Soft Pretzels

This is a recipe I was hesitant to try, but it turned out GREAT!! I tried to make them with reagan and zack but with reagan trying to eat the yeast and getting dough in her hair and all over her face...let's just say my patience level was falling...dramatically...so once she was in bed zack and I finished up and they are so yummy!

I was hesitant to try these because of the part where you have to boil them in a baking soda bath, but it wasn't as bad as I had originally thought it would be. So if you have some time, it really was a fun recipe. Zack like to roll the "snakes" and thought it was kind of like playdough.


Ingredients
2 tablespoons warm water, plus 1 1/3 cups warm water
1 package dry yeast
1/3 cup brown sugar
5 cups flour
1/2 cup baking soda
Kosher salt

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, mix 2 tablespoons warm water with the yeast to dissolve it. Then stir in the remaining warm water and brown sugar. Place bowl on a mixer and using a dough hook, gradually add the flour and continue mixing until it forms a ball. Turn it out onto a work surface and knead the dough to make it smooth. Use enough flour on your work surface so the dough is not sticky.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

Butter 2 sheet pans. Bring 2 quarts of water and the baking soda to boil in a large saucepan*. Cut dough up into golf ball size pieces(mine were more like tennis balls). Then roll them into 1/2-inch thick worms. Form a U then cross the ends, twisting at the middle. Fold the ends back down to meet the U and press to secure the dough.

Drop it into the boiling water for 30 seconds then fish it out and place it on the greased sheet pan. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown.

*I had read on another recipe not to use an aluminum pan, but not sure why.

Banana Bread

This is a great recipe when your bananas go bad. And the kiddos will love to help smash the bananas.

2 oz soft butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbl Vanilla

2 Tbl Cinnamon

1 lg egg

1 1/2 cup self rising flour*

125 ml or 8 Tablespoons milk

3 smashed bananas

Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes

Grease the loaf tin with lots of butter. Cream the sugar and butter together, add vanilla and cinnamon and blend. Then add the egg and milk, mix well. Next, add the flour once mixed, fold in the bananas. You can also add chopped walnuts at this point.

*If you do not have self rising flour simply add 2 1.4 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt to the flour before mixing. You can also use 50% wheat 50% white flour to make it healthier.

a very basic cheese sauce

I halved this recipe and it was plenty for our little family.

4 tbsp. butter
2 c. milk
1/4 c. flour

Cheese: I added 4 slices of cheese when I halved this. But the directions say: Remove basic sauce from heat. Add 1 1/2 cups diced cheese 3 minutes before serving. I just think that is way too much cheese.

In frying pan melt butter, add flour over medium high heat. Mix until mixture looks like dough - "RUE". Slowly add milk stirring rapidly. Cook until mixture is same texture, add more milk, continue until thickness desired. Serve over noodles.