Week 131 Menu

Sunday: Stuffed peppers (quinoa, assorted veggies)
Monday: Beef stroganoff from freezer with red chard
Tuesday:  Asian Lettuce Cups
Wednesday: Balsamic chicken salads
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Individual pizzas
Saturday: Out

Soft Sourdough Pretzels

I've been excited to use my new sourdough starter. You have to "feed" the starter every week and discard a cup's worth of the stuff to keep the starter going. So sad to throw it away! When I saw this recipe on the King Arthur Flour website calling for a cup of that discarded starter, I was excited! Boy, do I love soft pretzels. They are my favorite treat at a ballgame - with some neon orange plastic cheese to dip them in, of course.

According to the other bakers, the recipe as published on the website makes more of a pretzel bread/roll, rather than the traditional twisted soft pretzel. I took their advice to boil the pretzel before cooking it in a super-hot oven. That step gave the pretzel a crisp outside while keeping the inside soft and tender. Heaven! I didn't have any pretzel salt, but still was blown away by the results! These pretzels will be baked frequently in my house. So, I may try to find some of those giant granules of salt to keep on hand!

Sourdough Pretzel
from King Arthur Flour

Pretzel Dough
3/4 c lukewarm water
1 c unfed sourdough starter, straight from the refrigerator
3 c flour
3T almond milk
1 T sugar
1 T vegetable oil1
1/2 t salt
2 tsp instant yeast
2/3 c baking soda
1 egg, beaten for egg wash

Topping
Pretzel salt
2 T melted butter, optional



1. Mix the dough ingredients into a smooth dough. It will be sticky.
2. Cover the dough and let it rest for 45 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add baking soda.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface, fold it over a few times to gently deflate it, then divide it into 12 pieces (24 pieces for pretzel "knots").
5. Roll each piece of dough into an 18" rope. Shape each rope into a pretzel.
6. In batches, drop pretzels into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Place boiled pretzels on a greased cookie sheet.
7. Brush tops of pretzels with egg wash, and bake for 14 minutes (10-12 in convection oven), until they're a light golden brown.
8. Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush with melted butter, if desired.

Week 130 Menu

Sunday: Low country boil with local shrimp, corn & potatoes!
Monday: Roasted Butternut soup and homemade sourdough bread (with new sourdough starter!!)
Tuesday: Caribbean Jerk chicken in slow cooker
Wednesday: Veggie/parmesan frittata with roasted cauliflower
Thursday: Stuffed peppers (stuffed with quinoa, zucchini and cauliflower) in slow cooker
Friday: Leftovers?
Saturday: Out

Week 129 Menu

Sunday: Burgers on the grill
Monday: Leftover pizza
Tuesday: BBQ turkey sandwiches
Wednesday: Pancakes
Thursday: Beef stroganoff over noodles and CSA peas
Friday: Leftover turkey
Saturday: Out.

Freezer Cooking - July 2012

It's been ages since I did a big freezer cooking extravaganza. But, thanks to my (at one time) full freezer, I didn't stress out over dinner when Pete was born. But, now it's time to replenish! I have a few days off so I'll tackle as much as I can without

Much of my plan includes long simmers on the stove, hours of dough rising time, or the slow cooker. So, the active, prep time will be minimal for so much food to have at the ready!

Pizza dough x3
Hamburger/hot dog buns x2
Marinara sauce
Chicken stock (a turkey AND a chicken carcass to use!)
Asian lettuce wrap filling x2
Enchiladas
Red sauce
Stuffed shells (testing out a dairy-free solution)
Carrot Mac and Cheese
Cook a batch of white beans for hummus and the freezer

Week 128 Menu

It's been so hot lately (not news, I understand). We've been on a smoothie tear with fresh mangoes, bananas and strawberries. I suspect the smoothie will return a couple times this week for a reprise!

Sunday: Eli's Asian salmon and rice (the three-year old's request!)
Monday: Roasted whole chicken with cranberry sauce and roasted zucchini
Tuesday: Homemade BBQ chicken pizza
Wednesday: Dinner at church
Thursday: BBQ Thanksgiving Dinner wraps (I fell in love with the cranberry/BBQ sauce combo!)
Friday: Grandparents in town! Steak and roasted potatoes
Saturday: Out with Babas?

Week 127 Menu

Sunday: Grilled chicken sandwiches on homemade rolls and sweet potato fries (family request!)
Monday: Black bean burgers on homemade rolls
Tuesday: Meatball subs on homemade hoagie rolls (1 batch of rolls, three dinners! Ha!)
Wednesday: Hopefully BBQ with friends!!
Thursday: Chicken, sweet potato and black bean wraps
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Out.