Cooking - Homemade Soft Pretzels

I have had a snack of

homemade soft pretzels 

on my to do list for months!!

I (we) finally got around to making them

this week.

We have taken two weeks off from school

to get organized and for a visit from grammy.

I didn't decide this til Monday morning as we

were gathering around the kitchen table

getting ready to start school.

When I told the kids,

you would have thought it was 

Christmas or I told them we were 

going to Disney World (if they knew what that was)
or something...

There were hugs and hollering 

and Thank You's galore!

Mercy!!
(weren't they the ones bugging me
to start their new books just 1 month ago??)

I told them we would do some arts 

and crafts (none of which have occurred yet).

But it also gave us the opportunity to 

make these pretzels!

When it comes to recipes,

to me they are typically just guidelines

or suggestions.

I usually tweak a little to make them

my own.

 I googled soft pretzel recipe

and came upon one called

Almost-Famous Soft Pretzels

With a name like that - we had to try it!

I followed the recipe almost exactly,

I tweaked the flour a little

and did a combo of 

white and wheat flour.

We also didn't go the salt covered route,
we covered them with cinnamon sugar.

Ok - so I didn't follow it "exactly"
just mostly.

I did follow the cooking directions,

but I think they were a little overdone,

so next time I won't cook them quite as long.

But I didn't hear ANY complaints 

as all 6 were being scarfed down!!
(yours truly included!)


A pictorial review

I waited until after the littles had gone down for
naps before the big boys and I started the dough.


We marked the bowl to approximate where the
top of the dough was to see how much it rose.



Then we examined the results after the dough rose.



Then Ms. Priss got to punch it down!



Then I portioned out the dough into
6 pieces and everyone got to work
rolling out and shaping their dough!

Four were the traditional pretzel shape,

then I let the big boys make something of their own.

The results!!!

 

We will definitely be making these again.

I am not sure I will allow all the "help" 

on the front end.

But they enjoyed it.

New Found Love

A couple of days ago,
 I told you guys about those

amazing State Fair Apple Dumplings

we had last week.

Then a few days ago,

my sweet sister over at

McWonderful Life

posted about her latest food discovery

Apple Pie Parfait

I had all the ingredients and wanted to give it a shot.

But it took me 2 days to actually do it.

First, I did not have the required granola.

So what'd I do?

I made some!

I used this basic recipe but tweaked a bit.

So it turned out more like this:

3 cup rolled oats (all I had left)

1 cup wheat germ

1 cup flax seed

1/4 cup homemade brown sugar

healthy tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup veg oil

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup water

Combine dry, combine wet.

Mix all together.

Spread in jelly roll pan.

Bake at 400° for 40 min

Stir every 10 min.

DONE!

Then I had planned on those sweet little apple parfait thingies after

dinner Tuesday night, 

but after single-handedly eating

about 2 lbs of crab legs

I was STUFFED

and not in the mood to make dessert!

I decided to give it a shot at lunch the next day

and instead of apple pie filling

I just used the strawberries in our fridge.

R & J thought they had died and

gone to parfait heaven.

R loved, loved, loved

the granola.

They each had 2 parfait cups

and some 

"good for you" nuggets

for lunch!

The kids liked it so much,

I decided to do the apple pie ones for 

dessert that night.

They were not as pretty as my sisters.
but...

OH.MY.STARS!

My version of her recipe:
1 small apple per person
~1/4 sugar
~1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste)
homemade granola
greek yogurt (1/2 plain, 1/2 vanilla)

Saute apples in cinnamon, sugar & butter,
til desired firmness.
Layer in with yogurt & granola.

ENJOY!

I have not had a dessert that good in 

a LONG TIME.

And dare I say - 

I think it was better than those

State Fair Dumplings!

Hubby said it was a toss up for him!!

And its a tad bit healthier than those dumplings.

Recommendation, Warning & Let the Games Begin!!!

Recommendation:

We have ALL seen the 

rotisserie chickens

that the local grocery stores 

have for sale every day.

And if you have ever tried them, 

you know that they are scrumptious!

BUT - unless you found somewhere 

that has them for $3.50 each...

its hard to pay $7/chicken.

(well for me anyways).

Back at my favorite grocery store chain in NC,

they would occasionally run these super specials

on chickens and you could get them for $0.59/lb.

So me being the frugal person I have always been,

I would buy as many as they would let me and

load my freezer.  I was known to have 12

chickens in my freezer at once.

(outside, garage freezer)

Then I had to come up with ways to cook all those

silly chickens!!

I decided to bite the bullet and buy a rotisserie.

We did NOT buy one new.

(remember the frugal statement above)

I wasn't convinced we would love it and use it,

so I wasn't forking out the dough for a new

kitchen toy.

So we found on on Craigslist for $40.

It had ALL the pieces and the lady

said she had only used it a handful of times.

That was the BEST $40 we have EVER spent.

I have learned how to truss the birds,

without those goofy strings they sell specifically 

for trussing.

(I just use cotton thread!)

And after some trial and error -

if you have never brined a bird...

oh good heavens,

you MUST!

There is NO other way to do a chicken!

You have to play with the seasonings in your brine.

But your loved ones,

will be asking for you to make

"one of your rotisserie chickens".

(oh and a little Lawry's seasoning on top is the kicker)

You gotta try it!!

Warning:

Along with the frugalness,

referred to above,

I do my best,

and always have,

to know where our money is going.

When we sign a contract to buy a house,

I want to know where all of those 

costs are coming from on that 

"good faith estimate" 

they present you with.

When we buy a car,

why aren't these numbers adding up?

I ask questions...

Tax documentation,

double check it!

Most of the time,

they are correct

and legit,

but occasionally,

by you asking questions

and double checking,

you can find errors

that could cost you 

literally 

HUNDREDS of dollars.

The past two days, 

I have spent crunching numbers

only to discover an error

significantly to our disadvantage.

So now we have to get it fixed...

let the fun begin!

It doesn't take long,

just give it a shot.

Trust me,

you will thank me one day!

The Usual:

Nothing too exciting this week.

I actually got ALL four of the kids

at the table and occupied this week

(once)

it was beautiful!

(albeit fleeting - I'll take it)

A few years ago,

I discovered dried beans

as a sensory item!

My kids have LOVED them.  

Its easier than rice and sand inside.

But give them: 

different color beans

funnels

bowls

measuring spoons

measuring cups

aluminum pie pans

and 

watch them go!

They will spend quite a while occupying themselves that way.

Just stay close, cause when the beans start flying...

or TOO many are hitting the ground...

they are DONE!  

haha!

Let the Games Begin!!!

Our new sports season is officially in full swing and

we had our first Saturday FULL of games today.

MERCY!!!

10am - A's soccer game

2pm - J's soccer game

4:15 - R's baseball game

This is about what our Saturday's look like

for the next 8 weeks.

OY!

And, of course, the field is too far from the house

to justify going home between games

(most of the time).

Which makes for a VERY long day

with an 18 mo old in tow!

Below are a few pics from our day...

Soccer Girl!!!

Home Sweet Home

(we had to get something but that thing had NO airflow and it was HOT!)

Camera man, videoing his brother's soccer game.

T's perch most of the day.

(poor thing)

Action shot, after a throw in.

J's is doing AMAZING this year in soccer!!

Luckily the camera snapped when it did - cause the ball went

right through his legs.

I would have HATED to get that on camera!

Haha!!

Team M!

Accountability Check In:

1) Getting up before the kids...

not every day.

2) Working out before the kids get up...

NOPE, not at all,

but I have been getting my workout in 

before they get up from their newly 

implemented rest time,

does that count?

3) Dave Ramsey/Budget - 

Done, let me just say, I have NEVER 

looked so forward to the first day of the month

in my LIFE!

Brand new squeaky clean budget to work with!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful

Valentine's Day.

Well, I threw our "menu plan" out the window...

(That didn't take long!)

and opted for something a little different last night.

I decided we needed to do something special.

Started out with just a special dessert.

Then it morphed into a special dinner.

Then that morphed into a  

quiet (kinda) dinner for 2

after we fed the kids.

I went to the store to get steaks and lobster tails.

And the fixins for a small cheesecake.

Got enough for everyone.

Then as we walked from the grocery store

to the UPS store (to ship something),

we passed a local 

"Take and Bake Pizza Place"

They had a picture advertising a 

heart shaped pizza for $7...

hmmm...that is interesting.

So on the way back from the UPS store, 

we stopped in.

And wound up with their 

Sweetheart Special.

(disclaimer - the following pictures are mainly for my 

dad - I thought he would get a kick out of them, 

so just enjoy!)

Un-baked Heart Shaped Pepperoni Pizza

\

Baked Heart Shaped Pepperoni Pizza

Un-baked S'mores Dessert Pizza

Final product:

And I got this bright idea to feed the kids first

then put a movie on

and daddy and I could actually enjoy a (semi) quiet

dinner.

I think the S'mores pizza was a hit based on the 

resulting s'mores pizza faces...

and chocolate teeth!

(and as you know from previous posts - 

the quality and focus of pictures are hit or miss

so do your best to kinda enjoy)

Once we got the kids situated we moved on to...

The adult menu:

Parmesan Crusted NY Strip

Broiled Lobster Tails

Salad with Blue Cheese & Cranberries

Baked Potato

and

Individual Key Lime Cheesecakes

with Strawberry Sauce

and

Pink Champagne

Turned out PERFECT!

All of it.

The lobster tails were the BEST I have ever had

(I can't tell you the last time I had lobster, but these were AMAZING!)

The cheesecakes were a combination of recipes.

I used the ingredients from one and used 1/3 of the recipe

(math came in handy here)

and the cooking instructions from another recipe

and 

IT WORKED!

Definitely will be done again.

Pre-baked cheese-cup-cakes

Final product:

The kids were great, 

except for the occasional uninvited guest appearances

by the baby/bird/lap monkey.

The kids got a combined present of a fish tank.

And their goal is to have one like their Uncle Jack.

BIG goal, but gotta start somewhere.

Here is what they are aiming for:  

 Every one worked together to get the aquarium up and running.

(Is this where the cord goes?)

(J & L rinsing the rocks for the tank)

More rock rinsing...didn't know we could fit this 

many people in that little bathroom!!

Or that rinsing rocks could be a 

spectator sport!

The full, yet uninhabited, aquarium.

We will keep you posted on the fish as we acquire and name them.