Tied Up in Knots PRETZELS: It's March Madness

Basketball, brackets and BEAVS....Oh MY! 

We have been on the edge of our seats and glued to our brackets this week as we watched Oregon State work their way to the Sweet Sixteen. I have to say, it is an entirely different ball game and stress level when it is your team that you are watching on the court and especially if you ignored the stats and chose them to win {which I might have done...wink, wink}. Our game was scheduled late in the day on Sunday so I decided to do a little baking in the afternoon to pass the time. A small snack before dinner sounded good and I had actually been wanting to try making German Pretzels. I thought they might be a nice change from our go~to game day treats. The hubs liked the idea too so I got started. 

After the dough was made it only needed to rest for 10 - 15 minutes which was just enough time to get the water boiling, the oven preheated and the pan ready. 

The boiling process is very similar to bagels and goes fairly quick if they are all tied in a knot and ready to go. One by one I boiled the bagels and then transferred them to my prepared pan. 

After that I sprinkled the tops with some coarse California Sea Salt and then popped them in the oven to bake.

They were ready in no time.

Of course mustard always goes well with German Pretzels so we each grabbed a pretzel and had a variety of mustard to choose from. My personal favorite is my homemade honey mustard however plain or spicy is good too. 

We were all set for more basketball. 

These pretzels, which I have dubbed Tied Up in Knots Pretzels, were a great snack and I must say the game was even better. 

Oregon State has made it to the Sweet 16 and we could not be more excited, but it is not over. There is plenty more basketball ahead, game food to be made and we will be Tied up in Knots until the 2021 NCAA Basketball Tournament is over and we have a family bracket winner but for now....

Go BEAVS! 

Oktoberfest 2021:: recap

Last weekend we gathered with family and friends for our very first DIY Oktoberfest Celebration.  After months of planning and preparing the big day finally arrived. 

The idea hatched between the hubs and a couple of his buddies several months back. The interest continued to grow so we had a potluck with our neighbors in August to discuss the plan and logistics of how to make it happen. Several families, including the hubs and me, volunteered to help organize, gather equipment and make food. There were a couple other meetings as the date approached to confirm head counts and finalize the menu and timing. There were also party day weather concerns as it had been decided that this party would be held outdoors. It is not unusual for the forecast here to show rain at this time of year and that is exactly what was being forecasted. The week leading up to our event was showing all rain and cool temperatures the day of the party so an executive decision was made that we would hold the party rain or shine! Thankfully, the dreaded rain actually did not arrive until a couple days after the party and it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day for Oktoberfest! The weather was perfect.

Our day started early with lots of cooking. The ribs had to be in the smoker by 6:30 am so prepping began even earlier in the wee hours of the morning. 

Once the ribs were done they were swapped out for 6 whole chickens which were on the schedule next. While Mr. Wonderful was busy cooking the mains and setting up the party area I was preparing some German Preztel Bites. 

They took a good part of the morning but so worth it!

Usually I make traditional German Pretzels but this time I made most of them into Bites instead so that there would be more to share. 

Once there were about 150 Bites I decided to switch and make a few traditional pretzels with the dough I had left which ended up making six. 

They all turned out great. 

You can't go wrong with pretzels. They are always popular. 

German Chocolate Cupcakes were on my list to make as well and were easy to fit in the schedule between the pretzels. 

These are a favorite not only for Oktoberfest but anytime.

In between the cooking there was setting up to do as well. Tent, tables, garbage cans, food warmers, etc. all needed to be assembled at the meeting area.

The DIY Portable Fire Pit was also brought out and set up for later as well as a wheelbarrow full of firewood. 

The hubs recently made a new Poker that fits on a bracket that he welded to the side. A great new addition to the handy portable fire pit. 

Late in the afternoon, before the sun set, the hubs got the bonfire started which was a good thing.  Once the sun went down it was very chilly so we circled our chairs around the Portable Fire Pit and roasted some Giant Marshmallows. 

It turned out to be a fun and beautiful day for our 1st Oktoberfest Celebration. We had all sorts of traditional German food including smoked Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, Apfelkuchen {German apple cake} to name a few and even had a corn hole competition. The party was a success and I am guessing there is a good chance this could become an annual event. 

auf Wiedersehen!

We Still Do BBQ: table decorations

Our Denim & Diamonds 60th Wedding Anniversary Celebration was a lot of fun. It was a beautiful day however a cool breeze picked up late in the morning which made setting up a little tricky. My nephew came to the rescue though and placed rocks on the denim pockets to hold down the plates which worked great. By the time the guests arrived the wind was gone and it was sunny and warm just as we had hoped.

Over the past several months my sisters and I planned and exchanged ideas for the party through phone calls, meetings and even photos, such as the one below, so that we were all on the same page.  As our plans developed we began dividing up the tasks which included crafting, cooking and shopping.

Mason Canning Jars painted to look like denim was something on my decoration to do list. My youngest sister offered to take on that project which helped a bunch. She collected some of our mothers canning jars before the party so the finished jars were extra special. During one of our meetings we decided to create a crossword puzzle and came up with meaningful words related to our parents. We placed copies on the tables along with pencils which I placed in repurposed Oui Yogurt jars from our Queen Bee Tea Party that I had decorated with diamond trim.

Party favors are always fun and can be easy to make. I found these cute little snack cups at the Dollar Store which I could not resist. At first I was going to fill them with Hershey® Kisses but later decided to make white chocolate covered mini pretzels for the cups and scatter the Kisses on the table instead.

I designed some personalized labels to fit the lids and had the cups finished but few days before the party our head count increased and I needed more cups. Unfortunately both stores that were close by were sold out of the round cups so I picked up a package of the square and made a slightly different label which coordinated with the others.

And of course more Bling! 

Our middle sister sent me pictures she took of photos in our parents wedding album so decided it would be fun to frame them and set one on each table. I picked up a variety of different sized picture frames and more diamond trim at the Dollar Store and had the photos printed in black and white to fit the frames.  

The pictures worked great on the tables next to the pretty Mason Canning Jars filled with flowers. 

There is more to share so I will be back tomorrow with details about the food and dessert. 

Have a Fabulous Friday!

school, sports, celebrations

It has been a fun week of back to school activities, soccer games, a team dinner{at our house}, a birthday party at a trendy German restaurant

{Pretzels...YUM},

a college football game {Go BEAVS!}

and

Our Anniversary!

I ♥ September!