Easy Peasy Sweet and Savory

Last night, we had our first meeting for our trip to Nicaragua. I'm leading a trip with our church to Managua in July to go and serve at One by One ministries. Check out what they are doing down there here http://www.theinnocent.org/index.htm. I'm so pumped about what God is doing through this ministry and can't wait to see it first hand in just a short couple of months. My sister and her family are the instate contacts for this ministry as well. Check them out here http://lebretfamilymissions.blogspot.com/p/about-us.html. Let me give you some incentive to click on that link. They have 7 sweet kids! Thats right...seven! And, they are extremely cute!

Ok, let's get on with what you came here for...the food. My good friend, Mary, made soup and I was in charge of bread and dessert. I really wanted something easy since I had been at church all day and this last week was one of the busiest weeks I've had in a long time. I stumbled upon this bread recipe as I was searching for something cheesy and easy. It will definitely be going in my permanent stash of yummy things to make last minute. The sweet recipe was given to me by someone at church. I tweaked it some because I wanted a few different things in it. You will see. Here we go...


Parmesan Cheddar Quick Bread
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I used sharp white cheddar by Cabot) with a little extra for the top - the original recipe called for 1/2 cup but next time I would definitely do a full cup
1/2 cup parmesan shredded cheese
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Things I added...
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. Italian seasoning

For the top...
1/2 stick of butter melted and mixed with about a tsp. of garlic powder and a tsp. of kosher salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, italian seasoning, and cheese. 
In another large bowl, beat together egg, milk and oil. 
Stir the flour/cheese mixture into the egg mixture, stirring until just moistened (don't over stir)
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle extra cheese on top.
Bake in preheated oven for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.

Once it comes out pour the melted butter mixture over the top and spread it around. Slice and serve with extra melted butted mixture if you want to be extra crazy!


Magic Bars (or seven layer bars)

Here are the original ingredients and then I will give you my recipe below that. You can really do any fun candies that you want. Get creative!
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 Graham cracker crumbs (I bought the expensive store bought to make it super easy...sometimes that is worth it.)
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup butterscotch chips
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

My changes...
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
9 graham crackers (5 ounces), crushed
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup dark chocolate chips
½ cup toffee bits
½ cup butterscotch chips
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

- Preheat to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Line the pan with two overlapping pieces of foil or parchment paper, leaving overhang to act as handles for lifting the bars out of the pan. Spray with a lot of non-stick spray.
- Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake until the flakes are a golden brown about 4-7 minutes. (Keep a close eye on it – coconut can go from slightly browned to burnt in a matter of seconds.) Set aside.
- Melt the butter and combine with graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl. Toss with your fingers until the butter is evenly distributed. Press the crumbs evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan.
- In order, sprinkle the pecans, chocolate chips, toffee chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut over the graham crumbs. Pour the condensed milk evenly over the entire dish.
- Bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack to room temperature, at least 2 hours.
- Remove the bars from the pan using the foil or parchment handles and transfer to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into bars or squares.

ENJOY!

Garlic knots

Hmmm...garlic, I love it! Here is a great snack for a party or as a side item to go with spaghetti or baked ziti. These measurements for the ingredients are estimates. I just kind of put however much looks right, but I tried to come up with amounts for you in case you like to measure everything.

20 canned refrigerator biscuits (I buy the extremely cheap store brand that come with the four cans in one pack. They are only like $1 or $2 and I think they work the best.)
1 stick butter
6 garlic cloves (finely minced or use handheld grated)
1/2 cup parmesan
salt, to taste

Take each biscuit and, using scissors, cut them in half. Then, roll each piece into a log or snake shape and twist into a knot. They will be small. Place them all on a greased cookie sheet and cook until lightly golden (on temperature on can). They do not spread much so you can put them pretty close together. Place all the knots in a large bowl.

In a microwave safe container, place the butter and the garlic. Put in the microwave just until the butter is melted. Pour the butter over the knots and toss. Then, toss in the parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with salt.

Taste Taste Tuesday: Garlic Herb Bread

So, I got this free magazine in the mail the other day and it had this recipe in it. The picture of the braided loaf is gorgeous! Chris said "Wow. That looks really hard. How would you get it braided like that?". My response was, "You braid it". He said, "I don't know how to braid". Haha. He is such a boy. Anyway, I thought I would take on the challenge of braiding the bread. It really isn't hard if you know how to braid :0). Mine isn't nearly as pretty as the one in the magazine but it turned out pretty good and it tastes yummy! It reminds me of the bread you get in restaurants to dip in EVOO. You could do two loaves (divide dough into 6 portions and make 6 ropes). The smaller loaves would be perfect for a party.



4 to 4 1/2 cups flour (all purpose or bread flour)
3 tbsp sugar
2 pkg yeast (or 4.5 tsp)
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 tsp dried basil
1 3/4 tsp dill
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp butter or evoo
kosher or sea salt

Mix warm water, sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Let it sit 5-10 minutes or until it is foamy. If after 10 minutes it is not foamy, start over. Your yeast may be old or your water temperature too warm or too cold. You just want it lukewarm.

Meanwhile, heat milk and butter in a saucepan until butter is melted. You don't want the mixture to get too hot.

In a large mixing bowl, place 1 1/2 cups flour, basil, dill, salt, garlic powder and rosemary. Add the milk/butter mixture and stir until combined. Add the egg and stir until combined. Pour yeast mixture into bowl and stir until combined. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough is formed. I ended up using 4 cups of flour total but it really depends on the weather that day. Knead for 4-6 minutes and then let rest for 10 minutes.

Divide dough into thirds and shape each into 15 in rope. Place ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid. Pinch the ends to seal and tuck under. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 30 minutes).

Bake at 375 (uncovered) for 20 minutes or until golden. Brush with melted butter or evoo and sprinkle with salt.

Thrifty Thursday

My dear friend, Carlyn, gave me this recipe to use for Thrifty Thursday. I haven't made it yet, but absolutely plan on it. Carlyn is an amazing cook so I am positive that it is super yummy! I am sure you will be seeing many more of Carlyn's favorite recipes on future posts. Make sure you read the entire post because there is also an easy, cheap way to make chicken broth and Carlyn's AMAZING roasted garlic bread. We had her garlic butter the other night and it is out of this world! It will absolutely be my go to garlic butter.

Lentil Soup (adapted from Giada de Laurentiis)
Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 large can of diced tomatoes
• 1 pound dried lentils
• 11 cups chicken broth
• 4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 tsp of dried thyme
• 1 cup dried pasta(elbow or rotini work great)
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Shredded Parmesan for garnish

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8minutes. Add the lentils and mix to coat. Add the broth and stir. Add the thyme. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 20 minutes.
Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, and serve with Carlyn's Roasted Garlic Bread.


This recipe will feed a family of four twice with leftovers. You can immediately freeze half of it for future meals. The cost is $9.01 for the whole recipe (which makes it about 4.50 per meal since it makes two meals) using chicken bouillon cubes because that is the cheapest way to make it with the amount of chicken stock.

However, you could plan a meal that week before you make this soup) that calls for shredded or chopped chicken. Then, you could buy a whole chicken or split chicken breasts and place them in a stock pot. Add 1 onion (peeled and quartered), 2 carrots (cut into 2in pieces), 2 stalks of celery (cut into 2in pieces), 1 leek (dark tops only), 3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dry), 3 sprigs fresh parsley, 5 whole black peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, and about 4 quarts of water (water should cover chicken completely. Heat to a boil over medium high heat. As soon as it starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low and let simmer for about an hour (until chicken is done).

Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool (cont. to simmer the broth). Once cool, pull the meat from the bones and reserve for your other recipe. Return the bones to the broth and let simmer for another hour. Strain the broth into a large bowl. Place in plastic containers and put in refrigerator (can keep in fridge for 5 days - after 5 days bring it to a boil before using it) or freezer.

Carlyn's Roasted Garlic Spread (YUM!)
• 8 to 10 cloves of garlic
• Olive oil
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup cream cheese, softened
• 2 T grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
1. Roast garlic: Two methods 1) Sit garlic cloves on a small piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil and then fold foil around cloves(kind of like an envelope) then roast in the oven or toaster oven at 400F for 20 mins. or 2) in a small skillet saute whole cloves in olive oil over medium heat until soft. Keep them moving so they don’t burn.
2. Mash roasted garlic with a fork mixing with olive oil it was cooked in.
3. In a small bowl, combine garlic mixture with all other ingredients. Mix until smooth.
Spread on your favorite bread and toast.
This spread will keep in the refrigerator for weeks.