Klobasnek (Sausage in a Roll)

A while back, I posted a recipe for Kolaches.  Kolaches are a Czech sweet roll with a fruit or cream cheese filling.  I don't know if there are enough ways to say that these are DELICIOUS!  In that post, I went on a crazy rant (I do that sometimes) about how sometimes people will give you a "kolache" with a sausage.  (Donut shops are the worst offender of this heinous crime.)  This is NOT a kolache.  The correct term would be a klobasnek.  In English, we usually say "pig in a blanket".  The difference is that a "pig in a blanket" is typically more of a flaky biscuit dough wrapped around a cocktail sausage whereas a klobasnek is a typical yeasted roll around bigger sausage.  The key to making a good klobasnek is the sausage you use.  People put a variety of different sausages in their klobasnek, like stuffed cheese, stuffed cheese & jalapeño, or just a typical sausage.  Most Czechs would probably scoff at the ones I made because I used a Hillshire Farm sausage.  I'm afraid the type I used is escaping my memory and they don't have them listed on their website.  Seriously?!  (I knew I should have written it down.)  Anyway, they are found near the smoked sausage links.  They are bigger than cocktail sausages, but smaller than their bun sized sausages and come in packages of 12.  I'm thinking they are about 3-4" in length.  They are the perfect size for this recipe and you will need 2 packages.  For the bread, I used the same recipe as the Perfect Dinner Rolls.  These can be used as breakfast or snacks.  I'm considering taking them to a Super Bowl party.  Trust me on this...you will NOT be disappointed!

*Edit*  I discovered why Hillshire Farm doesn't have the sausages I used on their website.  Um...it's because the sausages I used are Eckrich brand.  *insert sheepish smile here*  They are called Eckrich Smok-Y-links.  

Klobasnek
2 - 12 count packages of Hillshire Farm sausages (see above for a better description)

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into measuring cup, then leveled off

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes.

To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups of the flour - on low speed with the paddle attachment incorporate the flour to create a wet, sticky mixture. Still on low speed, add 1 cup of the remaining flour and incorporate. Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining 1 cup flour. On low speed, mix the dough to incorporate the final addition of flour until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough in the bowl - turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 20 -30 minutes.  These steps can also be done by hand.  You do not have to have a mixer for this recipe.  

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently deflate into a rectangle. Cut it in half vertically, then each half vertically again into thirds so you have 6 equal strips of dough. Cut each strip of dough into fourths by cutting horizontally to make 24 little squares of dough.

Take a square of dough into the palm of your hand then wrap it around a sausage leaving the ends of the sausage exposed.  Pinch the seams tightly and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Cover the klobasneks in the pan with a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap and let rise to double while your oven is preheating to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) - about 20 minutes. If you want an even more golden color to the rolls, brush them with a little melted butter before baking. Bake for 13-15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Serve warm and enjoy!

Linking up at these fun parties:
Making the World Cuter: Making the World Cuter Monday

33 Shades of Green: Tasty Tuesdays

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam: Tasty Tuesday

It's a Blog Party: Delicious Dishes 

Giggles, Glitz, & Glam: Glam Party

A Moderate Life: Hearth and Soul Hop

All Thingz Related: Anything Related Tuesday

My Sweet & Savory: Let's Do Brunch
Creations by Kara: Look What I Made Day

The King's Court IV: What's Cooking Wednesday

Frugal Follies: Frugal Food Thursday

House of Hepworths: Hooking Up With HOH

Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom: Commercial Break Thursday

Whistlestop Cafe Cooking: Friday's Favorites

ceo a's draiocht: Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent 

Oatmeal Bars

It always seems that my family is running late.  It's not that we don't try.  We really do!  Even this entry is late!  Just for some reason getting out the door can be so difficult at times.  Because we're always late, we rarely have time to sit down to eat a good breakfast.  So I'm always on the lookout for fast & healthy things to serve my family when I'm throwing their breakfast like a frisbee at them as we pull out of the driveway.  OK, so the frisbee thing isn't exactly accurate, but it feels like it sometimes! =)

While James and I were taking our childbirth classes, the couples were supposed to take turns signing up to bring a snack for the group each week.  The first week, our instructor provided the snack.  Yep, you guessed it. She provided these oatmeal bars.  She encouraged us to not go overboard while we were getting the snack.  She said, "I just made some homemade granola bars real quick."  That's right.  I looked at her like she had lost her mind.  We tried them and they were really good!  My husband loved them!  And all the wives reading this knows that when your husband really likes something, you will do anything to reproduce that for him.  It's no secret that a happy husband has a happy belly. ;-)  To my surprise, they were really easy!!!  One of the best parts of all, they are saving us so much money!  We used to buy prepackaged granola bars that were expensive and not very filling.  My husband takes one on his way to work every morning, so I make a lot of them.

Anyway, the recipe came from a book called The Laptop Lunch User's Guide.  As I started looking around, I found that they sell reusable lunch box kits and promote healthy foods.  Cool!  I also found that they have a blog here.

The following is the word for word recipe and I'll put my tips at the end.

Oatmeal Bars

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

These oatmeal bars are a great alternative to many similar prepackaged products.  Freeze some for future use.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3 cups "old fashioned" oats
2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup walnut oil
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons orange juice or water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Combine oatmeal, flour baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl and mix well.
• In a separate bowl, combine honey,, oil, egg, orange juice (or water).
• Combine the dry and wet ingredients and mix again.  
• Using a spatula, press mixture firmly onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet, forming one large rectangle about 1/3 inch thick.
• Smooth the edges with the edge of the spatula.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until light brown and firm.
• Remove from oven and cool.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the large rectangle into smaller 1 1/2 inch by 3 1/2 inch rectangles.

My tips for this recipe:

• Walnut oil - We don't use walnut oil in our bars.  I substitute it for apple juice concentrate.  I actually do this a lot when I bake.  I keep it in a container in the freezer and just scoop it out with a measuring spoon when I need it.
• Orange juice - I keep another container in the freezer with orange juice concentrate.  I measure out 1 1/2 tablespoons of orange juice and the 1 1/2 tablespoons of water for the recipe.
• Vanilla extract - We have made them with the vanilla extract before, but now make them with almond extract now.  I love the flavor with the oatmeal
• 1/3 inch thick - We make ours much more thick.  Ours are more like 3/4 inch thick.  They don't seem to fall apart easily.  Because we like to make ours more thick, I have to bake them longer.  It takes closer to 20 minutes in my stoneware.  
• Extras - We add a few more ingredients.  I have a cranberry thing, I eat them year round.  We also like chocolate...and pecans.  So, we add 1/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips, and 1/4 cup of chopped pecans.  You can add pretty much anything your imagination can think up.  Add, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, any nuts, dried fruits, coconut.  Anything you like!

 

Soft Pretzels

I love it when I'm walking through the mall and I pass by one of those soft pretzel shops!  They always smell so good!  The smell will make me start to salivate when I'm still 5 stores away.  They are just so wonderful.  So chewy...and buttery...and perfect in every way!  They only thing that I don't like about them is paying for them.  I'll be honest, I'm tight with our money when it comes to that sort of thing.  So I wasn't sad when I happened to come across several recipes for them online!  This recipe is from one of my favorite blogs Creations by Kara.  She always has the best things on her site.  These pretzels are so easy!  Have fun and enjoy!

Soft Pretzels

1/2 cup warm water

2 Tbsp yeast

1 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp sugar

4 cups flour

Add yeast to warm water..  Add sugar, salt, and milk.  Stir in flour to make a stiff dough.  (Unlike most bread recipes, you want plenty of flour.  That makes the pretzels chewier.)  Knead on floured counter about 5 minutes.  Let dough rest for 5 minutes.  Form into pretzels following the instructions below.  Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15-18 minutes.  Depending on the size of your pretzels, this recipe makes about 10-12 pretzels.

1. Pull off an egg sized ball of dough.

1. Roll the dough into a rope about 14"-20" long.  I roll it until it is about the diameter of a pencil.

1. Cross ends to make a loop.

1. Twist ends one time. (Sorry the picture is fuzzy)

1. Bring the ends down

1. Tuck ends under the bottom of the loop and place on a greased cookie sheet.

1. Brush pretzel with milk and sprinkle your favorite toppings.  I'm boring. ;-)  I stuck with course sea salt.  So very yummy!

1. The finished product.  

1. Happy baking!!!

For those of you that are admiring my plate, it is a Moda Home product, but I'm sorry to say that it has been discontinued.  For a limited time, there are a few left here in a different print.  Get them fast before they are gone!