Cheesy Rosemary Garlic Biscuits

One of the things that I have not really experimented with in the kitchen are biscuits. I am not really sure why I have shied away from the bread, but I suppose it's because I don't eat all that much bread. I figured that Thanksgiving would be the perfect time for me to make these cheesy rosemary garlic biscuits. They seemed simple enough, though I was cheating some what because the recipe called for Bisquick. Either way the recipe sounded yummy so I decided to give them a try. These smell heavenly when they are baking and fortunately turned out to taste just as good as they looked. The cheese and the rosemary butter on top definitely made these biscuits feel more upscale. I am okay with the fact that I didn't make these from scratch because they taste delicious. If you are looking for a new biscuit to serve at Christmas dinner, be sure to give these a try.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons rosemary, fresh and chopped
2 cups of Heat Smart Bisquick
1/3 cup (or 3 oz) of shredded Parmesan cheese
2/3 milk, fat free*

*Note: I used whole milk as that's what was on hand.

Directions:

Mince the rosemary and melt the butter and the garlic in a pan. Meanwhile line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the Bisquick, Parmesan cheese, and the other garlic clove. Stir together and then add in the milk. Be careful to only mix until all the ingredients are combined. 

Once the garlic cooks for about a minute, take it off the heat and add the minced rosemary. Drop the biscuit mix by tablespoon onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 400.

Then brush or pour the melted butter over the biscuits and bake for an additional 5 minutes. They should be golden brown on the tops when you pull them out.

(Almost Paleo) Pumpkin Bread

I am always up for a new recipe and this paleo pumpkin bread recipe sounded delicious. However, we turned it into a non paleo recipe since my friend doesn't like bananas and I didn't have coconut flour. Though it's not paleo it's still a healthy option to satisfy your sweet tooth. This is a melt in your mouth bread that may look like it 's not done because it's so moist. The flavor is pumpkiny and full of fall spice. When I took the bread out of the oven it was wonderful loaf, but then five minutes later I came back and the bread had fallen and cracked. Though I was disappointed that it wasn't as visually appealing as it tasted, I was glad that it tasted delicious.

Ingredients:

1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/4 cup honey (1 banana)
2 eggs, whisked
2 chai tea packets
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour (coconut flour)
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
                                                             1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
                                                             1/2 teaspoon baking soda
                                                             1/2 teaspoon baking powder
                                                             pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix together the almond butter, pumpkin, applesauce and eggs. 

Add the tea to the mixture to the almond butter mixture. Then add the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, baking powder and baking soda.

 Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan and line with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 40 minutes. (Note*: The bread will probably fall and it might crack but if you insert a toothpick into the bread and it comes out clean then it's done.) You can serve this with some coffee ice cream or a squeeze of whipped cream for a perfect fall dessert.

Clean Banana Bread

I love when I get requests from people to make them different things. Selfishly it makes me feel good about my cooking abilities, but I really do it because I know that they appreciate my cooking. This time the request was for banana bread. I haven't made it in quite a while actually, so I was excited about it. She also wanted me to make it healthy which was a fun challenge. These days I am beginning more and more to look at recipes and see how to make them my own. I have a recipe for "clean" banana bread which means that there are no processed ingredients. This was my first shot at this recipe and I was told that she would like pecans and coconut incorporated into the bread. I was a bit skeptical about the coconut, but it seemed to go over well.

Ingredients:
3 egg whites
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup honey (you can also use agave or another sugar substitute)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup shredded coconut, sweetened

Directions:

Here's the fun part...mashing the bananas. The riper they are, they better they are for banana bread and the easier they are to mash. You can use a fork or potato masher if you have one.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat the egg whites. The recipe didn't say for how long, so I just beat them until they were nice and frothy. Next add in the applesauce, honey and mashed bananas and mix until ingredients are well combined.

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together. Add in the vanilla to the wet ingredients and then mix the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until everything is just mixed.

This next step is optional. If you want to add any additional mixins to your bread, now is the time to fold them in. I added in chopped pecans and shredded coconut. Once it is all incorporated, put the batter into a nonstick loaf pan. I sprayed mine with cooking spray just to be on the safe side.

Bake at 325 for 45-50 minutes. Mine was in for 45 minutes, but probably could have done a few minutes less. It will be done when a toothpick comes out clean. Let the bread cool for 10 minutes and then you can serve. This turned out to be a pretty dense bread, but it wasn't heavy. Next, I think I could do just nuts or maybe chocolate chips to make a fair comparison with the other recipe I have tried. The good part about this recipe is that the middle got fully cooked. This is a great recipe if you are looking for a lighter, healthier version of a classic bread.

Happy Easter Bread

I love freshly made breads, but I don't really the time or patience to wait for the yeast to grow or the dough to rise. I was flipping through the latest issue of a Williams Sonoma magazine and saw this recipe for cherry almond quick bread. It looked delicious and simple (you don't even need a mixer!)...a perfect way to celebrate Easter. The combination of cherry and almond has always been a favorite, but sadly I really don't see it that often. There was only one thing that I needed that I didn't have on hand - dried cherries. Make sure that you have a loaf pan as well. The recipe called for a mini loaf pan , 8" x 4", however I used an 8" x 8" pan.

I am not sure why I had almond extract already, but that's probably the only other ingredient you'll need. Flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, milk, butter and eggs are the other ingredients. Melt and cool 1 stick of unsalted butter. In a bowl, whisk 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. Toss in the 1/2 cup chopped cherries. In another mixing bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup of milk, the cooled butter, 2 eggs, and 1 tsp almond extract. The almond extract smells delicious (much better than how raw almonds smell)! Pour the liquids into the flour mixture and stir until combined.

Pour into a lightly greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes. I put mine in for 50 minutes, but next time I will put it in for 45 minutes as the crust got a little darker than I would have wanted it to. The bread is a bit on the dense side and the cherries added textural difference. The almond flavor added a hint of nutiness to the bread; Despite its crumbly texture, the bread was moist and not overly sweet. This smells so good when it is baking that you can't wait to pull it out of the oven. Make sure you cool for bread for 10 minutes in the pan and flip out of the pan onto a wire rack to completely. This is so good that I can't wait to make another loaf! Thank you Williams Sonoma for a super delicious recipe! Happy Easter everyone. I hope that you get to enjoy sweet treats and yummy eats with your friends and family!

Welcome Home!

Nothing says 'Welcome Home' like a home cooked meal and that's exactly what I got from my mom. Lasagna rolls, salad, and three cheese bread. So it wasn't low-cal or fat free, but that's not a priority when you go home. Besides everything tastes better with the real thing. For good measure, I got a leafy green salad with lots of veggies to make up for the cheese and pasta. Next, was lasagna rolls with ricotta, spinach, and meat, lightly topped with marina and melted, golden brown cheese. This was very filling, but surprisingly didn't make me feel so full that I couldn't function. The touch of tomato sauce allowed each of the filling flavors to shine without being overwhelmed with a tomato taste. The cheese acted like the perfect glue to keep everything together so that each bite had a bit of pasta and filling. Sometimes with lasagna, the filling squirts out and you are forced to eat either the pasta or the filling. Fortunately, I didn't have to choose because I could have both!

An Italian themed meal would not be complete without a side of bread. Let me say this one is worth the calories. This three cheese semolina from La Brea Bakery had a light and airy texture with a crust that crackled perfectly. It was definitely not limp or tasteless. It was everything that you would want in a piece of bread. Just talking about this dinner makes me want to have it all over again. However, I think that might not necessarily be so good for me and it makes it special when I do get to have meals like this on special occasions. Since the lasagna rolls will be hard for you to get your hands on since they don't ship very well, you can keep your eyes out for the delicious La Brea Bakery bread. They have a variety of flavors, and though I can only vouch for this one, but I am sure that you won't make a wrong choice.

Fresh From the Oven

I just got this brand new KitchenAid mixer as a graduation present and decided to put it to good use. While trying to think of what I wanted to make, I looked at the counter and saw that I had some bananas that were ripening quickly. Not wanting to make a dessert, I thought why not make something I haven't had in forever. Chocolate chip banana nut bread. As much as I like regular banana nut bread...and know that it is much healthier, the combination of chocolate, bananas, and nuts is magical. Plus, I knew it was someone's favorite, so I decided to make it especially for them.

Almost done, just a bit longer!

Sometimes banana nut bread can be very fussy. The bread can be overcooked and dry or it can have a golden crust and be barely cooked on the inside. I took a shot and used a recipe I found via Pinterest from Tidy Mom. What I found interesting about this recipe was that it did not use buttermilk. I have not made tons of banana nut bread, but I am fairly certain that most recipes called for it. Visit my 'Foods to Die for' board on Pinterest to find the recipe or feel free to find it on her website.

Perfect Golden Brown Crust

Luckily for me, I had a kitchen helper which made it more fun and a bit more interesting. Sometimes carefully reading directions is not always easy for him, so we had a few mishaps. However, those are usually just his added touches to make everything more enjoyable. Despite a few mix ups, the batter came together and made it into the pan in one piece. The most difficult thing was mashing the bananas since I don't have a potato masher. Other than that, it was super simple. You mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately and then combine. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts and put into the pan. I have found that my oven bakes much more quickly, so I usually cut the baking time down. The recipe called for 60 minutes, but mine was done in 45 minutes.

Ready to be Devoured!

Let's just say that this recipe was a keeper and I will be using it again because it was fantastic! The outside had a golden crust and the inside was thoroughly cooked through. It was moist and the chocolate chips had melted slightly, but still held their shape. Honestly, I am not sure if it was the new mixer, my kitchen helper, the new pan, the recipe, or all of these things, but this was the most perfect loaf of chocolate chip banana nut bread I have ever made!

If you have another great recipe you would like me to try or decide to make this one, come back and let me know how it turns out. Make sure that you try out this recipe immediately. For now, the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip banana nut bread that has just been pulled out of the oven is calling my name! Bon appetit!