Best Ever Garlic Bread

I have been wanting to post this recipe for a very long time, but every time I make it I forget to take pictures. I finally remembered to take pictures last time I made. It is a frequent visitor at our table so I am thrilled to finally be sharing it.

Technically this recipe is called Hot Herb Bread, but I always think of it as garlic bread. It is a family recipe that my mother made a lot while I was growing up. That is probably why I love it so much!

Garlic Bread

1 Loaf French Bread (I always use wheat French bread)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic salt
Parmesan Cheese (for sprinkling)

Slice French bread in half lengthwise. Mix butter, parsley, dill weed, oregano, and garlic salt in a bowl. Spread over both sides of French bread. Put loaf back together, slice into pieces and wrap in tin foil. Bake at 400 degrees on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Unwrap bread and lay pieces open on top of the tin foil on the baking sheet. Turn oven up to a broil. Sprinkle bread with Parmesan cheese and broil until golden brown.

Make sure you watch it VERY closely while broiling it. It will brown quickly and you just want the cheese to be melted.

Cornbread

It has been a while since I have had a chance to post on this blog. I have so many projects, recipes, and crafts to post. Hopefully I can get caught up this month.

For starters I wanted to share my favorite cornbread recipe! It is quick, easy, and truly the best cornbread ever!

Once you try this cornbread you'll never be satisfied with any other recipe. It is so sweet and delicious that you could serve it as dessert with chili or any other meal you wish. I often make it without the brown sugar topping and top it with butter and honey instead (as pictured above). Either way is tasty!

1 cup flour
1 cup yellow corn meal
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil (or olive oil for a healthier spin)

1. Mix all ingredients together
2. Pour in greased 8'' x 8'' pan
3. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes
4. Remove from oven and mix 1/4 cup brown sugar and 2 tbsp melted butter to sprinkle on top

Note: This cornbread is so good that I usually make a double batch and bake it in a 9x13 inch glass baking dish.

Banana Bread

I have been making this banana bread ever since my sweet husband found the recipe on allrecipes.com! We had very ripe bananas and we decided to whip up some banana bread. Fortunately for us he picked a great recipe and it quickly became a family favorite. I like to make it in the mini loaf pans so that I can share it with friends! If you use mini loaf pans then it takes 3 for 1 batch.

Banana Bread

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups of flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a wooden spoon, mix butter and mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last and mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

I saw this delicious recipe from Your Homebased Mom and knew that I had to try it! I love poppy seed anything, but especially lemon poppy seed bread! It was delicious! We kept two mini loaves and gave away the other two! I think 4 loaves was a bit much for just me and my husband!

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Land O’Lakes Best of Baking Recipe Collection

2 1/4 C all purpose flour

1 1/4 C sugar

1 C butter, softened

3/4 C milk

3 eggs

2 Tbsp poppy seeds

1 Tbsp freshly grated lemon peel

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Glaze

1/2 C sugar

3 Tbsp butter, melted

4 tsp lemon juice

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of four (5 1/2 x 3 inch) mini loaf pans. Set aside.

Combine all bread ingredients in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until well mixed.

Spread batter into prepared pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Stir together all glaze ingredients in small bowl. Drizzle over warm bread loaves. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

Delectable Cinnamon Rolls

I have always wanted to make cinnamon rolls but I could never find a recipe that I wanted to try. I saw these and thought that they would be an easy first try (because there's no yeast in them). They are the best cinnamon rolls in the whole world. Both Josh and I agree on this! So give them a try, they are definitely worth it!

Adapted from Our Best Bites "No Yeast Sweet Rolls"

For the dough:

3/4 cup cottage cheese (4% milk fat)
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 Tbs real butter, melted
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
9 oz. (2 cups) flour; more for rolling
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Filling
1/2 C (1 stick) real butter at room temp, divided
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1 T cinnamon

Glaze
1 C powdered sugar
2 T butter, melted
2 T milk or cream
1 t vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a food processor, combine the cottage cheese, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and pulse in short bursts just until the dough clumps together (don’t over-process). The dough will be very soft, probably softer than you're used to. Don't add anymore flour! Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times just until smooth. Roll the dough into a rectangle, about 12x15 inches.

Now put your filling on. After the rolls are filled and cut. Place them in a glass pie dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

When the rolls have a few minutes left in the oven. Whisk your glaze ingredients together. When the rolls are done cooking, let them cool for five minutes. Then spread the glaze over the top! They are the best when they are fresh out of the oven, but they still taste delicious the next day!

My husband's comment on these was priceless! Here's what he said:

"They're AAAAAAMMMMMMAAAAAZZZZZIIIIIINNNNGGGGG!!!!!! Best thing ever! Yum! You will want to print this recipe on gold leaf and frame it on your wall after you've eaten one!"

Parmesan Breadsticks

All I can say about these breadsticks is Yum, Yum, Yum! My husband and I couldn't stop eating them. You must try this great recipe, it is quick and easy and they are a perfect addition to any pasta meal! (Recipe from The Sister's Cafe.)

1 ½ cup warm water
1 Tablespoon yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 ½ cup flour
½ tsp salt
4 Tbsp butter (may need a little extra)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar and let it sit and bubble for a few minutes. Add the salt and flour. Knead dough for 3 minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. (I did all of this in my Kitchen-Aid mixer) Melt 3-4 Tbsp of butter and pour most of it onto a cookie sheet. Roll dough to about the dimensions of the cookie sheet. Cut to desired width (I did them pretty thick), then twist or lay flat on cookie sheet. Brush remainder of butter on breadsticks and sprinkle with garlic salt, parmesan cheese, and parsley. Raise for 10-20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden (It only took about 15 minutes for mine to turn golden brown).

Out of This World Rolls

These rolls are absolutely to die for. They are very sweet and fluffy, perfect for any dinner, but especially holiday dinners.

Here they are waiting to be baked...

And the finished product!

Out of this World Rolls

2 pkgs. dry yeast (fast-acting works also)
1/4 cup warm water
3 eggs, well beaten
4 1/2 cups flour
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt

1. Soften yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Let stand 10 minutes.
2. Combine in a large bowl the following ingredients:
dissolved yeast
eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup warm water
shortening
sugar
salt
3. Beat until smooth
4. Add remaining flour to make a soft dough
5. Cover & let rise until double in bulk
6. Punch down dough & refrigerate overnight
7. 3 hours before baking, roll out as desired. (Take about 1/2 the dough and roll out into a circle. Cut like pizza and roll pieces up fat end to pointed end.)
8. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 3 hours (preferably in a warm place).
9. Brush with melted butter
10. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes (My oven is very hot so it only took about 5 1/2 minutes to bake them. I would check around 5-6 minutes and see how they're doing.)

Bread Bowls

Yesterday I attempted to make homemade bread bowls! They turned out amazing! I just found a simple recipe online (allrecipes.com) and went to town. They were scrumptious.

Bread Bowls

• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)
• 1 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• Cornmeal

1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, shortening, sugar, eggs, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; 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.
2. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into eight pieces; shape each into a ball. Grease two baking sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place four balls 3 in. apart on each prepared pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.
3. For bread bowls, cut a thin slice off the top of bread. Hollow out bottom half, leaving a 1/4-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use). Fill with chili, chowder or stew.

I think that next time I will use half white and half wheat flour and see how it goes!

I coupled these yummy bowls with a creamy corn chowder. I'm not going to post the corn chowder recipe just yet because it needs a little bit of tweaking for our taste, although it was delicious.