Buffalo Chicken Salad

I recently broke what I believe to be my 5th pair of sunglasses in the past year...I thought I could save them and patch them up with a little super glue...

Well, super glue and I have never been friends and somehow during this process I managed to get wet super glue directly in my eye...

Ouch!

I used to be very resourceful when it came to fixing my sunglasses as I have a history of breaking them. I once fixed a pair with nail polish and the rubber back of an earring.

Not so much luck with this pair. I never buy expensive sunglasses for the simple fact they have a short life expectancy with me. I am now beginning to wonder if in fact the reason I break them so much is because they're cheap and not because I am clumsy.

That is the psychologist in me speaking.

But fat chance. I am just clumsy. There are many things that I have found I have a habit of killing aside from sunglasses...

Headphones.

Cell phones.

High heels.

Digital cameras.

Being clumsy is expensive eh?

Fortunately for me this salad recipe is rather low-maintenance. There is some chopping and such involved but there is a slimmer chance of having an accidend while making this.

For normal people anyway.

I love the homemade blue cheese dressing that goes with this salad. I plan to use it allllll the time now.

Buffalo Chicken Salad
From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

Salad:
2 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper hot sauce (or other hot sauce), plus more to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 hearts Romaine, cut into 1-inch strips (about 8 cups)
4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 carrots, coarsely grated
2 scallions, green part only, sliced

Blue cheese dressing:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/4 cup plain fat-free greek yogurt
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper


Directions:

Preheat the broiler. Put the chicken between 2 sheets of waxed paper and pound with a mallet or hammer so the chicken is an even thickness of about 3/4-inch, then cut the chicken crosswise into 1/2-inch strips. In a large bowl, combine the hot sauce and the oil, add chicken and toss until the chicken is well coated. Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet and broil until it is cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes, turning once.

In a large bowl combine the Romaine, celery, shredded carrots and scallions. Toss with the dressing. Divide the greens between 4 plates, top with the chicken. Serve with extra hot sauce.

In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk and yogurt into the mayonnaise until smooth. Add the vinegar and sugar and continue to whisk until all the ingredients are well combined. Stir in the blue cheese and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Serve salad with blue cheese dressing.

Lighter Egg Salad

I love reading books that are movies...I like to read the books first of course. But I love seeing the books being played out on the big screen and seeing whether or not what I imagined in my mind is what I will see on the screen...

I am the type of person who likes to give something my all so when I start a book, I am hooked. Mentally, I go to a place where nobody can reach me, and I don't want to come back until my nails can be chewed no more, my eyelids are so heavy and my eyes burn so much I can't take it anymore...

I tend to finish books in less than a week...If there is a movie, I HAVE to see it right away. Yes I am guilty of this with "The Notebook", the "Twilight" series, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" series, and now "The Help".

Yes, I just started "The Help" last night and am now about 150 pages in. I am taking a quick break because my eyes were starting to glaze over and I was beginning to forget what real life was like...I was mentally on the cotton fields and developed a thick southern accent.

Basically, I give books so much of myself that when I finish them I am genuinely sad. I read so quickly and am so eager to finish, but when I do there is always a tiny grieving process I go through. If it is a good book, I don't want it to end!

Then, also my life feels so boring, so mundane and irrelevant. Why am I not hiding from my parents in a passionate relationship with a man I am not supposed to love? Why don't I have a vampire boyfriend? Or a mob of Russian spies conspiring against me? Hmph!

I am now getting anxious again to discover what is going to happen next in my current reading endeavor...

I can't really relate books to egg salad...exept that in "The Help" the women have a bridge club meeting and eat deviled eggs...there...that's how I am making books relevant to this post.

Take that!

I have always loved egg salad but am not fond of all of the fat and cholesterol in the yolks. After Easter, I was left with a dozen pastel-colored eggs that looked like they were done by 3-year-olds when in fact they were done by a 23 and 24-year-old...

Don't believe me?

See? Impressive right?

Well hey, we have been out of practice for years. It aint like riding a bike.

Anyways, I turned to my trusted healthy recipe "friend" Ellie Krieger and played around with her recipe. Here's what I got.

Lighter Egg Salad
Adapted from foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

8 hard boiled eggs
4 teaspoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/4 cup white onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons pickled relish
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsely, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Dice 4 whole eggs and 4 egg whites and put into a small bowl. Add the mayonnaise and mustard and stir with a fork, mashing somewhat for desired consistency. Stir in onions, relish, parsely and season with paprika, salt and pepper.

Wild Rice Salad

I am so excited that it is officially Spring now! Yesterday, being that it was the first day of Spring, I was all smiles all day. Spring actually gets me motivated. I want to get off the couch and go work out and take Kirby on walks and clean...a lot...

It's super weird that I enjoy cleaning...I realize this...I am such a rare individual.

Anyways, this wild rice salad is one of the side dishes Shawn and I made for our Valentines day dinner along with the grilled salmon. We were kind of weary about pairing these but they went really well together...

Shawn ate half of the bowl before it even made it to our plates...

Yep, we're both kind of fat.

This salad can be eaten warm or cold...I don't think it really matters though we ate it cold and found it very satisfying...

Wild Rice Salad
From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup wild rice
1 (6-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and halved, reserve marinade
1 (6-ounce) can green peas
1/3 cup coarsely chopped green bell pepper
3 green onions, chopped, white and green parts
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup toasted slivered or sliced almonds, for garnish

Dressing:
1 1/3 cups canola oil
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:

In a 1-quart pot with a lid, bring 2 cups water and the salt to a boil. Add the rice and stir well. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Drain excess liquid from the rice.

Meanwhile, combine all the dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large bowl, combine the rice, artichoke hearts, peas, green pepper, green onions, tomatoes, reserved marinade, and half of the dressing. Toss well. Cover and chill or eat at room temperature. Just before serving, toss again and taste. Add some of the remaining dressing, if desired. Sprinkle with the almonds and serve.

Tequila Berry's Salad

I've mentioned once or twice that my dad's side of the family lives in Minnesota. I was born there but was too young to remember when we moved to Ohio. Sure Minnesota is freezing cold and starts having blizzards in August but in the Summer, it is beautiful. With all the lakes, there is so much to do. The summer weather is perfect...not too hot and you just really come to appreciate the great outdoors. I also love going up there for Christmas because it really is like a winter wonderland...of course I can only do it for a week because I detest the cold.

Every summer, for as long as I could remember, we would drive the 13 hour drive to Minnesota to celebrate the 4th of July with family. We always ate a lot, watched a ton of movies and had the craziest water balloon fights. One year, my aunt Donna made this salad for a cookout. I've always remembered that odd salad fondly. It was sweet, but had mayonnaise and bacon...very strange but oh-so-good. Apparently, this salad recipe comes from a restaraunt called Tequila Berry that is no longer around but was once enjoyed in Minneapolis and well-known for this salad.

After a pretty quick google search I found an endless list of Tequila Berrys salad recipes. They were all different so I pick and chose from several and put the salad together the best I could from memory. It turned out just like I remembered.

Tequila Berry's Salad
From...all over google :)

Ingredients:

Salad:
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1/2 pound of bacon, cooked and chopped
1/4 head of cauliflour, chopped
1/3 cup parmesan, grated
1/3 cup frozen peas, thawed (I added this for fun)

Dressing:
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1/2 cup mayo
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Combine all the salad ingredients and. Combine all of the dressing ingredients. Then combine the salad and dressing until well mixed. Serve immediately.

End of Summer: Grilled Peach Spinach Salad

Towards the end of summer I made a couple meals that used some of my favorite summer foods like bbq chicken, peaches, fresh greens and the like. I was grilling things like crazy to get my summer food fix so that I could be totally prepared for fall. I am just madly in love with fall. Summer is great, but fall is wonderful.

While I may clearly favor fall over all other seasons, Summer does have one thing that beats them all and that is peaches are in season. Peaches are my favorite fruit (perhaps this is my 9th time declaring this but oh, well, its true). So I gathered a basket of peaches and got to work the last couple weeks of summer. Over the next few days I will be rapidly posting these before my blog is overflown with pumpkin, apple and holiday spiced recipes.

I know I say this everytime I make a salad but this might be my favorite salad recipe thus far. It features some of my alltime favorite ingredients: peaches, bacon, blue cheese, red onion and spinach. The ingredients seem odd and bizaar and that they can't possibly work together but they do, omigoodness they sure do. The dressing is easy and effortless and I just adore blue cheese. There's nothing about this salad I don't like.

 I typically don't care to add nuts to much, I like to just snack on palmfulls of them with bits of dried fruit and dark chocolate but toasted pecans are delicious and compliment all the other flavors. For those of you who like snacking on nuts like I do, try toasting pecans and popping them in your mouth when they are warm, addicting I tell you. Anyways, this salad is right up there with a Strawberry Mozzarella salad I made a while back, strange but fabulous.

Grilled Peach Spinach Salad
From Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

For the salad:
1/2 cup pecans
4 ripe peaches, pitted and quartered
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1/2 pound hickory-smoked bacon, roughly chopped
8 cups baby spinach
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

For the dressing:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) crumbled Danish blue cheese
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the pecans on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden and fragrant, 6 minutes; roughly chop.

Preheat a grill to medium-high heat on one side and medium heat on the other. Lightly brush the peaches with oil and grill over medium until nicely marked, about 4 minutes per side. Meanwhile, place a flat cast-iron skillet on the grill over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.

Combine the spinach, red onion, grilled peaches, pecans and bacon in a large bowl.

Make the dressing: Mash the blue cheese with a fork in a bowl. Mix in the buttermilk, sour cream, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss with the salad just before serving.

Caesar-Inspired Salad with Homemade Sour Dough Croutons

Not sure if anyone has notice but I have been MIA lately...well to say the least I have been a busy busy lady. For starters I graduated college! AH! The day always seemed so far away but it snuck up on me. I graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in strategic communication. It feels so weird to have graduated and to now be considered Ohio State Alum! I am still going to another school to get licensed in sign language interpretation but the hard part is over, and I will ALWAYS be a buckeye :)

In the midst of all that I moved into a one-bedroom apartment. I have been dying to live alone, just be and Kirby (my dog). I'm very particular and like things my way and am such a homebody that I just needed my own space. I finally moved off of campus away from the noise, beer can littered streets and vandalism into my dream neighborhood. Well, I guess I'm not exactly IN the neighborhood, I'm more on the border but I can walk around in it and that makes me smile. I moved around German Village. It's a quiant, cute, rustic little village just south of downtown Columbus. The streets are made of brick and lined with cozy cottages, cute shops and hole-in-the wall restaraunts that have food so amazing you can't find it anywhere else.

I am so in love with this neighborhood, I never want to leave. It would be my dream to someday own one of the victorian houses and cottages and live here forever but it's expensive...perhaps if I devise a perfect plan to rob a bank...I think part of why I like this neighborhood so much is how much history and character it has. Everything is old...which I love because old things have flaws...and I appreciate flaws. Growing up I was abnormally obsessed with having an old cozy home...I used to beg my mom if we could move into one of the victorian houses in the historic district in Troy. I don't know what it is, but I have always dreamed of living in a house and neighborhood like German Village. German village is a neighborhood of simplicity and enjoying the basics. There are so many things to do an see here, I've only barely experienced it, but when I get a significant amount of exposure I will devote a post to it. I want to include some pictures because I am just smitten...(I didn't take these...lets face it my camera and photography skills are lacking)

Anyway, on to the salad! This is one of my favorite salads I ever made. Sour dough is my favorite bread so I was very intrigued by this. When the croutons are baking you're whole kitchen instantly smells AMAZING. The croutons definitely made this salad...

Caesar-Inspired Salad with Homemade Sour Dough Croutons
Adapted from foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:
Croutons:
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups cubed sourdough bread
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 1/2 teaspoons dried herbs de provence

Salad and Dressing:
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
2 large hearts Romaine lettuce, chopped, 7 to 8 cups
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
Salt and coarse black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Heat garlic and oil over low heat and melt butter into the oil. Place the bread in a large bowl and toss with garlic oil and butter. Season with pepper, Parmesan and herbs de provence. Spread croutons evenly on a baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden, 15 minutes.

In the bowl you made the croutons in, combine garlic, lemon juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Whisk in extra-virgin olive oil while mixing the dressing.

Remove croutons and let cool. When you are ready to serve, add lettuce to the dressing in the bowl and toss to coat evenly. Add cheese, salt and pepper, croutons. Toss again. Adjust seasonings and serve

Asian Chicken Salad

I had a lot of random vegetables that I needed to use and wanted to make something different. I don't make a whole lot of asian food (although I love to eat it...don't get me started on crab rangoons and chinese donuts/bread). I found this recipe online and actually had all the ingredients. I was pleased with how it turned out It was very light and refreshing.

Asian Chicken Salad
Adapted from Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

Salad:
1 large carrot, peeled
3 cups shredded napa cabbage, from 1 small cabbage
3 cups shredded romaine lettuce, from 1 small lettuce
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and deveined, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh Thai basil leaves or fresh mint leaves, chopped** see Cook's Note
2 small chicken breasts, grilled
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted** see Cook's note
1 tablespoon toasted white or black sesame seeds*

Dressing:
1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar*
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, optional

Directions:

For the salad: Using a vegetable peeler, shave the carrot and add to a large salad bowl. Stir in the cabbage, lettuce, pepper, Thai basil, chicken, almonds, and sesame seeds.

For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, if using.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.

*Cook's Note: can be found in specialty Asian markets
**Cook's Note: To toast the slivered almonds, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly golden. Cool completely before using.

Homemade Chipotle Ranch on My Pretty Rainbow Salad

Last week I ate a LOT of salad and experimented with throwing all kinds of crap in them. I couldn't even tell you half of what is in this salad except that I topped them with buffalo wing pretzels and it was sooooo good! I am not afraid to do weird things to my food, you never know what might work. I think there are tomatos and peppers in there as well as long as whatever else I could find in my kitchen :)

Anyways, I am a huge fan of making my own dressing..its easy, cheap and has waaaay less sodium and crap than the storebought stuff. I was inspired to make a ranch based off of Ellie Kriegers recipe on Foodnetwork.com. I put my own little twists on it to satisfy my personal taste buds.

Homemade Chipotle Ranch Dressing

Ingredients:

1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt, or 1/3 cup nonfat Greek style yogurt
1/3 cup lowfat buttermilk
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
1/2 tablespoon dry parsely
1/2 tablespoon dry cilantro
2 teaspoons chopped chipotle in adobo sauce
equal pinches of cayenne pepper, cumin and paprika
Salt

Directions:

If using plain yogurt, place it in a strainer lined with a paper towel and place the strainer over a bowl. Let the yogurt drain and thicken for 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the strained or Greek-style yogurt and the rest of the ingredients. Add salt, to taste.

Fresh Spinach Salad with Mushrooms, Grape Tomatoes and a Balsamic Vinaigrette

I am a big fan of spinach. Not only is it good for you, but you can throw it in just about anything...you can make yummy dips, toss them in salads, make them with wraps, throw them in pasta...whatever you want! So sometimes I buy myself a big bag and use it throughout the week for different things. When me and Shawn went to the melting pot not long ago, I got a spinach and mushroom salad. I really liked it so I thought I would make my own version at home.

Fresh Spinach Salad with Mushrooms, Grape Tomatoes and Balsamic Vinaigrette

I made these in single servings for myself so I will try my best with measurements

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup any kind of mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
1/4 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
1/4 cup shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon wheat germ (for a nutty crunch)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

In a small bowl whisk together oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl toss together the fresh vegetables. Toss in the vinaigrette. Enjoy! (super easy, very fresh, really tasty!)

SUGGESTION: This would be really good if you sauted the mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil for about 8-10 minutes then put them on the salad. I ate mine fresh and it was tasty, but I think it would be good either way.

Easter Dinner for Two

So neither my boyfriend (Shawn by the way) or I could make it home for Easter. So I decided to take it upon myself to whip up something special for the sake of the holiday. Because lets face it, there is nothing more I'd rather be doing on a beautiful sunday afternoon than cooking up a big meal in my kitchen with the windows open and with the Food Network on in the background (sometimes when I'm feeling extra cheery I'll put on some Joss Stone or Christina Aguilera to sing along to. But that's when I really know what I'm doing and am completely comfortable with it).

We collaborated on the menu and came up with what I thought to be very satisfying and a very home-cooked eastery type of meal. Instead of the traditional ham or lamb we both decided pot roast sounded IDEAL! Along with that we had a roasted potato salad, garden pea salad, homemade pretzel rolls, stuffing and of course Easter cupcakes!

Pot Roast (I combined two of Paula Deans Recipes for this and added a few vegetables in myself)

Ingredients
1 (3-pound) boneless chuck roast
1 1/2 teaspoons House seasoning, recipe follows
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup beef stock
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup red wine
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1/2 bag baby carrots
2-4 stalks of celery, chopped

Directions:

Sprinkle roast on all sides with house seasoning. Using a skillet over high heat, sear roast until brown in oil. Place roast in a slow cooker, and layer onions, bay leaves, garlic, and cream of mushroom soup. Add the red wine, worcestershire and beef stock and cover with enough water to cover all of the ingredients. Cook on the low setting for 8 hours. (After about 2-3 hours throw in the vegetables and stir)


House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months

SUGGESTION: There is a lot of liquid leftover so I made a gravy out of it. All you do is put the excess liquid in a saucepan and heat on medium. Then you mix in a bit of cornstarch mixed with water. Mix and stir slowly until you reach your desired thickness.

Roasted Potato Salad (from Food Network)

This is a great potato salad when you want something different than your origional mayonnaise-based potato salad. The only change I made to the origional recipe is I used red potatoes instead of russet potatoes. I think they are taster and prettier :)

Ingredients:

11 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Handful chopped fresh thyme and rosemary leaves
3 pounds red potatoes, cut into large dice
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1 cup chopped basil leaves
Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix 6 tablespoons of olive oil, the garlic, salt, pepper and herbs. Add potatoes and toss. Spread out onto a baking sheet and bake for 55 minutes, stirring occasionally. When potatoes are golden brown remove the pan from the oven and let cool. When potatoes are cool, place them in a bowl and scrape the pan drippings into a measuring cup. Add enough oil to the drippings to measure 6 tablespoons of oil. Whisk the vinegar and mustard in a small bowl. Gradually add the oil and then mix in the shallots. Pour the dressing over the potatoes and combine. Season with salt and pepper, if needed. Add chopped basil. Let stand for 1 hour at room temperature. Serve.

Garden Pea Salad (This comes from Paula Dean...who else would I go to for home-cookin!?)

Ingredients:

1 (15-ounce) can very young early peas (recommended: Lesueur)
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 boiled eggs, crumbled
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
Chopped pimento, optional

Directions:

In a colander, drain peas very well. Place drained peas in a medium bowl. Add the onions, crumbled eggs, and mayonnaise, tossing to combine and coat peas. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add pimento, if using. This recipe is easily doubled or tripled.

Pretzel Rolls (I wanted to make pretzel rolls because at one of my favorite restaraunts called Tip Top they serve a pot roast sandwhich on a pretzel roll with swiss and mustard. I get it EVERYTIME and it is DELICIOUS! I wanted to do something similar, so I handmade these rolls and had Shawn bring over provalone cheese and a-1 sauce and we made our own pot roast sandwiches...yum! If only we had Tip Tops sweet potato fries with spicy mayo to go with! OH! also, I got the recipe from recipezaar.com)

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups warm water
2 tablespoons warm milk
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 cups all-purpose flour
kosher salt or pretzel salt
2 quarts cold water
1/2 cup baking soda

Directions:

In a small bowl if using a bread machine, or in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix a 1/3 cup of the warm water (105-115 degrees) with the yeast and let stand until foamy.

Add the remaining cup of warm water along with milk, sugar & melted butter and swirl to dissolve the sugar. (If using a bread machine add mixture to bread machine at this point and continue). Add flour and mix on dough cycle or med-low speed. Remove dough from bread machine once it forms a nice a firm, pliable dough ball. Add more flour if necessary.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured table and knead for 2 minutes. Roll into a 2 foot long log and cut into 12 even pieces. Cover dough with plastic and a damp cloth and let sit for 10 minutes.

Pat dough into rolls or form knots and arrange on a lightly floured surface about an inch apart and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let the pretzels rest for an additional 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425°. Lightly oil 2 baking sheets.

In a large stockpot, bring the cold water to a rolling boil and add baking soda.

Drop two rolls into the boiling water and boil for no more then 30 seconds, turning once. Carefully remove with tongs or slotted spoon and hold above pot and let drain. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat with the remaining rolls.

Arrange rolls on the oiled baking sheets and bake on the upper and middle racks of the oven for about 8-10 minutes, or until browned all over; shift pans from top to bottom and back to front halfway through, for even baking.

Let rolls cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

SIDENOTE: I know this recipe looks overwhelming (in fact, I was kind of terrified) but it is actually VERY easy. You feel a great sense of accomplishment when all is said and done and you have a decent roll!

The stuffing I made was some cranberry stovetop boxed stuffing that was actually pretty tasty and only took 5 minutes to make!

I already posted the Easter Cupcakes but linked them for convenience :)

Hope everyone had as good and as filling an Easter as I did!