Jalapeno Bagels -- 7 Smart Points

I revisited my original post Jalapeno Bagels to calculate the Weight Watchers Smart Points for the recipe.  With the ingredients I use, they calculate at just under 7 points per bagel.  If you make 9 bagels instead of the 8 the points calculate as 6 Smart Points.    A national brand bagel calculates at 6 points but they're full of preservatives and chemicals.

Click on the link above for photos and extra details on making these.

JALAPENO BAGELS

1 ½ cups warm water
4 tsp. Active dry yeast
1 ½ tsp, salt
1 T. sugar
4 cups bread flour
1/3 cup fresh seeded minced jalapeno peppers
1 T. plus 1 tsp dried red chili pepper flakes
1 egg, optional

WATER BATH
1 gallon water
1 T. sugar

Combine warm water, yeast, salt and 1 T. sugar.
Add flour, jalapenos and red chili pepper flakes
and mix into a ball.

Knead for 10-12 minutes, adding more flour if
necessary, until dough is stiff.  Let dough rest for
10 minutes.

Divide into 8 equal pieces and form into balls.
Punch a hole in middle with floured finger and
gently pull to enlarge hole to 2 inches.

Place bagels on greased baking sheet, cover and        
allow to rise for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oven to broil. Prepare water bath and
put it on to boil.

After bagels have risen for 20 minutes, broil for 1 ½ minutes
on each side.

Once water bath is boiling, reduce heat.  Place bagels, 3 at a
time in water for 1 ½ minutes, turning after 45 seconds.

Drain and place on greased baking sheet.  If desired, brush with
egg wash (beat egg with 1 tablespoon of water)

Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes.

Weight Watcher Smart Points

King Arthur bread flour           48
Sugar                                          3
Egg                                             2

Inspirational Bird Frames

Tax season kept me so busy and tired that there's been no crafting going on at my house since last year!  I saw a set of canvases similar to these on display in a local church's youth group room.  They caught my eye and this is my version.

Over the past few years I've really limited my crafting.  I have no room left to display things in my home and I like to have a purpose for the items I make.  These turned out nicely and now I have to decide what the heck to do with them!

These are the original canvases.

I started out with  plain black frames that were going to be thrown away at the office.  They're painted with Home Decor chalk paint.

The backgrounds are "cheaters".  I found scrapbook paper at Hobby Lobby that had perfect colors for the background.  The birds are print and cut images and the letters were cut using my Cameo.  The font is Courier New bold.

Air Fryer Onion Rings

A couple of days ago I found a real bargain on an air fryer and bought it.  I've been looking at them ever since they came out and have been on the fence about getting one.  It has turned out to be easier to use than I thought it would be and will get used a lot in my kitchen!

This recipe makes two generous servings.  My advice is to put plenty of salt in the bread crumbs and don't slice the onions too thinly.  Half inch slices work well.  Process the crumbs until they're pretty fine particles.

I preheated the air fryer at 375° while preparing the onion slices.  The onion rings came out crispy and the onions were nicely cooked.

AIR FRYER ONION RINGS

1 medium onion

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

2 T. flour

2 egg whites

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and slice onion in ½” thick slices and separate into rings. 

Put flour in plastic bag.  Add onion slices and shake until they’re all coated.

Place bread crumbs in food processor or blender and process into fine crumbs.

Using a fork, beat egg whites with a tiny amount of water into a froth.

Dip flour coated onion rings in egg white mixture and coat with crumbs.

Cook in preheated air fryer at 375° for 6 minutes.

WW Smart Points

Panko bread crumbs           6

Flour                                 1.5

Egg white                          0

Onion                                0

This makes two generous servings at 4 points each.

Oven Roasted Broccoli

This recipe is easy to make and a great way to prepare broccoli.

Recipe by Alton Brown

OVEN ROASTED BROCCOLI

1 pound broccoli, rinsed and trimmed

       2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan or sharp Cheddar

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets into bite size pieces. Cut the stalk into 1/8-inch thick, round slices. Place the broccoli into a mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil, garlic, kosher salt and pepper and set aside.

Spread the panko into a 13 by 9-inch metal cake pan and place into the oven for 2 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove the panko from the oven and add to the bowl with the broccoli mixture. Toss to combine. Return the mixture to the cake pan, place in the oven and roast just until the broccoli is tender, 8 to 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven, toss in the cheese and serve immediately

On a rainy. cool, spring day...

there's nothing better than a bowl of home made onion soup.  I love the browned cheese that sits on top of the toasted bread pieces.  This is something I haven't made in quite a while and it fits into the Weight Watcher's plan just fine.

This is an old photo from a couple of years ago.  It has about three times as much cheese on it as I used today.  The only Smart Points you have to count are the cheese and the bread pieces (and the butter if you use that).

I used my new air fryer to toast the bread squares and it worked great.  

Classic Onion Soup

2 medium onions
¼ cup butter
2 cans Campbell’s beef consommé
1 ½ soup cans water
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Provolone, Gruyer, or Mozzarella cheese
Croutons

Cut onions into quarters and slice thinly.  Sauté onion in melted butter until tender.

Add consommé, water, and seasonings.  Simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Pour soup into broiler safe bowls, top with croutons and thin slices of cheese.  Broil until cheese is brown and bubbly.

This makes two generous servings.

Decorative Kitchen Towels

Income tax season is coming to an end (finally) and today I spent some time crafting.  My work schedule has been brutal the past few weeks so crafting hasn't been on my mind much.

After seeing some decorated kitchen towels online, I did some simple files in Make The Cut software and cut them from heat transfer vinyl.  The kitchen towels are flour sack type purchased from WalMart.  I preshrunk them before applying the designs.

I gave the women at the office the one with a rolling pin design.  We're all exhausted and trying to make it through the next few days so it's appropriate.