and squeeze around in the bags to combine them well. Squeeze in lime juice (again, 2 limes for chicken and 1 for shrimp). Add chicken and shrimp to their respective bags and squeeze all the air out of the bags before closing. Work the marinade around the chicken and shrimp. Refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours (or even overnight).

Grill chicken for 10-12 minutes, flipping once after 8 minutes. Add shrimp to grill (metal or wooden skewers work great) during the last 2 minutes of cooking the chicken. Turn shrimp once. Serve with black bean cakes.

Active prep time: 10 minutes

Inactive prep time: 8-10 hours

Cook time: 10-12 minutes

Serves: 2