Fun with bread dough...

This past week at work, 

someone brought in 2 pans of Bread Sticks along with the recipe for us to enjoy. It was hilarious as the majority of us went home and made them for dinner.  I didn't think they would be such a hit as they were, but this week we made six batches of this recipe.

 SO very yummy!! 

I adjusted the recipe as it called for melting an entire cube of butter and that is just WAY too much fat for me and my family's lifestyle.  

I cut it down to 2-3 Tbsp. and they were still as yummy and not quite a fattening. Also, used granulated garlic powder versus garlic salt as cheese has plenty of salt and we are trying to keep the salt/sodium in our lives to a minimum.

We enjoyed these with a batch of Beef Stew for dinner, I took them to one of my neighbors for dinner, we enjoyed them for snacks in our lunch and enjoyed them for a late afternoon snack on the weekend.  

My kids and hubby kept begging me to make more.
I really like both of my bread stick recipes.
While my original Bread Sticks recipe is a nice, chewy, cheesy bread stick that goes well with soup or pasta dishes, this new recipe lends itself to the topping and shape variations. It reminds me of the texture of a mall-vendor Pretzel.

Saturday I had to work from 8-12 

and as usual, I came home to Tracy being the "Weekend Chef" that he is and he had re-written his recipe for Creamy Noodle Parmesan and was in the process of making this up for lunch.   

I love his recipe cards he makes up! 
(love how he colors them, draws illustrations, etc...
he is SO talented and is such a JOY to be married to!)
 

This recipe is such an economical and great way to feed a family. It's one of the many recipes that Tracy cooks when he takes charge in the kitchen.   

We have VERY happy kids whenever this is cooked up for lunch/dinner!

SO, while Tracy prepared Creamy Noodle Parmesan, I whipped up a batch of Bread Sticks to enjoy with our lunch.

I took half of the dough and made a pan of Bread Sticks and the other half of the dough to make a pan of Pretzels.

 The toppings are endless

to what you can put on them.  

Jade really liked the melted butter and coarse salt. 

Ethan really liked the melted butter and Cinnamon & Sugar, 

while Tracy and I liked the granulated garlic and Parmesan Cheese.

Another great recipe that is...

SO yummy, 

such a fun treat to have for a snack, 

and is the perfect accompaniment to pasta or soup
and is guaranteed to make HAPPY kids and family any time they are made up!

Best of all they are
SO easy to make!!

Homemade Bread Sticks OR Pretzels

1 Tbsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
1-1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp. salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour
3 Tbsp. melted butter
(other possible toppings....granulated garlic, Parmesan Cheese, other grated cheese, cinnamon/sugar, or coarse salt)

Mix yeast, sugar and water together and stir well. 

Slowly add one cup of flour and salt and stir. 

Then add enough flour until dough is no longer sticky.
Knead for 5 minutes. 

Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour. 

Divide dough, roll out and cut into strips (a pizza cutter makes this easy). 

Twist 2 strips of dough into bread sticks or pretzel shapes and put on greased cookie sheet.
Brush with melted butter and then top with your choice of toppings. (our favorite is Granulated Garlic and Parmesan Cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. (don't overbake)

(to keep moist, store in an airtight container or Zip-loc bag after they have cooled)
Enjoy!!