Two-Ingredient Bagels With a Delicious Twist

February 22, 2018February 21, 2018 RefreshHer1 Comment

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Oh, friends! I’ve been playing around with the Two-Ingredient Bagels and I’ve come up with a couple of delicious ideas! More about that in a minute!

Not only did I find this bagel recipe on Skinnytaste’s site, (and on MANY other web sites!), I also found a recipe for the Everything but the Bagel seasoning on Two Peas and their Pod. It’s pretty pricey to buy this jar in the stores. I went to a bulk food store, found the ingredients and now I make my own! It’s delicious!

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Everything But the Bagel Seasoning

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
2 teaspoons flaked sea salt or course salt

DIRECTIONS:

Mix and stir. Store in an air-tight jar.

Use on these bagels, baked potatoes, avocado toast, eggs…the possibility is endless!

I had hoped to share a video tutorial with you today, but after LOTS of trouble and time, it simply wasn’t happening. So, I’ll share that next week, Lord willing!

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If you want to make the Blueberry or Brown Sugar bagels, here’s what I did:

Blueberry Bagels – To half of the dough, I added about 1/4 cup frozen blueberries. I folded the berries in, then cut the dough in half. I made a ball of dough out of each half, then cut a hole in the middle, using a melon baller. I placed them on the silpat on a baking sheet. Brush with egg white. Sprinkle lightly with white sugar.

Brown Sugar Bagels – To half of the dough, I rolled it out on the counter, sprinkled it heavily with cinnamon and about 1/4 cup of raisins. I folded the dough over a couple of times, then cut it in half, made two balls of dough, cut out the center and placed on a baking sheet covered with a Silpat. Brush with egg white. I then sprinkled about a tablespoon of brown sugar over the top, as well as a sprinkling of cinnamon. Next time I may try putting the brown sugar on both sides!

Bring to room temperature (about an hour) and then bake at 375° for about 20 minutes.

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I split them open, brushed them with soft butter and broiled them until toasted.

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Wow, these are good! I hope you’ll try them soon!

I’ll hope to get the video posted next week. In the meantime you can visit my You tube channel for other videos.

Which of these flavors appeal most to you?

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baking · Bread

The Easiest Bagels Ever!

February 19, 2018February 19, 2018 RefreshHer7 Comments

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I’ve always wanted to make bagels, but the making of the dough, then boiling, then baking just seemed too laborious. But when I came across a recipe for Two-Ingredient Bagels that require NO BOILING and had awesome reviews, I knew I had to give these a try! They were:

Made of only flour, Greek yogurt (and leavening agents if you don’t use Self-rising flour)
Fast!
Easy
DELICIOUS!!

One word of caution – you have to let the dough come to room temperature, so leave time in the baking process for them to sit out an hour. You can make the dough the night before, let them set out, then bake them.

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The savory topping is so good! We had a wonderful toasted sandwich using these bagels and I’m telling you, it was a gourmet-tasting lunch! Here’s how to make them:

Two-Ingredient Bagels

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (5 oz) unbleached all purpose flour, whole wheat or gluten-free mix*
2 teaspoons baking powder (make sure it’s not expired or it won’t rise)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (use less if using table salt)
1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt (not regular yogurt, it will be too sticky)
1 egg white, beaten (whole egg works fine too)
(optional toppings: everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic flakes, dried onion flakes)**

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375F. Place parchment paper or a silpat on a baking sheet. If using parchment paper, spray with oil to avoid sticking.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk well. Add the yogurt and mix with a fork or spatula until well combined, it will look like small crumbles.
Lightly dust flour on a work surface and remove dough from the bowl, knead the dough a few times until dough is tacky, but not sticky, about 15 turns (it should not leave dough on your hand when you pull away).
Divide into 4 equal balls. Roll each ball into 3/4-inch thick ropes and join the ends to form bagels. (or you can make a ball and poke a hole in the center then stretch it slightly)
Top with egg wash and sprinkle both sides with seasoning of your choice. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 25 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes before cutting.

You can wrap leftover bagels in plastic and reheat the next day without refrigerating, or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
To freeze, slice open and wrap individually with foil or plastic wrap. To reheat pop them back into the oven, toaster

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These are only 152 calories, friends! You will love these soft, savory bagels! There’s a seriously delicious breakfast or lunch in your future if you make these!

Guess what? My weekly video on Thursday will be a step-by-step tutorial on making these bagels! So if you’re not sure you can pull this recipe off, be sure to tune in for some simple instruction!

Happy baking!

With love from my country kitchen,

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baking · Bread · Quick Bread

Wonderful, Quick Breadsticks

January 15, 2018January 13, 2018 RefreshHer4 Comments

Bread. It is the sustenance of life. Winter soups need breadsticks for dipping. Pasta needs a breadstick for sopping up sauce, and Sunday roasts need one to mop up gravy. Am I right?

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I’m always on the search for a better roll, fluffier biscuit or quicker breadstick. One day this winter when I was making my Cheese Ravioli with Tomatoes, I found this recipe on Pinterest, at Genius Kitchen and had to give it a try because the reviews were fabulous. I halved the recipe and it was perfect for a couple of meals. Oh, these are good. These are fast. These need to be in your recipe file!

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Soft, Quick Breadsticks

INGREDIENTS

1 cup warm water
3 tbl brown sugar
1 tsp salt
¹⁄₄cup oil
3 cups bread flour
2 ¹⁄₂tsp yeast

DIRECTIONS

Make dough using your favorite method- bread machine, mixer or by hand.
Roll out into a 10×12 inch rectangle.
Cut into strips about 3/4 inch wide.
Give each strip a twist and place on a greased cookie sheet.
Let rise for at least 20 minutes or more if you have time.
Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes.
Brush with butter and sprinkle with garlic salt and Parmesan cheese.

The next time you make anything that has sauce of any kind, you need to whip this recipe up. I’m ditching every other breadstick recipe and keeping this one. You should too!

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What kind of meal would you make these breadsticks to accompany? Are you a “dipper?”

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baking · Bread · Cooking · dessert · Dinner · dinner in 30 minutes · entertaining · Fall · main dish · Pasta · soup

Roll Call of Fall Favorite Foods

October 9, 2017October 7, 2017 RefreshHer3 Comments

I’m not sure what it is about fall and winter that bring a variety of foods to our mind, but aren’t we all thinking about comforting casseroles, warm soups, and pumpkin everything? I thought I’d gather together some of my favorites in those categories and highlight them all in one post for you today! My recipe index here on my blog could be overwhelming, so maybe this list of a few favorites will help your October to be delicious!

meat loaf meal — I’m not a mac and cheese fan, but this recipe is fabulous!!! I’d eat it every day if I could!

Casseroles
Mexican Chicken Casserole
Countryside Chicken Bake
The Best Ever Mac and Cheese
Taco Casserole
Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cheese

Breads
Nutty Orange Coffee Cake – Perfect for breakfast or brunch!
French Breakfast Puffs – Breakfast or brunch
Butter Dips – Delicious with supper!
Low-Fat Baking Powder Biscuits – Any time you need a biscuit – breakfast or supper!

Soups
Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder
Sausage Corn Chowder
Butternut Squash Soup – I made this again last week. It’s heavenly!
Taco Soup
Baked Potato Soup

Pumpkin
Pumpkin Muffins – Great addition to breakfast or a fall supper!
Pumpkin Roll Step by step instructions in my post! You can make this!
Pumpkin Crunch Cake – Fast and incredible!
Pumpkin Bread – Make small loaves to share.
Pumpkin Scones with Berry Butter – Oh my goodness, these are fantastic!!

Pumpkin Scones with Berry Butter Recipe — Picture credit: Taste of Home

If you’ll be hosting any fall event, having guests over, or cooking supper for your own family and want to try something new and delicious, here’s a great list to pull from! These are some of my favorite fall foods that are tried and true!

If you need suggestions for other categories – salad, easy bread, breakfast, etc.) just leave a comment. I’ll be happy to help you!

With love from my country kitchen,

baking · Bread · Uncategorized

Sour Dough Bread

September 25, 2017September 23, 2017 RefreshHer6 Comments

Over 30 years ago I received a mason jar containing the sticky substance called, Sour Dough Bread Starter. I have kept that dough going all these years, making untold number loaves of bread, English Muffins, and Cinnamon Rolls! If you’ve ever had sour dough, you know what a delicious flavor the “sour” starter gives the bread. I don’t know the science behind it, I only know it’s good and I want it the rest of my life!

Sour dough is also a very easy dough to put together. Beginning a starter can be a little tricky, so if you know someone who has a starter already, ask for a cup of theirs to be sure it will be active and cause your bread to rise!

But if you want to try your hand a beginning a starter here’s what you need:

To start: Place in a mason type jar:
1 cup warm water
3/4 Cup sugar
3 tbl. instant potato flakes

Stir and let set on counter all day. It should be in a place that is a little warm. Place lid on jar and cover lightly (don’t fasten all the way down). Let set 3-4 days.

The starter will have a fermented fragrance. It will also have little bubbles on top and kind of “sizzle.”

To make bread with that starter:

Add the same ingredients again to starter. Let set all day on counter.
The Next day you can make bread:
Ingredients
6 cups bread flour
2 1/2 tsp. yeast
1 tbl. salt
1/3 C sugar
Mix, then add:
1 C of the starter (place remaining cup back in the fridge)
1 1/2 C very warm water (110 degrees)
1/2 C oil

Mix, then turn out on floured board and knead lightly. Place dough back in oiled bowl. Cover and set in warm place ’til dough is doubled in size.

Punch down dough. Divide in half. Place in two greased loaf pans. Let rise ’til about an inch higher than bread pan.

Bake at 375 degrees about 25 min. Allow to cool before slicing (if you can resist!).

As I mentioned, you can make all kinds of other breads from this starter. My favorite way to eat this bread is toasted – either for breakfast or as a grilled sandwich. It’s fantastic!!

I hope you’ll give this a try. Maybe in 30 years you’ll still be making up hot loaves from the starter your received in 2017!

Who else has used sour dough starter? Who loves sour dough?

With love from my country kitchen,

baking · Bread · Fall · Gifts

Hello Pumpkin!

September 11, 2017September 11, 2017 RefreshHer5 Comments

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When we recently experienced a very cool morning, all I could think about was baking! I dug into my trusty recipe box and found a tried and true Southern Living recipe for Pumpkin Bread, just a plain, straightforward recipe with nothing extra added, which meant I had all the ingredients! It makes 3 loaves, too! Since I intended to share 90% of the results, that was an added blessing! I baked them up in small pans, yielding 6 delicious loaves. They’re a perfect size wrapping up to give to friends! Even if you make them in the regular size pans, you’ll have one to keep, one to freeze, and one to give away!

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If you’re in a baking mood as I have been, and are hungry for something simply pumpkin, you’ll love this recipe!

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
4 large eggs
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

How to Make It

Step 1

Stir together flour and remaining ingredients in a large bowl until smooth. Divide batter evenly among 3 greased and floured 9- x 5-inch loaf pans.

Step 2

Bake at 350° for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until wooden pick inserted into center of each loaf comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire rack.

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It couldn’t be any easier! Whip up a loaf, perk some coffee, and invite a friend over for some sweet Pumpkin fellowship!

With love from my country kitchen,

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Bread · breakfast · cakes · Cooking · dessert · Dinner · Easter · entertaining · main dish · memories · Side dish · Sunday Dinner

(L)Oven Monday – Easter Dinner 2017 Recap

April 17, 2017April 17, 2017 RefreshHer10 Comments

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If you’ve been reading my blog more than a week, you know how I treasure Sunday dinner. It makes my heart sooo happy! But how does Sunday dinner get even better? It’s when Sunday dinner is Easter Sunday dinner. On top of good food, there’s the blessing of remembering Christ’s resurrection from the dead and celebrating that truth that He lives!

So, yesterday, we did indeed have a big Sunday meal, but we started with a wonderful church service where Christ was exalted! We sang of His resurrection and heard God’s truth about how to be sure you can have eternal life! Then we came home for dinner and included our daughter and son-in-law and a couple of other special people. We also incorporated a few family traditions, which brings memories and makes memories. It was a great day!

Here’s the menu:

Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
Ruth’s Chris’ Sweet Potato Casserole
Tarragon Asparagus – New recipe
Deviled Eggs
Caesar Salad in Parmesan Bowls
Bunny-Shaped Breadsticks – New recipe
Coconut Cake with Lemon Filling

Let me roll the pictures so you can have a peek into our day and see that I also incorporated all the principles I’ve recently shared about Sunday dinner!

I worked early in the week and got the Coconut Cake baked and layers put in the freezer. Then at the end of the week, I made the lemon curd and the icing. It simplifies the process so much! By Saturday night here’s what was already prepped:

The cake, the rolls, the Sweet potato Casserole, Deviled eggs, and the salad ingredients were totally ready. The table was all set, too. I also had the roasting pan for the ham set out and ready to bake the main entree.

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When I got home from church it only required to put the finishing touches on everything and bake the casserole.

Here’s how things turned out on Sunday~

Caesar Salad in Parmesan Cups –

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Sweet Potato Casserole – The best in my book!

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Terragon Asparagus – This was new, and it was pretty good. My asparagus wasn’t as fresh as I’ve ever gotten, so I’m going to try this again before giving it a final verdict!

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Bunny Breadsticks – Another new recipe. These were fantastic on Saturday when I made them, but they don’t really do well the next day. Sooo, I won’t make these for Sunday any more, but I sure will use this recipe for other days when I have time to make them for that day. They were delicious right out of the oven!! And how cute are they???? They can be baked into regular bread sticks if you want to make them other times of the year!

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Coconut Cake

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One tradition that we’ve had for years is Easter sunrise service outside at home. That was a challenge (and very cold) when we lived in Indiana, but we would don our coats and head to the tree house where we would have our own Sunrise service! Then we would come inside and have Cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs. Now that it’s just my husband and me, we simply eat breakfast on the patio and read Scripture together. It’s usually warm enough that we don’t shiver, thank the Lord! Here’s what we had yesterday:

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We had Fresh farm eggs, Prosciutto, Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, Fresh fruit and Coffee.
It was a great way to start Easter Sunday! This is a reminder that traditions aren’t just for when your kids are at home. Keep those traditions going even when they’re gone. It will continue to build strong home ties, and will also give your grown kids the security of knowing that you’re still making the most of your marriage!

So, another Easter dinner is in the (memory) books, and I’ll have to say, it’s a memorable chapter! I thank the Lord for the blessing of celebrating our Savior’s life and getting to do it at church AND at home around the Sunday dinner table.

Did you have Easter dinner? Did you cook? What made it special for your family?

With love from my country kitchen,

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