Soft Pretzel Bites & Hot Chorizo Dip

These two recipe were both winners. Caleb and I had this as a lunch/ snack today. The dip would be perfect to take to a party with tortilla chips, as well. And the pretzels, well, they would be perfect anytime. SO YUM!

These recipes came from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Soft Pretzel Bites

*Note: if using active dry yeast, increase the yeast to 1 tablespoon. Proof the yeast in the warm water and sugar (let it bubble and foam – maybe about 5 minutes) before adding it to the flour and salt.

*Makes about 2 dozen pretzel bites

Dough:
2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup (8 ounces) very warm water

Topping:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
Coarse salt (optional)
3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix to just combine. Add the water and mix well, adding more flour, as needed, a bit at a time to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth and quite slack. The goal is to get a really soft dough that isn’t overly sticky. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes or up to 60 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Don’t be afraid of the high heat! This is what will help those pretzels to brown up perfectly and stay soft on the inside. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or lightly greasing them.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into about four strips of equal length. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda in a liquid measuring cup (deep enough to dip the pretzel bites into). Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved. Sometimes I have a hard time getting the baking soda completely dissolved, so I just lightly stir up the mixture right before adding each pretzel.

Cut each strip of dough into about 6-8 pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ inches in width. You don’t have to be completely exact, just eyeball it. Dip each pretzel bite in the baking soda solution (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 7-8 minutes or until they’re golden brown. Bake one sheet at a time – it won’t hurt the other pretzels to chill out for a little longer.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you’ve used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that’s what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave on low heat.

Recipe Source: adapted from this version

Hot Chorizo Dip

*Note: if you aren’t familiar with chorizo, it is a pork sausage that is usually cured and requires cooking prior to eating. The outer casing is easily (and should be!) removed prior to cooking. Chorizo is usually located by the other sausage-type meats in the meat section of the grocery store and it can range from mild to spicy so choose the flavor that suits your taste buds best! In a pinch, I’m guessing that another spicy-ish pork sausage would work in place of the chorizo.

*Makes about 2 cups

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
8 ounces chorizo, casings removed and diced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
8 ounce cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) medium cheddar cheese, grated
1 small can diced green chiles
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the diced chorizo and cook, breaking up the chorizo into smaller pieces if you like, until it is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Pour off all but one tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add the flour and stirring constantly, cook for 1-2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk and combine well. Cook over medium heat until the sauce is thick, about 4 minutes. Add the cream cheese to the pot in tablespoon-size pieces and stir to combine as the cream cheese melts. Reduce the heat to low and add the cheese 1/4 cup at a time, stirring until each addition is melted before adding more. Stir in the green chiles and the salt.

Serve warm in a bread bowl or with tortilla chips.

Recipe Source: adapted from Joy of Cooking

Creamy Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

I made this for company this past Sunday, and we were all quite delighted with it. I can't wait to make them again. I put the whole casserole together before church, covered it in foil, and stuck it in the fridge. After church, I turned on the oven, set the casserole on top to warm up a bit, and then baked it according to the recipe. Turned out great! I left off the cilantro, because it's not one of our favorite flavors, and we didn't miss it at all. And I used black beans because they are our favorite.

*Serves 4-6

Filling:
3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
2 (4 oz.) cans of green chiles, lightly drained
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed, softened
1 can white or black beans, rinsed and drained (you can really use any type of bean you prefer here)

Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup chicken broth
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 can (7 ounce) green chile enchilada sauce
½ cup sour cream

8 ounces (about 2 cups) Monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 medium (soft taco size) flour tortillas
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and green chiles. Mix well. Add the chicken and black beans. Mix to combine. Set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk. As you whisk and the mixture cooks, the flour will get less lumpy around the onions and the mixture will become smooth. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling and has thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the enchilada sauce and sour cream.

Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish. Spread about 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about ½ cup of the chicken/cream cheese filling. Top with a small handful of shredded cheese, a couple tablespoonfuls for each enchilada. Save at least 1/2 cup cheese for the top of the enchiladas. Roll the tortillas up and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling enchiladas until the dish is full (I can easily fit 8 enchiladas in one pan).

Pour the white sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are bubbling, hot and lightly browned. Sprinkle fresh cilantro over the top and serve.

Recipe Source: My Kitchen Cafe (melskitchencafe.com)

Four Cheese Mac and Cheese with Bacon

The only thing that could have made this better is more bacon! And, I kid you not, it tasted better as leftovers two days later! Win- win.

This recipe comes from the October 2010 Family Circle.

** disclaimer: This might be the most unhealthy recipe I have ever made! :) Yum, yum.

1 box (1 lb) cavatappi

6 slices bacon, diced (I will probably use 8 next time)

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

3 Tbsp all- purpose flour

2 C. milk

1/2 tsp. onion flakes

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 lb sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 C. shredded colby-jack cheese

1 C. shredded mozzarella

8 slices Kraft deli deluxe American cheese

1. Heat oven to 350º. Coat a 3 qt. broiler- safe baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling.

2. Cook cavatappi 8 minutes in boiling water, then drain. Meanwhile, in a medium sized saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, 6 minutes. Transfer to paper towels. Carefully pour off all but 2 Tbsp. drippings (I pretty much poured it all off). Add butter.

3. Whisk in flour until smooth. In a thin stream, whisk in milk. Stir in onion flakes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium- high heat, then reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. In a large bowl, toss together cheddar colby- jack, and mozzarella.

4. Remove milk mixture from heat, whisk in American cheese (I broke it up a bit to make it melt faster) and 1 1/4 C. of the cheddar mixture. Toss bacon pieces with remaining shredded cheese.

5. In pasta pot, combine cooked pasta and cheese sauce. Pour half into prepared dish. Sprinkle with a generous cup of the bacon- cheese mixture. Repeat layers.

6. Bake at 350º for 20 minutes. Increase oven temp. to broil and broil 2 minutes, until top is lightly browned. Cool slightly before serving.

I mean, seriously, YUM!