Zoodles in Tomato Sauce

I have found my new favorite dinner.  Honestly, this was so good.  I ordered something along these lines at a restaurant once and so I decided I needed to try to make it at home.  If you haven't made this yet I highly recommend it.  It's super easy to make and it was seriously so good.  Next time I make this recipe I'm going to double it because there wasn't enough for 2 lunches the next day and it was just sooooo good.

You will need:

1 lb zucchini
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste (you will only use half of the can)
1/2 onion - finely chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano (I used one drop of my essential oil oregano)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the zoodles by using your zoodle maker.  I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond.  I've been told they are also sold at Walgreens but I haven't confirmed that.  Use your zoodle maker over a large bowl, once they are all curly and fun, cut them a few times with a knife so they aren't so long after they are cooked.

Now break out your Frank or in my case a little Dean Martin and get that spaghetti sauce a brewin.  My 4 year old came home while I was cooking it and she said how great the house smelled.  That made me so happy.

So take your tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper and put it all in a food processor.  I'm sure a blender would work just as well but I do love my wonderful food processor, I use it for everything.  Mix it all up until it becomes nice and smooth.

Meanwhile saute your chopped onion in the olive oil for just a few minutes until they are soft.  Add the spaghetti sauce to the pan and let it simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Looks yummy, right?

Next boil a pot of water and put your zoodles in it.  I cooked mine for only about 4 minutes.  Drain your zoodles and mix with your sauce.  Yum.  Seriously so good! This is what my 4 year old's plate looked like after she tried it.  She just thought they were noodles!  Healthy and yummy.

Cheesecake Mousse

Who doesn't love cheesecake?  It's one of my favorites.  The only thing I don't like about making cheesecake is how it cracks in the middle when it's cooling.  It just doesn't look very pretty when it's done and read to be served.  If you know how to prevent this, please let me know.  My solution in the meantime is to put something on top of it.  I'm not much of a fruit topping kind of gal, so I went with vanilla mousse and it was delicious.

Ingredients:

For cheesecake:
Graham crackers for crust
3 Tbsp butter, melted
4 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 eggs

Vanilla Mousse:
8 oz. whip cream (recipe for this is at the bottom of the page)
1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 325.  Crush graham crackers in a large zip lock bag.   Use as many graham crackers as it takes to get about 1 1/2 cups.  Mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter in a small bowl until it all sticks together.

Press graham cracker crumbs into your spring form pan, pressing firmly to the bottom and up the sides of the pan.  Put the pan in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

Beat 3 packages of the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until well blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended.  Pour over crust.  Bake for 55 minutes until center is almost set.  Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

This is my yummy cheesecake after it's baked.  I wish I knew why it cracks and how to stop it.  Big sigh... the benefit is that this vanilla mousse topping is truly yummy and doesn't distract from the cheese cake at all.

For the vanilla mousse, beat remaining cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with mixer in a large mixer bowl until well blended.  Whisk in whipped cream, spread over the cheesecake.  Refrigerate for 4 hours.  Remove from of pan before serving and using a knife, smooth the sides of the cheesecake and the mousse topping to give it a finished look.

YUUUUUUMMMMMMMYYYYYYY

Whipped Cream:
1 cup of whipping cream
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp sugar

Add whipping cream to the bowl of your mixer.  Beat on medium - high with wire attachment until cream begins to thicken.  This process takes about 20 minutes.  Just let it ride while it's thickening.  Go put some laundry in, check your Facebook, whatever you like for 20 whole minutes.  Add vanilla to taste and add sugar.  Continue beating until it reaches the consistency of whipped cream.  This is probably the best whipped cream I have ever had and it has zero preservatives and zero additives.

Funfetti Cupcakes

Is there a person out there who doesn't love funfetti?  It's my daughter's favorite so I thought it would be fun to surprise her when she returns from her 2 week vacay in California today.  Lynne and I had a lot of fun making these cupcakes and since they are not from a box I feel better about letting my kids eat them.  

My disclaimer... this is not my recipe.  I found it on Pinterest.  I love Pinterest and I live by it.  I find so many yummy recipes there and this is one of them.  I hope you enjoy it too. 

Ingredients:  

For the Cupcakes:
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 eggs
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles

For the Frosting:

2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
Rainbow sprinkles for decorating

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt, and mix together on low speed for 1 minute. With the mixer on low, add the butter, a few cubes at a time, continuing until all the butter has been added and the mixture resembles coarse sand.

3. Keeping the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Slowly pour in the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, until batter is smooth, scraping the sides of bowl as needed. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir in the sprinkles.

4. Fill the liners two-thirds full (about ¼ cup of batter) and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the centers are set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

5. Make the Frosting: Using the wire whisk attachment of your stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated. Whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.  A few drops of shocking pink gel food coloring and we achieved our desired color.  

6. Frost the cupcakes as desired (another shout out to Pampered Chef.  I used my decorating tool, it's so easy) and garnish with additional sprinkles. 

And enjoy!  Why is it kids always eat cupcakes from the top down?  :-)

Sesame Bagels

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
4 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 flour

Glaze
1 egg white
1 1/2 tsp warm water
sesame or poppy seeds

Pour 1/4 cup of the warm water into a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it.  Stir it with a fork and let it sit for about 5 minutes until the yeast dissolves and the mixture becomes frothy.

Combine the remaining 1 1/4 cups of warm water and the dissolved yeast in a large mixing bowl.  Stir in 3 Tbsp of sugar and the salt.  Add 2 cups of the flour and stir until dissolved.  Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that is firm and not too sticky.  It should not stick to the bowl but should keep a finger indentation when pressed on.  Kneed for 10 minutes.  Go ahead, use that mixer.

Transfer the dough to an oiled glass or ceramic bowl, turning it a few times to coat the entire surface. Cover with a cloth and let it rise in a warm place for an hour.

When dough is ready, punch it down.  Yay, we love this part.

Turn it onto a floured surface and divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.  Shape each piece into a ball and press it down with your fingers.  Using your floured thumb, poke a hole in the middle of the dough to create the bagel shape.  Keep pulling and twisting until it takes the desired shape.

Cover your new little bagels with a cloth and let them rest while you bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add remaining 1 Tbsp of sugar to the water.  Boil each bagel for about 1 minute on each side.  The longer you boil the chewier your bagels will be.

Use a skimmer or slotted spoon to dry your bagel slightly from the boiling water.  Place boiled bagels on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Whisk your egg white and water together in a small bowl.  Brush over the top of your newly boiled bagles and sprinkle with desired seeds.  We chose sesame seeds.

Bake at 400 for about 22-25 minutes or until golden brown on the top.  Let them cool completely on a wire rack.

Viola!

Pizza with White Sauce

Pizza for dinner... Yes, please.  Pizza is my husbands favorite food and it's a staple in our family.  Nothing better than a picnic outside with some fresh homemade pizza.  I did this one tonight with white sauce because I had no spaghetti sauce at home so I improvised and it was delicious.

Ingredients:

Pizza crust (made in a bread maker)

3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Throw it all in a bread maker and let it do all the work for you.  When the bread maker is done, remove the dough and cover it with a cloth on a floured surface for about 20 minutes.  It will rise a little in that time.  Roll it out to your liking (thick or thin crust) and put it on a pizza baking pan, stone, etc.  Top with your favorite toppings and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes at 400.

Garlic White Sauce:

I made this tonight with 2 Tbsp cold butter, about a spoonful of minced garlic, and a teaspoon of garlic salt.  I mashed it all up with a mortar pestle and then used a rubber spatula to spread it on top of my pizza dough.  I topped with cheese, pepperoni, onion, and red bell pepper.

Yum!

Banana Bread

Delicious and healthy!  Yes, it's true.

This is an adaptation of a recipe I saw through a Facebook friend (thanks Jodi) and I adapted it to match the less healthy recipe I was using.  I bet you can do this with any recipe.  Simply substitute coconut oil for butter, egg whites for all egg, and honey instead of sugar.

Ingredients:

3 over-ripe bananas
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
1 egg white
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
dash of salt
1 1/2 cups flour (could use 1 3/4 if you wanted to make it a bit "heavier")

Directions:

Mash bananas in a medium mixing bowl.  Add all of the ingredients and stir together.  Do not beat.  Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for about 55 minutes.  Cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then remove from pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!  This is a delicious banana bread that even my teenager loves.  It is truly moist, delicious, and cholesterol free.

Healthy Living Brought to our Home

So I'm sitting at home one day on Facebook and I see a post about Young Living's Essential Oils.  I am instantly reminded of my oldest daughter who has asthma.  She always sounds like she has a cold and she just generally does not feel well.  She is getting ready to go off to college soon and so I decided to give these oils a shot.  I am always open to new ways of keeping ourselves healthy.  

I did my research about YLEO and decided it was definitely worth a try so I took the plunge and I ordered myself some oils.  My daughter was very skeptical about using them and thought it was silly so I would diffuse the oils in her room right before she came home from work.  That way she could still enjoy the benefits of the oils but she didn't know I was doing it.  After a couple of days I asked how she was feeling and she told me she has never felt better. She said she feels less congested and is sleeping better at night.  I revealed my secret and she was excited.  From that day on she would ask to borrow my diffuser and she stopped using her daily OTC meds that she took to help keep her allergies under control.  

I ended up buying her her own kit so she would stop taking my oils.  She uses it every day and still feels great.  

I take a look at this and I just have to share it because it is a natural way to help my family stay healthy.  In the past month I have treated headaches, allergies, severe joint pain, warded off two colds of my husband and youngest daughter, nausea, and so much more by simply using these oils.  I am so grateful to have found them and I feel good in knowing I am no longer pumping my family (or myself) full of OTC's and instead I am helping them maintain good health in a healthy way.

Taco Seasoning

This turned out to be one of the easiest and healthiest things I could do for my family.  I'm not sure if you have ever looked at the ingredients on a pre-packaged envelope of taco seasoning but it's pretty scary.  The stuff they put in there to make it last can't be good for you and the sodium is huge.

Here is an easy way to not only save money but do something really good for your body.  Okay, I'm off my soap box now.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper

If you like it spicy, add 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Measure it all out and put it in a mason jar.  Give it a good shake and you now have delicious taco seasoning.  I like to make a lot at once.  The picture below shows what it looks like with 8 times the ingredients.  It sounds like a lot but it really isn't and it goes fast.  :-)

Favorite Dinner Rolls

We call these rolls Favorite Dinner Rolls because that's what they are, our families favorite dinner rolls.  They are super easy to make as you mix the dough in a bread mixer.  My husband loves them because he likes to make little sandwiches out of them for work the next day but everyone loves them fresh out of the oven too.  I always get a lot of compliments on how yummy these rolls are.

You will need:

1 cup almond milk (warmed)  (can substitute whole milk)
1/4 cup butter (melted)
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 Tbsp sugar
3 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp yeast

Put all the ingredients in your bread maker and turn the setting to dough.  Sit back and relax while the bread maker kneads and does all the hard work for you.  After about an hour and a half your dough should be done.  It looks very puffy and will deflate easy when removed from the bread maker.  Never fear, this is normal.

Separate your dough into two halves.  Then divide each half into 8 pieces.  I do this by twisting the dough.  Shape into balls and place in a greased round cake pan.  Cover and let your little rolls rise for about an hour.  They will be pretty small before they rise.

This is what mine look like after the hour:

After about an hour, preheat your oven and bake the rolls for about 15 minutes or until they are golden brown on the top.  Promptly remove them from their pan, pull them apart, and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Protein Bars

2 cups oats
4 scoops protein powder (I use Designer Whey in chocolate)
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 banana
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Start by mashing your banana in a medium bowl.  Add peanut butter and mix it all together.  Next add oats, protein powder, flax seed, coconut oil, coconut, and water.  Mix it all together.  If it's a little dry and not sticking together well then add a little more water.  Stir until everything sticks together.

Line an 8" x 8" pan with aluminum foil.  Spread your protein bar mix evenly in the lined pan.  Using a rubber spatula press it into the pan evenly.

Melt 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips.  Spoon over the top of your protein bars and spread it evenly.

Place in the freezer for at least 2 hours.  Remove them from the pan by lifting the aluminum foil out.  Let them thaw for about 30 minutes then cut them into 8 pieces.  I use a pizza cutter.

Wrap them individually in aluminum foil and store them in your freezer.  When you are ready to enjoy one, remove the aluminum foil and put it in your microwave for about 8 or 9 seconds.  They are kind of sticky so best not eaten on the go.

Peanut Butter

I'm not sure why but it just never occurred to me to make my own peanut butter until recently.  It turns out to be one of the easiest things ever and now I can save money and give my family something with no preservatives.  One jar of peanut butter will last us about a month and it stays perfectly in the fridge.

You will need:

1 can of unsalted shelled peanuts ( I buy generic, they are all the same)
1 can of spanish peanuts
2 Tbsp Honey (or to taste)
1 tsp Salt (or to taste)
1/2 cup Peanut Oil

The key to making peanut butter is the oil.  Truly.  If you don't add enough oil during the mixing process it will not stay creamy once you put it in your refrigerator.  It will be hard and crumbly and won't spread at all.  I add the oil slowly so I don't get it too oily.

Start by putting your peanuts in a food processor fitted with the large blade attachment.

Let it mix for about 3 minutes or so.  Add the oil, salt, and honey.  Keep it running and smooth out your peanut butter to your taste.

Your peanut butter should drip off your spoon.  If it's not then add more oil and/or honey.  Keep tasting until it tastes the way you want it too so you don't add too much.

That's it.  Then pour into a mason jar and store in your fridge.

Butter Top White Bread

A family favorite, definitely.  This one is a little more time consuming but definitely worth it.  I adapted this recipe from one I found on Pinterest.  I also cut it in half to make only one loaf instead of two so this recipe can easily be doubled if you want. My poor little mixer can't handle kneading all that dough for 10 minutes so I only make one at a time.  If you're making it for a large dinner party definitely double it because it will be gone in no time.  It's also great bread for making garlic bread with.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/3 cup warm water (run your tap to hot)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/3 cup additional warm water (run your tap to hot)
5 cups all purpose flour (I tried to make this with wheat and it was just not the same)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, for brushing the top when completed

Instructions:

In the bowl of your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, dissolve the yeast in 1/3 cup warm water for about 5 minutes until it becomes frothy.

Add the sugar, salt, butter, additional 1 1/3 cup warm water, and gently mix to combine.

Slowly add 2.5 cups of the flour mixing on low speed until it's combined.  Continue adding the flour until you get to 5 cups.  It might become kind of dry at this point so if you need to add warm water to get a consistency that sticks together then do it 1 Tbsp at a time.  Switch to your hook attachment and let your mixer knead the dough for 10 minutes.  The consistency at this point should be firm but not sticky.  It should not stick to the bowl of your mixer.

After kneading place your dough in a greased bowl, cover it, and place it in a warm place to rise for one hour.  Below are pictures of before and after rising for the first hour.

Now punch that dough down.  Roll it onto a floured surface into a 12" x 12" square, roughly.  Make sure the dough thickness is uniform throughout so there are no lumps in it once you roll it into your bread pan.  Roll the dough tightly from one edge, seal the edges by giving them a few pinches.  Tuck the ends under the roll and put it in a greased bread pan.  Try to manipulate the dough so it's really in the pan because it's going to rise a lot and if it's not even, it will lean to one side big time.  So don't be shy, push that dough into the bread pan until it lies evenly.

Next, cover it and place it in a warm place to rise for another hour.

Preheat your oven to 425 and put the rack at the very bottom of the oven.  Bake for 15 minutes and then cover with aluminum foil to prevent burning and bake for 15 more minutes.  Remove the loaf and turn it onto a wire rack to cool.  I like to put paper towels under the rack so the butter won't drip all over my counter top.  Brush the top of the warm loaf with the melted 2 Tbsp of butter.

Granola Bars

You will need:

3 cups oats
1/2 bag chocolate chips (or as much as you would like)
1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk (it ends up tasting the same with non fat free condensed milk so I figure why not just use ff)
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
2 Tbsp ground flax seed

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Grease a 9 x 13 pan.  Spread mixture into prepared pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Immediately cut into desired portions and let cool completely on a wire rack.  Remove from pan and wrap in aluminum foil.  Makes 14 bars.  More or less depending on how you cut them.

You can also add pretty much whatever you like.  Raisins, craisins, nuts, cinnamon, etc.  I tried butterscotch chips once at the families request and it didn't work very well because they don't melt like chocolate.

About Me

Today's the day!  So many of my friends have asked me to share recipes with them that I thought this might be a great place to store everything in one location for your viewing pleasure.  

About a year ago I'm at a MOPS meeting and I didn't expect it to change the way I see the food I feed to my family and myself.  It was a simple lecture on grocery shopping and gardening.  However the hostess changed me forever.  This is probably something she isn't even aware of.  I had heard of clean eating before but I never really thought about what it meant except maybe buying your food at Whole Foods instead of King Soopers.

Since she told me how she makes her own graham crackers, fruit roll ups, dried fruit snacks, and so many other things I never even gave a second though to taking off the shelf at the grocery store, my eyes have been opened and my kitchen has been a mess.  :-)  

So I love love love to cook.  I love to have my kids (and other people's kids too) in my kitchen learning how to measure flour or roll out the dough for bread.  It's therapeutic in a way for me.  One of my most valuable treasures I still own is a drawing my oldest daughter Elaine made for me when she was in kindergarten.  It's of me and at the bottom it says, "My mama, she lets me help her cook".  This sums me up perfectly and I love it.  I also love the crooked face she gave me, but that's a different story all together.

So I have been eating clean for a while now.  I make my own bread, bagels, cheeze-its, granola bars, graham crackers, dinner rolls, peanut butter, and a few other things.  :-) But I recently decided to add on to this lifestyle by expanding my knowledge into the realm of natural health remedies.  Why spend all this time making bread at home only to pump my family full of over the counter medicines and pain killers if I can find a natural healthy way to prevent illness in the first place.  Don't get me wrong please, if my kids are sick we are still going to go to the doctor.  My youngest has a peanut allergy and I will never leave home without an epi-pen again but if I can prevent illness in a healthy way and keep my kids out of the doctors office then I've done a good thing for them. 

Also know that I don't make everything and I am not a fanatic by any means at all.  I can only control a certain amount of the food my family consumes and this is where I have found a nice balance between trying to make natural foods at home, trying to buy organic when I can, and trying to keep my families immune system in tip top shape for a lifetime of healthy living.  We can only do what we can do.  :-) 

Whole Wheat Honey Bagels

This was one of the items we made today and it's a favorite a lot of people ask me for.  

Whole Wheat Honey Bagels.  

You will need:
2 1/4 tsp yeast
2 Tbsp honey
1 1/4 cup warm water (run it super hot through your tap)
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar

Dissolve the honey in 1/2 cup warm water.  Add the yeast.  Give it a stir with your finger to saturate all the yeast.  Let it sit for about 5 minutes until it becomes kind of frothy.

Mix together flour and salt in a large mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add the yeast mixture and the remaining 3/4 c warm water.  Mix on low until all the flour is moist.  Switch to the hook attachment.  Knead on low speed for 10 minutes.  The dough needs to be firm but not sticky.  You may need to add some more water to get to the proper consistency.  Add it slowly though.  Sometimes it will look kind of lumpy but never fear, just take it out of the mixer and squeeze it into a ball.  

Grease a large bowl.  A shout-out to my Pampered Chef friends because this bowl is awesome.  I love to use it for everything and here it is again.  Back to the topic, grease a large bowl. I suggest coconut or olive oil.  Using a spray like Pam takes the clean out of just about anything because it's loaded with so much junk so try to avoid it if you can.  Turn the dough a time or two in the greased bowl to coat the dough completely.  Cover with a damp dish towel and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour.  I usually preheat my oven at 350 for about one minute then I turn it off a minute or two before the dough will go in so it's nice and toasty.

The next two pics show what the dough looks like before and after the hour has passed.

 Beautiful, right?  So now it's time to punch.  This is a favorite for us bread makers and their kids.  Lynne absolutely loves this part.  Except today... weird.  Anyway, give the dough a nice hard punch, cover it again, and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Put a large pan of water on your stove and wait for it to simmer.  While your water is heating up roll your dough into a log shape on a floured surface.  Slice it into 8 as-equal-as-you-can-get-them pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball.  To make the bagel shape just stick your thumb right through the middle.  It might help if you flour your thumb first too.  Stretch it out until it takes the desired shape.  Don't worry about the size of it yet, they double or sometimes triple later in the process.  

Cover them again with your dish towel and wait for that water to finish.  Once it starts to simmer add 1 Tbsp of sugar.  Bring the water to a full boil.  Once raging, take two or three bagels at a time and plop them right in there.  Don't splash yourself though, ouch.  I let mine boil for about 2 minutes on each side.  Using my handy-dandy Pampered Chef (no, I do not work for them) skimmer, remove them from the water and dab them on a dry cloth so they don't drip.  Place your now very large sized bagel on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Repeat this process with the remaining bagels.  As a side note, some like to only boil their bagels for 30 seconds or so on each side.  It's a personal preference really so you find what works for you.  I find that letting them boil for a little longer helps them stay a bit chewier which is how we like them here.  

Bake at 420 for about 18 minutes.  Now as much as I would like to believe that my oven is perfect and heats evenly the fact is that it doesn't always do what I want.  It's not convection so I take my bagels out half way through baking and I switch them around from rack to rack.  I also turn the direction of the baking sheets so the front is now facing the back of the oven to ensure an even bake.

Remove once the tops of your bagels are a light golden brown color and let them cool completely on a wire rack.  

Now for the best part ever, watching my 3 year old devour one. Nothing feels better than giving my family something I made just for them and knowing it is good for their health.

Enjoy!!!