Crazy Tasty Pretzels

Or awesome pretzels. Or delish pretzels. Or whatever-the-heck-you-wanna-call-'em-because-I-have-no-idea-if-they-actually-have-a-name-or-not pretzels. But they're really gosh darn yummy.

I first tried these when a coworker at JCPenney brought some in for a snack for herself one day. We were working back in the stockroom and she offered me some. I was addicted from bite one. Seriously addicted. Once you start nom-ing on these things, there's no end in sight. I asked her for the recipe and found it to be incredibly simple; it only has 4 ingredients after all. I'm not sure exactly what type of pretzel she used in the batch that I first sampled; I haven't tried them with sourdough but am thinking maybe my next round will be with them. I've tried small ones and big ones, twists and sticks; they're all equally good. The key here is time. You can't make and eat them at the same time --- they taste pretty icky at first before the oil and seasonings have absorbed in. Just wait though, and you'll be oh-so-pleasantly surprised by the final result.

I like to make batches of these around the holidays and include them in gift baskets/bags for coworkers, family and friends. They're a nice addition to all the sweet treats that come with the holidays. They're great at any time of year though, trust me. Mmmm, yes, the more I think about, the more the sourdough trial run is calling my name. If you try these out, let me know what you think of them!

Crazy Tasty Pretzels (because I had to name them something!)

1 bottle popcorn oil (butter flavor if they have it)
30 oz. pretzels (give or take, a little more or less won't kill ya)
1 pkg. ranch dressing powder
½ tsp. lemon-pepper seasoning

Combine all but pretzels until well blended. Add pretzels and stir to coat. Stir occasionally for 24 hours. Best 1 day later.

There, that's it. How simple! I can tell you from experience that the popcorn oil I used to use is no longer made (or at least I haven't been able to find it in WI or MD, therefore I assume it's just gone for good.) It was a very orange color (yes, very artificial) and very buttery in flavor (which is what you want.) I've only been able to find one kind now and I can't even remember what brand it is these days. It's still good, just not as buttery as the good ol' stuff I had when I first started making these.

Another thought just popped into my head: my friend recently pointed out to me that they make butter flavored pretzels (seriously, I had no idea until May of this year.) I bet those would be great in this recipe. Now I'm gonna have to try a recipe with those and a recipe with the sourdough. Good thing Buppy always has hungry, appreciative coworkers!

A last little thought here: I bet a bit of dill weed sprinkled in would be a fantastic addition too. Enjoy!

Recipe Critique: Rosemary Encrusted Pork Loin

Sunday night's dinner this past weekend was a new recipe Buppy and I tried called Rosemary Encrusted Pork Tenderloin. I found the recipe on Le Petit Pierogi and decided it was worth a try. Her photos made it look very appealing, and we have a rosemary plant that is completely weighed down with too many leaves. It was time to put it to good use. Originally we were going to use the recipe I blogged about here for Menu Plan Monday for a roasted pork loin that was somewhat similar but had a few key differences. Not to say that we won't try the roasted pork loin recipe sometime in the future, but I can easily say I'm very happy we used the one we did.

It's funny, but for awhile now I've thought that I didn't really like rosemary. Buppy is a huge fan and he's asked me at least 20 times since we've been together if I like it. He seems to forget he's already asked and that I've told him I'm not a huge fan. That, or he hopes I'll change my answer. Well honey, you're in luck!

About a year or so ago (give or take), Buppy decided I should try a rosemary and red wine marinated steak. They're a favorite of his. I obliged, thinking it wouldn't be too bad. It's wasn't, but the steak was a little old, a little over cooked (sorry Buppy, but I still love you!) and just not my thing. What I've come to realize with our recent kitchen trials is that it's not that I don't care for rosemary, it's that I don't care for the overpowering flavor of red wine or balsamic vinegar. Don't get me wrong, I'm not grouping them together to say they're one in the same, but they both can easily overpower dishes and make me think I don't like other ingredients when I actually might.

So back to the rosemary encrusted pork tenderloin.

Rosemary Encrusted Pork Loin
Adapted from Le Petit Pierogi

Pork loin (ours was about 1 1/2 lbs.)
Fresh rosemary (maybe 1 tsp.)
Rubbed sage (maybe 1/2 tsp.)
Minced garlic (maybe 1 tsp.)
Salt & pepper (enough to taste)
Olive oil (enough to make a paste when mixed with other ingredients)

Mix the oil and spices (herbs, whatever) together, then rub it all over the outside of the pork. Cook it in the rotisserie as per rotisserie instructions for pork loin. Viola!

To be honest, I was cooking praline apple bread and zucchini pizza casserole as Buppy made this for dinner, so I'm really just guessing at how much of each herb he used. Use whatever suits your taste and looks about right, ok? Or use the original recipe from Le Petit Pierogi! Our piece of pork was loin and just happened to be in the fridge (not tenderloin as the original recipe called for.) We had to substitute fresh rosemary for the dried and rubbed sage for the fresh. It was kind of backwards from her recipe actually. We didn't inject it as the recipe suggested since she made it clear that skipping this step wouldn't result in disaster. The simple mixture of rosemary, sage, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil rubbed on the pork turned out so flavorful; I thought it would be good but I was surprised at just how good it really was! And cooking it in the rotisserie made the outside wonderfully crispy, just the way we like!

This recipe is definitely a keeper in our book. And I'm so happy I found Le Petit Pierogi's blog; she has so many recipes I can't wait to try!

Another Birthday Party to Plan

Buppy's oldest child's birthday is coming up in early November, and while I realize that it's about 2 months away, I want to start thinking about what we want to do for his party. We haven't had anything huge yet and I don't think we will this year either. However, Buppy's parents and his brother's family (6 in that family) come up from VA to celebrate, so there are at least 12 of us in the house for the celebration. I love having them up since we don't get to see them overly often, and I love planning the menu and cake. It's fun!

For his birthday last Nov., Buppy made stuffed shells (he has a really good recipe), garlic bread that's dipped in this wildly tasty (and a bit spicy) butter mixture before being broiled, and we had green salad. For his cake, I bought a Wilton train mold and made him a strawberry cake. It was a white cake with chunks of strawberries and strawberry Jello in it; he specifically asked for it, but it's not something I'd make again. It was alright, and very cute, but not something to repeat. (My first attempt ever at making a birthday cake!)

For the youngest's birthday in Feb., we did a sandwich buffet with all the trimmings. We had 2 different breads, slow cooker Italian beef, cold cuts, different spreads/condiments, veggies, chips and potato salad.For the cake, well, that blog is still to come. I invented the most wonderful cake ever. Well, maybe not ever, but it was still really good. Now it's time for another birthday. He'll be turning 5 . . . what do 5 yr. olds like? He's had a train, a tiger, Elmo and Pablo the Penguin from the Backyardigans. Maybe it's time for a fire truck since daddy's a firefighter and all. I guess I'll ask him and see what he has in mind. His suggestions will be taken more lightly than last year though (because of the whole strawberry cake issue). I'll peruse Wilton's website and see what they have. Oh, maybe Bugs Bunny. He loves Bugs Bunny; Buppy owns the entire Golden Collection and they're watched often in our house.

Besides the cake, what type of meal to serve? To be honest, Buppy and I keep talking about how we want to have a strictly dip (or appetizers in general) party, but I'm not sure that would fly with his family, mainly his parents. A roast? Grilled foods? Kabobs? Pasta? Buppy and I will have to talk it all over. I'm open to any ideas from visitors on here!