Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water

2 T. olive oil

2 tsp. salt

3 1/2 cups flour

4 T. salter butter, melted

1 T. dried parsley

1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Mix first 5 ingredients to form a dough and let rise (about 1 hour).

Preheat oven to 350.  Melt butter and add parsley, Italian seasoning and garlic.  Tear off golf ball size pieces of dough and roll in butter mixture and then put in bunt pan.  Layer each row of dough with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese (about 2-3 layers).  

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and invert on plate.  Best served warm.

Pumpkin Muffins

I've made these several times in the past week.  Everyone loves them.

This recipe comes from the American Club in Wisconsin via Gourmet Magazine.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
chocolate chips
1 teaspoon cinnamon + 1 Tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, sugar, baking side and salt in large bowl until smooth.  Whisk in flour and baking powder mixture until combine.  Add several large handfuls of chocolate chips.

Divide batter among muffin cups and then sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Bake until golden about 25 minutes.

Banana Coconut Muffins

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 very ripe bananas, mashed (3/4 cup)

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 -3/4 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Line muffin cups with liners.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together bananas, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and 1/2 cup coconut in a large bowl until combined well, then fold in flour mixture until flour is just moistened.  Add chocolate chips.

Divide batter among lined muffin cups and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup coconut. Bake until muffins are puffed and golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer muffins to a rack and cool slightly.

**recipe courtesy Epicurious**

Breadstick Topping

The other day I made a mock recipe of the Pizza Factory Twisted Breadsticks.  The kids loved them, but after making them I realize the real secret to making them taste good is the butter herb sauce that they use on the dough.  You could incorporate this sauce onto any bread/breadstick recipe and it would be wonderful.

1/2 cup melted butter
3/8 tsp. granulated garlic
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
1/4 tsp. season all
1 T. parmesan cheese

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

(picture courtesy of Allrecipes.com)

My kids love these muffins and it's a nice change from the standard banana bread.  Also, I can sneak in healthy stuff like flax seed powder and the kids don't even notice.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Sweet Corn Cake

A long time ago we ate at the Cheesecake factory and I had a wonderful meal with some kind of cornbread that was so soft and sweet and delicious.  I have been on the hunt to find a similar recipe ever since then. Recently, after eating there again with my in-laws, I rededicated myself to finding the recipe, but this time I looked not at recipes for corn bread, but rather corn cake.  I found this sweet corn cake recipe on allrecipes and it was a huge hit.  I served this with burritos full of chicken, black beans, corn, saffron rice, cilantro, cheese, salsa, and fresh squeezed limes.  It was delicious

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup masa harina (if you can't find corn flour, you can use regular flour or just plain corn meal)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1. In a medium bowl beat butter until it is creamy. Add the Mexican corn flour and water and beat until well mixed.
2. Using a food processor, process thawed corn, but leave chunky. Stir into the butter mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, sugar, cream, salt, and baking powder. Add to corn flour mixture and stir to combine. Pour batter into an ungreased 8x8 inch baking pan. Smooth batter and cover with aluminum foil. Place pan into a 9x13 inch baking dish that is filled a third of the way with water.
4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven F (175 degrees C) oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Use an ice cream scoop for easy removal from pan.

Technically corn flour and corn meal are the same product, but corn flour is ground to a smoother flour-like texture.

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

Before making this recipe I wasn't a biscuit fan.  I tend to prefer nice buttery rolls to biscuits, but this recipe surprised me and is now a staple in my recipe box.  I don't know if it was my new convection oven or what, but theses came out so nice and crisp on the outside and soft and moist on the inside with LOTS of flavor.  Biscuits really are so easy and simple, I think I whipped these together in under 5 minutes and then baked them for 10.  I would serve these with a grilled steak/fish/chicken and a fresh green salad for a nice summers dinner.  Recipes courtesy of www.allrecipes.com.

• 2 cups biscuit baking mix
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons margarine, melted
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet, or line with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine baking mix, Cheddar cheese, and garlic powder. Stir in milk. Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Brush biscuits with melted margarine, and sprinkle with parsley and garlic salt. Bake for 5 more minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom.

Naan

This recipe it sooooo delicious, we had it last night and Shawn and I already want it again (Brooke you need to try this).  Shawn and I like Greek/Mediterranean food.  It is usually pretty fresh, healthy stuff with lots of flavor.  I found this recipe for Naan and really wanted to try it, but traditionally in Greek Cuisine these are served with lamb and Taziki sauce (for those of you who have had a Gyro, they are the same thing).  While Shawn likes lamb, I haven't conquered my fear of cooking it. I've promise Shawn one year for Christmas I'll make a big roasted lamb, but until then I'll just stick with chicken:)

Here is the Naan recipe.  The dough is really simple, like any yeast dough, but it does take time rolling each one out.  But, I PROMISE, it is totally worth it.  It is like having homemade tortillas, they are pain to make, but sooo worth it.

NAAN
1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp. yeast (make sure to always use good yeast, it makes a difference)
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 large egg

In a large bowl, stir together the water, yeast and sugar.  Let stand for 5 minutes or until foam so you know the yeast is working.  Stir in flour, salt, canola oil, yogurt, and egg.  Mix together and knead until smooth.  Cover with towel and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.

Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll out into thin circle.  Cook each Naan in a nice hot skillet drizzled with oil and a dab of butter.  Cook about 2-4 minutes until golden and the surface has blister looking things, then flip is over and cook the other side.


You can serve these many ways, but I decided to mix my Greek Food with Mexican.  So I made some taco spiced chicken (I'll post that recipe someday because it's good), and served it with the Naan, Guacamole (Shawn's homemade, I'll have to post that also someday), lettuce, Colby/jack cheese, and my own Mexican Cilantro Taziki Sauce.  I actually make up my own sauce.  I have a recipe for a lime/cilantro vinaigrette, so I made that and added about 1/2 cup plain yogurt to it to thicken it up.  The base of Taziki sauce is yogurt, so I made it the base of my vinaigrette, and I think it turned out delicious.  Here is the Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette Recipe (from www.ourbestbites.com).

Cilantro-Lime Viaigrette
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2-3 limes)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. sugar
3/4 cup canola oil (the recipe actually calls for 1 cup, but I decreased it because I knew I wanted to add the yogurt and wanted a thicker texture)
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro

Mix all ingredients in blender, except oil.  Blend together and gradually add oil.  This vinaigrette can be served with salad greens, on any type of Mexican dish, or use it ask a marinade.

ENJOY!

Orange Knots

Can you tell I have been cooking breads and rolls a lot lately??  Another great classic recipe.

2 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. salt

1 1/3 cup milk, scalded

2 T. orange peel

2 beaten eggs

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

Mix yeast, sugar, salt, in bowl.  Add milk and let proof for a few minutes.  Mix in orange peel, orange juice, and softened butter.  Mix in 2 cups flour and beat well.  Add eggs and mix well.  Add remaining ingredients until you get a soft dough.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Knead dough for 10 minutes until smooth.  Let the dough raise until it is doubled (1 hour).  Punch down and let rest for a few minutes. Roll dough into rectangle and cut into long stripes.  Roll each strip lightly under fingers and loosely tie into a knot.

Arrange on greased baking sheets and tuck ends under.  Cover and let rise until almost double, about one hour.  Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on rack and cover with glaze.

Glaze:

1 tsp. grated orange peel

2 T. orange juice

1 cup powdered sugar ( I added a little more because I like a thicker glaze)

Rosemary-Lemon No-Knead Bread

This recipe is from a Williams Sonoma cataloge and it is soooo good.  It takes a while to rise (18 hours), but very little effort and NO kneeding.  Baking the dough in the cast iron pot makes the crust so crispy and good.  I love my Le Cruset cast iron pot and use it for everything (roasts, soup, chicken, braising, bread, veggies, etc.).  They are expensive, but well worth it!


3 cups flour
1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tsp. lemon zest
cornmeal as needed.


n a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, rosemary and zest. Add 1 5/8 cups water and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and very sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at warm room temperature (about 70°F) until the surface is dotted with bubbles, 12 to 18 hours.

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle the dough with a little flour and fold the dough over onto itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.

Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or your fingers, gently and quickly shape the dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel, preferably a flour sack towel (not terry cloth), with cornmeal. Put the dough, seam side down, on the towel and dust with more flour or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise until the dough is more than double in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.

At least 30 minutes before the dough is ready, put a 2 3/4-quart cast-iron pot in the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F.

Carefully remove the pot from the oven. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over, seam side up, into the pot; it may look like a mess, but that is OK. Shake the pan once or twice if the dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until the loaf is browned, 15 to 30 minutes more.

Transfer the pot to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Using oven mitts, turn the pot on its side and gently turn the bread; it will release easily. Makes one 1 1/2-lb. loaf.

Homemade Italian Bread

This dough makes a large batch of Italian Bread (three loaves).  It is a pretty classic dough that can be shaped anyway you want.  The key to making a nice crispy crust and chewy inside it the misting you do while it's baking.  (another Allrecipes recipe)

3 cups warm water
1 tsp. white sugar
1 T. active yeast
1 T. salt
7 cups flour

Add sugar and yeast to the warm water and let proof.

Stir in 4 cups of flour and beat until smooth.  Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.

Beat in the salt and then add enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough.  Knead until it is smooth and soft.  Turn in a greased bowl, cover, and let double in size.

Once doubled, punch down and divide into three.  Place back in bowl, cover, and let rise.  Once doubled again, punch down and form into three fat footballs (or circles or ovals or rectangles or whatever you want).  Grease heavy cookie sheets (I like to use my baking stone, it gets really nice and hot when I pre-heat it) and sprinkle with corn meal.  Place the bread on the sheets, cover with a towel, and let rise.

Once rise, mist with water and place in a preheated 450 degree oven.  Mist loaves with water (about every 4-5 minutes) and turn occasionally while they bake.  Bread is done when golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Favorite Breadsticks

We had the missionaries over for dinner the other night.  They seriously asked for my breadstick recipe (what 19 year old boys ask for a recipe).  This is a tried and true breadstick recipe that I've used for a long time.  I got it from HERE, I love their recipes!!

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 T. sugar
1 T. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 1/2 cups flour

Combine yeast, sugar, salt, and water.  Let proof for a few minutes.  Next mix in flour until dough starts to pull away from sides, you might not need all the flour.  Let dough rise until double (about 45 minutes), then roll into big rectangle and spread melted butter and garlic salt over dough.  Use pizza cutter to cut long strips (usually about 12) and drape over your finger and twist.  Place on greased pan and spread with another coat of melted butter and I like to sprinkle on oregano, basil, parsley, parmesan cheese, and anything else that sounds good.  Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes and then cook at 425 for 10-12 minutes.  I also like to make these with cinnamon and sugar for a fun treat.

Honey Of An Oatmeal Bread

Another one of my favorite bread recipes.  This recipe is for a bread machine, but since I don't have one I just make it the normal way I make yeast breads and bake it.  It's really good!

1 cup water
1 T. veg. oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 1/3 cups bread flour
1 tsp active dry yeast.

Mix ingredients together in bread machine (or I just mix them together like I mix any yeast dough).  Let rise once, punch down, put in greased pan and let rise again.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

French Bread

This is a recipe that my family makes all the time and is really simple. I usually use my mixer to make this dough, less messy, and it always turns out fine.

2 1/2 cups warm water

2 T. sugar

1 T salt

2 T. cooking oil

6 cups flour

2 T. yeast

Pour warm water into a large mixing bowl. Stir in sugar, salt, oil, half the flour and yeast. Beat vigorously for 2-3 minutes. Stir in remaining flour until all ingredients are well mixed, leaving wooden spoon right in the batter. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes then stir down. Rest dough for another 10 minutes and then stir down again. Repeat this process until dough has been stirred down 5 times.

Turn dough out onto floured surface; knead only until it can be handled. Divide into 2 pieces. Roll each portion into a 9x12 rectangle. Roll up like a jellyroll starting on a long side. Pinch edge to seal. Arrange both loaves lengthwise on a large cookie sheet that has een greased and sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

With a sharp knife, cut 3 diagonal gashes on the top of each loaf, then brush with slightly beaten whole egg. Bake immediately at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until browned. Remove from baking sheet and cool on a rack.

Homemade Pretzels

My kids love these. This is a knock off of Auntie Anne's pretzels you find in the mall.

1 1 /2 cup warm water

1 1/4 tsp. yeast

2 T. brown sugar

1 1/4 tsp. salt

4 cups flour

baking soda bath: 2 cups warm water and 2 T. baking soda

Toppings: melted butter, coarse salt, cinnamon and sugar, and anything else you like.

Mix yeast, warm water, sugar, and salt. Let sit for a few minutes to make sure the yeast is active and working. Add in flour and mix until smooth. Let dough rise until doubled 30-45 minutes and then break off little balls and roll into long ropes (about 1/2 thick, the thinner the better). Shape rope into pretzel shape and dip in baking soda bath. Place on greased baking sheet and allow pretzel's to rise again. Bake in oven at 450 for 10 minutes or until golden.

Remove from oven and dip in melted butter then top as desired. We like dipping in cinnamon and sugar or just sprinkling with coarse salt. These are best to eat warm, straight from the oven.

***For baking soda bath mix hot water with baking soda. Stir this mixture often. I really don't know exactly what this does, but I know that it is considered a critical step for real pretzel making :)

Homemade Brown Bread

I made this last night to go with our salads and our strawberry freezer jam. It's delicious. I think I'm going to have another piece right now.

1-1/2 cups boiling water
1-cup old-fashioned oats
2 tablespoons shortening
2 teaspoons salt
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
3/4-cup warm water (110° to 115°)
1/2-teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4-cup molasses
4-3/4 to 5-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Melted butter or margarine



In a bowl, combine boiling water, oats, shortening and salt. Cool to 110°-115°. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Sprinkle with sugar. Add oat mixture, brown sugar, molasses and 3 cups of flour; mix well. Add enough remaining flour to form soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1. Hour. Punch dough down. Divide in half and shape into two loaves. Place in greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks. Brush with melted butter. Yield: 2 loaves.

Golden Sweet Cornbread

I'm still here, just haven't been cooking anything interesting lately.  We ate at the cheesecake factory a few weeks ago and I had the best sweet cornbread.  I didn't think I liked cornbread (too dry), but I was wrong.  So, I have been hunting for a nice sweet recipe.  This is another allrecipes recipe...and did I mention it is so simple.

1 cup flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 tsp. salt

3 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/3 vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients together and pour in a greased 9 inch round  baking pan (you could also make muffins) and bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.  I took mine out at 20 minutes, but it could have used a minute or two longer.  This is good served with black beans, or just eat it plain or with honey.

*Jenn, I don't know if you already have a cornbread recipe, but this would be great as a side with all your wonderful mexican food!

Creamy Tomato Soup and Bread Bowls

Creamy Tomato Soup

Ingredients

* 2 (15-ounce) containers, chicken or vegetable stock/broth (preferred brand: Kitchen Basics)
* 1 (28-ounce) can concentrated crushed tomatoes
* 1 cup heavy cream
* Coarse salt and black pepper and basil (I used a tablespoon but, used more or less based on your taste)
*One clove of garlic minced



Directions

Combine broth, tomatoes,basil and garlic in crockpot on high for4 to 6 hours. Stir in heavy cream, salt and pepper and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.With an immersion blender, puree soup. (I didn't have an immersion blender so I poured the crockpot contents into a blender a pureed)

Bread Bowl

I cheated on the bread bowls..

Ingredients

*Package of frozen bread loaves such as Rhodes (I brought the gentric with three 1 lb loaves)
*One egg beaten

Directions

I made 2 adult size bowls and 4 kid size bowls but, you can alter the size of the bowls to your needs.

Thaw 2 loaves. When dough is thawed but still cold divide the first loaf in 4 parts for kid bowls and second loaf into 2 parts. Form into ball and put on greased baking sheets, brush with egg. Let rise. I put mine in a 170 degree oven turned off for 2 hours. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cut of tops and hollow out in a bowl shape.

These could easily be made from scratch. Easily, if you know how to make bread from scratch, so not easy for me.

This is a new family favorite. My husband doesn't really like tomato soup but, he loved this.

Hidden Valley Ranch Pull-Apart Bread and Variation

This bread is really good, however when I went to make it this weekend, I realized that I only had enough to make one loaf but I had thawed out enough bread dough to make two. So, I improvised. To find the original bread recipe follow this link

Here's what I did differently.

1 packed dry Italian dressing mix
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 package cooked bacon bits (not the Bacos, but the real bacon bits that are packaged in a resealable bag)
1 pound/loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
2 T. oil

Measure oil into a large mixing bowl. Cut bread dough into 1 inch pieces. Add to oil and coat well. Add dressing mix, bacon, and cheese. Put into greased loaf pan and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with foil and return to oven to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes (internal temperature should reach 190-195 degrees).

My husband liked it this way. He said it tasted like bread sticks. I think either version is good, but I liked the ranch bread better.

Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

It is always fun to change things up a bit for breakfast and these muffins are delicious. I did make one change to the original recipe found at http://www.allrecipes.com, I changed the glaze to be more of a frosting because you just can't have too much sugar :). I just added powder sugar until it was the right consistency, but this would be just as good with the regular glaze. This also can be made in loaf pans.

3 eggs
2 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/8 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons butter, melted

Beat together the eggs, 2 1/2 cups white sugar and vegetable oil. Add in milk, salt, baking powder, poppy seeds, vanilla, almond flavoring, and flour. Mix well. Bake in paper lined muffin cups (filled 3/4 full or 3 small greased loaf pans) at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15-20 minutes for muffins and 50-60 minutes for loaves. The tops should be browned and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Remove muffins as soon as you can while still warm/hot and dunk tops into glaze. Turn right side up and cool on a cookie rack. With loaves just pour the glaze evenly over the three loaves while still in pans. Let cool to a warm temp. and remove from pans. Yes, it is a little messy but it is really good.

To Make Glaze: In a saucepan over low heat, combine 3/4 cup sugar, orange juice, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring and 2 teaspoons melted butter. Warm in pan until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over loaf pans or dunk muffin tops into glaze when cooled to room temperature. (Omit the glaze altogether if you don't like the mess.)