Garlic Knots

These easy and tasty garlic knots are so much better than store bought or frozen. They are easy to make to go alongside any pasta or Italian dish. PLUS, you can freeze the leftovers and just warm them up as you need them!

The Homemade Kitchen Garlic Knots Recipe

(makes 16)

Ingredients

Knots

-1 1/2 c. warm water (105-110 F)

-1 Tbsp. honey

-2 1/4 tsp (1 envelope) active dry yeast

-2 Tbsp. olive oil (or avocado or grapeseed oil)

-3 1/2- 4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

Garlic Butter

-1/2 c. (1 stick) butter

-2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning with garlic

(For this, you can use any combination you want.)

Instructions

-Combine water, honey and yeast in your mixer bowl or measuring glass and let it sit for 10 minutes, or until it's foamy.

-Add the oil and stir in.

-Add flour, 1/2 c at a time and stir until incorporated. (you can do this part on the mixer using the paddle attachment.)

-Replace you paddle attachment wit your dough hook and knead for 5 minutes, or turn your dough out on a floured surface and hand knead for 5-8 minutes until smooth.

-Check the window pane test for developed gluten.

-Grease a bowl and place kneaded bowl in it, cover and put in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.

-Preheat Oven to 400 F

-Turn dough out of bowl and divide into 16 equal pieces.

-roll into a dough rope about 10 inches long and 1/2 thick.

-Shape into a knot.

-Place knots on a cookie sheet lined with a baking mat.

-Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until light golden brown.

-To make garlic butter, melt butter in a small saucepan and add seasoning.

-As soon as the knots come out of the oven, put them in a bowl and toss with butter sauce.

-Enjoy warm, or allow to cool completely and put in freezer.

These freeze very well! Just wait until they are completely cool and then put them in a freezer safe storage container or bag and put the date on it. Use within 3 months for the best results.

"Let Them Eat Cake..."

They are only this little once.

I remember, back before I became a Mom, how I used to think I would be. I was going to be the world's perfect mother of course and my kids would wear only the best and eat all organic and never, ever, under any circumstances have --- sugar. HA! I laugh to myself all the time now thinking about how naive I was in those good ole, sleep filled, endless amount of free time days. I knew everything. What am I talking about? I still do.

Anyway, there are little moments throughout my day when I can't help but sit and think about how fast time flies. I can't even wrap my brain around the fact that Raylen will be 2 in April. How is that possible? Sure, the long nights seemed like they would never end, but the days fly by. This realization has given me a lightheartedness when it comes to enjoying little things with my kiddos.

I love the fact that Raylen loves chocolate as much as his Mama... and grandmothers. Nothing compares to the pure joy on his face when he sees I've made yet another batch of my"world famous" Peanut-Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. "Keee. Keee," He screams at the top of his lungs while dancing on his tip toes. The "Mmmmm." that follows as he chomps down and runs around dropping little crumbs as he goes. He shamelessly asks for, "a more." And I shamelessly smile and hand him another. It is in these moments, I realize that it's ok. Just let them eat cake... or cookies because they are only this little once.

Grocery Haul 2/10/18 Breakdown & Meal Plan for the Week

This is what grocery shopping looks like for me right now. It is my couple hours by myself on Saturdays and I cherish it.

For the past couple of years, Kyle and I have made an effort to be intentional about the food that we eat. We might stray here and there, but we do our best to have lots of fruits and veggies in the house and eat at home as much as possible. Right now our monthly grocery budget is $450. Our goal is to knock that down by at least $50 to put toward paying Kyle's car down faster. This means, I have $100 a week to buy all of our breakfast, lunch and dinner food.

Now this may seem like a lot, but it would be easy to spend way more than this. We are selective on what we can and cannot afford to buy organic right now but a non-negotiable for us right now is milk. It just tastes better. I only buy Kerrygold butter (or the Publix Greenwise version. Again a taste thing.). We eat a lot of real foods. I don't buy boxed anything anymore except for maybe crackers. (I haven't learned how to make those homemade yet.) We buy the staples and then make things from scratch. We don't eat a huge amount of meat and it is mostly chicken. I do buy eggs, but I get those from someone local who has chickens. One day I will have my own. :)

With all of the groceries that I got today and the items I already have in my fridge, freezer, and pantry, I am planning on the following meals for dinner. (Breakfast is usually fruit and oatmeal and lunch is sandwich meat, baked potatoes, sandwich wraps, salad, or leftovers. Snacks are fruit, hard boiled eggs, nuts, crackers and whatever goodies I make from scratch.)

S- Zucchini Lasagna, Garlic Knots, Broccoli

M- White Fish, Grilled Pineapple, Rice, Spiraled Zucchini and Carrots

Tu- Swedish Meatballs with Quinoa, Broccoli, Radishes, and Sweet Potatoes

W- Fried Rice

Th- Chicken Alfredo with Homemade Pasta, Garlic Knots, and Asparagus

F- DATE NIGHT!!! (Raylen can have leftovers.)

S- Cranberry Chicken Salad on Kale Salad

What are you having for dinner this week?