Simple Soft Pretzles

I am so sorry that this blog has been on the back burner (food blog pun) for so long. I have just gotten so busy with this little baby on the way, and all of my other responsibilities. BUT! I have quite a few recipes to share in the next few weeks, so be excited for that!

Today, I will be sharing one of my most favorite foods to make. Alex, my husband, asks for these almost weekly, and I cannot resist. We have homemade pretzels quite often, and I don't even feel bad.

These pretzels are INCREDIBLY easy, and only take 5 ingredients.... you read that right. FIVE! And the best part is, I bet you $5, you already have all the ingredients in your pantry right now! Score!

I adapted my recipe from Sallys Baking Addiction. She just uses whole wheat flour, and brushes them with an egg... And I don't. haha. But I'm so glad I found her blog, because this recipe changed my life. http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/12/25/30-minute-whole-wheat-pretzels/

Here are what the delicious little morsels look like straight out of the oven!

Now, tell me you aren't drooling and ready to find out how to make these bad boys!!

First, you are going to take your packet (Or 2 and 1/4 tsp) of yeast (I like to use the instant rise kind) and stir it into a a bowl with 1.5 cups of warm water. I don't worry too much about the temperature, you just don't want it to be tap cold, and not boiling hot. When I first started baking, I was so afraid of yeast. But after using it lots and lots, it really is a friendly ingredient. Don't be scared! Start using it now, and you can thank me later! Now, once the yeast and water have been mixed up real nice, it should be kinda bubbly! And thats a good good sign. It means that your yeast is active! YAY! So once we've got that going for us, add 1 Tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp of salt to the mix and stir!

Wanna hear another amazing reason why you just HAVE to make these pretzels? There is no need for a mixer!! You can mix it totally by hand. Now you have no excuses!

After the water, yeast, sugar and salt are all combined nicely, you are slowly going to start adding your flour. I add 3 cups, 1 cup at a time. Mix in your electric mixer, or with a wooden spoon until combined and the dough is no longer sticky. You may have to add more flour, and I usually add 1/4 cup at a time and mix well so that it doesn't get too dry. Poke the dough with your hand and if the dough doesn't stick, but bounces back, then you are ready to knead!

If using a mixer, I just put on the dough hook at let it for about 2-3 minutes. If kneading by hand, knead on a well floured surface for 3-5 minutes. Once the dough is kneaded, start breaking off sections and rolling them out like little snakes like you did in elementary school when playing with play-doh! So easy. This is a great time to involve your little ones! Who doesn't love playing with dough and making snakes!! Once you have a long snake/rope, make your pretzel shape. You can go traditional, just twist them, or even just leave them as long sticks! I've even made heart shapes and letters with these pretzels! HAVE FUN!

Once all your dough has been formed how you want it, bake for 10 minutes at 425F degrees. Then turn the oven to broil and bake for 3-5 minutes. Keep an eye on them while broiling, you do not want these babies to burn! Allow them to cool and brush with melted butter if you want to add cinnamon and sugar or salt. Serve immediately, or store in an air tight container and enjoy later (Although I doubt you will be able to resist). When I store them, I reheat them in the microwave, wrapped in a damp paper towel, it helps restore the moisture. You may also freeze them!

Okay, so how easy was that!!! Please make these and let me know what you think!!

Lemony Chicken Pasta

Lemony Chicken Pasta

I can't believe that I am actually publishing my very first recipe on this blog! This is something that I have always wanted to do, but honestly I have never felt like my food is that great or whatever. But, I figured that I do have a talent to share, and I might as well go out on a limb and try this whole food blogger dealio.

So today I was craving pasta (shocker.. seems like that is all i'm craving at this stage of the pregnancy... haha) but I also wanted to use up some of the million lemons that Hope brought over last week. So I came up with this easy One Pan Lemon Pasta. 

The first thing I like to do when starting a recipe is to get out all of my ingredients. For this recipe you will need:

• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks and seasoned 
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt plus lots of freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup of zucchini sliced in quarters
• 1/2 a yellow onion, diced small
• 2 cups (16 oz) of canned crushed tomatoes Italian Style
• (Optional: Regular Canned Tomatoes and 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp basil, and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes)
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 pound of penne pasta (about two cups)
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced; juiced lemon should yield about 1/4 cup of lemon juice
• 1 lemon sliced for garnish
• 1 cup of parmesan cheese

Start out by heating up your olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add your cubes of chicken and brown on all sides. 

So I didn't have traditional canned tomatoes, so I decided to use some of my canned tomatoes that I canned myself a few months ago. And since my tomatoes weren't seasoned or crushed when I canned them I just did that myself. Super easy.

If this is how you plan on doing your tomatoes just puree them and then add 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp basil, and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Once the chicken is all browned add your minced garlic, zucchini and onion and let them get soft.

Once your onions are translucent and the zucchini is soft add the cup of water and the 2 cups of pureed tomatoes and the uncooked pasta. Turn the heat up to High and bring everything to a boil. Let everything boil until the pasta is tender.

While my pasta was cooking I zested one lemon and juiced it. And also sliced up an extra lemon I had for garnish. 

Once the pasta was tender, I added the lemon juice and lemon zest and lemon slices and sprinkled the whole thing with some tasty cheese! 

I am so proud of how this turned out! Best thing about it in my mind is that it was all cooked in one pan! No need to drain the pasta even and dirty a colander. Also I love how the lemon in this brightens up the flavors and makes everything zing -- in a great way! 

I hope you give this easy recipe a try! And there is so many things you could do to mix this up and make it work with what you have in your pantry at the time. You could substitute the chicken with hamburger or sausage. You could leave out the tomatoes and just do chicken stock. and you could change up the veggies in this dish. Zucchini, carrots, broccoli, yellow squash, olives! Anything!

Enjoy!