Cheesy Herbed Monkey Bread

So I’ve been a really lame food blogger again and I’m really sorry. My only excuse is that I’ve been using all my free time to work on a quilt for the little cupcake. And now that the warm weather has finally hit, it’s really hard to stay inside and sit on the computer. I don’t know why I don’t just go sit on our patio swing and write…that sounds like a much better idea. Enjoy the weather and be productive. I promise I’ll be better.

While I’m off topic (I know you all come here for the food so sorry again if you don’t care – just skip below the picture for the food), I’m officially 20 weeks along! It’s hard to believe I’m halfway done! My big ultrasound is next week and we are still strong on not finding out the gender. We are still convinced it’s a girl though and let’s hope it is because we cannot agree on a boy name. But now, onto the food.

I can’t get enough of freshly baked bread these days! There is just no comparison to the store-bought version. This baby must be a girl since I am loving the carbs this time around. Because of my recent addiction, I have been finding any excuse to bake up bread just about every week for the past few months!

This delicious bread was made to go alongside spaghetti which was just perfect. I smothered my pasta a bit more than usual with sauce so that I could sop up all the extra with these little nuggets of buttery bread.

I would probably eat this bread every day if carbs didn’t like to stick around my hips so much. It was incredibly tender, light and delicious. And I have to tell you, I usually like the middle pieces of breads since they are softer and more doughy but with this recipe I loved the outside pieces. The parmesan got a little browned and crispy but the bread with still light and fluffy, the perfect combination.

Cheesy Herbed Monkey Bread
recipe from The Pastry Affair

2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups barely warm water
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cups all purpose (or bread) flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1 Tbsp. dried basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Mix together the water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let stand for 5 minutes or until it’s foamy. Stir in the olive oil, salt and flour and mix with dough hook attachment. Knead for 5 minutes in the mixer until the dough is elastic and it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. If kneading by hand, place on a flour surface and knead for 7-10 minutes. Place in a large bowl coated with non-stick spray, turn to coat other side then cover with a kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 1/2 – 2 hours).

2. Once dough has doubled, combine the melted butter, parsley, basil and garlic.

3. Punch down the dough and rip off small pieces about the size of a medium spoon. Roll them in the butter mixture then place in a bundt pan coated with non-stick spray. Continue until you have one layer of dough balls. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Continue the process until you have three layers of dough and cheese. Cover with a towel and let rise again for about 30 minutes.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

No-Knead Crusty Artisan Bread

Did I have you at no-knead? Well, if I didn’t keep reading because I will have even more perks that will totally convince you to whip up this simple bread right away.

This bread dough literally comes together in less than 5 minutes because of the use of instant yeast which doesn’t have to set in warm water to activate. All you do is throw the ingredients in your mixer or in a mix bowl and stir it up. Then you are done. For reals. Well, besides the rising time. But that can be done in the fridge if you have to head to work or bed.

Another amazing perk? This recipe makes enough for 3 or 4 loaves and the dough can be refrigerated for up to a week. That means fresh bread every few days with only a few minutes of work! I whipped this up on Saturday and so far we have had fresh bread Saturday and last night. I’m holding off on the last bit for Saturday to see how tangy the dough gets after refrigerating for 7 days.

If you can’t use up all the dough with the week, it can be frozen too! Just thaw it out and then bake as directed below.

Have I convinced you yet? I sure hope so because this bread is amazing and incredibly easy!

No-Knead Crusty Artisan Bread
recipe from King Arthur Flour via Cogs and Cupcakes
yields 3-4 loaves

3 cups lukewarm water (about 105 degrees F)
6 1/2 to 7 1/2 unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, a large (6-quart), food-safe plastic bucket or a stand mixer.

2. Mix and stir everything together to make a very sticky, rough dough. If you have a stand mixer, beat at medium speed with the beater blade for 30 to 60 seconds. If you don’t have a mixer, just stir with a big spoon or dough whisk till everything is combined.

3. Next, you’re going to let the dough rise. If you’ve made the dough in a plastic ice cream bucket, you’re all set — just let it stay there, covering the bucket with a lid or plastic wrap; a shower cap actually works well here. If you’ve made the dough in a bowl that’s not at least 6-quart capacity, transfer it to a large bowl; it’s going to rise a lot. There’s no need to grease the bowl, though you can if you like; it makes it a bit easier to get the dough out when it’s time to bake bread (I sprayed mine with non-stick spray).

4. Cover the bowl or bucket, and let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours. (If you’re pressed for time, skip the room-temperature rise, and stick it right into the fridge). Then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or for up to about 7 days. The longer you keep it in the fridge, the tangier it’ll get; if you chill it for 7 days, it will taste like sourdough. Over the course of the first day or so, it’ll rise, then fall. That’s OK; that’s what it’s supposed to do.

5. When you’re ready to make bread, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour; this will make it easier to grab a hunk. Grease your hands, and pull off about 1/4 to 1/3 of the dough — a 14-ounce to 19-ounce piece, if you have a scale. It’ll be about the size of a softball, or a large grapefruit.

6. Plop the sticky dough onto a floured work surface, and round it into a ball, or a longer log. Don’t fuss around trying to make it perfect; just do the best you can.

7. Place the dough on a piece of parchment (if you’re going to use a baking stone); or onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Sift a light coating of flour over the top; this will help keep the dough moist as it rests before baking.

8. Let the dough rise for about 45 to 60 minutes. It won’t appear to rise upwards that much; rather, it’ll seem to settle and expand. Preheat your oven (and baking stone, if you’re using one) to 450°F while the dough rests. Place a shallow metal or cast iron pan (not glass, Pyrex, or ceramic) on the lowest oven rack, and have 1 cup of hot water ready to go.

9. When you’re ready to bake, take a sharp knife and slash the bread 2 or 3 times, making a cut about 1/2″ deep. The bread may deflate a bit; that’s OK, it’ll pick right up in the hot oven.

10. Place the bread in the oven, and carefully pour the 1 cup hot water into the shallow pan on the rack beneath. It’ll bubble and steam; close the oven door quickly.

11. Bake the bread for 25 to 35 minutes, until it’s a deep, golden brown.

12. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack. Store leftover bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.

Valentine’s Egg-in-a-Hole

I found this fun idea on Pinterest when I was mindlessly wasting time looking for some holiday inspiration. What a fun and simple way to start off Valentine’s Day with all the loves in your life!

Noah has a huge Greek yogurt addiction and eats it for breakfast everyday. When I made these he totally forgot about his beloved breakfast of champions (although he requested it with his lunch so the addiction continues). They are incredibly easy to make and taste really great. Sometimes simple is just better. And they taste so much tastier than just toast and a fried egg. Trust me.

Valentine’s Egg-in-the-Hole

2 slice whole grain bread
2 egg
1 Tbsp. butter
Salt and Pepper

1. Heat a small saute pan over medium heat then melt 1/2 Tbsp. of the butter. Meanwhile, cut a heart out of the slices of bread (I used a cookie cutter). Place bread in the pan then crack the eggs into the holes. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 2 minutes.

2. Add the remaining butter to the pan then flip the bread and cook for another 2-3 minutes (depending on how done you like the yolk).

Hamburger Buns

So the day I made this delicious Hawaiian Pulled Pork it was really cold and dreary. Just one of those days that you just don’t want to go outside. But I needed buns but it was cold outside…I had quite the dilemma going on. I decided to check out my saved recipes to see how difficult it would be to make some homemade. I have always had quite the hatred towards dough. It takes forever to make and it gets my hands all disgusting and sticky. But then I found this recipe, which kneads the dough in my KitchenAid and doesn’t end up sticky. It still takes awhile to rise so make sure to plan for that.

My first attempt at these came out a bit dense. I think it was the combination of not warm enough water/milk (they didn’t rise as much as I would have liked) and super old bread flour. I don’t even know when I bought that darn bag of flour…it had to have been at least 3 years old. When I went to throw out the bag of flour, I checked the expiration date to see exactly how bad it was….the date was the day Noah was born 7/19/2010. Over 2 1/2 years past date. Ooops. I definitely bought new and tried them again. And they turned out perfectly light and fluffly. Just what you want in a hamburger bun!

Thank goodness it was so nasty outside that day because these not only tasted delicious (even with the expired flour) but I know and can pronounce every ingredient in them unlike the ones from the grocery store. I will definitely be doubling the recipe in the future so that I can freeze the extras for future meals.

Hamburger Buns
recipe from Pennies on a Platter

3 tablespoons warm milk
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast (or 1 package)
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

For topping:
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
sesame seeds

1. Using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, combine the milk, water, yeast, sugar, salt and egg. Mix in the bread flour and all-purpose flour. Once incorporated, mix in the butter. Switch to the dough hook attachment and knead on low speed until the dough is somewhat tacky, about 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Transfer dough to a bowl lightly brush with olive oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, between 1 to 2 hours.

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts (if using a kitchen scale, 3.9 oz each). Gently pull back the sides of each to form a ball and place on the baking sheet, 2 to 3 inches apart. Cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise again for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when nearly doubled.

4. Fill a large metal pan with a shallow layer of water and set on the lowest rack of the oven. Move the other rack to the center position. Preheat oven to 400 F. Brush the tops of the buns lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake buns for about 15 minutes, until golden brown, rotating halfway through. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Dilled Egg Salad

For me, egg salad is one of those things I have to be in the mood to eat and when I am it totally hits the spot. Egg salad doesn’t really require a recipe so this is just a start and you can add or subtract ingredients depending on your personal preferences. That being said, this is my absolute favorite recipe for egg salad because of the addition of the dill.

This is a great quick and easy sandwich you can throw together for the kiddos school lunch or for a last minute dinner. Plus, all the ingredients are staples so it can be thrown together anytime!

Dilled Egg Salad
recipe from Allrecipes.com

8 eggs
1 tablespoon mayonnaise (I use the reduced-fat olive oil kind)
2 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 red onion, minced (we don’t care for raw onion so I left this out)
salt and pepper to taste
Sliced wheat bread

1. Make the perfect hard boiled eggs.

2. In a large bowl, combine the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, dill, paprika, onion and salt and pepper. Mash well with a fork or wooden spoon.

3. Serve on bread as a sandwich or over crisp lettuce as a salad.

Almond Poppyseed Bread {Christmas Tray 2012}

I came across this recipe via Pinterest and it went to the top of my “to make” list immediately. I love love love almond flavoring and it looked so moist (and it was). This recipe came from a blog I follow and absolutely adore, The Girl Who Ate Everything. If you aren’t familiar with it, you need to check it out asap.

Although I love making cookies, I wanted to give you all a variety of options to bake for the upcoming holidays. Sweet breads are great to give away at Christmastime because they last for several days and are a nice change to the traditional treats. Plus, you can buy cute mini loaf pans to bake them in so it’s like a double gift. I found cute ones for $1 each at Michael’s last year (I haven’t looked yet this year).

I loved the combination of the almond and citrus flavors in this bread. I replaced the orange with lemon juice since I didn’t have any oranges and I loved the zip the lemon gave the bread. I do think it would be amazing with the orange juice and will be trying it that way next time.

Almond Poppyseed Bread
recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Bread:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 1/8 cups cooking oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 T. poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp butter extract (or 1 1/2 tsp melted butter can be substituted)

Glaze:

1/4 cup orange juice (I subbed lemon juice since I didn’t have any oranges)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp butter flavor extract (or 1 1/2 tsp melted butter can be substituted)

For the bread: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together. Pour into greased and floured baking pans. Makes 6 small loaves or 2 large loaves. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes for large pans and less for smaller pans. If you have a dark metal pan make sure to bake it for less time at a lower temperature. I overdid this batch a little bit because I used a dark pan. I like the disposable foil bread pans the best.

For the Glaze:

Pour all ingredients into a small saucepan and let cook on stove on medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove bread from pans and pour glaze over warm bread. Use knife or spatula to bring the glaze that has run off up and over the warm bread until it stays on.

Baked Spinach Dip

Besides cucumber dip, this is my absolute favorite dip/appetizer EVER. And it’s obviously healthy since cream cheese, bacon, mayo, cheddar cheese, spinach is such a prominent ingredient. Duh. How could you go wrong with that list of ingredients? It’s really one of those things you indulge in rarely, but when you do it’s totally worth every.single.calorie.

You can bake this dip in a bread bowl or baking dish or you can throw it in the crock pot on low a few hours before serving. I have made it all three ways and I have to say my favorite is when it’s just in a baking dish. It seems to get more melty and gooey that way which is always a good thing in my opinion. If I am making this for a party where people will be eating over the course of a few hours, I either put it in the crock pot after all the ingredients have been mixed up (like stated above) or bake it in a dish then put it in the crock pot on warm.

This dip almost always graces our football gatherings…it’s kind of become a requirement and expectation.

Spinach Dip
recipe from Taste of Home The New Appetizer Cookbook

2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened (I use 1/3 less fat)
1 cup mayonnaise (I use the reduced fat olive oil kind)
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry*
1 cup (4 0z.) shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. dill weed
1 to 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 round loaf (1 lb.) unsliced sourdough bread
Assorted fresh vegetables
Tortilla chips

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and may until blended (I sometimes use my food processor for this to make quicker work of it). Stir in spinach, cheese, bacon, onion, dill and garlic; set aside. This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until it’s time to bake.

2. Cut a 1 1/2-in. slice off top of bread; set aside. Carefully hollow out bottom, leaving a 1/2-in. shell. Cube removed bread and place on a baking sheet. Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown; set aside.

3. Fill bread shell with spinach dip; replace top. Place any dip that doesn’t fit in the shell in a greased baking dish. Wrap bread in a large piece of foil. Place on a baking sheet.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until dip is heated through. Cover and bake additional dip for 40-50 minutes or until heated through. Open foil carefully. Serve dip warm with veggies, reserved bread cubes and tortilla chips.

*Make sure it is really dry! After it is thawed, I put it in a kitchen towel and squeeze the heck out of it until no more liquid drips through the towel (sometimes I go through two towels). I didn’t dry it enough once and a weird green liquid collected on the top of the dip. It tasted fine but looked quite unappetizing.

Croutons

It’s time for another item to be marked off my Top 100 list. I love croutons and a salad really isn’t the same without them in my opinion. And croutons are so easy to make homemade. They are one of those things that I never really thought to make even though we always have the ingredients on hand. It’s really a weird day when we don’t have random odds and ends of bread lying around. In fact, I have some onion poppyseed ciabatta rolls that are just dying to become croutons.

Homemade Garlic Croutons
recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking

1 loaf french bread (a few days old)
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Cut the bread  into small cubes. Transfer cubed bread to a parchment lined baking sheet.

3. Drizzle the bread with the olive oil and butter and then sprinkle with garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.

4. Using your hands, gently toss the croutons and make sure they are coated with all the oils, butters and seasonings.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

Recipe linked to Mania Monday.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I absolutely love banana bread and have several different recipes in my arsenal. My favorite is Cream Cheese Streusel Banana Bread but this new one is definitely towards the top of the list. It just depends on if you are in a streusel or oatmeal chocolate mood.

I love the unique texture that the oatmeal and wheat flour add to this bread. And it makes it healthier right? I really enjoy cinnamon and chocolate together so that lent a nice flavor to the bread in addition to the banana.

I made a regular size loaf and 3 mini loaves out of this recipe. I was planning on freezing 2 of the mini loaves but that didn’t end up happening. It’s funny how easy it is to eat an entire mini loaf before realizing what you have done. The slices are so much tinier so you have a couple slices (or more) and then it’s gone. Oops. But like I said, it’s healthy right?

Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
recipe from Shugary Sweet
yields 2 loaves or 1 regular sized loaf and 3 mini loaves

1¼ cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup quick oats
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
½ cup heavy cream
2 eggs
¼ c. butter, melted
1 cup bananas, mashed (about 3 bananas)
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 bread pans with parchment paper on the bottom, brush with canola oil.

2. In large bowl, mix together flours, oats, sugars, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add in milks, eggs, butter, vanilla and banana. Stir until combined and fold in chocolate chips.

3. Pour batter into prepared pans bake for 50 minutes.

Cheesy Bread

Delicious dough, topped with butter and tons of cheese….what’s not to love? We are big on pizza in our house. It’s Joel’s favorite food and I’m pretty sure he would eat it everyday if I let him. Whenever we go out for pizza, cheesy bread always pulls me in and gets me every time. I know it’s just sauceless, topping-less pizza but it’s soo ooey-gooey good. I just can’t resist it. And making it homemade is so easy and delicious. It’s now a must when we make homemade pizza or spaghetti!

Cheesy Bread

1 loaf Rhodes bread dough, thawed
1 -2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 1/2 – 2 cups mozzerella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, seperated (I love Olde Westport’s Pasta seasoning, it’s amazing)

1. Roll thawed dough to about 1/4 inch thickness and place on preheated pizza stone (or greased cookie sheet). Mix butter and 1 tsp. Italian seasoning together then smear over the dough. Sprinkle with cheeses and remaining Italian seasoning.

2. Bake at 450 degrees F for 15-18 minutes. Let rest for a few minutes then slice into strips.Recipe linked to Fusion Friday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Mangia Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and These Chicks Cooked.