Lemon Pepper Grilled Chicken

• 1/4 cup lemon pepper
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups dry white wine
• In a small bowl, mix lemon pepper, dry mustard and crushed dried rosemary.
• Place chicken breast halves in a medium bowl. Rub with garlic. Introduce the lemon pepper mixture and rub it into the chicken. Pour in lemon juice and dry white wine. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours before grilling.

• Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil grate.

• Cook marinated chicken breasts on the prepared grill until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear, or to desired doneness.

*Holy cow, this is some majorly good grub! And easy to boot. I love how the spices are used with a very generous hand. It adds so much flavor, and it's not even salt/sodium laced. Short on time? - bake in the oven covered with foil, *with* all the marinade. I made sure to pound the chicken breasts thin for more even cooking - and because I prefer the thinner texture. I used a lot less white wine than called for (just enough to make sure the chicken pieces were sitting in it, but not fully immersed by it), and I baked for 15 minutes at 350F, and then increased to 400 for the remaining 10 minutes. Perfect, juicy, succulent chicken! I plated them and then spooned some of the liquids over each piece for extra moisture (not that it even needed it). :) The lemon pepper seasoning I have is McCormick's, "California Style", which includes onion and garlic powders.. but it quite heavy on the peppery spice. I
loved this recipe! made it as a freezer meal (marinade and chicken breasts in a freezer bag and tossed in the freezer) - delicious!

Boiled Bagels

• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

1. In large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour and yeast. Mix water, 3 tablespoons sugar and salt together, and add to the dry ingredients. Beat with a mixer for half a minute at a low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl clean. Beat at a higher speed for 3 minutes. Then, by hand, mix in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough.

2. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Cover, let rest for 15 minutes.

3. Cut into 12 portions, shape into smooth balls. Poke a hole in the center with your finger, and gently enlarge the hole while working the bagel into a uniform shape. Cover, let rise 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, start a gallon of water boiling. Put 1 tablespoon of sugar in it, mix it around a bit. Reduce to simmering.

5. When the bagels are ready, put 4 or 5 bagels into the water, and cook 7 minutes, turning once. Drain them. Place on a greased baking sheet, and bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven, eat hot or cold.

6. Broiling option: For a glossier surface, place raised bagels on an ungreased baking sheet prior to boiling them. Broil them five inches from heat for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes on each side. Then put them into the hot water to be boiled as above. Note: do not bake broiled bagels as long as non-broiled ones, 25 minutes should be long enough.

Footnotes

*USE ONE TABEL SPOON OR MORE OF MOLASSES IN THE BOILING WATER !!!!!!  it gives the real new york water bagel surface they came out like a bagel should hard and shiny and soft and chewy oh..... and jumbo ( I let them rise a little longer great recipe thanks later

Perfect, perfect! I sub 1 1/2 C whole wheat flour and baked them on a pizza stone sprinkled with cornmeal. I could only bake 6 at a time, I accidentally let the second half of the batch rise for 1 hour on a floured board under a damp towel after they were formed instead of the twenty minutes the recipe called for, and the second batch was SPECTACULAR- light and fluffy on the inside, crisp on the outside. I also only needed no bake them for half as long as the recipe called for- good thing I kept an eye on them the first time- not sure if my oven is off or what, but just watch them closely the first time to see what they do.

This was my first attempt at making homemade bagels! They came out fantastic!! It is a process... easy, but a bit time consuming, like anything baked using yeast.I didn't change anything except I used the suggestions from others, I let them rise for 30 minutes and made 8 larger bagels instead of the 12...and they are a perfect size! I also used maybe a quarter cup of whole wheat flour as well. I made them everything bagels by dipping the bagel in a bowl with poppy seeds, onion flakes, garlic flakes, some sesame seeds, and one batch had some coarse sea salt added. One bagel I coated with some honey and sprinkled some oats on it..just to see.I dipped them in it after I boiled them before baking. I also lightly oiled the baking sheet and sprinkled some corn meal. I must say, they taste wonderful, my boyfriend loved them!! Thanks for the recipe...

Make sure your dough rises regardless of the amount of time stated and make sure your water is not too hot when you add it to the yeast and flour. That may be why some of your bagels sank. After you have shaped the bagels and they have risen, make sure you don't knock them down before you put them into the boiling water. GREAT RECIPE!!!

Monkey Bread

• 3 (12 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 cup raisins



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9 or 10 inch Bundt® pan.

2. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters. Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan. Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in pan. If using nuts and raisins, arrange them in and among the biscuit pieces as you go along.

3. In a small saucepan, melt the margarine with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Do not cut! The bread just pulls apart.

I quartered BUTTERMILK (these keep moist much better during cooking) biscuits and rolled each piece in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and layered it on top of the pecans. Three cans of Pillsbury's filled my pan exactly. Then I poured the brown sugar/butter mixture on top and baked it for about 40minutes and turned it over on a serving platter....it didn't stick at all, looked BEAUTIFUL, tasted absolutely delicious and gooey (I had no hard bottom layer, it was moist throughout). Will make for every birthday breakfast, holiday breakfast, etc for years to come....a recipe to pass down!

To make this recipe even quicker, use a pizza cutter to cut up the biscuits. Add a tsp of lecithin, (full recipe) with the butter, to keep the butter from separating from the caramel.

Ham Breakfast Braid

• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 8 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent roll dough
• 4 ounces cooked ham, thinly sliced
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. Beat milk and cream cheese together until smooth. Mix in eggs, and season with salt and pepper. Heat a lightly oiled skillet over medium high heat and cook egg mixture until eggs are almost set.

3. Arrange the crescent rolls from one package into a rectangle shape on top of a lightly greased cookie sheet. Place rolls from remaining package along the edges of the two long sides of the rectangle, with the broad half of the rolls on top of the first layer of rolls, and the pointed ends extending over the sides of the pan.

4. Arrange the ham in a layer down the center of the dough. Spoon the cooked egg mixture on top of the ham and then sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top of the eggs. Bring the corners of the rolls together over the cheese to form a 'braid' shape.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and rolls are golden brown.

Works fine with skim milk & fat free cream cheese. I skip the cheddar inside but sprinkle some on top a couple minutes before it comes out of the oven and let it melt. When the kids aren't around we add green onion and sweet peppers. I have also used one crescent sheet rather than rolls. Roll it out on your cookie sheet, put the cooked egg mix down the middle long ways. Then make a cut in the exposed dough from the outside edge until you almost hit the eggs. Repeat every 2 inches. This creats flaps of dough. Fold bottom flap up towards the center then alternate from right and left just crossing center. Ends up looking like a braid.

Buttery Soft Pretzels

• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
•
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 4 cups hot water
• 1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping
1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.

4. When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

*I replaced the oil with butter and used less flour. Why is the baking soda bath is necessary: Old world Germans used to dip their brezels (pretzels) in a solution of sodium hydroxide (lye) and water before baking. Lye is a very strong and caustic alkaline. Because most people aren't comfortable mixing lye and water to make pretzels, baking soda - a much weaker alkaline - is now used in most pretzel recipes. Once the pretzels begin baking, a 'Maillard reaction' occurs. This is a chemical reaction sortof like carmelization, which allows the exterior crust to become a deep rich brown color. The reaction accelerates in an alkaline environment, which - you guessed it - has been provided by the baking soda bath. The baking soda, and resulting reaction, is also responsible for the unique taste of a pretzel. Without the baking soda bath the pretzel exterior ends up pale/white, and taste more like bread. This baking soda / lye bath step is paramount in making a pretzel a pretzel.

Here's what I will do next time I make a batch: After dividing the dough into 12 pcs., roll the dough out into a rope at least 20-24" long. The dough will expand. Spray "I Can't Believe Its Butter" after I place the pretzels on the sheet and sprinkled coarse salt. I tried this on 3 pretzels from my first batch and they were better tasting. Use a rack that's up higher in the oven to prevent burning of the pretzels bottoms.
These are better than Auntie Anne's!! The changes I made = I used 4 cups of flour instead of 5. I used organic pure cane sugar and All Natural sea salt and instead of vegetable oil (I used super healthy 'Organic Virgin Coconut Oil by Tropical Traditions') and also used that to grease the bowl the dough was to rise in. After putting the pretzels in the soda/water mixture, I put them on parchment paper which I sprayed with Olive Oil spray (instead of greasing) and then I sprinkled Kosher salt on the tops of them (on a few others I did cinnamon w/Raw sugar). The oven temp. seemed way to high even at 415, so on the second batch I decreased it to 400 degrees for 8 minutes - they got browned very quickly on top. After removing them from the oven I brushed melted UNsalted butter over the tops and bottoms of them - saturating them with butter (I did not put any more salt on after the butter). Loved the recipe -- the rolling took a while,didn't have a lot of patience - I didn't roll them on the table, I just rolled them between my hands vertically until the 'snake' became long and thin.

WOW!! These pretzels are absolutely amazing. They were soft and chewy on the inside, awesome flavor, with that great authentic thin "pretzel" crust on the outside. I spooned the melted butter over them after baking which soaked in and was just perfect. Next time I will bake at maybe 415 or lower to keep them from being too brown before being done in the middle. Tip: let dough rise in your oven, no heat, just turn on the oven light. Provides a draft free, warm place for dough to double flawlessly. Also use a damp kitchen town instead of plastic wrap to cover bowl and you won't have a dry crust to your risen dough. I do this with all of my bread recipes!

I've found the sea salt is the absolute best thing to top them with (but be sure to use kosher salt in the dough), Excellent recipe! I've found it is best to add 3.5 cups of flour and slowly mix in the final half cup as I'm kneading the dough. I've made these at least 4 times in the past 2 weeks. They freeze up great! Just thaw and pop in the oven for a couple minutes for an awesome snack!!

I made them as the recipe stated, using the dough hook on my mixer. I added flour until the dough was no longer sticky, so I do not know exactly how much I ended up using. When rolling out the dough I came up with a trick. You need to make them much thinner than you think, so i rolled small pieces into thin (like about the thickness of a finger) sticks, then joined two together to get them as long as I needed them to twist. I made the dough quite thin, but they puff up a lot, do not worry! I also dipped my pretzels in the baking soda mix, which I think really makes the whole pretzel. When they cook they get this browned yumminess on the bottom, that tastes JUST like the ones at the mall. I just drizzled them with butter and a little kosher salt when they came out warm... they were gone right after that.

Buffalo Chicken Burgers with Blue Cheese Dressing

• 1/4 cup light sour cream
• 1/4 cup reduced fat blue cheese crumbles
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
•
• 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
• 1/4 cup hot pepper sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
•
• 4 Kaiser rolls, split
• 4 leaves iceberg lettuce
• 1/2 cup diced celery

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate. Stir the sour cream, blue cheese, and Worcestershire sauce together in a small bowl; set aside.

2. Mix the ground chicken, 1/4 cup hot sauce, celery salt, poultry seasoning, paprika, and cayenne pepper together in a mixing bowl until evenly blended. Form into four 3/4-inch-thick patties.

3. Cook the chicken burgers on the preheated grill 6 to 7 minutes until well marked. Spray the uncooked top of the burger with cooking spray, and flip the burgers over. Brush the cooked side with 1 tablespoon hot sauce, and continue cooking until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 5 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

4. To assemble the burgers, place a lettuce leaf on each roll bottom. Top with a burger patty, then spoon on 2 tablespoons of blue cheese sauce, and 2 tablespoons celery. Place the top of the roll on top to finish the sandwich

I have also added some minced garlic and parmesan cheese to attempt to recreate our favorite wing sauce (garlic parmesan) taste. I did freeze them prior to grilling as they are quite wet and I imagine would have been a little annoying to deal w/on the grill w/out freezing first.
This is a great burger! I used Franks Red Hot... as there is no other hot sauce!  Added a little minced onion and garlic powder to the blue cheese crumbles with mayo & sour cream 1/2 & 1/2 of each for a creamy texture. Let that sit in the refrigerator for about 1/2 hour. Prepared the meat as directed and let them rest for about 1/2 hour in the refrigerator to all the seasons to mingle. Toasted up the buns after grilling the burger; served with extra hot sauce & blue cheese dressing on the side...
I made my own poultry seasoning (thyme, rosemary, marjoram, sage, black pepper) and used 1/3 C Frank's Red Hot sauce since we like the taste. Also, I combined ground turkey and chicken. I also added some onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce to the meat mixture. I started them on a griddle pan and finished them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes; I served them on buns with low-fat Swiss cheese (less fat than the blue cheese sauce, although that looked yummy!). This was delicious, and I'll definitely be making this again.

Pizza Rolls

• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 (16 ounce) jar pizza sauce
• 1 (8 ounce) package sliced pepperoni
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 (14 ounce) package egg roll wrappers

Oil for frying
1. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Whisk egg and water together in a small bowl.

2. Combine the pizza sauce and pepperoni in a blender or food processor. Process until pepperoni is well chopped and the sauce has thickened. Transfer sauce to a large bowl, and stir in mozzarella.

3. Lay out one eggroll wrapper on work surface. Place 1 tablespoon filling at the bottom center of the wrapper, leaving 1/2 inch border on each side. Lightly brush the wrapper edges with the egg mixture. Fold over both sides; roll up to encase filling in wrapper. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

4. Deep fry pizza rolls in batches until crisp and golden brown, 5-9 minutes.

Yummo! They do take some time to make but they are well worth it. I made homemade pizza sauce and used pepperjack cheese. I baked them at 400 for about 13 minutes. Spray the tops with cooking spray and they brown nicely. Ate some and froze the rest.