Ever crave those tasty, crunchy bread sticks they have at some Italian restaurants? Now you can whip up a batch at home in no time. Seriously, they are kind of addicting. We liked them, my daughter loved them, and even the dogs did a few extra tricks to get their paws on some!

Grissini Breadsticks

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Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups sifted bread flour
• 1 cup semolina flour
• 2 tsp (1/2 oz) dry yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• Dried Italian herb mixture, poppy or sesame seeds, or sea salt (optional)

In an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flours, yeast, and salt. Mixing at low speed, gradually add the oil and 1 1/4 cups water until the wet and dry ingredients are fully combined and form a soft dough. Knead for a few minutes, until smooth and pliable. Cover the dough with a dry towel and let it rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 F

Divide the dough into ten evenly sized balls. On a floured work surface, roll each dough ball into a cylinder 36 inches in length. Cut each into three 12-inch sticks. Arrange 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle lightly with dried Italian herb mixture, poppy or sesame seeds, or sea salt. Bake for 40 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Cool slightly on he baking sheet and serve warm. Breadsticks are best eaten the day they are made, but can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days.

Makes 30 12 inch breadsticks

Source: The White Barn Inn Cookbook

I’ve been seeing recipes like this around Pinterest lately and I thought I could come up with something that required no recipe and didn’t contain carbs. It’s hard to guess from my recipes, but I do try to veer away from carbohydrates. In the morning, I try

to be good because during the day I know I’ll be tempted. These are so easy and so cute that you can make them every day of the week if you want. Which is great if you are making them for picky kids who will eat anything cute!

You can add cheese, herbs, hot sauce to these. You can scramble them up and create an omelet. You can even put a little piece of bread on the bottom and you’ll have your toast too. The possibilities are endless, but here is the foundation of how you get to that point.

Eggs Nestled in Bacon

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Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 strip of bacon, use regular because thin cut will fall apart
• cooking spray

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray your muffin pan with cooking spray. Cut your slice of bacon in half. Take the first half and lay the bacon across the middle. Take the second half and wrap it around the inside of the muffin tin. Cook for 6 minutes, until slightly crispy.

Crack your egg into the center of your bacon. If the bacon has slid, just gently tap it back into place. Cook your egg for about 12 minutes, egg yoke just past runny.   Gently use the edge of a knife and go around the edge of the muffin pan. The egg and bacon will neatly pop out. Season your egg as you normally would and enjoy!

Not every tasty dip has to be savory. If you want something fun and sweet to snack on, try this Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip! It’s quick enough to bring as a last minute appetizer, it’s great for a girl’s night in, and it was tasty as I watched football tonight!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 8-ounce block of cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract – next time I’d add 1.5 tsp. 
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips, plus extra for sprinkling

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the brown sugar until it dissolves and the mixture starts to bubble. Stir in vanilla and set aside to cool.
In a separate bowl, cream the cream cheese and powdered sugar together for 60 seconds. With the mixer on low speed, add in brown sugar and butter mixture, then the salt. Mix until combined. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.

Garnish with additional mini chocolate chips. Serve with animal crackers, Nilla wafers, or graham crackers. I found that this tasted better the colder it got.

Source: Sing For Your Supper, originally bookmarked a long time ago from Brown Eyed Baker

I always viewed vanilla ice cream as boring and standard. A flavor which needed chocolate sauce or some sort of topping. I realized though, that I’m very picky about which vanilla ice cream I’ll eat. I also have to have vanilla ice cream when I eat brownies or pies and it’s great with cookies and cake too! I’ve been wanting to make vanilla ice cream for a while, but was worried because there are so many recipes with so many time consuming steps. I found this recipe and thought I’d give it a try. The flavor is great and it was nice and creamy. When you take a bite you realize just how good a good vanilla ice cream is. It is worthy of eating it on its own. You keep eating it and contemplate putting chocolate sauce on it, but before you know it is gone!

I made this Vanilla Bean Ice Cream using the 3 cups of heavy cream. It was very creamy, but I think next time I’ll try making it with some of the whole milk to lighten it up a bit.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

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Ingredients

• 3 cups heavy cream, or 2 cups heavy cream and 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
• ¾ tsp. vanilla extract

Pour 1 cup of cream into a medium saucepan and add sugar and salt.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan and add the pod to the pot.  Warm over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved.

Remove from heat and add the remaining 2 cups cream and the vanilla extract.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.  Remove the vanilla bean and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Source: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, 2007

My favorite appetizer is, and probably always will be, the crab rangoon. I judge most Asian restaurants on their crab rangoons. You can read more about my love of them here, Crab Rangoons! I was sitting at my laptop one day, trying to think of some new ideas for appetizers. I wanted to branch out for my own taste buds, but I also wanted to show you all some fresh ideas. It was a few days before New Year’s Eve and I was thinking about lox and bagels for breakfast on New Year’s Day. Then, my mind started turning and I came up with these, Lox Rangoons! It’s the same great concept, but with a little sophistication. No one will be expecting these when you serve them. These were so good, even my 21 month old daughter loved eating them.

This time around, I replaced green onions with chives and I decided to bake them. It’s a New Year and salmon is so good for you, I figured let’s keep these a little healthier. With ingredients as pretty as these, why fry them in oil and lose those pretty colors?

Lox Rangoons

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Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 3 oz lox, thinly sliced cured Salmon
• 2 1/2 Tbsp chopped chives
• 24 wonton wrappers

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, salmon, and chives together. Spray both sides of the wonton wrappers and place them in your muffin tin. Spoon roughly 1 Tbsp of the salmon mixture into your wonton. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and serve warm, although they are still pretty tasty at room temperature!

Let’s start the week out sensibly, shall we? These tomatoes are so tasty and so easy to make you wont even think of them as smart and healthy! I also love how fresh they are. In the middle of winter here in Maine, the smell of tomatoes, garlic, and basil bring to a warmer place. Even my 21 month old daughter loved smelling the fresh basil!

Stuffed Baked Tomatoes

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Ingredients

• 4 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 3 oz shredded part-skim mozzarella, about 1/2 cup
• 2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 400 F. Scoop out the inside of each tomato half with a melon baller and roughly chop the scooped pulp. Combine tomato pulp, mozzarella, basil, Parmesan, garlic, and pinch of salt and pepper.

Place the tomatoes, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Spoon tomato mixture into tomato halves and bake until cheese is melted and lightly browned. About 10 minutes. Serve warm.  Serves 4.

Nutritional information:  Per serving, 90 calories, 5g fat (3 g sat), 4g carb, 7 g protein, 1 dietary fiber, 230 mg sodium

Source: South Beach Diet

Simply cook your chicken as desired. Place the hot chicken into the bowl of your mixer. Be sure that your chicken is warm, cold chicken is difficult to shred and may harm your mixer. You wouldn’t want to do that! Using the paddle attachment, mix the chicken on medium speed for 20-30 seconds, until the chicken is shredded to your liking. Use as desired in your favorite recipe, like say Chicken Lasagna!

Source: Seen on Stick A Fork In It, originally from Simply Healthy Family

It’s not a big secret that Alan loves soft pretzels. I’m not sure why I waited so long to make them, but when I saw these online I immediately knew I had to make them ASAP. This recipe finally shared the secret to getting that soft inside and crunchy outside. Granted, I hadn’t look deep into that mystery!

These are very easy to make, just be sure to have a few cookie sheets ready to go so you can keep popping your dough segments into the boiling water. The baking soda will be active for about 20 minutes. I made it work, but having everything ready next time will make it that much easier. We’ve already talked about making larger pretzels soon!

Soft Pretzel Bites

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• Vegetable oil
• 3 quarts water
• 3/4 cup baking soda
• 1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
• Coarse sea salt

Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.

Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring the water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each. Roll each piece into a long rope measuring 22 inches and shape. Cut the dough into one inch pieces to make the pretzel bites. Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in small batches. Boil for about 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon. Place pretzel bites on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure they are not touching. Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.

Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating. Serve with cheese sauce.

Cheese Sauce

Ingredients

• ½ Tablespoon unsalted butter
• ½ Tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ½ cup milk
• 8 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cook until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the Cheddar cheese until smooth and all of the cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

*If you want to make cinnamon and sugar pretzel bites-instead of adding salt, sprinkle the bites with cinnamon and sugar. For the frosting mix-soft cream cheese-about 3 T, powdered sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a little bit of milk. Whisk together. Add more milk if it is too thick, if it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.*

Source: Two Peas & Their Pod, adapted from Bobby Flay

I love little creations like these Nutella and Banana Wontons. Everything involved I have in my pantry at pretty much all times. I absolutely adore Nutella. What isn’t to love? Creamy, chocolatey hazelnuts. Yum! I always love finding new ways to use up wontons since most recipes don’t call for an entire package. Really, unless I’m entertaining for a large group, I only use a few at a time.

This recipe can be increased or decreased. It just depends on how many you want to make. You only need to eye-ball your amounts and you can make a ton or as little as 4 at a time like I have! You can also make this using strawberries or raspberries, or leaving the fruit out and simply using Nutella.

Nutella & Banana Wontons

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Ingredients

• 10 wonton wrappers
• 3 Tbsp Nutella Hazelnut Spread
• Ripe banana, thinly sliced
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• confectioner’s sugar

Lay out the wonton wrappers and put about 1 tsp of Nutella in the center of each wonton. Place a banana slice on top. Brush all of the edges with the egg white. I dip my finger into the egg wash and “draw” along the edges. I find it quicker and one less thing to wash!  Fold the wonton to form a triangle and press the edges together firmly.

In a small sauce pan heat the oil over low. Place 1 or 2 wontons into the hot oil. Flip the wontons over after 5 seconds. Let the wonton cook for another 5 seconds, or until golden brown. Place on an paper towel to absorb excess oil. Serve warm with a sprinkle of confectioners’ sugar on top.

Source: Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

I remember the first time I made these carrots. They were handed to each person at the table, some would dish some on to their plates and others would continue passing them by. That was until the comments started flowing about how good they were. They were sweet, they were so nicely roasted, etc. Then people went for seconds and those that hadn’t tried them grabbed some! Granted, it’s not the best way to eat carrots, it’s a sweet addition to a festive meal and it’s definitely good to get those that aren’t keen on vegetables to try some. I will admit, I find that one serving of the maple and butter mixture isn’t enough. I follow the recipe and then, right before I serve, I drizzle another serving onto them. It sweetens them up a bit and makes them more appealing!

Roasted Maple Carrots with Browned Butter

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Ingredients

• 2 lbs baby carrots
• 1.5 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 1 Tbsp butter (I used 2)
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup (I used 2)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Toss carrots, oil, and salt in broiler-pan bottom. Spread into single layer and roast 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, while carrots continue to roast, heat butter in small saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, and simmer until deep gold, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in maple syrup and drizzle mixture over carrots. Shake pan to coat, and continue roasting about 8 minutes longer, shaking pan twice more, until carrots are browned and tender.

Serves 8

Source: Cook’s Illustrated, January 2001