Bagel Dogs

I'm thinking of changing the name of my blog to: What Stupid Thing Toni Did Today.  I think it has a nice ring to it!

Sunday morning, I just got home from church and was puttering in the kitchen.  I have the tiniest kitchen and I was back and forth from the counter to the sink to the stove.  All the dogs were in the kitchen with me, in case I dropped something, and I turned, took a step and slipped on a dog tail.  I rolled my ankle and fell flat on the floor.  My ankle hurt, my chest hurt (I got got a huge lecture about being careful until the stitches are healed from reconstruction and all the dangers...) so I lay on the floor and had a moment (meaning crying hysterically).  My poor husband saw me go down and rushed to help, very concerned because I hit the edge of the table before I fell.  I hobbled over to the sofa after a little bit of a cry 😉 and iced my ankle.  It is a lovely shade of blue and green, but I can walk on it and it didn't swell much. But all in all, nothing is wrong with me (and don't post "that's debatable," dear husband).

So I'm telling you all this to explain why I might have been distracted the first time I made this recipe.

My niece brought bagel dogs over for Superbowl Sunday and I have been craving them ever since.  I just got a new keto cookbook, Craveable Keto by Kyndra Holley, and bagel dogs was one of the recipes.  Perfect!  That was what we were having for dinner.  My husband graciously volunteered to help make them since I was so clumsy uncomfortable and was trying not to walk much.

Now, I had the cookbook and was giving directions.  One of the first things you do is melt the mozzarella and the cream cheese together.  I told Dave to put the whole package of cream cheese in the bowl...the WHOLE 8 oz. package.  We were both surprised at how soft the dough was, and I used parchment to get the soft, sticky dough to roll around the hot dogs.  But it somehow worked and we baked them.  They didn't look at pretty as the picture and so I re-read the recipe to see if there were any tips or tricks on making them.

Thats when I realized you only add 1 oz. of cream cheese, not 8 oz.  No wonder the dough was so soft.  I had to make them again so I could get it right so I'll be eating hot dogs for lunch for the next two weeks!

Edible,  but not really pretty

The second time around, things looked a little better.  Good thing I like hot dogs.

Bagel Dogs (the right way)
Craveable Keto, Kyndra D. Holley

For the dough

1/4 cup blanched almond flour

3 Tbsp. coconut flour

1 tsp. garlic poweder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. Italian Seasoning

1 1/2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup butter

1 oz. full-fat cream cheese

1 large egg

6  beef hot dogs - I like Applegates when I can find them

For the topping:

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/4 cup Everything Bagel Seasoning - I bought some at Trader Joes on one of my work trips, but      couldn't find it (Cal did I leave it at your house?), so I used the recipe from the book

Everything Bagel Seasoning

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

3 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. poppy seeds

3 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. dried minced onions

2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt (I thought this was too salty, so I doubled everything else after I tried it once and now have a big batch in my cupboard for use anytime)

Preheat oven to 375° F.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

To make the dough: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, garlic powder, onion powder and Italian seasoning.

In a separate microwave safe bowl, combine the mozzarella cheese, butter, and cream cheese.  Microwave for 1 minutes 30 seconds to soften.  Mix together until everything is well combined.  If it gets stringy or is not quite melted enough, put it back in the microwave for another 30 seconds.

To the cheese mixture, add the dry ingredients and the egg.  using your hands, mix until the ingredients are well incorporated.  If you are having a hard time mixing the ingredients together, put the bowl back in the microwave for another 20-30 seconds.  If the dough starts sticking to your hands, wet your hands slightly and continue working the dough.

Divide the dough into 6 equal portions.

Working on a silicone mat or sheet of parchment paper, use your hands to roll each portion of the dough into a thin cylinder about 10 inches long, resembling a breadstick.  Starting at one end of a hot dog, wrap the dough around the hot dog until you reach the other end.  Repeat with the remaining dough portions and hot dogs.

Place the dough wrapped hot dogs on the lined baking sheet.  Brush each one generously with the melted butter, then top with the bagel seasoning.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with condiments of your choice.

Store left-overs in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.  Reheat in a preheated 250° F oven.

2 years ago:  Almost like King Hawaiian Rolls and the "Big Rat" in the house

3 years ago:  Chicken Picatta and Cleaning Blood off the Kitchen Floor

5 years ago:  Ultimate Decadence Brownies and Being a Mouth Out of Control

February 27, 2018   Sunrise 8:06 am  Sunset 6:01pm  Temp. H 15/ L -7°F

Almond Crackers

Dave isn't one to do things half way.  Dave doesn't do Christmas lights half way, between the lights and the nativity outside I tell people you can see our house from Mars during Christmas. Friends stop by to tell Dave how much they love the lights,  so we had lots of people driving by because they know there will be lights.  Our neighborhood is pretty good about holiday decorating, and this year was especially nice.  Our across the street and to the right neighbors had a yard full of Christmas cheer and our straight across the street neighbor had some festive lights.

So, friends will drive by to see the lights and often they stop in to say hi, have an adult beverage and spend a little time.  The holidays were the perfect time to do that.  I like to have something to nibble on when friends stop by to visit, and especially during the holidays when we get more visitors than usual, and cheese and crackers are a quick, easy thing to throw on a  plate and have a snack.

Now, we have friends stop by to see how we are progressing on the truck.  We visit about what we have found and it gives us the chance to have a break, a snack, and Dave has a beer.

I used to love cheese and crackers.  I could eat just that for a meal. So I decided to make some crackers that were Toni friendly and have on hand for such occasions.  Well, I like them so much I am having cheese and crackers for lunch this week.

Right now I'm loving some flaky salt or this home made everything bagel mix on top.  These are the perfect little bite.

Lunch at my desk this week.

Almond Flour Crackers
makes about 40 1-inch crackers
1 cup almond flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 large egg


Preheat oven to 300˚.

Mix almond flour, salt and baking powder, add egg and mix until fully combined.  Place on a piece of parchment paper and cover with another piece of parchment paper.  Roll out to about 1/8 inch thick.  Carefully pull off top parchment paper and cut into crackers (I use a ruler and pizza cutter to do this).  Transfer the bottom parchment paper with the crackers on to a sheet pan.  Sprinkle course salt, a little garlic powder or everything bagel seasoning.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until just turning golden brown.  Let cool completely and then break crackers apart on cut lines.

1 year ago:    Keto Hamburger Buns
3 years ago:  Finishing Physical Therapy and Brown Butter Donuts with Bourbon Glaze
5 years ago:  Peach Skillet Cobbler

February 1, 2019  Sunrise 9:36  Sunset 4:33  Temp H -4/ L -12

Franklin

We have a new family member and I am so in love.  Franklin is the cutest little guy you've ever seen.  He is little, but he is mighty, the big white dog is afraid of him, but we are working on that.  We got Franklin for Christmas, and I didn't realize what a hole we had in our family until Franklin came along.  I know who needs one more mouth to feed, but I think we can make an exception for this guy.

Franklin is an iRobot vacuum.  He is scheduled to clean every afternoon at 3:00 while we are at work.  We come home to a clean floor and no more poodles (piles of dog hair) hiding under the table or chairs between me vacuuming on the weekend.  I even put him down the hall every morning to vacuum the downstairs bedrooms.  I can't believe how much dog hair Franklin picks up every time he vacuums and how much I love our cleaner floors!

Tek is afraid of Franklin.  Dave put Franklin in the entry the other night and Tek stood guard the whole time he was working.  Franklin would get a little too close and Tek would run for safe ground, only to creep back on him when he was headed a different direction.  It is a good thing Tek and Mooree are in the garage kennel when Franklin makes his afternoon rounds.

I am loving Franklin so much, I'm looking for iRobots to go on sale and get one for my upstairs.  With 4 dogs we always are struggling to keep up.  I brush the dogs every morning and vacuum every week, but I just don't have time to vacuum every other day, like I should, to keep up with the shedding.  I think Franklin needs an upstairs buddy.

So, while I check for sales, I snack on bagels and cream cheese.

Bagels, you say?  Those are not keto, but yes these bagels are.  There are lots of keto bagel recipes around.  I used the recipe from Carolyn Ketchum over at All Day I Dream About Food.  My bagels didn't turn out at thick as hers because I use my own shredded cheese and she uses pre-shredded cheese, the starch that is added to prevent clumping pre-shredded cheese gives the dough a little structure and so a thicker bagel.  I just choose not to use the pre-shredded cheese, but you can.  These are delicious with Everything Bagel topping from Trader Joe or your made at home mix, or plain with cream cheese or Legendary Foods Apple Pie or Pecan Pie butter (I often eat that stuff just on a spoon!)

So, make some bagels and shop for an Roomba...I could buy one faster if Roomba would sponsor me for this post (hint, hint!)

For Bagels go to:
All Day I Dream About Food

I like to weigh my dough so I can divide it evenly.

First I cut it into 8 pieces.

Then I weigh it to make sure each piece weighs the same.

Roll it into a snake, just like preschool playdough time.

My favorite topping. I stock up when I go someplace that has
a Trader Joe's

Eight little rings of joy in my oven!

January 29, 2019  Sunrise 9:42am  Sunset 4:26pm  Temp. H 14/ L -1˚F

1 year ago:    Moussaka
3 years ago:  Physical Therapy for the New Hip and Beet and Orange Salad
5 years ago:  Lost Books and the Start of a New collection