Basic Homemade Bagels

Good bagels are soft and yeasty and basically heavenly. Bad bagels are small and tough and bland. There really is no in between. After finally giving up on the bad bagels from the frozen section of the grocery store and spending too much on the good bagels from the bakery, I finally decided to make my own. I'm not going to lie, these took a little practice. You have to get the dough really stiff, and I'm still working on making them look pretty, but the taste is spot on. I go to bed every night looking forward to having one of these bagels for breakfast the next morning.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4-ounce package, active dry yeast 
1 1/2 cups warm water
Cooking spray

Toppings such as sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or cheeses, optional

Directions:
In the bowl of a standing mixer, add 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Slowly add water and mix with your paddle attachment for 2 minutes at medium speed, scrapping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Switch to your hook attachment. Add 1/2 cup flour, mixing on high for two minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups flour. Dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and be stiff. Add remaining 1/2 cup of flour if needed.

On medium speed, let the hook attachment knead the dough for about 8 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place dough in an ungreased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough sit in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Punch down the dough and divide into 12 small balls. Poke a hole through the center of each ball with your finger. Hole should be about 1/2 inch in diameter.

Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray, arrange bagel on it, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest in a warm place for another 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large, shallow pan, boil at least 2-inches of water. Turn heat to low and add a couple of bagels to the water at a time. Simmer bagels for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once.

Remove bagels from water and place back on greased baking sheet. Spray the tops of the bagels with cooking spray. If desired, sprinkle with toppings.

Bake for 30 minutes

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Bread Recipes:
Grandma Betty's Banana Bread
Homemade Bread Sticks 
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Homemade Pita Bread
Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls 
Parmesan Onion Rolls 
Pull Apart Pizza Bread  

Soy Wax Beans with Sesame Seeds

I don't think I had a wax bean until my mother-in-law handed me a big bag of beans (we also walked away with garden fresh kale, cabbage, and cucumbers). I now had to figure out what to do with them. After looking through a dozen recipes, I finally just chose one, nearly at random. It must have been fate because Eric and I devoured our entire supply of wax beans and immediately wanted more so we can make these again.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 pound wax beans, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 pinch ground ginger
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar, packed
1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Toss the wax beans with olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until beans are tender and browned in spots. Toss beans halfway through.

Mix together soy sauce, ginger, lemon, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add roasted beans and toss. Garnish with sesame seeds.

Soy wax beans with Melt-your-mouth chicken

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Veggie Recipes:
Parmesan Veggie Crisps
A Basic Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
Baked Potato Soup
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake 
Baked Parmesan Tomatoes
Alfredo Green Bean Casserole  

Toasted Sesame Seeds

Last summer Eric and went to a Hibachi grill with a friend in Grand Rapids. I can't remember the name of the restaurant to save my life, but the food was unforgettable. The chef sprinkled toasted sesame seeds on everything and it just enlivened the flavor of the chicken, the veggies, and the shrimp.

Over the last six months or so, Eric will randomly comment on how good sesame seeds are. So a put a small jar of them in his Christmas stocking this past holiday. In truth, I was just as excited to eat them. Even though I haven't perfected my sesame chicken recipe yet, I still wanted to share how toasted sesame seeds.

Ingredients:
Sesame seeds

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the seeds out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for approximately 5 to 10 minutes or until the seeds are a light golden brown.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Recipes:
Roasted Butternut Squash Seeds
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds