#2,065: Easy Soft Pretzel Bites

Need a last minute Super Bowl snack?  This one was so easy, I served it to my family as part of their lunch (we did a bunch of leftover things), and they asked for me to make it again tonight.  The only thing  I will do differently next time is to be more generous with the salt.  I thought I was salting it with plenty of salt, but it still could have used more.  I decided against making homemade cheese dip and used some leftover nacho cheese sauce we already had in the fridge.  This was a huge hit with my crew!  

1 can refrigerated biscuit dough

4 c. water

1/4 c. baking soda

1 large egg, beaten

Coarse salt

Cheese Dip (I omitted these ingredients and used a store bought cheese dip instead)
2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. flour

1 c. milk

2 c. Cheddar cheese
Salt, pepper, and cayenne, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

Quarter each biscuit then roll piece into a ball. Pinch to seal. (I didn't pinch mine.  They seemed good enough just rolling them)

In a medium saucepan, combine water and baking soda. Bring to boil then reduce to a simmer. Add the rolled balls and cook for 1 minute. (I did about 10 balls at a time).  Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to baking sheet, making sure the pretzels aren't touching. Brush beaten egg over each pretzel. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. (Mine only needed 10 minutes).  Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

(I skipped this step and just heated up our store bought cheese sauce in the microwave!) Meanwhile, make cheese sauce. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in milk and bring to a simmer. When the milk begins to thicken, stir cheese, whisking constantly until sauce is smooth. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne.

#1,993: Mexican Street Corn Salad

So I am having a slight (TMI) issue with corn so I really had to avoid this recipe unfortunately.  But I still made it for my family and made sure to get their reviews/take on this dish.  When I first served it they all thought it was just ok....then it sat in the fridge overnight and it got MUCH better reviews.  My family all agrees, the longer this sits and the flavors blend, the better it is.  Good to know.  :)  We served this as a side dish to burgers, they ate it with tortilla chips, and some threw it on top of their burrito bowls.  As you can see, this dish is super versatile!  Yes, I will definitely make this again!

Also, I looked all over for cotija cheese and couldn't find it, so I subbed out feta.  Cotija would have been better!  (I just didn't have time to run to an authentic grocery store).

Dressing

½ cup plain nonfat yogurt

1 Tbsp lime juice 

1 tsp honey 

½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp cumin

Salad

Splash of oil

4 ears corn about 3 cups, shucked and kernels removed

1 clove garlic minced

2 Tbsp lime juice 

¼ tsp salt

1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed

1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped

½ cup chopped red onion 

½ cup packed fresh cilantro chopped

½ cup cotija cheese, crumbled, can sub feta

Mix all dressing ingredients and set aside.

Heat oil over medium/high heat in a large saute pan then add garlic and corn. Cook about 15 minutes, flipping frequently, until corn begins to char a bit. Gently toss with lime juice and salt.

In a large bowl, combine corn mix, black beans, pepper, onion, cilantro, and cheese. Drizzle sauce over and serve either warm or cold. Perfect over tacos, as a chip dip, or by itself!

#1,884: Grape Glazed Doughnut Holes

So I came across a super cute recipe in a recent issue of Taste of Home that uses confectioners sugar and juice concentrate to make a glaze for store bought cake doughnut holes.  Let me start by saying, I could not find plain cake doughnuts at the store, so I thought why not just get the sour cream cake doughnut holes instead?!  Yeah...you know why you aren't supposed to use this kind of doughnut hole?  Becuase it's already glazed!  How dumb am I to not think of that when I bought them?!  But since I had already made the grape glaze, I figured I'd just go with it.  Although super weird in color, my girls (and I) actually really liked these doughnut holes.  But who doesn't love sugar on top of sugar?!  So this may not have been the healthiest thing I've served my kids for breakfast, but they thought it was a fun treat.  And that's exactly what it was...a treat.  I would not be making these on a regular basis for them by any means.  Matthew (5) refused to even try them because the said he "doesn't like red doughnuts."  His loss.  

1 package/container of cake doughnut holes
2 c confectioner's sugar
Grape juice concentrate (thawed)
You can use any juice concentrate as desired if you do not like grape

Whisk the confectioner's sugar and enough juice concentrate to create your desired consistency.  Dip plain doughnut holes in the glaze, and then transfer to waxed paper to set.