Tag Archives: Water

Homemade Bagels

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So Halloween is coming up…

For some reason, thinking about costumes for Halloween always stresses me out. Girls/women seriously have the trickiest situation for Halloween costumes. Please fellow females, tell me you know what I am talking about.

There are hardly any non-slutty costumes around anymore for women. Sure you can find them…but some of them are like actually SCARY. I’m not the biggest fan of super scary things so I really don’t think it would work out too well if I was scared of myself. Funny short side story! When my sister was really little, she dressed up as a witch for Halloween and my mom did her make-up. When my mom was done with her make-up and my sister looked at herself in the mirror, she was too scared to look at herself and had to take the make-up off.

 

That would totally happen to me..I’m the same person my sister was when she was 8.

So I tend to go the more fun, humorous, cute route for costumes. This year some of my friends and I are going to be the “Dream Team” from the 90s with Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen, Dennis Rodman, you know..all them from the Bulls. I want to hear what you guys are all planning for being for Halloween! And if you have any cute plans for your kids/pets!! :-)

Oh yeah, I made bagels and they turned out pretty awesome. Homemade bagels are a gazillion times better than store bought-true fact..so give these a try! Homemade bagels may sound intimidating, but they are seriously super duper easy and the end product is so worth it!!

Homemade Bagels

(Makes 12 medium bagels)

4 1/4- 4 3/4 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat, then the rest all-purpose)

1 package active dry yeast

dash of salt

1 1/2 cups warm water

1/4 cup white sugar

  1. Using a stand mixer, combine 2 cups of the flour and yeast. Once combined, add warm water, 3 Tablespoons of the white sugar, and a dash of salt. Beat with mixer for 30 seconds on low, scraping when necessary. Then, beat on high sped for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, mix in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
  2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. This should take about 6-8 minutes. Cover with clean dish towel and let rest for 10 minutes. Working quickly, divide dough into 12 portions. Shape each portion into a smooth ball and poke a hole through the center, stretch out hole until about 2 inches in diameter. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover with clean dish towel and let rise for 20 minutes.
  3. Broil raised bagels about 5 inches from heat for 1 1/2 minutes, then flip each bagel and broil for an additional 1 1/2 minutes. The tops of bagels should not brown. Meanwhile, bring 6 cups of water combined with remaining Tablespoon of white sugar to a boil in a dutch oven. Reduce heat and simmer bagels four or five at a time, for 7 minutes, flipping each over once (so 3 1/2 minutes for each side). Drain bagels on a paper towel lined wire rack. Place drained bagels on a well greased baking sheet and bake in 375 degree F oven for 25-30 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Let bagels sit for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy! Store leftovers in plastic bag or tupperware container.

Random Fact of the Day: A survey reported that 12% of Americans think that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife.

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Grilled Potato Wedges

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So I’ve made oven-baked fries for you before, which I make all the time and love, but sometimes those can be slightly time consuming and in the summer, turning on the oven can really  heat up the house. These are little potato wedge/fry things that are perfect for hot weather because you can just pop these guys on the grill while your cooking up some burgers, chicken, hot dogs, whatever!

The only prep work you really need for these is to boil them just to get them cooked through a bit. Seasoning is a must, too! I like my wedges packed with flavors so I really load on the spices and seasonings. You can, of course, season to your own taste, but the recipe below shows my suggestions on what I used to make mine.

These are super easy and a perfect side for any dish. A nice thing about these wedges are that you don’t have to do everything altogether at the same time. I boiled the potatoes and rinsed them ahead of time and right before I put them on the grill, I cut them into wedges and seasoned them.

Making these made me feel like I was in the middle of summer. This 80 degree weather in Chicago is totally throwing me off on times and dates!

Grilled Potato Wedges

(Serves 4)

4 red potatoes

1/2 Tablespoon onion powder

1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder

1 1/2 Tablespoons spice mix

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne red pepper

1 teaspoon parsley flakes

2 Tablespoons olive oil (or any other type of oil)

  1. Wash potatoes and place in pot. Fill pot with just enough water to cover potatoes, salt the water, and boil on medium-high heat with lid on. Once water is at a high boil (or when you see water coming out the top-you really don’t want to get to this point, though), tilt the lid on pot so it’s a little open and continue cooking for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
  2. Cut potatoes into wedges and place in a large bowl. Place one Tablespoon olive oil and coat wedges. Season with desired spices and seasonings. Place wedges in a foil pan that has been greased with remaining oil and place on grill on medium-high heat. Check and flip every 5 minutes or so. Keep cooking for about minutes or until desired doneness.
Random Fact of the Day: A person will burn 7 percent more calories if they walk on hard dirt compared to pavement.
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