Pretzel Bites

Quite often as you are walking through the mall, an amazing smell engulfs you.

It is Auntie Anne's pretzels. You can not help your self; you start 

salivating, and you would do anything for one of those amazing,

chewy, perfect pretzels.

Well, I have found a mock recipe and it is truly amazing.

Pretzel Bites

2 cups milk

1 1/2 Tbsp. (2 packets) active dry yeast

6 Tbsp. brown sugar

4 Tbsp. butter, melted

4 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. salt

Warm up the milk in the microwave or on the stove for about 1.5 minutes. 

Test to see if it is 110 degrees. Stir in the yeast and let it sit for about 3 minutes. 

Add the butter and sugar. Add the flour about 1 cup at a time, then add the salt.

Kneed the dough for about 10 minutes with a stand mixer, or by hand. Put it in a

greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and a towel, let it rise for about 1 hour

or until doubled in size. At this time heat your oven up to 450 degrees. 

Stop here and get the dunking mixture (below) ready. 

After the dough has risen, punch it down and start tearing off golf-ball-sized clumps of dough. 

Now pretend you are playing with Playdough! Roll that clump of dough into a

snake, and start cutting into 1 inch size pieces with a pizza cutter.

When you are ready to put them on the cookie sheet, place your pieces of dough

into the dunking mixture. I leave them for about 3 seconds, as this makes the 

pretzels chewy on the outside and yummy and soft

on the inside. Immediately place them on the cookie sheet and bake them

for about 5-7 min.

The dunking mixture

1/3 cup baking soda

3 cups warm water 

Place these two ingredients into a bowl and mix.

Fun Dips

Cinn. & Sugar -We love rubbing the tops of them in butter and dipping 

them in cinnamon and sugar.

Marinara Sauce- rub a little butter on top and sprinkle salt on top of them

and then dip them in marinara sauce.

Pizza Sauce

Let me know if you discover a new yummy dip.

Backwards Pizza with Marinara Sauce

Backwards Pizza with Marinara Sauce

This dough needs to sit for two hours, so make sure to allow yourself enough time.

1 teaspoon yeast

3/4 cup warm water

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup green peppers and red peppers

1/4 cup onions

1/4 cup olives

8 ounces mozzarella cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped ham

Place warm water in a bowl and sprinkle yeast over it. Let it sit for 3 minutes until it becomes activated, then add the flour and salt. Mix the ingredients until it becomes dough and start adding the toppings, peppers, onions, and olives to the dough. Yes, I said add the toppings to the dough. Remember, this is backwards pizza!

The dough will be a little sticky, add a little extra flour if it is too sticky. Cover with plastic and a towel for 1 hour in a warm place, then put it in the refrigerator for another hour. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and place it on wax paper. Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 11x17. Spread the cheese and ham on the dough and fold it over, leaving a small flap to fold over the other side, sealing in the cheese. Heat oven to 450 and place bread on a baking stone in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until brown. When it is finished baking take it out and add a little olive oil to the top and let it sit for a few minutes before you slice it. 

Marinera Sauce

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com it has become our favorite.

14.5 ounce can stewed tomatoes

3 ounce can tomato paste

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Put all of these ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth

3 tbsp olive oil 

1/4 cup finely diced onion

Cook the onion in the olive oil for 2 minutes over medium heat and then add the 

tomato mixture and

1/4 cup of chicken stock or white wine

Simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

German Pancakes

German Pancakes

My dad introduced me to German Pancakes when I was a young girl. He said the traditional way was to eat them with powdered sugar and lemon squeezed over the top. This was not my favorite, so I decided to change a few things. I slice bananas or apples in it before it's cooked, or I pan fry some apples with cinnamon and butter and add them to it later. 

German Pancakes

3 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 450. Beat eggs, milk, flour, and salt until smooth. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter in a 9x13 casserole dish in the oven, this will coat the pan so the pancake will not stick to it. After the dish is coated with the butter add the batter to the dish, and add bananas if you desire. I have also sliced apples real thin and cooked them in a little butter with cinnamon and a little stevia, I place these on top of the pancake when it is done cooking. Place the dish in the oven at 450 for 15 min, then lower the temp to 350 for 10 min. Don't worry if it has big bubbles just leave them. Enjoy!

Chicken Chow Mein

Well, this was Chicken Chow Mein.

It was amazing and has become a staple at our house.

Chicken Chow Mein

2 medium size carrots

single chicken breast

2 cloves of garlic

1 thin slice of ginger

1 pepper in any color you like

150g of chinese dried noodles 

(I can not find them in Togo so I just use 

Ramen Noodles—not the powder, just the noodles)

You could add some green onions but I do not have

 any yet they are growing.

Seasonings:

2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sesame oil

a dash of black pepper

Bake the chicken breast or just use what ever chicken you have, I use chicken off the bone. While that is cooking, cut up the carrots into small thin strips, mince the garlic, chop the ginger up really small, and cut the pepper into small strips. Cook all of the vegetables in some olive oil until tender. Cook the noodles according to the package. When the vegetables are close to being done, add the seasonings, noodles, and chicken.

Sprinkle some chopped peanuts on top and enjoy. By the way, you might want to double or triple this recipe; we never have left overs!

Taco Seasoning

Taco Seasoning

1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion flakes
1/4 tsp red chili flakes

Mix together and add to your dish.
It is possible to make a large amount of this and store it in a air tight container. 

Taco Pizza

Taco Pizza


I love Mexican food; I think I could live off of tortillas! But pizza is great too, so I decided to try the ingredients I love from Mexican food on a pizza. So here it is, taco pizza!

Pizza dough Click this link for the dough recipe

Sauce

 2 cans of refried beans, or you can make your own

(I soak and cook dried black beans and put them in the food processor to make the refried beans)

You could also add some salsa to the beans
Spread the beans over the uncooked pizza dough

Toppings

1 lb of beef
a package of taco seasoning
cheese
Cook the beef and add the taco seasoning, then spread the beef on
top of the beans and top with cheese

Cook at 400 for 10-15 min
When it comes out let sit for 5 min, cut and serve with:
lettuce
tomato
sour cream
ranch
salsa
black olives

Veggie Wraps with Peanut Sauce

Veggie Wraps with Peanut Sauce

My family loves this meal! Joshua really enjoys creating his own masterpiece.

a package of round rice papers 

carrots

green, red, yellow peppers

cucumbers

lettuce

broccoli

cauliflower 

tomatoes

sprouts
1 package of rice noodles

These are just suggestions, so you can choose whatever veggies you want.

When I cut the carrots, cucumbers, and peppers I cut them very thin.
Prepare rice noodles just like spaghetti noodles they do not take long to cook. Rinse with warm water. 

When you sit down to eat these you will want to have 2 pie plates with warm water in them on the table. Place a rice paper in the water until it becomes transparent and pliable; this does not take very long. When you are taking them out of the water be careful and use both hands because they can tear easily. Put a line of peanut sauce on the wrap, place the rice noodles on top of the sauce then add your veggies, then wrap it and eat. Enjoy!  

Peanut Sauce

I personally could eat a spoon of this sauce by itself because it's so yummy! 

It is a little spicy so you might want to start out with half of the curry paste 

and add a little at a time until you find the right heat for you or your family.

1 can of coconut milk (light) 14 oz

2 tbsp. curry paste

1/4 c. fish sauce (trust me it is good) 

I would not drink the fish sauce but it is good in this.

3 tbsp. palm sugar, I used brown sugar as a substitute

1 c. ground roasted peanuts (pure peanut butter)

Combine all of these ingredients into a sauce pan and simmer for 15 min. 

I noticed when I made this it had a lot of oil on the top from the coconut milk.

I was able to take some off, and it was still wonderful even without all of the fat. 

You can even add shredded chicken to this recipe,

but we like the idea of just veggies.
The idea for the wraps and peanut sauce recipe came from Jodi a friend, thank you Jodi and Daniel.