Soft Pretzels

So with Will' getting baptized I started this little It's Great to Be 8 count down of 8 activities to do that help prepare for baptism. The first activity was to make homemade soft pretzels and talk about prayer and how Will should pray about the decision to be baptized. You do the pretzels because they are shaped like arms folded in prayer. We had fun making these and they were so easy and so yummy I thought I would share the recipe I found. It is an Alton Brown recipe of whom I love. He always adds the science behind the food and I find that to be super interesting. Anyway, here is the link to that recipe. You can also find the episode for the recipe on YouTube. Super fun!!

Another fun site

My sister Megan introduced me to this site, it's all vegitarian which I love! Check it out, it has some yummy looking recipes!

fun new site I found

Check out this cute site. I am going to make some of these cake pops for Will's baptism. Soooo cute!!

Garlic Bread

One of the best cooks I know is my sister in-law Brandi. I always love eating at their house because it so good every time! This last week-end they had us over for dinner and again it was delicious! It was simple, just bbq chicken, pasta salad, green salad and GARLIC BREAD! My brother and sister in-law are hilarious and each had their own version of the best garlic bread and served both. I personally thought both were delicious and ate about 10 pieces of each (I don't think anyone else got any!!!). So when I got home I had to make some since it had been on my mind ever since!

Ingredients:

loaf of french bread

1/2 cup butter softened

1 cup asiago cheese

1 cup monteray jack

1 cup mayo

1 bunch green onions

2 cloves crushed garlic

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except bread. Cut loaf of bread in half length wise. Spread with mixture. Bake in 350 degree oven for 7 minutes. Broil for 3 minutes (or until bubbly and golden on top).

OK so a few things. . .

1) My sister in law said this makes a lot and it sometimes seems too much for one loaf of bread. She uses the left overs on hot sandwiches the next day. Sounds so good.

2) When I made this I called Brandi the day of for the recipe thinking I had the ingredients but I had like none of them!!! I had Parmesan instead of asiago cheese and mozzarella instead of Monteray jack. I didn't have green onions so I put a tablespoon of dried onion in mine. It still turned out good, but it wasn't as good as Brandi's had been. Still really good though.

3) I did have left overs and I put my left overs on hamburger buns and burgers the next day. I just broiled the buns with the mixture spread on and then topped with my burger and fixin's. That was really tasty too.

It's too hot to cook!!

Well it is definately summer time in Vegas we have already hit 110 degrees! So cooking by oven is not so fun! I still have a stock for about two weeks of freezer meals, but it may last longer as we have been BBQing a lot and making meals that don't require me to turn on the oven!

Some BBQ ideas are:

Burgers and Hot Dogs
Chicken (Marinades include: BBQ sauce, italian dressing, raspberry vinegerette, or a cajun rub)
Kabobs are always fun too these can be with chicken, shrimp, steak, what ever floats your fancy

We haven't done it yet, but I want to bbq some pineapple slices and peaches and then serve with ice-cream.

Other no oven meals are to do crock-pot meals, salads and sandwiches.

Sorry I haven't been posting too much lately, like I said, I just have gone through a non cooking couple of weeks. In the next month however I have two party events that I thought I would post about decorating the table for and the food. So stay tuned for that.

Any comments or suggestions on summer time cooking ideas would be welcome!!!