Sun-dried Tomato and Kalamata Olive Bruschetta

I found this recipe on Pinterest and tried it recently when I hosted a girls' night at my house.  It was a big hit, and I'll definitely be making it again!  It's the perfect appetizer for any dinner party.  I had a lot of extra tapenade left over - so it could definitely be used as a dip, too.

 

(Photo from: garnishwithlemon.com)

 

 

Sun-dried Tomato and Kalamata Olive Bruschetta

(from:  garnishwithlemon.com)

Ingredients

• 1 loaf French bread
• 4 oz. Crumbled Feta cheese
• 4 oz. Light cream cheese softened
• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 oz. Kalamata olives coarsely chopped
• 1- 7 ounce jar julienne sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 10 basil leaves chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Slice the bread into ½ inch slices and toast in oven until lightly browned (about 9 minutes). Rub the bread with one of the garlic cloves after you remove it from the oven. Can be made two days ahead, put in air tight container once it has cooled.
3. Combine Feta and cream cheese until smooth.
4. Put remaining garlic cloves, olives and sun-dried tomatoes in bowl of food processor. Pulse until coarsley chopped but not pureed. Slice basil in ribbons and stir into tapenade.
5. Right before serving, spread crostini with cream cheese mixture and top with olive tomato tapenade.

Smoked Salmon and Veggie Cream Cheese Bagels - from Sally

Sally sent me this recipe from Food Network (Ina Garten) because it reminded her of one of our favorite dishes at Bottletree Bakery in Oxford.  She suggests adding slices of tomatoes, cucumbers, or red onions for some extra flavor and crunch.  At Bottletree, their bagels are also served with capers for extra saltiness.  I will definitely be eating one of these bagels very soon!

Smoked Salmon and Vegetable Cream Cheese Bagels
Ingredients:
2 sesame bagels (toast if desired)
Vegetable Cream Cheese, recipe follows
4 slices smoked salmon

Directions:
Slice the bagels in half horizontally and spread 1 tablespoon of the vegetable cream cheese over the bottom half of each bagel. Arrange 2 slices of smoked salmon over the cream cheese and place the remaining bagel halves on top. Cut the bagels in half crosswise and serve.

Vegetable Cream Cheese:
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons minced scallions, white and green parts
2 tablespoons finely chopped carrot
2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons finely chopped radish (2 radishes)
2 to 3 pinches kosher salt
1 pinch finely ground black pepper

Place the cream cheese, scallions, carrot, celery, radish, salt, and pepper in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until blended.

Guacamole Bruschetta

I know this may not be a traditional Christmas recipe, but the green and red can make it work!  This is one of my new favorite recipes, and I think it's perfect for any time of the year.  I made this a few weeks ago for a party.  The main problem I had was finding good tomatoes this time of year.  I really couldn't find any that looked great, so I substituted the fresh tomatoes with sundried tomatoes instead.  They still turned out great!

Photo from justataste.com

Guacamole Bruschetta

Yield: 12-15 servings
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 6 min

Ingredients:
½ loaf French bread
1 clove garlic
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 tomatoes, medium chopped
2 avocados, medium chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Slice the French bread on the diagonal into ½" rounds and place on a baking sheet.
Toast the sliced bread in the oven for 3 minutes, then flip each piece over and toast an additional 3 minutes.
Remove the toasted bread from the oven and immediately rub with the clove of garlic (it works best to first cut a small tip off the garlic clove so that the oils will seep out).
Brush the tops of the garlic-rubbed toasts with olive oil and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, avocado, onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix together gently making sure the avocado is well coated in the lime juice.
Spoon a portion of the mixture onto each of the garlic toasts and serve.

From: Justataste.com

Biscuits and Gravy

I didn't grow up eating biscuits and gravy - in fact, I don't think I ever had them until about a week ago!  Kent has always loved having breakfast for dinner.  And, since I've been crazy with my new work schedule, Kent's been doing a lot of cooking lately!  Last week he made biscuits and gravy one night - I have to say that they were pretty amazing!  Even if you don't like gravy, the biscuits are great on their own.

Biscuits
Ingreients:
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup chilled buttermilk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.)
Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.
Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting.
Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

Gravy
Ingredients:
1 lb sausage
3-4 tbsp flour
3-4 cups milk

Directions:
Brown sausage.  Add flour to sausage (add amount to make fat into paste-like consistency), season with salt and pepper, cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add milk (#of cups equal to # of tbsp of flour) and stir; cook until desired thickness.

Hush Puppies!

Kent helping with the crawfish at our SS party!

I know I haven't posted as much lately, but there has been a lot going on around here!  For instance, we've had tons of fun going to several crawfish boils this spring!  We loved going to crawfish boils when we lived in Oxford, but haven't been to many since then.  We went to one at a friend's farm in early spring, one in our neighborhood in May, and then one with our Sunday School friends last weekend - so fun!  We decided to try making a few dozen hush puppies to take with us to our recent SS crawfish boil.  They were a big hit, so I wanted to share the recipe.  These would be great with seafood all summer!

Jalapeno Hushpuppies (By Emeril Lagasse)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoons hot sauce
• 1/4 cup minced onions
• 2 fresh jalapenos, minced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• Essence, recipe follows

Directions:

Preheat the fryer to 365 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, hot sauce, onions, and jalapenos, together. Stir in the eggs and milk. Mix until fully incorporated. Fry 1 tablespoon of the batter at a time. Fry the hushpuppies for 2-3 minutes or until they are golden brown. Stirring constantly will ensure over-all browning. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper-lined plate. Season with Essence.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Blueberry Coffee Cake

I meant to post this recipe months ago after we first made it to take for breakfast to Sunday School.  This is a great breakfast item to take somewhere since its all in one casserole dish.  It was a big hit with our Sunday School class!

Blueberry Coffee Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup milk

2 eggs slightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. almond extract

3-5 tsp. milk

Preparation:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 13x9 inch pan. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon peel. Using pastry blender or fork, cut in butter. Add milk, eggs and vanilla. Stir well. Pour 3/4 batter into greased pan. Top with blueberries. Spoon remaining batter over blueberries. Bake for 35 minutes. Cool 30 minutes. In small bowl , blend icing ingredients. Drizzle over warm cake.
(Recipe from About.com)

Buttery Soft Pretzels

Photo courtesy of allrecipes.com

I had been thinking about trying to make homemade pretzels and found this great recipe on allrecipes.com.  I made it this weekend when Kent and I were watching some football games.  It made a great snack!  I had only worked with yeast one other time, but it wasn't difficult at all.  These are so fun to make and taste even better than ones you can buy at the mall or ballpark!

Buttery Soft Pretzels
Ingredients used to make the dough:

4 teaspoons active dry yeast (you can buy packages on the baking isle)

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

5 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

 

Ingredients used for cooking the pretzels:

1/2 cup baking soda

4 cups hot water

1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

Directions:

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes.  (I kneaded it on a baking mat but was not able to use every bit of the flour - they still turned out great!) Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.

When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. (Make a U shape and then cross the ends of the rope.) Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt. (I brushed each pretzel with melted butter before I salted them - yum!)

Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

Bacon Onion Cheddar Biscuits

Kent and I made these on Sunday morning to take to Sunday School since we signed up to bring breakfast.  They were really good and had a different taste than other savory breakfast rolls that I've had in the past.  Judging by the name, I'm sure that you can tell they aren't the healthiest breakfast choice... but they're worth the extra calories!  I got this recipe from the Pioneer Woman.  She has an amazing blog about her life - it includes information about gardening, farming, cooking, and so much more.  She has even published her own cookbook.  Click here to go to her website.  And, don't forget to enter to win a cookbook in my first ever giveaway!  See the previous post for details!

Bacon Onion Cheddar Biscuits
Ingredients:
2 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
¾ teaspoons Salt
¼ cups Vegetable Shortening (crisco, Etc)

10 Tablespoons Milk (whole Milk Is Best)

4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1 whole Egg

10 slices Thick Cut Bacon, Fried And Crumbled

1 cup Finely Diced Onion

1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions:

Cook and chop bacon.  Saute onions until light brown.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in shortening until all combined.

Combine milk, oil, and egg in a separate bowl. Whisk together. 

Combine flour mixture, milk mixture, bacon, onions, and cheddar cheese in a large bowl. Stir gently until all combined.  Be careful not to over mix!

Spoon batter into greased muffin tins. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes on 375 degrees until golden Remove from pan and serve warm.

Banana Bread - from Melissa

I was so glad when Melissa sent me this recipe. Banana bread is wonderful because it can be used for so many occasions. It is great to make and have around on a weekend when you will have company staying because it can work for breakfast, dessert, or a snack. It's also an easy item to transport, so you can take it to Sunday School or work for breakfast or even to a tailgate party in the fall!

Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Method:
No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the 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, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup - from Kate

My friend, Kate, brought this AMAZING breakfast treat to a ladies' brunch we had for Sunday School this weekend. Everyone was raving about how great it was!! I have not made it yet but hopefully will soon - Kent will definitely love it! It is a breakfast version of a bread pudding - and it's so good!!

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup
Ingredients:
1 loaf French bread
7 large eggs
2 cups half and half
1 cup milk
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
dash of salt
Praline Topping (recipe follows)
Maple syrup

Directions:
Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1 inch each. Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 x 13 inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half and half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk/egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread praline topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden.

Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping
Ingredients:
3/4 lb butter
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 tbsp light corn syrup
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and blend well.

Sally's Pumpkin Bread

This is the perfect recipe for October! My friend, Sally, made it in college and took it to the Grove for football games - everyone always loved it. I made it this weekend, and it was wonderful! Our whole house smelled like fall!

Sally's Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour

3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon clove

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

2 teaspoons salt

2/3 cup water

4 eggs

1 cup oil

1 15oz can of pumpkin

Method:

Sift dry ingredients together. Stir in oil, water, eggs, and pumpkin. Pour into 2 greased and floured bread pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 65-75 minutes.