Bagels

Well it is officially Autumn, and everyone loves a good hot breakfast.  Bagels are a good start.

Ingredients:

Bagels - 

1/4 Cup sourdough starter
3 3/4 Cups Flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 Tsp  Active Dry  Yeast
1/2 Tsp sugar
1/4 cup slightly warm water

1 Egg, beaten.
Extra water.

Toppings:
Cheddar cheese
garlic powder
onion powder
chia seeds
*several other toppings can be used*



Directions:

1. In a  small bowl, take the yeast, the sugar, and add the water. Allow the yeast to proof to ensure it is good to use - About 15 minutes

2. In a large bowl, put in the flour, salt, and the sourdough starter, add the proofed yeast when it is ready. Add enough water to  just form a ball. . Knead for 10 minutes or longer.

 If you don't have a sourdough starter,  you can do a couple things:

•  Take 1/4 cup of flour, 1/8 tsp yeast (proofed), 1/4 tsp  sugar ( proofed with the yeast) ,  1/4 cup slightly warm water (with the yeast)   and allow it to sit in a covered container for 24 hours on the counter.
•  Use wheat, or Rye flour
• Have an extra  mix in of some sort: either onion/garlic  or if you're making a sweet bagel, use cinnamon, or vanilla and a few tablespoons of sugar. 

3.  Let rise for an hour.

4. Punch down the dough. Bam.

5.  Knead the dough  a few more times on a floured surface.  Form a log and cut into 12 even disks.

6. Roll each slice into a  ball,  then carefully poke a  hole in the middle with your finger, and slowly turn and make the hole bigger,  forming the shape of a bagel.  Place on  cookie sheet, cover with a damp towel for 30 minutes. During this time you should  preheat your oven to 400° , and fill a large pot with water.

7. Bring water to a boil, carefully set bagels in one at a time, flip after one minute, boil for another minute, and place onto cookie sheet.

8. Brush egg onto bagels,  sprinkle toppings except cheese. 

9. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.

10. If using cheese, sprinkle on at the end and broil for 3 to 5 minutes.  

11. Allow bagels to cool for a few minutes,  covered in syran wrap.

Cheese Dip

Okay so this isn't even close to healthy, but you can  make it healthier with fresh ingredients if you so choose.

It's delicious,  easy, and cheesy.

Ingredients: 
1 lb Great Value Easy Melt Cheese
1  Can Hormel Chilli with beans
1  Can kidney  beans, drained
1 cup of your favorite salsa
1 packet of taco seasoning.

You can microwave this, or  cook on the stove top.

Either way, you melt the cheese first, and proceed to  add remaining ingredients. Serve with chips.

Wild West Chicken with Avocado Ranch Dip

This recipe is a combo of a few different recipes put together and inspired from Longhorn Steak House. :) My mom works at Longhorn so any chance I can get I ask her to bring home the famous Wild West Shrimp they have. They serve this with ranch dip. Another appetizer they have there is the firecracker chicken wraps, which they serve with avocado ranch dip. So that's where I got the dip idea from. 

Soooo one night Kt gave me the idea of wild west chicken instead of the shrimp. I looked up a few different recipes and then put this together :) I wanted to bake the chicken instead of frying it, and I wanted to do almond crust instead of regular breadcrumb crust. I decided to make baked almond chicken bites... with side of avocado ranch dip. I used the spices from the Longhorn recipe, and the only other thing I changed was I used yogurt ranch recipe instead of using pre-made ranch :D

Chicken:

1lb+ chicken

1 c. almond meal

1/2 c. breadcrumbs

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp seasoned salt 

1 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 375

Mix all dry ingredients from above in a bowl

Put 1 egg, beaten in a separate bowl

Cut chicken into small bite size pieces

Dip chicken in egg, then into dry mix

Place chicken on baking sheet or oiled dish

Bake 20-25min

Meanwhile, simmer the sauce on stovetop

Sauce: 

1/2 c. peppercinis

1/4 c. cherry peppers

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp seasoned salt (instead of longhorn's "prairie dust")

Once chicken in done, remove from oven and top with the sauce

Avocado Ranch Dip:

3/4 c. yogurt

2 tsp hidden valley ranch mix

1 avocado

3/4 tsp tabasco sauce

3/4 tsp cumin

S+P

Blend in food processor 

(Prepare dip ahead of time, before cooking chicken & refrigerate)

And enjoy! :)

Servings: about 4

Alfredo Sauce

         I love cheese, and any time I go to  Olive Garden, I always get Alfredo. I dip my bread sticks in it, I have it on my chicken, I drink it out of the bowl.  Mostly, I make it at home, and I have been for years. I don't have to wait 20 minutes to sit down, just to wait another 40 minutes to get my food, and it's much more cost effective.



Ingredients:

1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded. Don't be lazy, buy a wedge and grate it yourself.
1/2 Stick Butter
4 Tbsp Flour
3+ Cups Milk
2 Tsp Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper, if desired.

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, melt butter on medium heat until slightly browned.



2. Add flour and garlic, whisk until incorporated.




3. Add 1/4 of the cheese , slowly add in 1/2 the milk


4.  Add remainder of cheese , and slowly  add the rest of the milk, whisk until  cheese has melted, you may need to add additonal milk if you see fit.

Saaaaaaauce.

Serve on top of noodles with  seasoned chicken, and bread sticks.



Serves 4 - 6

Loaded Potato Pumpkin Soup.

 I couldn't decide what kind of soup I wanted to make - loaded potato soup, or pumpkin soup.  I

 usually want one more than the other, but I could not decide to save my life, so I combined them!

Serves  4 - 6


Ingredients:
2 Large Potatoes, peeled, and cubed.
3 Cups Water.
4 Tbsp. Butter.
1 Onion, diced.
1 1/2 Cups Kale, chopped.
4 Slices Bacon, chopped.
1 Cup Cream of Chicken Soup *
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1/2 cup Sour Cream.
1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded.
1 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder.
1/8 Tsp Nutmeg
4 Cups Milk

1. In a large pot, put potatoes in with water, cook on medium heat until potatoes are tender. Do NOT drain, follow other instructions while the potatoes cook.
2.  In a small skillet,  melt butter on medium heat, add onions and bacon, cook onions until they become slightly golden brown.   Add to potatoes

Golden, not burnt.

3. In the skillet you used to cook the onion, place in the bacon on medium heat for about 5 minutes, add  kale, cover the  skillet and cook for another 10 minutes, add to pot.

4. Add remaining ingredients , minus the milk, into the pot with the potatoes, whisk until cheese has incorporated into the soup.

5. Slowly add milk into the pot, cook until the soup is hot.

You may top the soup with some extra cheese, and a dollop of sour cream, if you'd like. Enjoy!

* I make my own cream of chicken soup, it tastes much better than the stuff out of a can

Cornbread Chicken with Mesquite Ranch

       Often times, my recipes kind of pop into my head. If I have no idea what I want  for dinner, I will browse the internet, or ask people what they are having, and come up with an idea of my own. It often works out in my taste buds favor.

     My Cornbread chicken is one of the recipes that just sort of popped into my head.

  Mesquite Ranch:
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1 Tbsp Milk
1 Tsp Hot Sauce
1 Tsp Dry Ranch mix *
1/2 Tsp Mesquite seasoning.

Mix ingredients together until well blended, cover, and let it sit in the fridge for one hour +

Cornbread Chicken:
2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half.
2 cups Already made cornbread  that has been crumbled up.
1/4 Cup  Mesquite Ranch in a separate bowl.


1. Preheat oven to 400º
2. Mix chicken with mesquite ranch until it covers all of it.
3.  Bread chicken with cornbread.
4. Bake for 20 minutes.

 Allow the chicken to cool for  5 - 10 minutes, plate the chicken, and spoon some of the remaining mesquite ranch on top.

* You can use a ranch packet, but I make my own dry ranch seasoning. It makes me feel better.

  Dry Ranch Mix:

1    Tsp. Dried Parsley
1   Tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 Tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Tsp. Seasoned Salt
1/4 Tsp Onion Powder
1/4 Tsp. Dill
1/8 Tsp. Dried Thyme

Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Tree in Winthrop, ME (Photo by Kt)

It's almost Autumn! My favorite season.

There's so much I enjoy about this season, it's gorgeous, fairs, pumpkins, Halloween, Thanksgiving, leaves changing color, the weather has cooled and it isn't muddy outside....

 ..and all of the food.


So let's begin the day with some breakfast.

                                                  A bagel with pumpkin cream cheese.

 

Ingredients:
8oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 Cup Pumpkin Pie Mix
1 Tsp Cinnamon
2 dashes of Nutmeg

1.  In a bowl, add cream cheese, and spices, stir with a fork for about 30 seconds.
2. Slowly add pumpkin into cream cheese, stirring as you go , until completely integrated.
3.  Place pumpkin cream cheese into an air tight container with  a lid, and keep in refrigerator.

The cream cheese is very tasty, easy to spread, and a little goes a long way.

Kt! Why did you use pumpkin pie mix, instead of pumpkin puree?! It has PRESERVATIVESSSSSSSS.            
                         I generally use Pumpkin Pie Mix when I am cooking something using pumpkin as a sweet. It saves me time from measuring sugar,  and has spices in it. 
                   But if you are truly concerned about it, then I would suggest using  3 tablespoons of pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, dash of nutmeg, and a dash of ground cloves.

But you added spices to it.

          I like mine to have a little more cinnamon, and nutmeg. It's a personal preference. I do this often.

BLT Pizza

 One Night I didn't feel like doing much cooking, so I bought a cheese pizza from Little Caesar's Pizza.

However, I wanted to be fancier.

BLTs are fancy right?

No?

Fine.

It was an idea from a friend of mine, how a pizzeria back in Maine made BLT pizzas. I'm 928 miles away, so it doesn't do me any good. I had to make one myself.

It was delicious. 


Recipe:

1  Cooked medium sized cheese pizza (or make your own)
4  Slices bacon,cooked, and cut into bite sized pieces. DO NOT  use bacon bits, it's not bacon, that's gross.
1 Tomato, diced
2 leaves lettuce, shredded
2 Tbsp mayo in a zip-lock bag


1. Place bacon on pizza, cook in oven at 350º for ten minutes, remove from oven.
2.  Sprinkle lettuce and tomato over the top of the pizza so it has even distribution.
3.  Cut small tip off of the bottom of the zip-lock bag, drizzle over pizza.

Serves 4