Pretzel Bites

We love soft pretzels and cheese so it made perfect sense that I at least try to make some on my own...turns out...it isn't that hard!  And it was a fun recipe for Bryker to help with!

I actually only did half of the recipe the time I made it...and while delicious they were salty.  So next time I will probably eliminate the salt from the dough and just do salt for topping.

• 4 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup + 1 tsp white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 5 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 4 cups hot water
• 1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 tsp sugar in warm water, let stand about 10 minutes
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, rest of the sugar and salt (as mentioned, I'd skip the salt here)
3. Make a well in the middle of the mixture and pour in the oil and yeast mixture - mix and form into dough
4. If dry, add a little water
5. Knead until smooth, about 7-8 minutes
6. Lightly oil a large bowl (I'm going to do melted butter next time), place dough in bowl and turn to coat
7. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour
8. Preheat oven to 450-degrees
9. Dissolve baking soda into hot water in a large bowl
10. When risen, turn dough out onto floured surface and divide into ropes, cut into bite sizes
11. Dip each piece into soda water mixture
12. Place on greased baking sheet, sprinkle with kosher salt
13. Bake for 8-10 minutes
14. Serve with nacho cheese!

(This picture is from all recipes, not my kitchen...)

Cheese Wontons

That's right.  I've attempted and perfected cheese wontons.  Yum.  Mee.

• 20 string cheese sticks
• 1 pkg wonton wrappers
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• black pepper
• fryer with oil
• marinara and/or honey mustard for dipping

1. have a bowl for bread crumbs (mixed with black pepper to taste)
2. have a bowl for your beaten eggs
3. cut each string cheese stick into thirds
4. place each piece of cheese into a wonton wrapper and roll up
5. once all the cheese is in rolled wrappers, begin to bread them
6. first dip in egg
7. then dip in bread crumbs
8. set aside
9. fry at 350-degrees for 2 minutes

I initially intended to bake these.  And I did try a sample batch via baking...but they were horrible.  So bad that Bryker wouldn't even try the fried version because he insisted they'd be just as bad as the baked ones.  His loss - because they weren't bad at all...in fact, they were incredibly delicious!

Just more proof that most things really are better when fried.

BBQ Turkey, Corn & Mango Quesadillas

serves 6 (2 wedges per serving – 3 pts per serving)

• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup corn
• 6 ounces thin-sliced deli turkey, cut into strips
• 2 Tbsp bbq sauce
• 3/4 cup shredded cheese
• 4 8” tortillas
• 1 mango, peeled, pitted & sliced
• 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1. Saute the onion and corn together for a bit in a pan to soften them up, set aside.
2. Place turkey in bbq sauce, toss to coat.
3. Place one tortilla in skillet sprayed with non-stick spray and top with cheese, turkey, onion, corn, mango, cilantro and another tortilla.
4. Cook as you would any quesadilla…
5. Cut each quesadilla into 6 wedges.

I don’t have a picture for this but we LOVED this!  We threw it together for a quick meal the other night and really enjoyed all the flavors.  I’m not sure I’d change a thing from this recipe.  A winner for sure!

French Onion Stuffed Mushrooms

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 large onions, halved and sliced thinly
• 1 can beef broth
• 7 dashes Worcestershire
• splace of dry white wine (i.e. chardonnay)
• 1/2 cups grated guyere (I used mozzarella)
• salt
• 24 whole white mushrooms, washed and stems removed
• minced parsley

1. saute onions with 1 Tbsp butter for 15-20 minutes
2. add wine, brother and worcestershire
3. cook until liquid has reduced down, set aside
4. melt 1 Tbsp butter in another skillet
5. place mushrooms in, cook 2 mins, turn over and repeat
6. place mushrooms in baking dish
7. fill with onion mixture, top with cheese
8. bake 10-15 minutes @ 325 degrees
9. sprinkle parsley on top
10. serve…delicious warm or cold

Banana Biscuits

This is from a friend of a friend who's husband decided to get creative with their kids...and wow - it's delicious!

yield: 10 biscuits

1 banana

honey

cinnamon

sugar

refrigerator biscuits

pam

1. preheat the oven to 400-degrees

2. spray muffin tin with pam

3. put honey into bottom of each tin (fyi, only use ten of the twelve slots if your pkg only gives you ten biscuits)...just enough honey to cover the bottom

4. place a slice of banana in the honey (if you're a banana lover, I'd place two or three slices)

5. sprinkle each slot with some cinnamon and sugar

6. place biscuit on top

7. bake 8-10 minutes, until biscuits are golden

8. once they come out of the oven, turn your muffin tin over onto a cookie sheet

Parmesan Knots

These are HIGHLY recommended for you to try...from me...and everyone that tried them!

yield: 30 knots (1.3 ww pts each)

1 tube of refrigerated biscuits
1/4 cup canola oil
3 Tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp garlic powder (I used garlic salt)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
cooking spray

1. preheat oven to 400-degrees and spray baking sheet
2. cut each biscuit into thirds
3. roll out into "snakes" about 3-4" long...this doesn't need to be a science
4. tie into knots
5. bake for 8-10 minutes
6. while baking, combine the canola oil, parmesan, garlic, oregano and parsley in a large bowl
7. once knots are done baking, toss in mixture
8. serve with marinara...or nothing...

These are a great side dish or even just an appetizer to share.

Cheese Wontons

This is a recipe for cheese wontons "weight watcher style".

yield: 12 wontons (1 ww pt each)

3/4 cups of shredded cheese, whatever kind you like
12 wonton wrappers
cooking spray

1. preheat oven to 350-degrees
2. coat mini muffin pan with cooking spray
3. gently push wrappers into each muffin
4. spread cheese into each wrapper
5. pinch the edges of each wrapper together
6. spray with cooking spray (this makes them bake crispy)
7. bake 10-15 mins

While these may be missing a little bit of that fried deliciousness...they're still quite tasty! And forgive me...but they didn't last long enough after they were out of the oven for me to take a picture...oops! I think the way Mike described it recently to someone was, "Sam has really been doing some wonderful things with wonton wrappers." Seriously, I could have died laughing. Filling with cheese and baking = Wonderful...just in case you didn't know :)

Wonton Quiche

This is a great appetizer recipe for entertaining. And beyond the actual recipe, you could do so many different things with it!

yield: 36 quiche (1.5 ww pts each)

cooking spray
mini muffin pan(s)
36 wonton wrappers
small onion, finely chopped (I used onion powder)
1 cup egg beaters
1 can of fat-free evaporated milk
.5 cup of low-fat shredded cheese
4 slices of turkey bacon, crumbled (I used 2 tablespoons of bacon bits)

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. spray muffin pan
3. press wrappers into each muffin cup
4. spray edges with cooking spray so they crisp when baking, set aside
5. fry the chopped onion up and set aside
6. in a bowl, mix the milk, egg and cheese
7. add bacon and onion
8. fill each muffin cup with about one tablespoon of the egg mixture
9. bake 20 mins

What I love most about these...you could do so many variations of this recipe to change it up a bit. I tried doing a mexican one later with just a dab of my favorite salsa on top - YUM!

Garlic Bread

I would say I'm still playing around with this recipe but only because I like to...homemade garlic bread is a staple in our household (but not for much longer with our diet looming on the horizon). Feel free to play around with this recipe, but the base to it is a keeper!

yield: lots of slices depending on the size of your loaf

one french loaf (sliced or not, doesn't matter)
1 stick of butter: softened
3/4 cup of ricotta cheese (I used the low-fat version)
1/2 cup of shredded italian cheese mix (romano, parmesan & asiago)
~ 1 tsp or so of garlic salt (this is to taste so it'll take some taste testing)
~ 1/2 tsp or so of paprika
1 tsp of dried parsley flakes (moreso for looks than anything)

1. Preheat the oven to 375-degrees.
2. Mix the butter with the cheeses and spices. Taste a little to see if it is salty enough or not and adjust with your garlic salt measurements...trust me, a bland garlic bread is no good. We use salt sense so for a little extra health kick, I'd recommend that.
3. Once it is all good and mixed, set the mixture aside.
4. If your loaf is not sliced, go ahead and either cut in half (like it is a sandwich) or slice.
5. Go ahead and spread the mixture evenly on your bread.
6. Bake about 10 mins, you really need to watch it so it doesn't get overdone and become a crouton.
7. Once your 10 minutes is up, turn your oven to broil on low and broil for an additional 3-5 mins. 8. Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving, enjoy!

We do this with pasta, pizza, steak...you name it and we like garlic bread with it! Perhaps that is why we are going on a diet, ha! Here is the before and after...

Hawaiian Cheese Dip

I haven't made this for a while but I need to. It is one of those recipes where you try it and love it so you make it a lot for a while and then stop and forget about it...and now I need to make it again! This one could be served with the sweet hawaiian bread or tortilla chips. Best when served warm but fine at room temperature, too.

yield: quite a bit...two round loaves of sweet bread or one bag of tortilla chips

1 block of velveeta: cubed
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can crushed pineapple
1 package of diced ham (I used an 8oz pkg but up to 16oz would be fine)

1. dump all of this into a microwave-safe bowl and start at 5 minutes on high
2. take it out, stir it around and throw it back in for 3-5 minutes at a time
3. repeat until it is all melted

It is a neat flavor that you get from this...kind of like a con queso with a hint of sweetness.

Cheesey Bacon Spinach Dip

I found this in the latest Kraft Foods magazine. I get excited when I find a dip like this that isn't based on mayo or sour cream. So I gave this one a whirl at a food day recently and the reviews were good. I'd make it again for sure. Serve it with tortilla chips. Best if served warm, but okay at room temperature, too.

yield: enough for an entire bag of tortilla chips and then some

1 block of velveeta: cut up into small cubes
1/2 block of cream cheese: softened
1 block of frozen chopped spinach: thawed
1 jar of hormal bacon pieces (find by the bacon bits and salad dressing)
1 can of rotel tomatoes

1. dump all this into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 5 minutes
2. take it out and stir and if it isn't done, try again for another 3-5 minutes

It took quite a few "rounds" in our microwave for this to get done, but once it was done - it was delicious. Definitely worth sharing!