Soft Pretzels

We made these last night to test on my family, then made then tonight for Young Womens.  They were delicious!  The recipe I had was a little too dry to work with, so I ended up with the following.  Not one left at the activity, and the family was certainly eager to eat what wouldn't fit on the tray for Young Womens!

In a small bowl combine:
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
Dissolve the yeast mixture and set it aside for about ten minutes.

In your mixing bowl mix together:
4 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add:
1 Tablespoon oil
and the yeast mixture.

Mix together and knead for about ten minutes.  Remember soft pretzels are a little heavier than traditional bread so kneading the dough may give you a workout.  I like to start mine in the Kitchen-Aid, then knead the last four or five minutes by hand.
Set aside in a greased bowl until the dough is double, about one hour.

Once the dough has risen, divide into 16 equal parts.  Make a long rope from the dough and shape into a pretzel.  Bake on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 450 for 8 minutes.

If serving right away, brush generously with melted butter and top with salt or cinnamon and sugar.  If you will be serving these later, reheat in the microwave for about fifteen seconds, then top with melter butter and salt or cinnamon sugar.

Chicken Alfredo and Rolls

This is one of the simplest meals we prepare in our home, and it is also one of our favorites.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 c light zesty italian dressing
1 pkg pasta
1 jar alfredo sauce


We serve the meal with rolls and either a vegetable or salad.  I'll include the roll recipe also, but a loaf of french bread from the store works just fine for those who don't like to bake.  We bake the chicken in advance and it is frozen for future meals.

Chicken
Preheat oven to 375.  Lay chicken breasts in an 8x8 or 9x13 pan.  Use a fork to make several holes in the chicken.  Pour half the dressing over the chicken, then turn the chicken over and pour the remainder of the dressing.  Bake the chicken for approximately 40 minutes.  Baking time may vary depending on the thickness of the chicken.

If you are preparing the chicken in bulk for future meals:  Allow the chicken to cool completely.  When the meat has cooled, slice the chicken and then place 2 sliced chicken breasts in a labeled quart size freezer bag.  Squeeze out as much air as possible and place in freezer.

If you are preparing the entire meal tonight:  While the chicken is baking, prepare your pasta, warm the jar sauce and prepare any vegetables or salads that will be accompanying the meal.

I love this meal for a couple reasons.  First, the kids enjoy it so much there are never leftovers.  Second, it's very inexpensive.  If you are a coupon shopper, the Ragu brand of alfredo, which is what we usually purchase, can often be purchased on sale and with coupons for $1.00 or less.

My family also loves italian rolls with their pasta, so that is something else I make whenever we have spaghetti, lasagna, alfredo, anything of that nature.  I use a pampered chef fluted pan.  Any bundt pan will do, but I highly recommend using a bundt pan for these.

 
Rolls
1 c warm water
1 Tbs active dry yeast
2 Tbls + 1 tsp sugar
1 Tbls olive oil
2 1/2 - 3 c flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbls butter

I am a huge fan of my kitchen aid, so that is how I combine the ingredients.  You can use a bread maker, or combine them by hand.  It's entirely up to you.  Pour the water, yeast and sugar into your mixing bowl.  Allow the mixture to sit for five minutes.  You DO NOT have to dissolve the yeast, but you are more than welcome to if it makes you feel better.  While the yeast mixture is sitting, combine 2 cups of flour and the remaining dry ingredients.  You will need the butter for later. After the five minutes add the oil to the water/yeast mixture, then gradually add the flour mixture. Knead the flour until it pulls away from the side of the bowl if using a kitchen aid, or until it pulls away from the board if kneading by hand.  You don't want it to get too dry.

Allow the dough to rest for fifteen minutes.  We don't usually have a warm place for the bread to rise, so I use the inside of my oven.  I preheat the oven to 170, and then turn it off,  By the time the bread has rested it seems to be the perfect temperature.

After the dough has rested punch it down and knead for another minute.  Melt 2 Tbls butter in a small bowl.  Twist and pull enough dough to make a 2" ball.  Dip the ball in butter and place in an un-greased fluted baker or un-greased bundt pan.  Continue until you have used all the dough, spacing the balls evenly and stacking on top of each other in the pan.

Place the pan in the oven for 25 minutes.  After 25 minutes, turn the oven on to 350 and bake for 30 minutes.  Leave the pan in the oven while it's preheating.

After the rolls are finished baking, turn the pan over and serve.

I feel like the tedious part is baking the chicken.  Maybe it's because I have seen the value in baking enough for four meals at once and defrosting seems so much easier, but I'm sure there are those of you who will find me insane for baking the bread...all I know is it is well worth it!