Every once in a while, I really love a hot dog!

Halloween means all sorts of goodies that are not "good" for you...so I decided it was a good day to have a not so healthy dinner too :) I don't know about you, but every once in a while, I crave a really good hot dog! And I just have to eat fries with my hot dog, but I did bake those :) For this hot dog fix, I chose to make Pretzel Dogs.

Start by proofing your yeast with sugar in warm water.

Add in salt and about half of the flour. Continue adding flour until dough is no longer sticky...you may not need it all. Knead dough until smooth. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Knead again and let rise again for about 1 hour.

After dough has doubled in size, roll out into a rectangle on an oiled surface. Cut dough into strips...I used my pizza cutter.

Wrap around your hotdogs making sure to seal both ends....I used yummy Hebrew National hot dogs :)

I only did one package of hot dogs, so I made the rest into pretzel nuggets. Drop into the water bath and cook for 30 seconds. Place on a lined or oiled baking sheet and brush with egg. Sprinkle with salt...I only salted what we would eat the same day. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-18 minutes. The nuggets took less time.

Finished dogs and nuggets...

And dinner with my homemade oven fries...a happy dinner for Halloween :)

I love foods that remind me of Fall!

One of my favorite Fall meals growing up was my mom's Beer Cheese Soup. I get the itch to make it every Fall as soon as the temperature starts to drop. I've already made my first pot for the season...and I served it in a homemade Pretzel Bread Bowl. YUM!

For this recipe, you will need:

1 cup of shredded or chopped carrots

1 cup of shredded or chopped celery

2/3 cup of shredded or chopped white or yellow onion

2 beers

3 cups of milk

1/3 cup of flour

2 chicken or veggie boullion cubes

1 lb of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

The easiest way to make this is using your food processor (Shredder). I feed in the carrots, celery and onion just eyeballing amounts and let it fill the bowl of the processor.

Dump veggies into a soup pot with two beers and the boullion cubes. Cook for about 15 minutes over medium heat until the veggies start to soften.

Mix 3 cups of milk with 1/3 cup of flour and pour into the pot. Cook for another 15 minutes- or until the mixture begins to thicken.

I use the same food processor bowl and blade to shred my cheese. 

Slowly stir in cheese and then adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

For a fun new twist, I served mine in a fresh baked Pretzel Bread Bowl!

Because I love my husband...

Hubby came home about one night and announced they were having a "Football Food" day at work the following week. He asked if I would make him soft pretzels with cheese to take. I LOVE the hot pretzels at the mall, and now that I make so much bread, I figured- no problem! I used the recipe Mall Pretzels.

Mix yeast and water with a little brown sugar. Let sit 10 minutes. Stir in All Purpose Flour, Bread Flour and salt.

Knead until it forms a smooth dough- you may not need all the flour. Place in an oiled bowl and cover. Let sit in a warm place for 1 hour.

It really grew!!! This dough was so soft and easy to work with. Dump onto a lightly floured surface and cut dough into as many strips as you want. I got 20 smaller pretzels from this recipe (great for a crowd)!

Roll each strip until it reaches the thickness you like and loop into a pretzel or whatever you shape you like. Would be great fun for kids to make letters...or you could chop into nuggets!

Mix 2 cups of really warm water with 2 TBS of Baking Soda. Dip each pretzel into the solution, dab on a paper towel to remove extra water and place on a greased cookie sheet or silpat.

Allow pretzels to sit for 20 minutes before baking them. Bake at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes...or until golden brown. I brushed mine with butter when they came out of the oven, but didn't salt until the next morning when I warmed them up for hubby to take to work. If you salt and don't eat them, the salt soaks in and makes them soggy.

I can't even talk about the first cheese sauce I made (pictured here). It was a Rachael Ray recipe and it was AWFUL!!!! What a waste of good cheese. I started over after that and made my own using a little flour and butter mixed with milk and then stirred in some Shredded Pepper Jack and Sharp Cheddar, along with some pickled jalapenos. Much tastier- but I still love the canned Nacho Cheese :)

Another reason to love pretzels!

I love anything salty! I found a recipe in a magazine a few years ago for chicken breaded with crushed pretzels. I, of course, can't find the recipe now- so here is my version- Honey Mustard Chicken with a Pretzel Crust

First, combine 1 TBS each of Red Wine Vinegar, Yellow Mustard, Spicy Mustard, Honey, Vegetable Oil and Grainy Mustard. This is to coat your chicken before breading.


Stir to combine. Pound your boneless, skinless chicken breasts until about 1/4 inch thick. Coat both sides in the mustard mixture.


In a second bowl, combine 1/2 cup mayo, 2 TBS yellow mustard, 3 TBS honey and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir to combine. This is to drizzle over the cooked chicken.


In a bag, add one cup of whole pretzels per chicken breast. I put mine in a Ziploc and roll over them with my rolling pin until I have fine crumbs.


Take each mustard coated chicken breast and firmly pack on the crushed pretzels.


Place on a greased and foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until your chicken is cooked through and the crust is golden. For great color- spray each pretzel coated chicken breast with cooking spray before placing in the oven. Turn chicken once half way through cooking.


Drizzle with the Honey Mustard sauce and serve with your favorite sides. YUM!


(Pictured -Roasted Carrots and Radishes and Roasted Garlic Couscous)