Strawberry Cream Bread

I've been seeing strawberries on sale a lot recently at the grocery store.  My family never tires of eating them fresh out of the container, but I'm always on the lookout for other ways to use them.  I thought this recipe was interesting since I had never seen or thought of using strawberries in a bread.  This was really easy to make and was really tasty.  The original recipe at One Perfect Bite also includes a recipe for a Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread.  However, we already had an open strawberry cream cheese that I wanted to use up.  The cream cheese on the bread was an awesome idea!  This was a great breakfast for the kids served with some yogurt and fruit.

Strawberry Cream Bread
recipe from One Perfect Bite

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup strawberries, cut in pieces

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and set aside.

2) Place butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix to blend. Stir in sour cream, blending well.

3) Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix to incorporate. Do not over beat.

4) Stir strawberry pieces into batter. Spread in prepared loaf pan. Let mixture sit in pan for 20 minutes prior to baking. Bake for 50 – 55 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire cooling rack. Let sit for 10 minutes before before before removing from pan. Slice and serve.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Apple Cheese Beer Bread

I made clam chowder the other day (see upcoming post).  To me soup is not a meal and I have to serve it either with a sandwich or bread of some type.  I have had this bread recipe bookmarked for awhile and thought that it would be a good time to make it.  The recipe below makes two loaves but I ended up halving it.  This was so easy to put together and we all enjoyed it!

Apple Cheese Beer Bread
recipe from Edesia's Notebook

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
½ cup shallots, minced
½ cup apple, peeled and shredded (use paper towel to remove any excess moisture)
3 cups flour
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
12 oz. beer
½ cup applesauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Heat oil in skillet. Cook shallots and apple for 7 minutes. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Add cooked apple mixture, beer, applesauce, and cheese, stirring just until moist. Spoon mixture into 2 greased bread pans. Bake for 40 minutes or until done. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then remove and cool on wire rack.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Sweet Skillet Cornbread

I have tried many cornbread recipes.  I love making cornbread in the cast iron skillet so it gets a little crusty on the outside, but warm and moist on the inside. I know traditional cornbread is not sweet.  But I guess I'm not traditional since I really like a little sweetness to mine.  This was easy to put together and was super tasty!  I like to make cornbread when I'm making a soup or chili that I'm not sure the kids will like.  I know they will devour their cornbread.....which they did with this one.  They too prefer the sweet to the traditional cornbread.  I think this will be my new go-to cornbread recipe.

Sweet Skillet Cornbread
recipe from Food Network Magazine, June 2011

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups yellow cornmeal
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons honey
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sour cream

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

Cook 6 tablespoons butter in an 8-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes; remove from the heat. Whisk the eggs and honey in a bowl, then whisk in the milk, sour cream and browned butter. Add to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the skillet over medium heat until it foams. Remove from the heat and add the batter. Transfer to the oven; bake until the cornbread springs back when pressed, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes in the skillet before slicing.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Skillet Cornbread

Yesterday I posted the recipe for Back Bay Chili that my family just didn't enjoy.  I made this cornbread in the cast iron pan to serve with it.  This was my first recipe from Ree at The Pioneer Woman.  I have heard great things about her and her recipes and I don't know why I haven't tried any of her recipes before this.  I love corn bread in the skillet.  Like this bread, it gets crispy around the edges but moist inside.  I know traditional cornbread does not have sugar.  I didn't realize when I was making this that this recipe doesn't have sugar in it.  I think we were all expecting a sweet cornbread so there was a bit of disappointment when we tried this.  With a little butter slathered on though the kids were eating this up.  I would definitely make this recipe again, but probably add a little sugar to sweeten it up and it would get a 2 thumbs up rating!

Skillet Cornbread
recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
1 cup Yellow Cornmeal
1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 cup Buttermilk
1/2 cup Milk
1 whole Egg
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 cup Shortening
2 Tablespoons Shortening

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Stir together.

Measure the buttermilk and milk in a measuring cup and add the egg. Stir together with a fork. Add the baking soda and stir.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork until combined.

In a small bowl, melt 1/4 shortening. Slowly add melted shortening to the batter, stirring until just combined. In an iron skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons shortening over medium heat. Pour the batter into the hot skillet. Spread to even out the surface. (Batter should sizzle.)

Cook on stovetop for 1 minute, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Edges should be crispy!

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Zucchini Bread

I had bought some zucchini with the intention of cooking it as a side dish one night.  However, when looking for a muffin recipe, I thought that I'd go with a bread instead.  I'm always making muffins and I thought some zucchini bread sounded good.  I posted the original recipe below but I ended up halving it and making only one loaf.  The recipe was easy to put together and really tasty!  This was a great breakfast for everyone and I probably should have made the second loaf and frozen it.  We ended up slicing and freezing half of the one loaf I had made and had some for breakfast days after. 

Zucchini Bread
recipe from foodnetwork.com, courtesy of Paula Deen

Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional - I left them out)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

This recipe is shared at:
Tasty Tuesdays @ 33 Shades of Green
Totally Tasty Tuesdays @ Mandy's Recipe Box
Show Me What You Got Tuesdays @ Our Delightful Home
Tempt My Tummy @ Blessed with Grace

Broccoli Cheeese Corn Bread

Instead of serving biscuits or rolls at my son's 4th birthday party for the family, I decided to make this bread.  I know there are many different recipes and variations of this out there.  I found this recipe though and went with it. I thought it would be a good way to get in additional veggies. Now don't be fooled by this recipe's title.  The cheese in this recipe is cottage cheese!  Whether you're a fan or not though of the stuf, you don't taste it, honestly!  It just helps add moistness!  I did have some shredded cheddar that I was going to add (as a variation) but totally forgot! No worries, it was great without.    This recipe is quick and easy and really tasty. A guest commented that the onions were a bit crunchy and strong.   I rarely make the same recipe twice so I probably won't be making this again (even though it was tasty and I liked it a lot!) but if I did, I could saute the onion before putting it in the batter.  As I'm getting ready to post this recipe I just discovered that this is the one dish that I did not get a picture of in all the craziness of the meal prep!  And of course this is the one dish that I do not have any leftovers of!  Honestly, it was so good that I'm posting it anyway, with the link to the original recipe, in case you would like to see pics! 

Broccoli Cheese Corn Bread
from allrecipes.com by MARBALET

Yield:  12 servings

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 (10 ounce) package chopped frozen broccoli, thawed and drained
1 cup cottage cheese
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (8.5 ounce) box Jiffy mix
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease an 11x7 inch baking pan.

2.In a large mixing bowl, combine cornmeal mix and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, cottage cheese, onion and butter. Stir the egg and cheese mixture into the flour mixture. Fold in the broccoli. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3.Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Savory Italian Bread Pudding

I haven't eaten many bread puddings, but most, if not all of the ones that I have tried I think have been sweet.  I found this recipe for a savory bread pudding and thought that I'd try it.  As much as me and the kids love salami, I try not to buy or eat it very often.  Since I needed salami for another recipe that I am making later in the week, I decided to add some to this dish.  This way, instead of ordering "4" slices of salami, I could order a 1/4 pound.  This dish was definitely different, but tasty.  My husband and I enjoyed it but the kids weren't big fans.   This is not a quick meal, since it needs to cook for 30-40 minutes.  However, if you're in the mood for a savory bread pudding this is worth a try.

Savory Bread Pudding
Recipe adapted from Country Momma Cooks

Ingredients:
8 c. french bread, cubed
6 eggs
1 c. milk
1 Tbs. flour
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 c. frozen spinach thawed and drained
1 can of diced tomatoes drained well
3 ounce can of sliced black olives
6 slices salami, cut up
6 slices deli ham, cup up
1 c. Italian blend cheese

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Place eggs, milk, flour and seasoning in a blender and blend.

2. In a large bowl gently stir everything together except for the cheese.

3. Pour in to a greased 9x9" baking dish. Sprinkle cheese on top.

4. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I have had this recipe bookmarked for awhile.  It sounded like a great breakfast bread, which would be a nice change from the muffins that I usually make.  I made the recipe as is, with no changes.  The kitchen smelled heavenly while this was baking.  And it was so easy to whip up.  I thought that we might save it for breakfast, but the kids and I couldn't help ourselves and had to taste it.  It was moist and delicious!  They wanted more, but after having some of the Guave Cheese Turnovers (see the upcoming May 15th post!),  pizza for dinner, and some fruit from an edible arrangement that my sister sent us.....well, I didn't want them to explode!  So we will be enjoying more of this bread for breakfast tomorrow!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread
allrecipes.com - by bettina

Ingredients:
1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a small bowl, mix together 1/3 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon; set aside.

2.In large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 1 cup sugar. Combine egg, milk, and oil; add to flour mixture. Stir until just moistened.

3.Pour half of the batter into pan. Sprinkle with half the reserved cinnamon/sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining batter and cinnamon/sugar mixture. Draw a knife through batter to marble.

4.Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap in foil and let sit overnight before slicing.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Banana Nutella Bread

I've made several different variations of banana bread and muffins.  But when I found this recipe that used Nutella, I had to try it!  We love Nutella in our house.  The kids like it spread on a bagel for breakfast.  As much as I could eat the stuff straight from the jar I'm always on the lookout for different ways to cook and bake with it.  This bread was easy to make but needs an hour to bake.  It was moist but the Nutella was gooey (so make sure to have plenty of napkins on hand!).  This was a nice breakfast treat for us!

Banana Nutella Bread
from Mostly Food and Crafts

Ingredient:
3 small ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/2 cup Nutella

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of an electric mixer until well blended. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; Add flour mixture to banana mixture, stirring just until moistened.

Spoon 1/2 batter into a loaf pan coated with baking spray. Drop in 1/4 cup Nutella in dollops. Swirl a bit then top again with remaining batter. Add the rest of the Nutella in dollops on top. Swirl again.

Bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Pineapple Bread Pudding

For Easter we went to my parent's house and my mom made pineapple bread pudding as one of the sides.  It was so different and tasty!  We recently had our family over to celebrate my daughter's 6th birthday.  My husband cooked a turkey and I wanted to make the pineapple bread pudding as one of the sides.  Somehow I mixed up the website that my mom had found her recipe at (Cuisine At Home) and I found and made this version from Taste of Home.  This was a little different than the one that she made - hers used heavy cream, a stick of butter, and fresh pineapple.  Mine was a little "healthier" if you can call it that!  Regardless, it was delicious.  It's a nice "sweet" side dish with some savory elements.  Surprisingly, the kids weren't big fans of this, which I thought they would be because they love pineapple.  But, my daughter has an issue with warmed fruit.  I'm still giving it 2 thumbs up because all the adults enjoyed it!

Pineapple Bread Pudding
recipe slightly adapted from Taste of Home

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Yield:  8-10 servings

Ingredients:
10 slices white bread
3/4 cup butter, melted
5 eggs
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
Place bread on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 4 minutes; turn over and bake 4 minutes longer or until very light brown. Cut toasted bread into 1-in. cubes. Toss with melted butter; set aside.

In a bowl, beat eggs until thick and lemon-colored. Add the pineapple, sugar and vanilla; mix well. Fold in bread cubes.

Pour into a greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover and bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. 

Family Rating:  2 thumbs up.

Mini Garlic Monkey Breads

Knowing that my kids probably weren't going to be big fans of the Masala Meatballs (see yesterday's post), I served them with pasta and these Mini Garlic Monkey Breads, since they LOVE garlic bread so much.  If you haven't noticed, we're a big carb-loving family!  My husband and I were discussing why monkey bread is called what it is. We concluded it had to do with the tearing apart of the pieces.  According to Wikipedia we are partially right.  The actual origin of the name is uncertain, but the action of several people pulling at the bread, similar to monkey behavior, is one possibility.  Another possibility is that the bread resembles the monkey puzzle tree (whatever that is!). Regardless, after making Peanut Butter and Jelly Skillet Monkey Bread my family is a fan of the bread and concept.  This is quick and easy to put together and delicious!  It takes garlic bread to a new level and much more fun to eat!   

Mini Garlic Monkey Breads
Recipe found at: Life as a Lofthouse

Yield: 12 rolls

Ingredients:
2 (7.5 ounce) cans buttermilk biscuits
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus 2 Tablespoons for sprinkling

Directions:
Cut each roll into 4 pieces. Set aside. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside. In a large bowl combine the rest of the ingredients. Place 6 to 7 roll pieces into the garlic mixture and coat with mix. Place 6 to 7 coated roll pieces into one muffin tin. Repeat the process until all 12 muffin tins are full. Sprinkle all the rolls with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. Serve warm.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Guinness Bread with Molasses

So after using 1/2 a cup of Guinness to make the Irish Car Bomb cupcakes I had most of a can left.  I was home alone with the kids and I don't drink Guinness.  I hated to waste the beer so I quick googled a search for Guinness recipes.  I didn't want another dessert and knew that this was the recipe to make as soon as I saw it. I didn't have self-rising flour so I used the substitution given and thought it came out fine.  I was bringing this to my parent's house for our corned beef and cabbage dinner.  I was dying to taste a little piece since I would hate if it turned out bad.  But I controlled myself.  My mom always makes traditional Irish Soda Bread.  We cut this up and served it with the meal, alongside the Irish Soda Bread.  The  molasses gave it a sweet taste while the Guinness gave it a stouty, beer flavor. We gave little bites to the kids to try, and they liked it (but they like all bread, really!), but I thought it was a little too beery tasting for them to eat a lot of.  It was nice and moist, and slathered with butter it was tasty.  It was something different to try and a way to use up the Guinness.  However, it can never replace the traditional Irish Soda Bread!

Guinness Bread with Molasses
from Simply Recipes Posted by Hank Shaw

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes

This is fantastic eaten fresh, and nearly as good the next day toasted with some more butter. Do not use stale beer for this recipe, you want the carbonation.

Ingredients:
3 cups self-rising flour*
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup molasses
A pinch of salt (roughly 1/8 teaspoon)
12 ounces of Guinness beer
Butter for greasing the pan and painting the top, about 3 tablespoons

* If you don't have self-rising flour, you can substitute using a ratio of 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, plus 1/8 teaspoon of salt, for every cup of self-rising flour. Have made both ways though and got better results from the self-rising flour.

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan well with butter.

2.  Pour the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl and whisk to combine.

3. Slowly pour the Guinness into the flour mixture. (The “pub cans” are larger than 12 ounces, but they have better carbonation, so I pour most of it out and leave a swig to drink. This has never failed me, but if you are a stickler, use a 12-ounce bottle of Guinness instead.) Start stirring the beer into the dry ingredients, and when you are about halfway done, add the molasses. Mix well, just to combine. Don’t work the heck out of the batter – because that’s what it’ll look like – but you don’t want lumps, either.

4. Pour into the loaf pan to no more than 2/3 full. Pop into the oven immediately and bake for 50 minutes. Since ovens can vary, check the bread after 40 minutes and see if a toothpick inserted into the deepest part of the loaf comes out clean. If it does, you’re done.

5.  Let the loaf cool a bit, maybe 5 minutes, and then turn it out onto a rack. Paint it with lots of soft butter, which will melt as you go.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Simple White Bread

I decided that I needed to work on my yeast skills.  So far everything I've tried to make with the stuff has turned out pretty bad.  My kids are carb-aholics (don't know where they got that from?!!!). They love all kinds of bread and I really want to be able to make them homemade so I'm not giving up!  Since we weren't grocery shopping last week we had run out of bread.  I thought that I'd try to make some so I could send my daughter in with a sandwich for lunch on Friday.  This "simple" white bread recipe sounded like the perfect sandwich bread.  Luckily, I had all day Thursday to make this!  It may have been simple in ingredients and preparation but with three risings, it wasn't quick!  I wasn't sure what the dough would look like when it was supposed to double.  So I was so hapy when it came out of the oven looking like this:
 

And it tasted really good too!  We all had a taste that night....warm and chewy on the inside, crunchy crust on the outside.  Over the weekend my husband made an amazing grilled cheese sandwich with it.  I will probably be making this bread again very soon!

Simple White Bread
Cooking Light, May 2005

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon sugar
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 1/4 cups warm water (100° to 110°), divided
3 cups all-purpose flour
 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Cooking spray
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preparation:
Dissolve sugar and yeast in 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Add 1 cup warm water, flour, and salt to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes).

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.)

Uncover dough, and punch dough down. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Uncover dough; punch dough down. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Roll into a 14 x 7-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Roll up tightly, starting with a short edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets; pinch seam and ends to seal. Place roll, seam side down, in an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 425°.

Uncover dough; gently brush with egg. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove bread from oven); bake an additional 15 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!